,,notes ,,in ,,japan ,illustration3 ,see page #aj ,,in ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara--,,an ,,old ,,cryptomeria ,,notes ,,in ,,japan ,,by ,,alfred ,,parsons ,,with ,,illustrations ,,by ,,the ,,author ,illustration ,,new ,,york ,,harper ,,brothers ,,publishers #ahif ,copyright1 #ahie1 by ,,harper ,,brothers4 ,all rights reserved4 ,illustration ,,contents ,,page ,,the ,,japanese ,,spring #c ,,early ,,summer ,,in ,,japan #de ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,the ,,lotus #ha ,,fujisan #aai ,,some ,,wanderings ,,in ,,japan #aec ,,autumn ,,in ,,japan #aic ,,illustrations ,,page ,,in ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara--,,an ,,old ,,cryptomeria ,frontispiece ,,dedication vii ,,cherry-,,blossom ,,badge1 ,,yoshino #b ,,in ,,the ,,inland ,,sea #d ,,hills ,,near ,k,,be1 ,,from ,,suwa-,,yama #e ,,early ,,plum ,,blossoms1 ,,okamoto1 ,,near ,k,,be #g ,,the ,,torii ,,of ,,kasuga ,,temple1 ,,nara #aa ,,old ,,wistaria ,,in ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara #ac ,,the ,,pagoda ,,of ,,kob,,kuji1 ,,nara #ad ,,cherry-,,tree ,,and ,,lanterns1 ,,ni-,,gwatsu-,d1 ,,nara #ae ,,the ,,well ,,of ,,sankatchu1 ,,nara #ag ,,cherry ,,blossoms ,,in ,,the ,,rain1 ,,nara #ai ,,sara-,,hiki-,,saka1 ,,near ,,yoshino--,,later ,,cherries #ba ,,cherry ,,and ,,late ,,plum1 ,,tema-,,cho1 ,,near ,,nara #bc ,a ,,buddhist ,,temple ,,at ,,yoshino--,,double-,,flowered ,,cherry ,,and ,,magnolia #bg ,,crossing ,,the ,,ferry ,,at ,,muda1 ,,on ,,the ,,yoshino-,,gawa #cj ,,mi ,,komori ,,jinja1 ,a ,,shinto ,,temple ,,near ,,yoshino #ca ,,the ,,street1 ,,hase #cd ,,andromeda ,,bushes ,,in ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara #ce ,,white ,,wistaria1 ,,hase-,,dera #cg ,a ,,tall ,,wistaria1 ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara #ci ,,notes ,,at ,,muda #da ,,badge ,,of ,,the ,,kiku-,,sui-,,ya #db ,,iris ,,japonica #dd ,,carrying ,,home ,,tea ,,leaves1 ,,near ,,uji #df ,a ,,plantation ,,covered ,,with ,,matting ,,near ,,uji #dg ,,pond ,,in ,,the ,,garden ,,of ,,raku-,,raku-,,tei1 ,,hikone #di ,,the ,,castle ,,at ,,hikone #ea ,,the ,,castle ,,at ,,nagoya1 ,,field ,,of ,,iris ,,in ,,the ,,foreground #eb ,,an ,,old ,,castle ,,moat1 ,,akashi1 ,,near ,k,,be #ec ,,fields ,,near ,,lake ,,biwa #ee ,o ,,kazu ,,san #eg ,,preparing ,,the ,,rice-,,fields #ei ,,my ,,rooms ,,at ,,tennenji #fj ,,buddha ,,and ,,his ,,disciples1 ,,tennenji #fa ,,hikone ,,and ,,lake ,,biwa1 ,,from ,,the ,,hills ,,behind ,,tennenji #fd ,,azaleas ,,on ,,the ,,rocks1 ,,tennenji #fe ,,the ,,poem #fg ,,white ,,azalea ,,bush1 ,,raku-,,raku-,,tei1 ,,hikone #fi ,,the ,,bamboo ,,grove1 ,,tennenji #ga ,,sunset ,,over ,,lake ,,biwa1 ,,from ,,tennenji #ge ,,planting ,,rice #gg ,a ,,spring ,,flower--,,jiro-,,bo #gh ,,platycodon ,,grandiflorum1 8,,kikyo0 #hj ,,auratum ,,lilies ,,and ,,bocconia ,,on ,,the ,,hills ,,near ,,nikko #hb ,a ,,field ,,of ,,lilies1 ,,ofuna1 ,,near ,,kamakura #hc ,,seven ,,beautiful ,,flowers ,,of ,,late ,,summer #he ,,hydrangea ,,bush1 ,,totsuka1 ,,near ,,yokohama #hg ,,under ,,the ,,cryptomerias ,,at ,,nikko #hi ,a ,,little ,,temple ,,at ,,nikko #ia ,,kirifuri1 ,,near ,,nikko #ic ,,the ,,moor ,,near ,,yumoto #id ,a ,,wet ,,day ,,at ,,ch,,zenji #ie ,,the ,,foot ,,of ,,nantai-,,zan #ig ,,the ,,moat ,,of ,,benten-,,shiba #ii ,,spectators #ajd ,,the ,,last ,,tea ,,leaves--,,cottage ,,near ,,yokohama #aje ,,lotus-,,ponds ,,at ,,kamakura #ajg ,,lotus-,,patch ,,among ,,the ,,rice-,,fields1 ,,kawasaki1 ,t,,ky #aji ,a ,,tea-,,house ,,at ,,kamakura #aaj ,,yoritomo',s ,,willows ,,and ,,his ,,shrine #aaa ,,japanese ,,wrestlers #aac ,,lespedeza 8,,hagi0 #aae ,,the ,,heart-,,leaved ,,lily #aaf ,,campanulas ,,on ,,fuji #aah ,,going ,,up ,,in ,,the ,,mist #aba ,a ,,cloudy ,,evening1 ,,from ,,the ,,sands ,,of ,,tago-,,no-,,ura #abc ,,fuji ,,from ,,the ,,abekawa1 ,,and ,,the ,,tokaido ,,bridge #abd ,,on ,,the ,,northern ,,slope ,,of ,,fuji--,,grass-,,cutters ,,returning #abf ,,the ,,second ,,shelter ,,in ,,the ,,gotamba ,,path #abh ,,fuji ,,with ,,its ,,cap ,,on #acj ,,fuji ,,from ,,the ,,kawaguchi ,,lake #aca ,,from ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,fuji1 ,,looking ,,north #acc ,,the ,,great ,,palm ,,at ,,ryugeji1 ,,fuji ,,in ,,the ,,distance #ace ,,the ,,crater ,,of ,,fuji #acf ,,an ,,old ,,red ,,pine ,,at ,,yoshida #aci ,,naka-,,no-,,chaya1 ,,on ,,the ,,northern ,,slope #adc ,,the ,,red-,,pine ,,grove ,,at ,,yoshida #ade ,,fuji ,,over ,,the ,,rice-,,fields ,,of ,,suzukawa #adf ,,the ,,flowery ,,moorland #adg ,,tail-,,piece #aej ,,tricyrtis ,,hirta1 ,,atami #aeb ,,tago-,,no-,,ura #aee ,,cottages ,,at ,,nemba #aef ,,lake ,,suwa ,,and ,,the ,,nakasendo ,,mountains1 ,,from ,,kami-,,no-,,suwa #aei ,,tourists ,,at ,a ,,waterfall #afc ,,niegawa1 ,,on ,,the ,,nakasendo #afe ,a ,,little ,,shinto ,,shrine1 ,,near ,,the ,,nakasendo #aff ,a ,,boat-,,mender ,,by ,,the ,,tenryugawa #afg ,,banana-,,trees ,,at ,,atami #aga ,,the ,,ferry ,,at ,,tokimata #agc ,,on ,,the ,,tenryugawa #agd ,,the ,,village ,,street1 ,,atami--,,vries ,,island ,,in ,,the ,,distance #age ,,on ,,the ,,tenryugawa1 ,,near ,,kajima #agg ,,autumn-,,grass 7,,suzuki7 #agi ,a ,,rustic ,,bridge ,,at ,,dogashima1 ,,near ,,miya-,,no-,,shita #ahc ,,avenues ,,of ,,torii ,,in ,,front ,,of ,,an ,,inari ,,temple1 ,,near ,,shimizu #ahe ,,jiz ,,sama1 ,,near ,,hakone #ahg ,,tail-,,piece #aij ,,the ,,autumn ,,lily #aib ,,fields ,,near ,,hamamatsu #aid ,,the ,,edge ,,of ,,the ,,tokaido1 ,,near ,,hamamatsu #aie ,,the ,,island ,,of ,,awaji1 ,,from ,,maiko #aih ,,on ,,the ,,shore ,,near ,,maiko1 ,,the ,,strait ,,of ,,akashi ,,to ,,the ,,right #aii ,,lilies ,,by ,,the ,,shore1 ,,suma #bjj ,a ,,graveyard ,,at ,,suma #bja ,,hills ,,behind ,k,,be #bjb ,a ,,bamboo-,,yard ,,at ,,maibara #bjc ,,blue ,,water-,,weed #bjd ,,the ,,travelling ,,theatre ,,at ,,maibara #bje ,,launching ,a ,,boat #bjh ,,lake ,,biwa ,,with ,,flooded ,,rice-,,fields1 ,,near ,,maibara #bji ,,one ,,of ,,the 8,,yama0 ,,at ,,the ,,nagahama ,,matsuri #bac ,,some ,,hats ,,at ,,the ,,nagahama ,,matsuri #bad ,,the ,,temple ,,garden1 ,,seigwanji #bae ,,miniature ,,pagoda ,,in ,,the ,,temple ,,garden1 ,,seigwanji #bag ,a ,,chrysanthemum ,,show ,,at ,,yokohama #bai ,,the ,,arsenal ,,garden1 ,,koishikawa1 ,t,,ky #bbc ,,tail-,,piece #bbe ,,lychnis ,,grandiflora1 ,,misaka-,,toge #bbf ,,the ,,japanese ,,spring ,illustration3 ,,cherry-,,blossom ,,badge1 ,,yoshino ,,the ,,japanese ,,spring ,illustration ,we had left ,hong-,kong enveloped in its usual spring fog1 and for five long1 weary days had steamed across the ,china ,sea in regular monsoon weather1 gray and wet and miserable1 but during the fifth some rocky islands1 outlying sentinels of the three thousand which compose the ,mikado's realm1 and occasional square-sailed1 high-sterned boats1 showed that we were near ,japan1 the ,far ,east1 the ,land of ,flowers and of the ,rising ,sun1 the country which for years it had been my dream to see and paint2 and by six o'clock in the evening1 on the #ith of ,march1 we were at anchor in ,nagasaki ,bay4 ,the aspect of that port on a wet day was not inviting1 nor were the little grimy girls1 who in a chattering1 laughing line carried their baskets of coal on board2 so1 difficult as it was to decline the hospitable invitations of the ,english residents1 ,i decided to go on with the ship to ,kbe4 ,early in the morning of the #aath we passed through the ,strait of ,shimonoseki--the sun shining brightly on the snowy hills and on the crowd of fishing-boats which had been sheltering there from the bad weather--and entered the ,inland ,sea4 ,after so many days of monotonous gray ocean it was delightful to steam along in sight of land1 and wind about among the islets and rocks1 so near to many of them that we could see the little villages1 the mists of white plum blossoms1 the rows of beans and barley growing wherever a level patch could be made on the steep slopes1 the people at work in their ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,inland ,,sea fields1 and always in the distance the ranges of snow-covered mountains in ,kiushiu and ,shikoku1 the islands which enclose this lovely sea on the south4 ,i longed to land and begin work at once1 with a nervous dread in my heart that ,i should find nothing so good elsewhere1 and1 indeed1 though there is plenty of material to be found everywhere in ,japan1 ,i saw nothing finer than these islands of the ,inland ,sea2 to cruise about among them in a comfortable boat would be an ideal way to spend a summer1 and would probably not be devoid of adventure1 for our captain told me many tales of treacherous currents and sudden squalls and sunken reefs4 ,illustration3 ,,hills ,,near ,k,,be1 ,,from ,,suwa-,,yama ,we reached ,kbe next morning1 and before ,i had been on shore more than an hour ,i had heard of a village six miles away which was celebrated for its plum orchards1 and had started off to find it4 ,okamoto lies at the foot of the hills which rise behind ,kbe on the north1 and climbs a little way up them1 and in front of the highest cottage1 a modest tea-house with platforms arranged to accommodate the visitors who come in crowds to gaze at the blossoms1 ,i unfolded my stool and easel1 and in spite of a bitter wind and vicious little snow-storms made my first sketch in ,japan4 ,all round me and in the village below were the pink-and-white trees1 then a band of rice-lands1 pale green with young barley1 and beyond them lay ,osaka ,bay1 and the mountains of ,yamato1 which constantly changed in color as snow-storms passed over1 or gleams of sun lighted the shining water and the snow on the distant hills4 ,it is an exciting thing to begin work in a new country1 to compare the local color and the atmosphere with those you have tried before1 and to find yourself half unconsciously using an entirely new set of pigments4 ,i was too absorbed with these problems to take any notice of the fact that my back was aching1 but after two hours1 when ,i had finished my drawing1 ,i found myself unable to rise from that sketching-stool1 and for the next fortnight an attack of lumbago prevented my seeing anything more of the plum groves4 ,the ,buddhist pictures of their ,inferno depict many ingenious tortures2 ,i think they ought to add a man with lumbago doing six miles over a ,japanese by-road in a jinricksha4 ,when at last ,i got back to ,okamoto there were still some blossoms1 and the trees were tinged with the pink of withered petals1 but the luxuriant freshness had gone4 ,on the #acth of ,april ,i said good-bye to my friends and to the comforts of the ,kbe ,club1 and started for ,nara1 stopping on my way at ,osaka to have a look at the town and see the peach blossoms on ,momo-,yama 7peach mountain74 ,the narrow streets leading up the hill were crowded with visitors1 and among the orchards of dwarf trees temporary tea-sheds and resting-places had been erected for their comfort and refreshment4 ,in spite of the many picturesque features in these ftes the whole effect is at first disappointing3 railings and stages of new raw deal1 the untidy and unfinished look of rough bamboo structures1 with corners of matting hanging loosely in places where they interfere with the perspective lines1 the slovenly pathways1 ,illustration3 ,,early ,,plum ,,blossoms1 ,,okamoto1 ,,near ,k,,be which are mud or dust according to the weather--all these things make unsatisfactory accessories for the figures and the flowers4 ,after a time they obtrude themselves less on your notice1 and you have learned to accept the fact that ,japan is not a country of big masses and broad effects1 but of interesting bits and amusing details4 ,this is usually true of its landscape2 the forms of mountains and trees are more quaint than grand1 and the cultivated land has no broad stretches of pasture or corn1 but is cut up into patches1 mainly rice-fields1 with various vegetables grown in little squares here and there4 ,it was as yet too early in the year for any rice to be planted out4 ,in the fertile valley through which the railway runs from ,osaka to ,nara some new fields were lying wet or fallow1 others were being prepared by spade labor1 and others again1 not yet flooded1 were covered with the bright green of young barley1 or the strong light yellow of rape in flower4 ,though ,i had read much about life in ,japan1 it was an embarrassing experience to be set down for the first time with my baggage in a ,japanese room1 and to try and adapt myself mentally to the possibilities of living under such conditions4 ,in a bare hut or tent the problem is comparatively simple2 there is always one way by which you must enter2 but in a ,japanese room there is too much liberty2 three of the walls are opaque sliding screens1 the fourth is a transparent1 or rather translucent1 one2 you can come in or go out where you like2 there is no table on which things must be put1 no chair on which you must sit1 no fireplace to stand with your back to--just a clean1 matted floor and perfect freedom of choice4 ,european trunks look hopelessly ugly and unsympathetic in such surroundings1 nor are matters much improved when the host1 in deference to the habits of a foreigner1 sends in a rough deal table1 with a cloth of unhemmed cotton1 intended to be