FIRST DAY IN JAPAN.
They had no difficulty in reaching the hotel, as they were in the hands
of the runner of the establishment, who took good care that they did not
go astray and fall into the clutches of the representative of the rival
concern. The publicans of the open ports of Japan have a watchful eye
for their interests, and the stranger does not have to wander long in
the streets to find accommodation. The Doctor had been there before, and
took great pains to have his bargain made with the utmost exactness,
lest there might be a mistake at the time of his departure. "In Europe
and Asia," he remarked to Frank, "a traveller soon learns that he cannot
be too explicit in making his contracts at hotels; if he neglects this
little formality, he will often find that his negligence has cost him
something. The last time I was in Yokohama I had a very warm discussion
with my landlord when I settled my bill, and I don't propose to have a
repetition of it."
The hotel was much like an American house in its general
characteristics, both in the arrangement of the rooms and the style of
furniture. The proprietors and managers were foreigners, but the
servants were native and were dressed in Japanese costume. The latter
were very quiet and orderly in their manners, and made a favorable
impression on the young visitors. Frank was so pleased with the one in
charge of his room that he wished he could take him home with him, and
have a Japanese servant in America. Testimony as to the excellent
character of servants in Japan is nearly universal on the part of those
who have employed them. Of course there will be an occasional lazy,
inattentive, or dishonest fellow, but one finds them much more rarely
than in Europe or America. In general, they are very keen observers, and
learn the ways and peculiarities of their masters in a remarkably short
time. And once having learned them, they never forget.
"When I was last here," said the Doctor, "I was in this very hotel, and
had one of the regular servants of the establishment to wait on me. The
evening after my arrival, I told him to have my bath ready at seven
o'clock in the morning, and to bring a glass of ice-water when he
waked me. Exactly at seven he was at my bedside with the water, and told
me the bath was waiting; and as long as I remained here he came at
precisely the same hour in the morning, offered me the glass of water,
and announced the readiness of the bath. I never had occasion to tell
him the same thing twice, no matter what it was. Occasionally I went to
Tokio to spend two or three days. The first time I went, I showed him
what clothes I wished to take, and he packed them in my valise; and
afterwards I had only to say I was going to Tokio, when he would
immediately proceed to pack up exactly the same things I had taken the
first time, or their equivalents. He never made the slightest error, and
was a trifle more exact than I wished him to be. On my first journey I
carried a bottle of cough-mixture to relieve a cold from which I
happened to be suffering. The cold had disappeared, and the bottle was
empty before my second trip to Tokio; but my faithful servant wrapped it
carefully in paper, and put it in a safe corner of my valise, and
continued to do so every time I repeated the excursion."
[Illustration: A JAPANESE STREET SCENE.]
The boys were all anxiety to take a walk through the streets of
Yokohama, and could hardly wait for the Doctor to arrange matters with
the hotel-keeper. In a little while everything was determined, and the
party went out for a stroll. The Doctor led the way, and took them to
the Japanese portion of the city, where they were soon in the midst of
sights that were very curious to them. They stopped at several shops,
and looked at a great variety of Japanese goods, but followed the advice
of the Doctor in deferring their purchases to another time. Frank
thought of the things he was to buy for his sister Mary, and also for
Miss Effie; but as they were not to do any shopping on their first day
in Japan, he did not see any occasion for opening the precious paper
that Mary had confided to him previous to his departure.
They had a walk of several hours, and on their return to the hotel were
quite weary enough to rest awhile. Frank and Fred had a whispered
conversation while the Doctor was talking with an old acquaintance; and
as soon as he was at liberty they told him what they had been conversing
about.
"We think we want to write home now, Doctor," said Frank, "and wish to
know if you approve of our doing so to-day."
"By all means," replied the Doctor, with a smile; "it is time to begin
at once. You are in a foreign country and there are plenty of things to
write about. Your information will be to a great extent new and
interesting to your friends, and the reasons that I gave you for not
writing a long letter from Niagara do not exist here."
"I thought you would say so," responded Fred, his eyes sparkling with
animation, "and I want to write while everything is fresh in my mind. I
am going to write at once."
"And so am I," echoed Frank; "here goes for a letter to friends at
home."
Off the boys ran for their writing materials, and in a little while they
were seated on the balcony of the hotel, and making their pens fairly
fly over the paper.
[Illustration: JAPANESE MUSICIANS.]
Here is the letter from Frank to his mother:
"YOKOHAMA, _August_ 4_th_, 1878.