white1 and an uncompromising1 straight-backed deal chair4 ,these hideous articles make a man feel ashamed1 for though they are only a burlesque of our civilization1 they are produced with an air of pride which shows that the owner is convinced they are the right thing1 and one cannot but be humiliated by their ugliness and want of comfort4 ,yet if you want to read or write you have to keep them and make the best of them1 for a long evening on the floor is only to be borne after a good many weeks of practice4 ,things begin to look brighter and pleasanter when the little waiting-maid appears1 bringing first some cushions and the hibachi1 with its pile of glowing charcoal1 and then the tea-tray and a few sweet cakes4 ,this was more the sort of thing ,i had expected1 and made me at once feel at home with my surroundings4 ,it is the first attention shown you in every tea-house1 no matter how humble2 whether you go as an inmate1 or whether you merely sit down for a few minutes' rest on a journey1 the little tea-pot and the tiny cups are at once produced1 and the hibachi is placed by your side1 a pleasant and friendly welcome1 which never failed to make its impression on me1 however poor the quality of the tea might be4 ,the ,kiku-sui-ya 7which means ,chrysanthemum-water house7 is near the entrance to the great ,kasuga ,park at ,nara2 just outside it the road passes under a granite torii flanked with stone lanterns1 and winds up to the temple through an avenue of cryptomerias1 with rows of lanterns on each side1 which get closer and closer together as they near the temple buildings1 and are so numerous that tradition says they have never been counted4 ,there are booths here and there where pilgrims can rest and get a cup of tea1 for pilgrimage in ,japan is not made unnecessarily uncomfortable1 and where the tame deer congregate to take the nuts and cakes which are sold ,illustration3 ,,the ,,torii ,,of ,,kasuga ,,temple1 ,,nara for them to the passers-by4 ,from early morning till nearly sundown this road is lively with groups of visitors4 ,nara is so near to ,osaka that among them a sprinkling of men1 mostly no doubt engaged in commerce1 wore foreign dress1 but the majority of the people were in their native clothes1 and as ,i sat and painted by the road-side ,i could study the variations of ,japanese costume--from that of the old peasant with his white or blue ,illustration3 ,,old ,,wistaria ,,in ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara leggings1 straw shoes1 big hat1 and robe tucked into his girdle1 his head shaved down the middle1 and the back hair turned up in a queue in the ancient mode1 to that of the gay young musum with her rich silk kimono1 gorgeous scarlet petticoat1 broad obi1 and black-lacquered sandals on her pigeon-toed1 white-socked feet4 ,the cryptomerias are good1 but the old wistarias are the glory of ,kasuga ,park4 ,the great ,fujiwara family formerly owned or were patrons of the temple1 and though it is now imperial property1 their crest1 the wistaria flower 7fuji no hana71 is still worn by the little girls who perform the sacred dance there1 and all over the park the wistaria vines are allowed to grow as they choose1 their great snaky stems writhing along the ground and twisting up to the tops of the highest trees4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,pagoda ,,of ,,kob,,kuji1 ,,nara ,one very wet day1 when painting out-of-doors was impossible1 ,i went round to see the sights of ,nara--,kobkuji with its pagoda and fine old statues1 the great ,buddha1 the celebrated big bell1 and beyond these the ,buddhist temple ,ni-gwatsu-d1 perched on a hill-side1 the steps leading up to it lined with stone lanterns1 little shrines1 and booths for the sale of endless trifles4 ,the platform surrounding this temple is supported in front by a scaffolding of beams1 at the back it abuts against the hill1 and from the heavy projecting roof which covers both platform and temple hang hundreds of bronze lanterns1 votive offerings4 ,each of these had been appropriated by a sparrow2 trusting to the sanctity of the spot1 they had piled in all the rubbish they could find to make their nests2 odd ends of straw and paper stuck out everywhere1 showing that their stay in the ,east had not taught them tidy habits4 ,i am sorry to say that their confidence was misplaced2 a temple festival came round before their eggs were hatched1 and the whole of them with their embryo families were ruthlessly evicted in order that the lanterns might be lighted4 ,illustration3 ,,cherry-,,tree ,,and ,,lanterns1 ,,ni-,,gwatsu-,d1 ,,nara ,the park at ,nara is one of the few places in ,japan where you can see real turf1 and even there ,i was struck by the scarcity of ground flowers2 there were plenty of scentless violets1 some yellow and white dandelions1 and in the damp ditches a little purple flower called jirobo by the country people1 but there was nothing to compare with the masses of daisies1 buttercups1 and cowslips which make the ,english meadows so bright in the spring4 ,perhaps the mountain moorlands would have been as gay at that time as ,i found them later in the year2 the fields are far too well cultivated for any weed to get a chance of flowering4 ,the earlier cherry-trees were in blossom by this time1 and ,i lingered on1 making studies of them1 and learning ,japanese words and ways from ,o ,nao ,san1 a young lady about twelve years old1 who had appointed herself my special attendant and protector at the ,kiku-sui ,hotel4 ,one night at the theatre ,i saw a modern farce1 with a policeman1 an old-fashioned ,japanese gentleman1 a ,chinaman1 and an ,englishman as the comic characters4 ,they were ridiculous and amusing1 but when all the earlier incidents of the piece were narrated with conscientious realism in evidence before a magistrate the thing became monotonous1 and struck me as faulty in dramatic construction4 ,this was the only theatre ,i saw in ,japan in which they had discarded the orchestra and chorus and other traditions of the old stage4 ,there is a modest little temple opposite ,kobkuji1 which is visited by most of the pilgrims to ,nara2 in its court-yard is a pile of stones from which a stream of water flows1 fed by the tears of the mother of ,sankatchu1 a sacrilegious man who killed some of the sacred deer1 who was killed himself in consequence1 and buried here by her4 ,day after day groups of visitors stand by the fountain1 listening intently to the guide who tells them the pathetic story1 and give their prayers and a few coppers to her memory4 ,the family affections are strong in ,japan1 and the love between parents and children1 and among the children themselves1 is always pleasant to see4 ,the little ones are never slapped or shaken or pulled about roughly2 you may wander through the streets for days without hearing a child cry1 nor do they often quarrel in their play4 ,but it is possible to go too far1 even in filial piety4 ,there was a murder trial while ,i was in the country1 and by the evidence it appeared that the prisoner's mother was blind1 that the doctor had prescribed the application of a warm human liver1 and that he1 as he could find no other way to get the remedy1 had killed his wife in order to restore his mother's sight4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,well ,,of ,,sankatchu1 ,,nara ,in most forms of ,japanese art the technique which is admired by native connoisseurs1 and the associations connected with the subject represented1 can only be understood by those who have studied ,japanese methods and traditions1 but the old wooden statuary has more in common with ,western art1 and often reaches a high point of realism4 ,in the religious figures certain traditions had to be followed1 and in looking at these this fact has to be remembered2 the exaggerated anatomy1 unnaturally fierce expressions1 and arbitrary number of limbs often disguise their true merits2 but in the portrait figures of daimios1 priests1 and abbots the treatment is both simple and dignified4 ,mr4 ,takenouchi1 a sculptor to whom ,i had letters1 was making admirable copies of the principal sculptures at ,kobkuji1 which were to be exhibited at ,chicago1 and afterwards added to the collection of the ,fine ,art ,museum in ,ueno ,park1 ,tky4 ,among the old masters1 ,unkei1 a sculptor of the twelfth century1 is perhaps the most noteworthy2 there is a mendicant ascetic by him in the ,hall of the ,thirty-three ,thousand ,kwannon at ,kyoto1 a lean old man1 clad only in a few rags1 resting on his staff and holding out his left hand for alms1 which might rank with the work of ,rodin4 ,on the #beth of ,april the cherry-trees were in full flower1 and ,i left ,nara for ,yoshino1 a village at the foot of ,mount ,omine1 in ,yamato1 which has for centuries been noted for its cherry groves4 ,here the cult of the cherry blossom has its headquarters1 and during the ten days or so which the blossoms last the little town is crowded with visitors4 ,i was too late to see the place in its full glory2 it stands at some height above the sea1 and ,i consequently imagined that the flowers would be later than those at ,nara1 but the cherry which grows there in such quantities is an early species1 and three days of wind and rain had covered the ground with pink petals and left very few of them on the trees in the celebrated groves4 ,fortunately there were still some flowery trees to be found in gardens and sheltered corners1 and at this time of year it would be impossible to settle down in a ,japanese village without finding plenty of subjects to paint4 ,the cherry in the ,yoshino groves has a single flower1 pale pink in color2 this is followed by another ,illustration3 ,,cherry ,,blossoms ,,in ,,the ,,rain1 ,,nara kind with white blossoms1 more like the ,european species4 ,both of these are wild1 and from them the ,japanese gardeners have raised many varieties1 double and single flowered1 some with the growth of the weeping-willow1 and others with a spreading habit4 ,the flowers vary in color from white to light crimson1 and ,i noticed some young trees with large double blossoms which were pale yellow with a pink flush on the outer petals1 like a delicate tea-rose4 ,illustration3 ,,sara-,,hiki-,,saka1 ,,near ,,yoshino--,,later ,,cherries ,at the ,tatsumi-ya1 just by the remains of the huge bronze torii1 which1 until it was blown down by a hurricane1 formed the entrance to the main street1 ,i found a little suite of rooms built in the garden away from the rest of the house1 and at once engaged them1 in happy anticipation of quiet nights4 ,these isolated rooms have some disadvantages1 such as having to get to the bath and back on wet nights1 but a very short acquaintance with life in a tea-house makes the traveller disregard such trifling inconveniences for the certainty of peaceful sleep4 ,the ,japanese wanderers usually finish their day's journey about five in the afternoon1 and1 after the preliminary cup of tea1 discard their travel-stained clothes for the clean kimono which every well-regulated tea-house supplies to its guests1 then bathe in water as near the boiling-point as possible1 eat their dinner1 sit talking and smoking till midnight1 snore till five o'clock in the morning1 when the clatter of taking down shutters begins1 and the elaborate business of tooth-cleaning and tongue-scraping1 with an accompaniment of complex noises suggesting seasickness in its worst stages1 so it is not till they have departed at six or seven o'clock that a light sleeper gets much chance4 ,in the daytime the tea-house is deserted1 except by the proprietor1 who sits in the front room and does his accounts1 and by the little servant-girls1 who1 with their heads tied up in towels1 kimono tucked into their obi1 and sleeves fastened back1 showing a good deal of round brown leg and arm1 busily sweep and dust the rooms in preparation for the new set of visitors who will arrive in the evening4 ,the thin sliding partitions would be little bar to sound even if they reached to the top of the room1 and above them there is generally a foot or so of open wood-work1 which allows free ventilation and conversation between the different apartments4 ,privacy1 as we understand it1 is no part of the scheme of a ,japanese tea-house4 ,real fresh air from outside is very difficult to get at night4 ,during the hot weather ,i was always careful to examine the fastenings of the wooden shutters with which1 after dark1 every house is enclosed like a box1 so that ,i could surreptitiously open a crack opposite my room1 although by so doing ,i was disobeying the ,illustration3 ,,cherry ,,and ,,late ,,plum1 ,,tema-,,cho1 ,,near ,,nara police regulations4 ,these shutters do not keep out the noise of the watchman1 who all night long wanders round and knocks two blocks of wood together1 just to let burglars know that he is on the lookout4 ,in these quarters ,i spent a week or so1 painting all day when the weather would allow me1 and in the evening struggling with the language and gambling for beans with the family and the servant-girls1 who played vingt-et-un 7ni ju ichi7 with such keenness and discretion that ,i was generally made a bankrupt1 with much laughter and clapping of hands1 quite early in the game1 and had to be set up again by general contribution4 ,everything in ,yoshino is redolent of the cherry2 the pink and white cakes brought in with the tea are in the shape of its blossoms1 and a conventional form of it is painted on every lantern and printed on every scrap of paper in the place4 ,the shops sell preserved cherry flowers for making tea1 and visitors to the tea-houses and temples are given maps of the district--or1 rather1 broad sheets roughly printed in colors1 not exactly a map or a picture--on which every cherry grove is depicted in pink4 ,and all this is simply enthusiasm for its beauty and its associations1 for the trees bear no fruit worthy of the name4 ,there is an old ,japanese saying1 8,what the cherry blossom is among flowers1 the warrior is among men40 ,i was reminded constantly of a sentence which a friend had written in one of my books1 8,take pains to encourage the beautiful1 for the useful encourages itself40 ,it is difficult for an outsider to determine how much of this is genuine enthusiasm and how much is custom or a traditional stheticism2 but it really matters little4 ,that the popular idea of a holiday should be to wander about in the open air1 visiting historic places1 and gazing at the finest landscapes and the flowers in their seasons1 indicates a high level of true civilization1 and the custom1 if it be only custom1 proves the refinement of the people who originated and adhere to it4 ,the village street of ,yoshino winds up a spur of the hills1 passing many temples and little hamlets1 and gradually becomes a steep and stony mountain path1 which ascends to ,mount ,omine4 ,the great tracks of forest provide occupation for most of the people in this district2 as ,i sketched by the road-side strings of men and women were constantly passing1 carrying down heavy loads of wood and charcoal from the hills1 and in front of many of the cottages match-wood was spread out on mats to dry4 ,it was difficult to understand how it could ever get dry1 for all the mists of ,japan seemed to collect round these mountains and forests2 the landscape was rarely free from them1 and constantly looked like a ,japanese drawing1 all vague and white in the valleys1 with ridges of hill and fringes of pine showing in sharp clear lines one behind the other4 ,it is a warm climate too1 and everything grows luxuriantly4 ,there are great clumps of bamboo1 enormous azalea bushes1 and thick undergrowths of palmetto4 ,on the road-side banks in this last week of ,april1 there were ferns just unrolling1 the fronds of maidenhair 7,adiantum pedatum7 all bright-red young shoots of lily and orchid and ,solomon's-seal1 and a lovely iris 7,i4 japonica71 with many lavender-colored flowers on a branching stalk1 each outer petal marked with dark purple lines1 and decorated with a little horn of brilliant orange4 ,the gardens of tea-houses and temples were gay with azalea1 camellia1 magnolia1 and cherry1 and with the young leaves of maple and andromeda1 as bright as any flowers4 ,during a great part of the year these gardens have but few blooms--they are only an arrangement of greens and grays--but in the spring no amount of clipping and training can prevent the shrubs from blossoming4 ,the cherry-trees and magnolias are let ,illustration3 ,a ,,buddhist ,,temple ,,at ,,yoshino--,,double-,,flowered ,,cherry ,,and ,,magnolia grow as they choose1 but the others are trimmed into more or less formal shapes1 considered suitable to the species1 or helping the carefully studied arrangement of forms1 which is the ideal of a ,japanese gardener4 ,there are no beds for flowers4 ,in the little ponds the irises and lotus bloom1 and in odd corners there may be clumps of lilies1 chrysanthemums1 or other plants1 but these are mere accidents3 the designer's aim is a composition of rocks1 shrubs1 stone lanterns1 ponds1 and bridges1 which will look the same in its general features all the year round1 and conform to established rules4 ,one of my ,japanese friends told me1 as an instance of the complexity of the landscape-gardener's art1 that if a certain shrub were used it would be necessary to place near it a stone from ,tosa1 the distant province where it commonly grows4 ,the decorative garden is quite distinct from the flower garden1 where the fine varieties of iris1 pony1 and chrysanthemum1 for which ,japan is famous1 are grown by professional florists1 or by rich amateurs who can devote a special place to their culture4 ,on the #c;d of ,may my host at the ,ta-tsumiya brought me some pony flowers arranged in an old bronze vase4 ,this showed me it was time to move on to ,hase1 where there is a great display of them1 so next morning ,i made an early start for a long jinricksha ride through the hills of ,yamato4 ,my baggage and painting materials could not be packed in less than two kuruma1 two more were necessary for my boy and myself1 and the four vehicles1 with two men drawing each1 made an imposing procession as we bumped down the steep village street4 ,the whole staff of the ,tatsumi-ya had turned out to say good-bye2 there was a row of little girls kneeling on the floor1 their noses on the matting and their brown hands placed flat1 palms downward1 in front of their heads1 and the landlord1 after giving me the usual presents and a receipt for my 8chadai0--the parting tip--insisted on accompanying me to the end of the town4 ,illustration3 ,,crossing ,,the ,,ferry ,,at ,,muda1 ,,on ,,the ,,yoshino-,,gawa ,our route for two or three miles1 as far as the river ,yoshino-gawa1 was the same that ,i had climbed on my way up2 but nine days had made a great difference in its aspect4 ,then many of the trees were still bare2 now they were covered with spring leaves4 ,after ferrying over to ,muda we turned northwards1 and a good road led us by low passes and through the grand forests at the foot of ,mount ,tonomine down to ,tosa in the ,yamato ,valley4 ,jinricksha travelling is very pleasant when the roads are good1 the weather fine1 and the men active2 there is no noise of horses' hoofs to disturb the mind1 the straw-sandalled feet of the coolies hardly make a sound1 nor is your attention distracted from the landscape by having to drive2 and the frequent short halts at way-side tea-houses give you a chance of airing your few phrases of ,japanese and seeing the ways of the people4 ,my lunch at ,tosa was ,illustration3 ,,mi ,,komori ,,jinja1 ,a ,,shinto ,,temple ,,near ,,yoshino enlivened by two charming waitresses1 who had evidently seen but few foreigners1 and who were much interested in me and my belongings4 ,my watch1 match-box1 cigarette-case1 and other small articles had to be examined1 talked over1 and shown to the rest of the household1 and ,i was plied with questions about my age1 my family1 and other personal matters1 as ,japanese etiquette prescribes4 ,this valley of ,yamato is the earliest historic home of the present race2 in it there are many tumuli which mark the burial-places of legendary emperors1 including that of ,jimmu ,tenno1 the first of all1 and it is therefore considered sacred ground by the ancestor-loving ,japanese4 ,every year crowds of pilgrims walk over the district1 making their 8,yamato-meguri10 or tour of the holy places of ,yamato1 and thereout the innkeepers suck no small advantage4 ,hase was full of them1 and every tea-house crammed2 in the room next mine at least a dozen must have slept1 and ,i thought myself lucky to get a place to myself4 ,there were still some hours of daylight left after ,i had settled down in my quarters1 so ,i wandered up the street and climbed the long flight of steps to the great temple of ,kwannon4 ,on each side of the steps small beds were built up1 and in these the ponies grew1 and their big flowers1 ranging in color from white to dark purple1 glowed in the afternoon light against a background of gray stone lanterns4 ,the temple is built on a hill-side1 like ,ni-gwatsu-d at ,nara and many other ,buddhist temples1 and it consists of a wide veranda filled with incense-burners and votive pictures and bronze lanterns1 and of an inner sanctuary4 ,across the entrance to this stands an altar1 and over it an opening in the dark purple curtains allows a glimpse of the great gold figure of ,kwannon1 nearly thirty feet high1 her face1 with its expression of calm beneficence1 only just distinguishable by the light of a few dim lamps in the gloom of the windowless shrine4 ,behind this main temple there are various other buildings1 priests' houses and such like1 and a little pond for the sacred tortoises4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,street1 ,,hase ,the main street of ,hase is cut up with rivulets2 the middle one is used for all domestic purposes1 and at all hours you may see the women1 with skirts and sleeves tucked up1 washing their clothes or their fish and vegetables1 and ladling up water for baths and cooking with their long-handled wooden dippers4 ,the side streams turn small water-wheels1 which work wooden hammers for pounding and cleaning the rice--an important part of the day's work in every ,japanese village4 ,in the most primitive places it is done with a long-headed wooden mallet and the stump of a tree hollowed out for a mortar2 in others big wooden hammers are fixed on a pivot1 and are raised by stepping on the other end of the handle1 tread-mill fashion4 ,a mountain brook1 the parent of these little streams1 tumbles along close behind the houses2 its banks are overhung with ,illustration3 ,,andromeda ,,bushes ,,in ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara bamboos1 and the rocks at that season were covered with clumps of lavender iris4 ,from ,atago-,yama1 a hill just across the river1 the view is fine2 below are the flat1 gray roofs of ,hase1 and the cul-de-sac in which it lies--bordered on either side with green hills1 its windings indicated by the curves of road and shining river1 its green surface spotted here and there with gray hamlets--gradually opens out into the wider ,yamato ,valley4 ,unebi-,yama1 which marks the site of ,jimmu ,tenno's mausoleum1 rises in the centre of the plain1 and beyond it all is an enclosing barrier of cloudy mountains4 ,illustration3 ,,white ,,wistaria1 ,,hase-,,dera ,a morning's jinricksha ride took me back to my old quarters at ,nara1 and ,kwannon must have rejoiced at my departure from ,hase-dera1 for while ,i was there most of the priests and all the acolytes sadly neglected her3 they spent the day looking over my shoulder or gazing open-mouthed in my face4 ,this was on the #ith of ,may1 and ,i was glad to find that the wistaria in ,kasuga ,park was just in its glory4 ,the masses of flowers turned the lower trees into big bouquets of pale mauve1 and seemed to drip like fountains from the tall oaks and cryptomerias2 and to add to the beauty1 all the undergrowth of andromeda had put out its young leaves in many shades of color2 as ,chaucer says1 8,some very red1 and some a glad light green40 ,one glade particularly attracted me3 a tiny clear stream wound along through the brilliant grasses1 and the trees which covered the steep banks on each side of this little meadow were completely overgrown with the vines1 and smothered with their blossoms4 ,this too was a quiet spot1 out of the track of tourists and pilgrims1 and it was a blessed relief to work without a gazing crowd2 the only passers were a few women and children collecting firewood or gathering the young fern shoots which were sprouting through the grass4 ,these are cut just as they begin to unroll1 and when they are boiled and flavored with soy1 they are really quite good to eat1 at least one thinks so in ,japan4 ,the wistaria blossoms were almost gone when ,i decided that though there was still plenty to be done in ,nara1 it would be better to try some new sketching-ground1 and having heard of a tea-house with a fine old garden at ,hikone1 on the shore of ,lake ,biwa1 ,i determined to move on there for my next venture4 ,i packed all my belongings1 and made arrangements for the journey next morning1 and then walked once more round the park and the temples1 gazing regretfully at all the good things which still remained to be sketched1 and climbed ,mikasa ,yama1 a steep grassy hill behind the park1 which on fine days is dotted all over with picnic parties4 ,from its summit there is a great view over the plains round ,nara1 with the ,kizugawa1 a good ,illustration3 ,a ,,tall ,,wistaria1 ,,kasuga ,,park1 ,,nara broad stream1 winding through them4 ,the grassy ridges and the few wind-beaten pines which grow on them made a fine foreground1 and the little green gullies were spotted with low azalea bushes covered with flame-colored flowers4 ,it was too good to leave1 and ,i ought to have unpacked again and prolonged my stay for a few days2 but laziness prevailed1 the bore of repacking seemed intolerable1 and to my lasting remorse this subject remained unpainted4 ,illustration3 ,,notes ,,at ,,muda ,illustration3 ,,badge ,,of ,,the ,,kiku-,,sui-,,ya ,,early ,,summer ,,in ,,japan ,illustration3 ,,iris ,,japonica ,,early ,,summer ,,in ,,japan ,illustration ,it is difficult nowadays to imagine how the ,japanese managed to live without tea2 everybody drinks it at all hours of the day1 and the poorest