"MY DEAR MOTHER:
"I wish you could see me just now. I am sitting on the veranda of
the hotel, and Fred is at the table with me. If we look up from our
paper, we can see out upon the bay, where lots of ships are at
anchor, and where a whole fleet of Japanese fishing-boats are
coming up and dragging their nets along after them. Down in the
street in front of us there are some funny-looking men with
trousers as tight as their skins, and making the men look a great
deal smaller than they are. They have hats like small umbrellas,
and made of plaited straw, to keep the sun off, and they have them
tied down under the chin with cords as big as a clothes-line.
Doctor Bronson says these are the lower class of Japanese, and that
we haven't seen the fine people yet. There are three musicians, at
least they are called so, but I can't see that they make much that
I should call music. One of them has on one of those great broad
hats, another has his head covered with a sort of small cap, while
the third has his skull shaven as smooth as a door-knob. The man
with the hat on is blowing a whistle and ringing a small bell, the
second is beating on a brass plate with a tiny drumstick, while the
third has a pair of clappers which he knocks together, and he sings
at the same time. Each of them seems to pay no attention to the
rest, but I suppose they think they are playing a tune. Two of them
have their legs bare, but they have sandals on their feet, held in
place by cords or thongs. The man with the hat must be the leader,
as he is the only one that wears trousers, and, besides, he has a
pocket-book hung to his girdle. I wonder if they make much money
out of the music they are playing?
[Illustration: JAPANESE FISHERMEN.]
"A couple of fishermen just stopped to look at the musicians and
hear the music. One had a spear and a net with a basket at the end,
and the other carried a small rod and line such as I used to have
when I went out for trout. They didn't have much clothing,
though--nothing but a jacket of coarse cloth and a kilt made of
reeds. Only one had a hat, and that didn't seem to amount to much.
The bareheaded one scowled at me, and I think he can't be very fond
of foreigners. Perhaps the foreigners deserve to be scowled at, or,
at any rate, some of them do.
[Illustration: JAPANESE SILK-SHOP.]
"We have seen such lots of things to-day--lots and lots. I can't
begin to tell you all in this letter, and there is so much that I
don't know where to commence. Well, we went into some shops and
looked at the things they had to sell, but didn't buy anything, as
we thought it was too soon. One of the shops I liked very much was
where they sold silk. It wasn't much like a silk-shop at home,
where you sit on a stool in front of a counter and have the clerks
spread the things out before you. In this shop the silk was in
boxes out of sight, and they only showed you what you asked for.
There was a platform in the middle of the shop, and the clerks
squatted down on this platform, and unrolled their goods. Two women
were there, buying some bright-colored stuff, for making a dress, I
suppose, but I don't know. One man sat in the corner with a
yardstick ready to measure off what was wanted, and another sat
close by him looking on to see that everything was all right. Back
of him there were a lot of boxes piled up with the goods in them;
and whenever anything was wanted, he passed it out. You should have
seen how solemn they all looked, and how one woman counted on her
fingers to see how much it was all coming to, just as folks do at
home. In a corner opposite the man with the yardstick there was a
man who kept the accounts. He was squatted on the floor like the
rest, and had his books all round him; and when a sale was made, he
put it down in figures that I couldn't read in a week.
[Illustration: "SAYONARA."]
"Then it was ever so funny to see the men bowing to each other;
they did it with so much dignity, as if they had all been princes,
or something of the sort. They rest their hands on their knees, and
then bend the body forward; and sometimes they bend so low that
their backs are level enough to set out a tea-service on and use
them for a table. When they want to bid good-bye, they say
'Sayonara,' just as we say 'Good-bye,' and it means exactly the
same thing. They are not satisfied with one bow, but keep on
several times, until you begin to wonder when they will get
through. Everybody says they are the politest people in the world,
and I can readily believe it if what I have seen is a fair sample.
[Illustration: SEVEN-STROKE HORSE.]
"There have been several men around the hotel trying to sell things
to us, and we have been looking at them. One thing I am going to
get and send in this letter is a box of Japanese pictures. They are
not photographs, but real drawings by Japanese artists, and printed
on Japanese paper. You will see how soft and nice the paper is; and
though the pictures look rough, they are very good, and, above all
things, they are truthful. I am going to get as many different ones
as I can, and so I think you will be able to get a good idea of the
country as the natives see it themselves. They have these pictures
showing all their ways of life--how they cook their food, how they
eat it, how they work, how they play--in fact, how everything is
done in this very curious country. The Japanese make their drawings
with very few lines, and it will astonish you to see how much they
can express with a few strokes of a pencil. Here is a picture of a
horse drawn with seven strokes of the artist's finger-nail dipped
in ink, and with a few touches of a wide brush for the mane and
tail. Do you think my old drawing-master at home could do the same
thing?