people rarely get a chance of drinking anything stronger1 and yet it is1 as things went in old ,japan1 a comparatively recent introduction4 ,tea was introduced with ,buddhism from ,china1 and though some plants were brought as early as the ninth century1 it was not much grown until the end of the twelfth4 ,daruma1 an ,indian saint of the sixth century1 often represented in ,japanese art either crossing the ocean on a reed1 or sitting a monument of patience1 with his hands in his sleeves1 was the father of the tea-plant4 ,after years of sleepless watching and prayer he suddenly got drowsy1 and at last his eyelids closed and he peacefully slept4 ,when he awoke he was so ashamed of this pardonable weakness that he cut off the offending eyelids and threw them on the ground1 where they instantly took root and sprouted into the shrub which has ever since had power to keep the world awake4 ,illustration3 ,,carrying ,,home ,,tea ,,leaves1 ,,near ,,uji ,in the twelfth century ,kyoto was the centre of life in ,japan1 and the district of ,uji1 between that city and ,nara1 has always kept its reputation for producing the finest tea4 ,the most valuable leaves are those on the young spring shoots1 and when ,i passed through on the #aith of ,may these were just being gathered and dried4 ,most of the shrubs grow in the open air without any protection1 evergreen bushes from two to three feet high1 and among them the women and children were at work4 ,as they squatted by the plants1 filling their baskets1 very little of them was visible1 but their big grass hats shone in the sun1 looking like a crop of gigantic mushrooms4 ,the ,japanese 8kasa0 is made of various light materials--straw1 split bamboo1 rushes1 or shavings of deal2 it is used1 like an umbrella tied to the head1 as a protection against sun and rain2 in the evening or on cloudy days it is laid aside1 and the laborers wear only their cotton kerchief1 spread out like a hood1 or tied in a band round their brows4 ,though it cannot be called the 8vast hat the ,graces made10 it is1 nevertheless1 very effective in the landscape1 and the variations of its outline in different positions indicate happily the action of its wearer4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,plantation ,,covered ,,with ,,matting ,,near ,,uji ,the plants which produce the most expensive teas1 costing from six to eight dollars a pound1 are carefully protected by mats stretched on a framework of bamboo1 so that the tender leaves may neither be scorched by the sun nor torn by the heavy rains1 and there are acres of them so enclosed4 ,it was a curious thing to look down from a little hill-top on a sea of matting which filled the whole valley from one pine-clad hill to another1 its surface only broken by the ends of the supporting poles and by the thatched roofs of the drying-houses which stuck up here and there like little islands4 ,underneath the mats women were picking1 and in every wayside cottage those who were not in the fields were busily sorting and cleaning the leaves4 ,there are no large factories or firing-houses2 each family makes its own brand of tea1 labelling it with some fanciful or poetic name1 such as 8jewelled dew40 ,the road through this fertile district crosses two large rivers1 the ,kisugawa and ,ujikawa1 and many smaller streams4 ,they are all carefully banked in1 and the water is carried where it is needed by endless ditches and channels4 ,during the heavy rains these rivulets become raging torrents1 and would soon cover the country with stones and gravel if they were not kept under control2 the quantity of dbris they bring from the mountains is so great that1 instead of being down in a hollow1 they are raised above the rest of the country1 and you have to go up-hill to ford them4 ,before getting into the long and uninteresting suburbs of ,kyoto there are some large ponds on either side of the way1 willows and tall reeds growing on their banks1 and in every little creek fishermen with their boats and nets1 all very picturesque and paintable4 ,so was the ,nesan at the ,tatsu-ya1 who when ,i halted for lunch at once led me round to the principal room at the back of the house 7the best rooms and the gardens are usually at the back71 and showed me her tame gold and silver carp1 which came to be fed when she clapped her hands4 ,it was a tiny little ,illustration3 ,,pond ,,in ,,the ,,garden ,,of ,,raku-,,raku-,,tei1 ,,hikone garden1 not more than twenty-five feet square1 but it had its pond and bridge1 and mountain of rock1 and old pine-tree1 like the best of them4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,castle ,,at ,,hikone ,i reached ,hikone by rail the same evening1 and took up my quarters at the ,raku-raku-tei tea-house1 a great rambling place1 with a large garden and suites of rooms to suit all tastes4 ,i was shown into a gorgeous apartment with gold screens1 its floor raised above the level of the rest of the house1 which no doubt was intended for great people1 who in the old days must often have come here to see the ,daimio1 ,ii ,kamon no ,kami2 but ,i felt ,i could not live up to this1 and after viewing the rooms overlooking the lake1 and those built on piles over the fish-pond1 ,i selected some that looked out into the garden1 with a trellis of wistaria just in front under which the purple trails of blossom nearly a yard long were still hanging4 ,there are no crowds of ,illustration3 ,,the ,,castle ,,at ,,nagoya1 ,,field ,,of ,,iris ,,in ,,the ,,foreground visitors now1 and the fine old garden looks rather tangled and neglected1 with bushes untrimmed and paths overgrown with weeds4 ,on a steep rocky hill close by is the castle where the ,daimio formerly lived2 the hill is on one side protected by the lake1 and on the others by a wide moat1 crossed by picturesque wooden bridges1 and the roads which lead to the plateau at the top are defended by more bridges over dry moats1 gate-houses1 and zigzag walls of large1 well-fitted stones4 ,the architecture of all these castles is very much alike1 and though there are not many of them now standing1 they must have abounded in the feudal times4 ,the finest ,i saw was that at ,nagoya2 it was a good deal shaken by the last great earthquake1 but is still quite sound1 and the great gold dolphins on its bronze roof shine high above the rest of the city4 ,in the short period after the introduction of ,western ideas1 when the craze for things ,european ,illustration3 ,,an ,,old ,,castle ,,moat1 ,,akashi1 ,,near ,k,,be led to many acts of vandalism1 most of them were pulled down1 and this one at ,hikone was only just saved from destruction by the intervention of the ,emperor2 now that a reaction has set in1 and the ,japanese official mind is not so eager to forget the past and obliterate its relics1 they are likely to be carefully preserved4 ,all of them have a massive foundation of large stones1 not squared except at the angles1 but carefully trimmed and fitted together without mortar2 and the superstructure is of timber and plaster1 with roofs and eaves of heavy tiles or metal4 ,the moats1 overhung with pines and filled with lotus during the summer months1 are always interesting4 ,it was a blazing hot day when ,i walked ,illustration3 ,,fields ,,near ,,lake ,,biwa up and examined the castle2 there was not a cloud in the sky1 and ,lake ,biwa and its mountains lay still and clear and soft in the delicate blue haze which seems to be their own peculiar property4 ,the fields outside the town were covered with a bright pink flower like a clover1 which is not used for fodder1 as there are hardly any animals to feed1 but is dug in to improve the land for the rice1 and this blaze of color consoled me for not finding as many azaleas as ,i expected4 ,i set to work at a study of it1 and sent my boy ,matsuba1 who1 with the quickness of his race1 quite understood the kind of thing ,i was looking for1 to search the neighborhood for azalea bushes4 ,he came back early in the afternoon to tell me that he had not been successful1 but that there were some races going on in the town1 so we wandered up1 and established ourselves in a room just over the starting-post4 ,the course was about two hundred and fifty yards along the pebbly bed of a dry river1 and all the arrangements were very unlike those of a ,european racecourse4 ,two upright posts of bamboo stood about five yards apart1 with a stout pole slung between them2 the vicious little ponies were brought along by two grooms1 each holding a long cord fastened to the bridle1 and with a good deal of shoving and hustling were wedged in1 shoulder to shoulder1 between this pole and another behind them at about the height of their hocks4 ,their heads were pulled over the front pole1 and held firmly by a groom with a long running cord through the bridle rings1 while the jockeys were fully occupied in preventing the little brutes from striking each other with their fore and hind legs4 ,meanwhile the spectators1 who had kept at a respectful distance until the ponies were safely fixed1 crowded up behind them1 pulling their tails and whacking them with bamboos4 ,the starter then appeared1 made a few remarks1 and beat a small drum1 upon which the men in charge of the pulleys dropped the front pole1 the grooms slipped their ropes out of the bridle rings and jumped aside1 and the ponies scrambled off as best they could4 ,the jockeys rode without saddles or stirrups1 with their great toes hitched into a surcingle1 and directly they were off they dropped the reins1 held their left hands in the air1 and plied their whips with the right until they had passed the winning-post4 ,it was just a scurry1 with no time for scientific riding1 and1 as far as ,i could see1 the pony who got over the pole best always won4 ,o ,kazu ,san1 my waitress at the ,raku-raku-tei1 was helping at the tea-house1 and kept me supplied with tea and cakes1 and ,i stayed watching the races and the spectators1 and being watched by them1 until the dusk put a stop to sport4 ,i left too soon1 for my boy told me that there was a fight afterwards about a bet2 it was the only fight ,i heard of while ,i ,illustration3 ,o ,,kazu ,,san was in ,japan1 and ,i should have liked to see it4 ,two days of heavy rain turned the course into a river once more1 so that the heats were never decided4 ,some few days after1 ,matsuba told me that there was a 8,japanese man's circus0 in the town4 ,it was not in the least like a circus2 it was a theatrical performance in which all the members of the company1 who in this troupe were women1 were mounted on horseback4 ,there was a small stage1 with a set scene at the back1 and in front of it1 on the same level as the spectators1 a space of bare earth on which the action took place4 ,the play consisted mostly of combats2 the swords and other necessary properties were brought in by attendants1 and placed on a high stand where they could be easily reached by the actors1 and the horses were then led into position1 and held there while the fighting went on4 ,none of the performers fell off1 but beyond this there was no horsemanship2 they could not even get their steeds on and off the stage without the help of a groom4 ,my thoughts recurred to another travelling theatre1 at ,stratford-on-,avon1 where ,i saw a stirring drama called ,tel-el-,kebir1 or the ,bombardment of ,alexandria1 in which ,sir ,beauchamp ,seymour had a hand-to-hand conflict with ,arabi ,pasha4 ,mr4 ,lawrence1 the spirited actor-manager1 informed me afterwards1 when ,i congratulated him on the performance1 that it was always popular1 and that he had played it twenty-three times in one day at ,nottingham ,goose-,fair4 ,in reply to my objection that it took at least an hour1 he said that of course they cut the dialogue1 and only had the combats and the bombardment4 ,i remembered1 too1 his remarks when called before the curtain at the end of his season2 he enlarged on the dignity of the actor's profession1 and how essential it was that he should be a gentleman1 saying1 in conclusion2 8#8,ow1 ,i harsk1 could a chimney-sweep 7if there's a chimney-sweep present ,i beg 'is pardon71 but 'ow could 'e act the part of a prince or a nobleman8 ',e could not do it1 my friends2 'e's not 'ad the hedjucation40 ,illustration3 ,,preparing ,,the ,,rice-,,fields ,the fine days at this season were perfectly glorious2 hot enough to give an inkling of what it would be like in the full blaze of summer1 and yet with a taste of spring's freshness left in the air4 ,they were interspersed with too many wet or uncertain days1 but1 with the garden close by1 ,i managed to waste very little time4 ,the first lotus leaves were just coming up in the ponds and the irises blossoming round the water's edge1 the azalea bushes were covered with flowers1 and the tips of the pale green maple boughs were tinged with rosy pink4 ,when the pouring rain had begun to drip through my sketching umbrella1 and ,i was driven in-doors1 there was no lack of society4 ,o ,kazu ,san1 a plain little thing with brown velvet eyes1 and the rest of the girls were never tired of looking at my belongings1 thumbing my sketch-books1 and asking me endless questions2 and though ,i was sometimes irritable1 their good-humor was unlimited4 ,this unvaried good temper is itself annoying1 when the foreigner feels that it is not the result of sympathy1 but because he is regarded as a strange animal1 not to be judged by the rules which govern the conduct of civilized people4 ,at last ,matsuba told me that he had found a place1 8top side10 with plenty of azaleas1 and rooms where ,i could stay4 ,it was a small ,buddhist temple called ,tennenji1 once very popular but now almost deserted1 which stood on the hill-side beyond the rice lands1 and somewhat above the swarms of mosquitoes which haunt the marshy shores and the lagoons of ,lake ,biwa4 ,ji means a ,buddhist temple--at least ,illustration3 ,,my ,,rooms ,,at ,,tennenji ,illustration3 ,,buddha ,,and ,,his ,,disciples1 ,,tennenji that is one of its meanings--and tennen means 8produced by nature40 ,the name itself suggested peace and quietness and repose1 and these ,i found in that delightful place1 always seen in my mind through a rosy haze of azalea blossom4 ,a granite sign-post where the little temple path turns off from a track through the rice-fields tells all who can read it that the temple is dedicated to the five hundred ,rakkan 7disciples of ,buddha71 and their gilded and lacquered effigies sit in long tiers round one large building within the court-yard2 beyond this is the ,hondo1 where the principal altars are1 and where the services are performed at daybreak by the old priest who has sole charge of the establishment4 ,my room was a little annex of the ,hondo1 quite apart from the living-rooms of the family1 and open on two sides to the air4 ,the angle of my veranda projected over the fish-pond1 and on the right and the left stepping-stones led down from it into the garden1 a small patch of level ground1 with a pine-clad hill-side rising sharply beyond it4 ,just at the foot of this hill there was a rocky projection1 covered with an undergrowth of azaleas1 and spotted with statues of ,buddha and his sixteen principal followers4 ,these were rudely carved of the natural stone2 with their growth of lichens and mosses they looked as old as the rocks themselves1 and were hardly to be distinguished from them at a little distance4 ,several stony zigzagging footpaths1 mere tracks through the bushes and pine-trees1 led to the top of the ridge1 from which one looked down on fertile valleys enclosed by more pine-clad ridges1 and to the westward on the great shining plain of ,lake ,biwa1 its lagoons1 islands1 and distant mountains4 ,many times ,i walked to the top of this hill1 sometimes in the clear brilliant moonlight1 when the delicate pinks and reds of the azaleas were hardly visible1 and only their honeysuckle scent made me conscious of their presence1 and when all the world would have been silent but for the incessant chorus of myriads of frogs which came up from the rice-fields below4 ,illustration3 ,,hikone ,,and ,,lake ,,biwa1 ,,from ,,the ,,hills ,,behind ,,tennenji ,in the daytime the whole of the wood was lively with cicad1 who kept up a constant and irritating clatter1 but then there was the delight of finding new flowers1 or making the acquaintance of old garden friends in their own homes4 ,a little damp gully just behind the bamboo grove was full of deutzia bushes in blossom1 and under them grew a clump of pale pink lilies 7,lilium krameri71 which seemed to me the loveliest flowers ,i had ever seen4 ,the priest at ,tennenji was so anxious to have some of my work that ,i made a drawing of these for him2 it hangs among the temple treasures1 and may be a surprise to some wandering foreigner1 who will little expect to find any ,european traces in such an out-of-the-way spot4 ,the family1 consisting of ,sokin the father1 ,o ,shige ,san the mother1 and ,takaki1 a son employed in the office of police at ,hikone1 soon ,illustration3 ,,azaleas ,,on ,,the ,,rocks1 ,,tennenji ,illustration3 ,,the ,,poem adopted me as a friend1 and did all they could to make me comfortable4 ,takaki had received a modern education 7they teach ,english in the ,hikone schools1 as you find out from the small boys1 who shout ,a ,b ,c after you in the streets72 but he had not got beyond the word 8,yes10 beginning every sentence with it and then lapsing into ,japanese4 ,we made many excursions together1 he1 ,matsuba1 and ,i1 strolling down to the town after dinner and looking in at the theatres and shops4,a ,o ,shige ,san was great at cooking1 and took delight in providing me with new and strange forms of food every evening2 for breakfast and lunch ,i ate what ,european food ,matsuba could provide1 and as flour and whiskey could be bought1 and a cow was slaughtered in ,hikone every ,saturday1 ,i did not do badly2 you can get the necessary sustenance in a shorter time on foreign 8chow10 but when work was over and ,i had taken my hot bath and exchanged my suit of flannels for a cotton kimono1 it was amusing to sit on the floor and speculate on the composition of the dishes which she brought me1 trying with the aid of a dictionary to find out what they really were1 and to acquire a taste for 8daikon40,b ,among her successes were eels cooked in soy1 broiled fish1 and bean curd 8 la brochette02 young bamboo shoots1 chrysanthemum leaves fried in batter1 and lily bulbs boiled in sugar were eatable2 but a sausage made of rice and herbs1 and some of the quaint vegetables1 were simply nauseous4 ,in one of my water-colors there was a large group of leaves1 round ones with a dark hole where the stem goes in1 commonly known as the 8foreground plant10 and ,i noticed one afternoon to my disgust that these had been cut2 the boiled stalks were given to me at dinner that evening1 and ,i never tasted anything more unpleasant4 ,when the various dishes had all been brought in and arranged round me by the priest or ,takaki1 ,o ,shige ,san would appear and kneel in front of me1 keeping my sake cup and rice bowl filled1 and watching with intense anxiety my expression as ,i tasted each compound1 and at the end of my dinner would remark that ,i had eaten nothing1 and that ,japan was a dirty1 ugly country1 to which ,i always replied that ,i had feasted1 that ,england was dirty and ugly1 but that ,japan was a beautiful country4 ,such is ,oriental politeness4 ,then ,sokin came in with his pipe and pouch and little fire-box1 and1 after taking a cup of sake with me1 sat and smoked and conversed1 or brought out the tea things of his lamented patron1 ,ii ,kamon no ,kami1 and made me a bowl of powder tea with all the correct ceremonies4 ,the ,cha-no-yu is not to be confounded with ordinary tea-drinking4 ,it is an elaborate form of entertainment which cannot be appreciated by an uneducated foreigner2 every movement is regulated by laws known to the initiated1 and the conversation is confined to some object of art1 or poem produced by the host4 ,the kettle1 water-bowl1 and other utensils should all have some historic or artistic interest1 and the cup from which the mixture is drunk is usually an example of archaic pottery4 ,the rules of the game have not been altered for about two centuries1 though there are various schools which differ as ,illustration3 ,,white ,,azalea ,,bush1 ,,raku-,,raku-,,tei1 ,,hikone to minor details--whether the whisk with which the drink is stirred should afterwards be laid on the seventh or thirteenth seam of the matting1 and things of that sort1 which seem of infinitely small importance to the ignorant1 but make a vast difference to the connoisseur4 ,our love of tobacco was a great bond of sympathy1 although after trying each other's pipes we both preferred our own4 ,the old man1 who knew that ,i did not like to be watched while painting1 would sit in his little room and gaze at me as ,i worked in the garden or among the stone gods on the hill-side1 and when he saw that my pipe was out1 would fill another for me and bring it out with a box of matches1 making this an excuse to look over my shoulder for a few minutes1 and to have a little conversation4 ,as the summer came on and the weather got hotter the insects became more and more numerous2 there were splendid butterflies and dragon-flies in the daytime1 swarms of fire-flies over the rice-fields at night1 and unfortunately many others which bit at all hours1 flying things1 and things which mosquito-curtains could not keep out4 ,the ,japanese house has no separate rooms for living and sleeping2 when bedtime comes quilts are brought in and laid on the floor1 and1 if necessary1 a mosquito-netting of thick green gauze is slung over them from the four corners of the apartment4 ,the natives use a small wooden pillow1 with a depression for the neck to rest in2 ,i never could manage this1 but after a time ,i succeeded in sleeping well with coats or another quilt rolled up for a bolster4 ,certain paragraphs about me in the local papers brought a good many visitors to the temple to see what ,i was doing1 among them a gentleman who was introduced to me as the best singer in ,hikone1 and a little conversation and whiskey induced him to give me some specimens of his art--songs of the ,buddhist and ,shinto priests1 and others ,illustration3 ,,the ,,bamboo ,,grove1 ,,tennenji which might be described as popular airs4 ,to foreign ears they were quite devoid of melody1 and his elaborate vocalization only produced sounds which were disagreeable and harsh1 or else ludicrously inadequate to the efforts they cost him4 ,my friend1 who appeared to be an all-round sthete1 spent a good part of the afternoon in arranging a big bronze jar of azalea boughs and a hanging vase of irises1 curling the leaves and snipping off any stray shoots which did not conform to the fish-scale arrangement 7sakana no uroko no kata7 which he was trying to make4 ,the family were very busy all through this month with their crop of silk-worms1 which required incessant care and feeding4 ,i was taken to see them first in an outbuilding when they were just little black specks2 as they got older the air of this shed did not suit them1 and they were moved into the ,hondo1 where they flourished and grew with astonishing rapidity under the eye of the ,buddha1 and devoured the baskets of chopped mulberry leaves as fast as they could be prepared4 ,the caterpillars were huddled together on mats hung one above another in a framework2 a netting of string was spread over each mat so that the whole mass could be lifted and the dbris cleared away with very little trouble4 ,when they had ceased to grow1 and began to stand on end1 waving their heads in the air after the idiotic fashion of silk-worms who want to spin1 they were picked off and put in little nests of straw or bundles of brush-wood1 which soon became a mass of soft yellow cocoons4 ,it was an anxious time for ,o ,shige ,san1 for a considerable part of her income depended on the crop of silk2 the cocoons are worth about thirty yen a koku1 a measure rather less than five bushels4 ,the pond under my veranda was full of carp and baby tortoises1 which hurried up to be fed as soon as they saw me leaning over the rail2 the old tortoises were more shy1 and ,i only saw them on very hot days1 sunning themselves on the stones1 and they slipped into the water with a flop if ,i attempted to get near them4 ,i caught one on a patch of sandy ground1 after watching its struggles to cover up the hole in which it had just laid some leathery-looking white eggs4 ,these days brought out the snakes too1 some of them very big1 and all unpleasant to look at1 but quite harmless4 ,there is only one venomous snake in the country1 a small brown beast called 8,mamushi02 the other sorts are not ill-treated1 indeed1 they are considered lucky1 but this is always killed and skinned1 and a medicine is prepared from its dried body4 ,it would have been easy to dream away months here1 but the wise regulations of the ,japanese government1 foreseeing that the traveller might be tempted to neglect his duties and become a mere loafer1 forced me to return to ,kbe and get a new passport1 so ,i had to say good-bye to my friends1 and the ,rakkan with the lichen-covered azaleas1 still gay with crimson flowers which trailed round their feet1 and the terrace where every evening ,i had watched the sun setting over ,biwa1 and to descend once more to the railway and the commonplace4 ,the rain came down in torrents as ,i left the temple1 and continued to do so all the day1 but there was plenty that was amusing to be seen from the carriage window4 ,the people were busy putting out their young rice plants1 and the fields were full of men and women working in mud and water half-way up to their knees1 and wearing their 8kasa0 and straw coats1 oiled paper1 rush mats1 or other contrivances to keep off the rain4 ,it is surely the dirtiest and most laborious form of agriculture2 the work is almost entirely done by manual labor with a spade and a heavy four-pronged rake1 though ,i occasionally saw a cow ,illustration3 ,,sunset ,,over ,,lake ,,biwa1 ,,from ,,tennenji or a pony1 with a little thatched roof on its back to shoot off the rain1 dragging a sort of harrow through the mud4 ,as soon as the spring crop of barley or rape-seed is garnered and hung up to dry1 the ground is trenched with the spade1 and water is turned over it until it has become a soft slush1 which is worked level