[Illustration: FEMALE HEAD-DRESS.]
"The pillows they sleep on would never do for us. A Japanese pillow
is a block of wood with a rest for the head, or rather for the
neck, as the head doesn't touch it at all, except just below the
ear. It is only a few inches long and high, and is perfectly hard,
as the little piece of paper they put on it is intended for
cleanliness, and not to make the pillow soft. You can't turn over
on one of them, and as for doubling them up to throw at another
boy, it is quite out of the question. I shall put in a picture of a
Japanese woman lying down with her head on one of these curious
things. The women have their hair done up so elaborately that they
must sleep on something that does not disturb it, as they can't
afford the time and trouble for fixing it every morning. You'll
find a picture of their head-dress in the lot I send with this; but
it is from a sketch by a foreigner, and not by a native.
[Illustration: THE SIESTA.]
"Perhaps you will want to know something about the weather in
Japan. It is very warm in the middle of the day, but the mornings
and evenings are delightful. Around where we are the ground is
flat, and the heat is greater than back among the hills. People
remain as quiet as possible during the middle of the day; and if
you go around the shops at that time, you find nearly everybody
asleep who can afford to be so. The Japanese houses are all so open
that you see everything that is going on, and they think nothing of
lying down in full sight of the street. Since the foreigners came
to Yokohama, the natives are somewhat more particular about their
houses than they used to be; at any rate, it is said so by those
who ought to know. The weather is so warm in summer that the
natives do not need to wear much clothing, and I suppose that is
the reason why they are so careless about their appearance. In the
last few years the government has become very particular about
having the people properly dressed, and has issued orders
compelling them to put on sufficient clothing to cover them
whenever they go out of doors. They enforce these orders very
rigidly in the cities and large towns; but in the country the
people go around pretty much as they used to. Of course, you
understand I am speaking of the lower classes only, and not of the
aristocracy. The latter are as careful about their garments as the
best people in any other part of the world, and they often spend
hours over their toilets. A Japanese noble gotten up in fine old
style is a sight worth going a long distance to see, and he knows
it too. He has a lot of stiff silks and heavy robes that cost a
great deal of money, and they must be arranged with the greatest
care, as the least displacement is a serious affair. I haven't seen
one of them yet, and Doctor Bronson says we may not see any during
our stay in Japan, as the government has abolished the old dress,
and adopted that of Western Europe. It is too bad that they have
done so, as the Japanese dress is very becoming to the people--ever
so much more so than the new one they have taken. Japan is fast
losing its national characteristics, through the eagerness of the
government to follow Western fashions. What a pity! I do hope I
shall be able to see one of those old-fashioned dresses, and won't
mind how far I have to go for it.
[Illustration: A JAPANESE AT HIS TOILET FOR A VISIT OF CEREMONY.]
"Now, mother, this letter is addressed to you, but it is intended
for everybody; and I know you'll read it to everybody, and have it
handed round, so that all can know where I am and what I have told
you about Japan. When I don't write to each one of you, I know you
will understand why it is,--because I am so busy, and trying to
learn all I can. Give my love to each and every one in the family,
and tell Mary she knows somebody outside of it that wants a share.
Tell her I often think of the morning we left, and how a
handkerchief waved from the railway station when we came away. And
tell Mary, too, that I haven't yet opened her list of things I am
to get for her; but I haven't forgotten it, and have it all safe
and right. There are lots of pretty things to buy here; and if she
has made a full catalogue of Japanese curiosities, she has given me
enough to do for the present--and the presents.
"Good-night, dear mother, and look for another letter by the next
mail.
"Your loving son,
"FRANK."
Fred finished his letter almost at the same moment that Frank affixed
the signature to his own. By the time they were through it was late in
the evening, and the hour for retiring to bed. Their sleeping-places
were exactly such as they might have found in any American hotel, and
they longed for a view of a Japanese bed. Frank was inclined to ask
Doctor Bronson to describe one to them, but Fred thought it would be
time enough when they went into the interior of the country and saw one.
They were up early the next morning, but not as early as the Japanese.
"I tell you what," said Frank, "I have made a discovery."
"What is it?"
"I have been thinking of something to introduce into the United States,
and make everybody get up early in the morning."
"Something Japanese?"
"Yes. Something that interested us yesterday when we saw it."
"Well, we saw so many things that I couldn't begin to guess in half an
hour. What was it?"