with the rake4 ,the young rice plants1 grown thick together in nursery patches1 are pulled up when the fields are ready for planting1 their roots are washed1 and they are tied in bundles1 which are thrown into the mud and water2 then the men and women wade in1 untie a bundle1 and set the seedlings in lines by just pressing them with their fingers into the mud4 ,they do this wonderfully quickly1 and can plant eight or nine in a row without moving from their places2 when the field is all planted it looks like a pond with a delicate green haze over it4 ,the dividing banks are planted with beans or other vegetables1 so that not a yard of ground is wasted4 ,this was the #ahth of ,june1 the beginning of the 8dew month10 a period full of discomforts for the traveller1 and especially for the landscape-painter4 ,illustration3 ,,planting ,,rice ,illustration3 ,a ,,spring ,,flower--,,jiro-,,bo ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,the ,,lotus ,illustration3 ,,platycodon ,,grandiflorum1 8,,kikyo0 ,,the ,,time ,,of ,,the ,,lotus ,the damp heat of the ,japanese summer1 which is so trying to human beings1 encourages all vegetation to grow with surprising luxuriance and rapidity2 the buds of yesterday are flowers to-day1 and to-morrow nothing is left but the ruin of a past beauty1 making the painter's struggle most arduous just when he has least energy to contend with nature4 ,the young bamboo shoots come up like giant asparagus1 growing so fast that one can almost see them move2 some of them are cut and eaten while young and tender1 and those which are allowed to grow to large poles are used for every imaginable purpose4 ,they are made into water-pipes and flower-vases1 barrel-hoops and umbrellas1 baskets and hats1 scaffolding-poles and pipe-stems1 fans and delicate whisks for stirring the powdered tea--more things1 in fact1 than ,i could enumerate in a page4 ,the bamboo is surely the cause of much of the clever constructive work of the ,japanese2 for though it will do most things with proper treatment1 it will not stand being handled like ordinary timber2 its peculiar qualities have to be considered1 and every way in which they use it is artistic and good4 ,this is the large species which grows to twenty or thirty feet high2 there are many dwarf kinds1 which clothe the hills with green1 and are used only for making fences and such like4 ,illustration3 ,,aukatum ,,lilies ,,and ,,bocconia ,,on ,,the ,,hills ,,near ,,nikko ,the general aspect of ,japan during the summer months is a harmony in greens1 the dark pines and cryptomerias striking the lowest note of a scale which culminates in the ,illustration3 ,a ,,field ,,of ,,lilies1 ,,ofuna1 ,,near ,,kamakura brilliancy of the rice-fields--the most vivid green ,i know4 ,there is more variety of color in those districts which are not irrigated1 such as that round ,kamakura1 where the light sandy soil grows a great many kinds of vegetables1 sweet-potatoes1 melons1 tomatoes1 beans1 and big patches of auratum and longiflorum lilies1 the bulbs of which are exported4 ,the lily is not one of the flowers which the ,japanese themselves particularly admire1 nor do they often use it for decoration4 ,in this1 as in most other matters1 there are recognized rules of taste1 and the man is considered ,illustration3 ,,seven ,,beautiful ,,flowers ,,of ,,late ,,summer #a4 ,susuki #b4 ,kikyo #c4 ,asago #d4 ,shion #e4 ,omnia-,meshi #f4 ,kiku #g4 ,hagi ,drawing by ,teshoto ,hario an ignoramus who does not know the right thing to like4 ,i was walking one day at ,yoshida with a ,japanese artist1 a remarkable man who was engaged in making a series of steel-engravings1 half landscape and half map1 of the country round ,fuji1 and called his attention to a splendid clump of pink belladonna lilies growing near an old gray tomb2 but he would not have them at all1 said they were foolish flowers1 and the only reason he gave me for not liking them was because they came up without any leaves4 ,when we got back to our tea-house he took my pen and paper1 and showed me what were the seven beautiful flowers of late summer--the convolvulus1 the name of which in ,japanese is 8asago10 meaning the same as our 8morning-glory20 wild chrysanthemum2 yellow valerian2 the lespedeza1 a kind of bush clover2 ,platycodon grandiflorum1 a purple-blue campanula2 ,eulalia japonica1 the tall grass which covers so many of the hills2 and shion1 a rather insignificant-flowered aster4 ,i noticed that some versions of the seven flowers differed from his2 a large-flowered mallow is often substituted for the last he named4 ,there are doubtless different schools which hold strong views on the subject1 but on the morning-glory and some others they are evidently agreed4 ,the auratum lily is a common wild flower in the hilly districts1 and boiled lily bulbs are a favorite vegetable1 but ,i could not find out which was considered the best variety for the table4 ,o ,shige ,san told me that it was a red lily2 ,i looked in vain for any of that color in their gardens4 ,the cottages in the country round ,kamakura are thickly thatched1 and on the top of the thatch is laid a mass of earth held together by iris plants1 which form a roof-crest of spiky green2 near them in ,july there often were large hydrangea bushes covered with balls of blossom1 the young flowers a pale yellow-green1 changing as they grew older through bright blue to purple4 ,on the #ith of ,july the heat drove me from ,europeanized ,yokohama to the hills4 ,i left the train at ,utso-no-miya1 a little town which has been financially ruined by the railway--for every one formerly stayed a night there instead of travelling straight through--and was delighted to find myself once more in thoroughly ,japanese quarters4 ,it was a wonderful moonlight night1 and ,i wandered round the town in kimono and clogs1 watched the people1 and was stared at by them1 climbed the steps to the big ,shinto temple1 and ,illustration3 ,,hydrangea ,,bush1 ,,totsuka1 ,,near ,,yokohama gazed over the plains flooded with pale light1 and thoroughly enjoyed myself4 ,illustration3 ,,under ,,the ,,cryptomerias ,,at ,,nikko ,there is a railway now to ,nikko1 and most people rush up there without seeing the glorious avenue of cryptomerias--described so well in ,loti's ,japoneries d',automne--which line the old road for miles and miles4 ,i sent my boy and my baggage by rail1 and went myself in a kuruma with two good runners4 ,the road is sadly out of repair in some places1 but the splendid old trees remain1 and young ones have been planted where winds and age have thinned their ranks4 ,it is not like an ordinary avenue with the trees planted some yards apart2 these are so close together that the trunks have often joined at the base1 and ,i noticed one lot of seven big trees all grown together at the bottom into a mass that must have been eight or ten yards long4 ,the road is sunk between the high banks on which the trees grow1 and it must be gloomy enough on such a night as ,loti experienced4 ,here and there it opens out into a village street1 with abundance of refreshment booths for the pilgrims who still make the journey on foot4 ,nikko itself is a long1 steep street1 leading up to a rushing mountain torrent in a rocky ravine1 which is crossed by two bridges side by side4 ,one is an ordinary wooden structure1 used by all the world2 the other1 which is of red lacquer1 with black supports and brass ornaments1 is only opened for the ,emperor and his family to pass over4 ,beyond them the hills rise1 covered with cryptomerias1 among which are concealed the great mortuary temples of ,ieyasu and ,iemitsu1 founders of the great ,tokugawa ,shogunate that lasted for two centuries4 ,marvellous as these mausolea are1 they make no effect in the distance2 it is only when you get close to them1 wander about in their successive court-yards1 and examine the lovely details of wood-carving1 lacquer1 and gilding1 that the wonder of them strikes you4 ,the tombs themselves are plain bronze pillars1 and are reached by long flights of granite steps1 green and gray with mosses and lichens1 which lead up under the dark masses of foliage behind the temples4 ,after passing through all the glories of color and elaborate workmanship in the preliminary temples their final peacefulness and simplicity are very striking4 ,nikko in the summer is full of foreign ladies and children2 the ,emperor1 too1 has a country-house there1 where some of his large family spend the hot months4 ,i saw the arrival of two little princesses1 with a crowd of nurses1 tutors1 and officials4 ,they were funny little things1 about three or four years old1 not as pretty as most ,japanese children1 but dressed in the most gorgeous colors4 ,the red lacquer bridge was opened for them1 decorated with 8gohei0--the strips ,illustration3 ,a ,,little ,,temple ,,at ,,nikko of white paper which are used so largely in the ,shinto religion--and in the middle of the bridge there was a little table with offerings of food on it1 where the children stopped and made their obeisances to the manes of their ancestors as they passed over4 ,all the priests of ,nikko turned out in gauze vestments of many colors1 ,buddhist and ,shinto equally anxious to do honor to the descendants of the gods4 ,illustration3 ,,kikifuri1 ,,near ,,nikko ,the hills are alive with little tinkling streams of clear water1 and the favorite walks mostly lead to waterfalls4 ,i spent a soaking day making a sketch of one of them--,kirifuri2 the path to it crossed a wide1 stony river1 and went over grassy hills where there were abundant wild flowers1 purple iris1 white and mauve funkias1 yellow orchids1 clusters of white roses1 pink spiras1 hydrangeas1 ,st4-,john's-wort1 meadow-rue1 and bocconia appearing here and there1 half hidden among the rank herbage4 ,the big buds of auratum lilies showed how fine they would be in a few days' time4 ,just in front of the waterfall a little tea-house gave me shelter enough to work in2 but the path1 up which ,i had walked dry-shod1 by the time ,i got back had been turned to a raging torrent1 and ,i only just crossed the stony river in time1 for the light bamboo bridge was washed down during the night4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,moor ,,near ,,yumoto ,chzenji is a little hamlet1 some hours' walk from ,nikko up a mountain road1 consisting of a group of tea-houses which overlook a charming lake1 a very sacred temple with a large bronze torii1 and long rows of sheds to accommodate the pilgrims who come in early ,august to make the ,illustration3 ,a ,,wet ,,day ,,at ,,ch,,zenji ascent of ,nantai-zan1 the mountain which rises close behind the village4 ,during five long days of incessant rain ,i painted everything that was visible from my room in one of the tea-houses1 the water of the lake rising each day so much higher that on the last two ,i was able to take a morning header from my balcony1 and ,i hardly got a chance to explore the country round4 ,at last a bright morning tempted me to ,illustration3 ,,the ,,foot ,,of ,,nantai-,,zan walk on to ,yumoto1 and see the sulphur springs and the wide moorland1 ,senj-ga-hara1 which lies surrounded by mountain-peaks at a height of nearly five thousand feet above the sea4 ,on the moor the grasses do not grow high enough to conceal the flowers1 and ,i found it gay with purple iris and white meadow-rue4 ,the baths in ,yumoto are open to the public2 they are large wooden tanks under sheds by the road-side1 and as you walk along the street you see the patients1 men1 women1 and children1 all sitting together1 in a state of nature1 up to their necks in the steaming malodorous soup4 ,the clouds were gathering round the mountain-tops as ,i started to walk back to ,chzenji1 and before ,i had finished a rapid sketch on the moor the rain began again in torrents2 the road was a series of small ponds1 and my coolie insisted on carrying me1 as well as my sketching materials1 through them2 but he unfortunately stumbled under my weight1 and dropped me in the deepest of them1 and what with the wet above and below ,i was well soaked by the time ,i reached my tea-house4 ,the hibachi seems a very inadequate means of warmth on such occasions2 a hot bath and whiskey and dry clothes are more effective1 and after dinner a bottle of tamago-sake1 a hot compound of whipped egg and sake1 soon produces a pleasing drowsiness4 ,since leaving ,chzenji ,i have recognized the place in many drawings on screens and fans2 the artist always gives its main features--the lake1 the cryptomerias1 the huge bronze torii1 and the steep wooded slope of ,nantai-zan--but he combines them in one view as you never can see them in reality4 ,the rain had played havoc with the road back to ,nikko2 several bridges were down1 but temporary ones built of fagots made it possible to cross the streams4 ,all the higher woods near the lake are hung with gray moss1 and the flowering shrubs which grow among them are endless--azaleas1 climbing and bushy hydrangeas1 weigelia1 seringa1 and wild vine2 on the ground ,i found orange ,turk's-cap lilies1 columbines1 the big ,lilium cordifolium1 and ferns of many kinds4 ,notwithstanding the advantage of cooler nights1 ,i was glad to leave the green mountains1 with their constant rain and mists1 and the shut-in valleys1 where it was impossible to see more than a few hundred yards away1 and get down ,illustration3 ,,the ,,moat ,,of ,,benten-,,shiba again to the broader horizons and bigger skies of the plains4 ,on the journey to ,tky ,i saw my first lotus flowers in a lake near the railway1 and ,i hurried off at once to the pond which surrounds the little temple of ,benten at ,shiba1 where ,i found them in full glory4 ,the lotus is one of the most difficult plants which it has ever been my lot to try and paint2 the flowers are at their best only in the early morning1 and each blossom after it has opened closes again before noon the first day1 and on the second day its petals drop4 ,the leaves are so large and so full of modelling that it is impossible to generalize them as a mass2 each one has to be carefully studied1 and every breath of wind disturbs their delicate balance1 and completely alters their forms4 ,besides this their glaucous surface1 like that of a cabbage leaf1 reflects every passing phase of the sky1 and is constantly changing in color as clouds pass over4 ,japanese drawings of flowers--and they usually draw them beautifully--are often influenced in some way by a tradition4 ,the man who invented the method was a true impressionist2 he seized what appeared to him characteristic of the plant1 and insisted on that to the exclusion of other truths1 thus founding a mannerism which all following artists imitated4 ,in time1 what he saw as characteristic became exaggerated by his disciples1 who looked at nature only through his eyes and not with their own1 and ,i have observed that the flowers which are most frequently drawn are not depicted so naturally as those less popular ones1 in books of botany and such like1 for drawing which there is no recognized method1 and where the draughtsman had to rely entirely on his own observation for his facts4 ,take1 for example1 the spots on the lotus stems2 if you look very closely you can see that there are spots1 but certainly they could not strike every artist as a marked feature of the plant1 for they are not visible three yards away4 ,but some master noticed them many years ago and spotted his stems1 and now they all spot them1 and the spots get bigger and bigger2 and so it will be until some original genius arises who will not be content with other people's eyes1 but will dare to look for himself1 and he may perhaps1 without abandoning ,japanese methods1 get nearer to nature1 and start a renaissance in ,japanese art4 ,the ,japanese treatment of landscape is not more conventional than that of ,claude or ,david ,cox1 or than the shorthand of our pencil-sketches1 but it records its facts in a different way4 ,the everlasting question in art is the imitation of nature2 it has never been carried further in certain directions than by ,millais and his pre-,raphaelite brethren1 or in others than by ,manet1 ,monet1 and the modern ,french1 but no one can put in everything2 look at a simple bunch of leaves in sunlight against a wall1 and think how long it would take to really imitate all their complexities of form1 color1 and light and shade2 some facts can only be given by ignoring others1 and the question what is the important thing which must be insisted on is the personal affair of each individual artist in every country where art is unfettered and alive4 ,but in ,japanese1 as in ,byzantine and other ,eastern arts1 this question is still decided by the practice of past generations1 and it will take all the vitality of a strong man to infuse new life into it without destroying its many exquisite qualities4 ,perhaps when ,japanese artists absorb its spirit instead of merely trying to imitate its methods1 ,western art may help in the direction of freedom2 at present ,i fear that its influence has done more harm than good4 ,the people are so quick to recognize the meaning of a few lines1 and to understand the poetic idea which they suggest1 that it is a wonder the artists ever learned to draw at all2 they might have been content with symbols1 for a few lines like those below are enough to convey all the poetry that is associated in their minds with any of the well-known art motives4 ,illustration ,the little island of ,benten is a frequented spot1 and my easel was surrounded from morning till night with a crowd of spectators2 they dispersed at the command of the policeman on his hourly round1 but after he had gazed his fill and left me1 a new lot instantly assembled4 ,they were mostly children2 and a crowd of ,japanese children is twice as many as any other crowd of its size1 for every child has another smaller one tied to its back4 ,i suppose they are not born in pairs this way1 but they contract the habit of carrying a little one at a very early age1 and often tie on a doll when a sufficiently small human being cannot be found4 ,the spectators are almost always polite1 and take care not to put themselves between you and your subject2 but they squeeze up very close to your elbow1 and trample on your nerves1 if not on your materials4 ,they usually remarked that my work was a photograph2 some more educated ones said that it was an oil-painting1 that being the medium which is associated with foreign art2 and one man said that it was enamel1 which ,i took as a compliment to the brilliancy of my color4 ,the keeper of a little tea-shed hard by1 where ,i took my lunch1 noticed that ,i was worried by the people standing so close to me1 and when ,i arrived next morning ,i found that he had put up a fence round the place where ,i worked2 it was only a few slender bamboo sticks1 with a thin string twisted from one to another1 but not a soul attempted to come inside it4 ,they are such an ,illustration3 ,,spectators obedient and docile race that a little string stretched across a road is quite enough to close the thoroughfare4 ,it is difficult to reconcile the character of this peaceable and pleasure-loving race which the modern traveller sees with that which is ascribed to their forefathers--those heroes of the desperate wars and bloody revolutions which fill the pages of the early history of ,japan4 ,it may be that two centuries of ,tokugawa rule1 fatherly but autocratic1 developed qualities of unreasoning obedience1 and perhaps all the struggles of the past were merely dynastic1 or affairs between the warriors of different clans2 perhaps the people themselves have always been as gentle as they are now1 cultivating their land and pursuing their ingenious trades1 little affected by these turmoils1 except that1 like the producers of all times and countries1 they were called on to supply the sinews of war4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,last ,,tea ,,leaves--,,cottage ,,near ,,yokohama ,the lotus is intimately connected with ,buddhism2 most personifications of the ,buddha are represented as seated or standing on its flower1 or holding an unexpanded bud in their hands2 it is largely used in temple decorations1 and vases with imitations in metal of the flowers1 leaves1 buds1 and seed-pods1 often very exquisite in workmanship1 stand on all the altars4 ,it is typical to the ,buddhist mind of the qualities of the ideal man3 as it grows in the mud1 yet produces a lovely flower1 it is a symbol of purity in a naughty world2 as its odor sweetens the air around1 so his good deeds influence those about him2 it opens in the morning sunshine1 and his mind is expanded by the light of knowledge2 its branchless stalks1 rising without a break to the leaf or flower1 are a type of his single-mindedness and directness of purpose2 and its edible root shows that the basis of his life must be usefulness to others4 ,to this ,i may add that1 like the very good1 the flower always dies young4 ,it is lovely enough in itself without all this halo of virtue4 ,hardy says of ,tess1 8,beauty to her1 as to all who have felt1 lay not in the thing1 but in what the thing symbolized02 this is unavoidable with most of us1 and the suggestion of feelings and memories of our own does not necessarily obscure our visual sense2 but a fixed and recognized suggestion is the result of mental laziness1 and may lead to the ignoring of intrinsic beauty2 as our lovely primrose is to some eyes a political badge1 admired only because of its association with a name and a faction1 or rejected for the same cause4 ,to quote ,mr4 ,punch1 8,a primrose by the river's brim ,a party emblem was to him1 ,and it was nothing more40 ,but the lotus has not sunk so low as this2 though it has been adopted by the ,buddhists1 it excites no animosity in ,shinto breasts2 and where temples under the present rgime have been handed over from the one religion to the other1 though the pagoda and other distinctively ,buddhist ,illustration3 ,,lotus-,,ponds ,,at ,,kamakura structures are pulled down1 the lotus-ponds are left in their beauty4 ,the largest ,i saw were those connected with the great ,hachiman temple at ,kamakura1 which has been turned over to the state religion2 they cover several acres1 and the flowers in them are of three colors--either white1 bright rose1 or a delicate shell-like pink4 ,all three varieties seem to grow equally freely1 and one is as lovely as the other4 ,the white one has been specially adopted by ,illustration3 ,,lotus-,,patch ,,among ,,the ,,rice-,,fields1 ,,kawasaki1 ,t,,ky the followers of ,nichiren1 a noisy sect which beats a drum during the long hours of prayer1 and it is this variety1 too1 which is usually grown in patches here and there among the rice-fields for the sake of its roots4 ,they have not much flavor1 except that of the sugar with which they are boiled1 but they are crisp in texture and pleasant to munch4 ,the children are very fond of the nutlike seeds which are embedded in the fleshy seed-pod2 it looks very like the rose of a watering-pot4 ,in the tea-booths round the temple of ,benten they use a dried slice of this pod for a mat on which to stand the cup or bowl4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,tea-,,house ,,at ,,kamakura ,kamakura was for a long time the capital of ,japan2 in the twelfth century it was selected for his headquarters by ,yoritomo1 the great warrior whose victories enabled him to take the reins into his own hands1 and to establish that system of military government which only ended with the deposition of the last ,shogun in #ahfh4 ,but when a rival family defeated his successors they removed the seat of government1 and ,kamakura rapidly declined from a great city of more than a million inhabitants to the insignificant fishing-village which it now is1 with nothing to show of its former greatness but this temple of ,hachiman1 and the ,daibutsu1 an enormous bronze ,buddha1 not only remarkable for its size1 but also for being the finest and most dignified production which the art of ,japan can show4 ,the temple buildings which once sheltered it were destroyed ages ago1 and the image is now in the open air1 in one of the little valleys which branch out from the plain and run back among the pine-clad hills4 ,centuries of exposure to rain and sun have given varied colors to the great bronze god4 ,he is seated cross-legged on a lotus-flower1 his hands folded in his lap2 the head is bent slightly forward1 and his face gazes down with an expression of calm superiority which can only come from perfected wisdom and subjugated passions4 ,a new shrine to ,yoritomo's memory1 all of black and gold1 stands near one of the lotus-ponds2 in front of it are some splendid old willow-trees1 which he is said to have planted1 and under which he sat and composed poetry when he was not engaged more actively in fighting4 ,it is hardly possible that these willows can have lived to such a great age2 they are probably descendants of the original trees4 ,behind the shrine is a large modern barrack1 and ,i saw bands of white-clad recruits1 with side-arms and repeating rifles1 trousers1 ,illustration3 ,,yoritomo',s ,,willows ,,and ,,his ,,shrine tunics1 and forage-caps1 quite ,european in everything but face and stature1 constantly passing to and fro over the ground where the old warrior must have seen his quaint soldiers in lacquered armor and bronze helmets carrying their long-bows and queer-shaped halberds4 ,one day when ,i was painting the willows my boy ,matsuba1 who had plenty of spare time for investigating the neighborhood while waiting to carry home my umbrella and things1 came and told me that there was a wrestling-match at a small temple about a mile away4 ,i packed up at once and we walked over there1 for ,i was very anxious to see what kind of a sport it was4 ,this was a tournament1 and all the professional wrestlers of the neighborhood1 and many youths anxious to distinguish themselves1 had collected to take part in it4 ,they were divided into three classes4 ,the masters of the art were all past their first youth2 not enormously stout1 as they are often represented in drawings and carvings1 but fine1 athletic men1 taller than the average of ,japanese4 ,they wore their hair in the ancient style1 shaved away from the centre of the head1 and the locks from the back and side made into a queue1 turned up and knotted with a string on the top of the poll2 they had no clothes