"It was a pillow."
"You mean those little things the Japanese sleep on?"
"Yes; they are so uncomfortable that we couldn't use them with any sort
of pleasure. Nobody would want to lie in bed after he had waked up, if
he had such a pillow under his head. He would be out in a minute, and
wouldn't think of turning over for another doze.
"Now, if our Congress will pass a law abolishing the feather pillow all
over the United States, and commanding everybody to sleep on the
Japanese one, it would make every man, woman, and child get up at least
an hour earlier every day. For forty millions of people this would make
a gain of forty million hours daily, and that would be equal to
forty-five thousand years. Just think what an advantage that would be to
the country, and how much more we could accomplish than we do now. Isn't
it a grand idea?"
Fred thought it might be grand and profitable to the country, but it
would be necessary to make the pillows for the people; and from what he
had heard of Congress, he didn't think they would vote away the public
money for anything of the sort. Besides, the members of Congress would
not wish to deprive themselves of the privilege of sleeping on feather
pillows, and therefore they wouldn't vote away their liberties. So he
advised Frank to study Japan a little longer before he suggested the
adoption of the Japanese pillow in America.
This conversation occurred while the boys were in front of the hotel,
and waiting for the Doctor, whom they expected every moment. When he
came, the three went out for a stroll, and returned in good season for
breakfast. While they were out they took a peep into a Japanese house,
where the family were at their morning meal, and thus the boys had an
opportunity of comparing their own ways with those of the country they
were in.
[Illustration: A JAPANESE BREAKFAST.]
A dignified native, with the fore part of his head closely shaven, was
squatted on the floor in front of a little box about a foot high, which
served as a table. Opposite was his wife, and at the moment our party
looked in she was engaged in pouring something from a bottle into a
small cup the size of a thimble. Directly under her hand was a bowl
filled with freshly boiled rice, from which the steam was slowly rising;
and at the side of the table was another and smaller one, holding some
plates and chopsticks. A tiny cup and a bowl constituted the rest of the
breakfast equipment. The master was waited upon by his wife, who was not
supposed to attend to her own wants until his had been fully met. She
sat with her back to the window, which was covered with paper in small
squares pasted to the frame, and at her right was a screen, such as one
finds in nearly all Eastern countries. On her left was a chest of
drawers with curious locks and handles, which doubtless contained the
family wealth of linen.
As they went on, after their view of a Japanese interior, Frank asked
what was the name and character of the liquid the woman was pouring into
the glass or cup for her husband.
"That was probably sa-kee," replied the Doctor.
"And what is sa-kee, please?"
"It is," answered the Doctor, "a sort of wine distilled from rice.
Foreigners generally call it rice wine, but, more properly speaking, it
is rice whiskey, as it partakes more of the nature of spirit than of
wine. It is very strong, and will intoxicate if taken in any
considerable quantity. The Japanese usually drink it hot, and take it
from the little cups that you saw. The cups hold so small a quantity
that a great many fillings are necessary to produce any unpleasant
effect. The Japanese rarely drink to intoxication, and, on the whole,
they are a very temperate people."
Fred thereupon began to moralize on the policy of introducing Japanese
customs into America. He thought more practicable good could be done by
the adoption of the Japanese cup--which would teach our people to drink
more lightly than at present--than by Frank's plan of introducing the
Japanese pillow. He thought there would be some drawbacks to Frank's
enterprise, which would offset the good it could do. Thus a great number
of people whom the pillow might bring up at an early hour would spend
the time in ways that would not be any benefit to society, and they
might as well be asleep, and in many cases better, too. But the tiny
drinking-cup would moderate the quantity of stimulants many persons
would take, and thus a great good might be accomplished.
While thus talking, and trying to conjure up absurd things, they reached
the hotel, and soon were seated at breakfast.
During breakfast Doctor Bronson unfolded some of the plans he had made
for the disposal of their time, so that they might see as much as
possible of Japan.
"We have taken a look at Yokohama since we arrived," said he, "but there
is still a great deal to see. We can study the place at our leisure, as
I think it best to make this our headquarters while in this part of the
empire, and then we will make excursions from here to the points of
interest in the vicinity. To-day we will go to Tokio."
"Can't we go first to Yeddo?" said Fred. "I want so much to see that
city, and it is said to be very large."
Doctor Bronson laughed slightly as he replied.
"Tokio and Yeddo are one and the same thing. Tokio means the Eastern
capital, while Yeddo means the Great City. Both names have long been in
use; but the city was first known to foreigners as Yeddo. Hence it was
called so in all the books that were written prior to a few years ago,
when it was officially announced to be Tokio. It was considered the
capital at the time Japan was opened to foreigners; but there were
political complications not understood by the strangers, and the true
relations of the city we are talking about and Kioto, which is the
Western capital, were not explained until some time after. It was
believed that there were two emperors or kings, the one in Yeddo and the
other in Kioto, and that the one here was highest in authority. The real
fact was that the Shogoon, or Tycoon (as he was called by the
foreigners), at Yeddo was subordinate to the real emperor at Kioto: and
the action of the former led to a war which resulted in the complete
overthrow of the Tycoon, and the establishment of the Mikado's authority
through the entire country."
"Then the emperor is called the Mikado, is he not?"
[Illustration: MUTSUHITO, MIKADO OF JAPAN.]
"Yes; that is his official title. Formerly he was quite secluded, as his
person was considered too sacred to be seen by ordinary eyes; but since
the rebellion and revolution he has come out from his seclusion, and
takes part in public ceremonials, receives visitors, and does other
things like the monarchs of European countries. He is enlightened and
progressive, and is doing all he can for the good of his country and its
people.
"The curious feature of the revolution which established the Mikado on
his throne, and made him the ruler of the whole country is this--that
the movement was undertaken to prevent the very things it has brought
about."
"How was that?" Frank asked.
[Illustration: LANDING OF PERRY'S EXPEDITION.]
"Down to 1853 Japan was in a condition of exclusiveness in regard to
other nations. There was a Dutch trading-post at Nagasaki, on the
western coast; but it was confined to a little island, about six hundred
feet square, and the people that lived there were not allowed to go out
of their enclosure except at rare intervals, and under restrictions that
amounted to practical imprisonment. In the year I mentioned Commodore
Perry came here with a fleet of American ships, left some presents that
had been sent by the President of the United States, and sailed away.
Before he left he laid the foundation for the present commercial
intercourse between Japan and the United States; and on his return in
the following year the privileges were considerably enlarged. Then came
the English, and secured similar concessions; and thus Japan has reached
her present standing among the nations.
"Having been exclusive so long, and having been compelled against her
will to open her ports to strangers, there was naturally a good deal of
opposition to foreigners even after the treaty was signed. The
government endeavored to carry out the terms of the treaty faithfully;
but there was a large party opposed to it, and anxious to have the
treaties torn up and the foreigners expelled. This party was so powerful
that it seemed to include almost a majority of the nation, and the Kioto
government took the Yeddo section to task for what it had done in
admitting the foreigners. One thing led to another, and finally came the
war between the Mikado and the Tycoon. The latter was overthrown, as I
have already told you, and the Mikado was the supreme ruler of the land.
"The Mikado's party was opposed to the presence of foreigners in the
country, and their war-cry was 'Death to the strangers!' When the war
was over, there was a general expectation that measures would be adopted
looking to the expulsion of the hated intruder. But, to the surprise of
many, the government became even more progressive than its predecessor
had been, and made concessions to the foreigners that the others had
never granted. It was a curious spectacle to see the conservative
government doing more for the introduction of the foreigner than the
very men they had put down because of their making a treaty with the
Americans.
[Illustration: THE LAST SHOGOON OF JAPAN.]
"The opponents of the Mikado's government accuse it of acting in bad
faith, but I do not see that the charge is just. As I understand the
situation, the government acted honestly, and with good intent to expel
the foreigner in case it should obtain power. But when the power was
obtained, they found the foreigner could not be expelled so easily; he
was here, and intended to remain, and the only thing the government
could do was to make the best of it. The foreign nations who had
treaties with Japan would not tear them up, and the government found
that what it had intended at the time of the revolution could not be
accomplished. Foreign intercourse went on, and the Japanese began to
instruct themselves in Western ways. They sent their young men to
America and other countries to be educated. They hired teachers to take
charge of schools in Japan, and in every way tried to turn the presence
of the foreigner to their advantage. There is an old adage that what
can't be cured must be endured, and Japan seems to have acted upon it.
The foreigner was here as an evil, and they couldn't cure him out. So
they set about finding the best way of enduring him.
"But it is time we were getting ready for a start for Tokio, and so
we'll suspend our discussion of Japanese political history. It's a dry
subject, and I hesitate to talk to you about it lest I may weary you."
Both the boys declared the topic was interesting, and they would
consider their study of Japan incomplete without some of its history.
The Doctor promised to return to the subject at some future occasion;
and with this understanding they separated to prepare for their journey
to the capital.
[Illustration]