except a loin-cloth and an embroidered apron4 ,in the second class were men who had won but few prizes2 they were not all in the professional get-up1 and some of them were evidently laboring-men with a taste for sport4 ,the third class was composed of youths1 none of them more than nineteen or twenty years old4 ,the contests took place in the temple court-yard on a circular bed of sand1 under a roof supported by wooden pillars1 but not enclosed at the sides2 round the edge of this raised circle there was laid a straw rope1 and the man won who could either fairly throw his opponent or force him across the rope without being dragged over himself4 ,the proceedings were conducted by a ,shinto priest in full dress1 wide trousers1 and a coat sticking out from the shoulders like that of a modern young lady1 who with a peculiar-shaped fan gave the signal to begin and to stop4 ,for the highest class this umpire was a venerable old gentleman2 for the others the place was taken by young priests who needed to learn this part of their business4 ,the wrestlers came on in pairs as their names were called1 and after a great deal of marching round1 stamping1 rubbing their limbs1 making gestures of defiance1 and so on1 they squatted opposite each other4 ,when the ,illustration3 ,,japanese ,,wrestlers signal was given to begin they rested their fingers on the ground between their knees1 and leaned towards each other till their foreheads touched1 sometimes waiting several minutes before attempting to make any grip4 ,if the grip seemed unfair or unsatisfactory to one of the opponents1 he immediately put down his hands1 the priest stopped the bout1 and all the preliminary business had to be gone through again2 but if it seemed all right the struggle began1 and sometimes lasted for five minutes1 each man straining every muscle in a splendid way1 and using all the science and cunning he knew4 ,if it lasted too long without either man gaining any advantage1 the priest signalled to them to stop1 and they had to wait till their turn came round again4 ,the preceding rough sketch1 made while jammed in the crowd of spectators1 will give some idea of the attitude of the men waiting for the fan to be lowered4 ,everything was conducted in the most ceremonious and orderly manner1 and there was no drunkenness or rowdyism1 although the multitudes who had assembled were entirely of the poorest class4 ,the most fashionable wrestling-matches are held in ,tky in spring and autumn1 and the champion is as much a popular favorite as a famous torero in ,spain1 or a well-known prize-fighter in ,england and ,america4 ,those who read these notes will have gathered that the heat and the rain make summer life in ,japan not wholly enjoyable2 let me also say some words of warning to the thin-skinned against the mosquitoes1 and even more against a horrible little insect which lives in the grass or sand and bites your legs and feet4 ,it is so small that ,i never succeeded in finding it1 but its bite brings up a blister which breaks and leaves troublesome sores4 ,there were few nights from ,june till ,october when ,i was not obliged to get up once or twice and bathe them in cold water to allay the intolerable itching4 ,the sea1 too1 has its terrors4 ,i went down to the shore near ,kamakura one hot night1 hoping that a swim would soothe my troubled skin1 but no sooner had ,i plunged into the approaching wave than my neck and arms were embraced by jelly-fish1 and ,i scrambled out feeling and looking as if ,i had taken my bath in a bed of nettles4 ,the ,japanese1 although they grumble and fan themselves a good deal1 do not really mind the heat2 their draughty houses are admirably adapted for fine summer weather1 and their clothing is sensible and scanty4 ,but the foreigners suffer1 and as ,september comes1 and the lotus flowers fade1 they hail with relief the approach of the cooler and dryer weather of autumn4 ,illustration3 ,,lespedeza 8,,magi0 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,heart-,,leaved ,,lily ,,fujisan ,illustration3 ,,campanulas ,,on ,,fuji ,,fujisan ,illustration ,the great mountain of ,japan is well known to us all2 its form appears on countless screens and fans1 and its foreign name1 ,fusiyama1 is as familiar as ,mont ,blanc or ,pike's ,peak4 ,by the ,japanese it is called ,fuji1 or ,fujisan1 or sometimes ,fuji-noyama when speaking poetically3 it is difficult to understand how an s came to be substituted for the j by foreigners1 but under any name there is a peculiar fascination about the mountain1 and the first sight of it1 from the hundred steps in ,yokohama1 from ,ueno in ,tky through a haze of telephone wires1 or across the waves of ,suruga ,bay from the deck of a steamer1 is an event which will be fixed in the traveller's memory4 ,i can never see a high place without wishing to be on the top of it1 and ,fuji looks obtrusively high4 ,the long sweep with which it heaves its twelve thousand feet above the shore1 the absence of any competitive mountains1 and the exaggerated perspective of its broad base and narrow summit1 all add to this impression1 and the ambitious soul longs to be on such a superior eminence4 ,and there is no better way of taking a holiday than to climb a mountain4 ,to go down a river leads to laziness2 things glide by which look as if they ought to be sketched1 but to do so would involve stopping the boat1 and interfering with the forces of nature which are gently furthering the traveller's ends1 and thus the mind is tossed to and fro between the delight of seeing things and the unpleasant feeling that it is a duty to work4 ,thinking is the one thing to be especially avoided on a holiday1 and there is too much time for thinking on an ordinary river4 ,the same objection holds against walking on easy roads2 in fact1 the farther you walk the more you think2 but in climbing a really big hill all thought is killed for hours by the simple physical exertion1 and you become a mere machine1 with a laboriously pumping heart and very heavy legs4 ,and what a sense of superiority comes when the highest point is at last reached1 when the world is all below you1 half cloud and half solid earth1 lovely1 mysterious1 and absolutely unpaintable4 ,even this sense fades from me in a few minutes1 and ,i become a nonentity1 with only a vague feeling of the hugeness of the universe and the infinitesimal smallness of the individual1 and the opening verse of ,adam's morning hymn always comes into my mind1 as it did years ago on the top of a ,somersetshire hill overlooking the ,glastonbury flats1 just after my first reading of 8,paradise ,lost40 ,an artist often hears the remark1 8,you must find painting a great resource10 as if it were an amusement like golf or trout-fishing2 and no doubt to many people a landscape-painter's life seems like one long holiday2 but the struggle with ever-changing skies and fast-fading flowers has its fatigues1 and the mind gets wearied of constantly thinking how this and that ought to be painted1 so when a friend in ,yokohama suggested that we should go up ,fuji together1 ,i accepted his proposal with alacrity1 and we chose the first week in ,august for our excursion1 that being the time when there is the best chance of good weather1 and when most pilgrims are to be seen on the mountain4 ,one of the most boring things in life is to walk through new and interesting country with a man who has no eyes for anything but his watch1 and who insists on telling you how many minutes the last mile has taken2 but my friend's figure was a sufficient guarantee against any attempt at 8record-cutting10 ,illustration3 ,,going ,,up ,,in ,,the ,,mist and ,i felt sure that his pace would give me plenty of time for looking about4 ,the weather for our start was not promising--that damp summer heat of which there is so much in ,japan1 heavy and depressing1 shrouding the mountains from morning till night in dense masses of cloud1 which seem to slowly drag themselves up from the valley1 and never succeed in getting clear of the hill-tops4 ,from ,miya-no-shita to the ,hakone ,lake we were from time to time enveloped in these clouds1 and a thin drizzling rain prevented us from enjoying what in fine weather would be a very lovely walk4 ,the moor at the northern end of the lake1 ,sengoku-hara1 is dotted with herds of cattle1 and is perhaps the only place in ,japan where this familiar sight can be seen4 ,you may wander for miles over the green hills and moorlands which cover so large a portion of its surface without ever seeing a four-footed animal2 perhaps because the tall1 coarse grasses and the leaves of the dwarf bamboos are unsuitable for fodder2 perhaps because the ,japanese are not a meat-eating nation1 and do not need herds and flocks4 ,our intention was to cross this moor1 and join the road which leads from ,miya-no-shita by way of the ,maiden's ,pass1 ,otome-no-toge1 to ,gotemba1 a village at the foot of ,fuji1 but our coolie assured us that he knew a shorter road by the ,nagao-toge1 so we struggled up the hill-side on our left1 reached a post which marked the top of the pass1 and then stopped in the mist to consider which track we should follow4 ,suddenly appeared to us an aged man1 whose venerable face inspired us with confidence1 and by him we were led astray4 ,he took us by the semblance of a path along the hill-top1 and for about half an hour we plunged through wet grass up to our necks1 the thick white mist hiding everything more than ten yards distant2 then he confessed that he had lost his way1 that he had heard of that road1 but had never taken it before1 and that it was all grown over--an obvious fact2 so there was nothing to be done but find our way back to the post1 and try the wider track from which he had beguiled us4 ,he was a cheerful old soul1 seventy-four years of age1 who had just walked to some hot springs about twenty miles from his home to take the baths for a couple of days because he suffered from rheumatism4 ,either it was a very mild case or the baths were marvellously efficacious1 for he led us down the hill at a rattling pace1 and went five or six miles out of his way to atone for his error1 and to put us in the right road for ,gotemba4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,cloudy ,,evening1 ,,from ,,the ,,sands ,,of ,,tago-,,no-,,ura ,the mists reached far down the hill1 and when we were at last free from them we looked eagerly for ,fuji4 ,there was the sea below us1 with the great curve of sand1 ,tago-no-ura1 bordering ,suruga ,bay1 and the green slopes rising from it showed where our mountain must be1 but at the height of about two thousand feet a straight bank of white cloud ruled off the landscape1 and of the summit we could see no sign4 ,the path led us along the hill-side1 where men were cutting the rough grass1 and loading it on pack-horses2 it wandered in and out of the dry gulleys1 and over the intervening ridges1 and at last1 descending to the northward1 brought us through cultivated fields to a tea-house near the railway station1 where our baggage and provisions were waiting for us4 ,gotemba is on the ,tkaid ,railway1 and is therefore a much-frequented place during the six weeks or so when ,fuji is considered to be 8open40 ,it has been ascended at all seasons1 the laborious walking through soft snow being the only difficulty1 and the chance of bad weather the only danger2 but except from the latter part of ,july to the beginning of ,september the numerous rest-houses are unoccupied1 and the climber is obliged to carry all provisions with him4 ,illustration3 ,,fuji ,,from ,,the ,,abekawa1 ,,and ,,the ,,tokaido ,,bridge ,there were plenty of pilgrims about1 waiting to start on the morrow or just returned from the mountain1 some washing their weary feet1 others tying their big hats and long walking-sticks in bundles for the luggage-van1 and all chattering incessantly4 ,after dinner a travelling company entertained us in front of our tea-house with songs and dances4 ,the band consisted of two samisen1 a bell tapped with a stick1 and bamboo castanets4 ,the dancers were all little girls1 from ten to fifteen years old1 dressed in the ordinary long-sleeved kimono1 and the movements of their bodies and slim little hands and limbs were full of grace and variety4 ,each performance was a mixture of song1 dance1 and dialogue1 with instrumental accompaniment2 the music was queer1 tuneless1 and often harsh to the ,european ear1 but with the blood-stirring quality of all genuine national music4 ,before daybreak next morning the whole house was stirring1 and it was useless to hope for more sleep4 ,most of the pilgrims start early in order to get to the top by sunset1 sleep there1 and descend the following day1 but we had decided to sleep two nights on the mountain1 and were in no hurry4 ,our heavier baggage was sent by pack-horse to ,yoshida1 on the north side of the mountain1 and three coolies went with us as guides and porters1 carrying some extra clothing and the solid food which seems necessary for ,european stomachs4 ,in the village street our strolling players were already wandering round1 trying with some preliminary chords on the samisen to attract an audience4 ,daylight did not suit them1 they looked draggled and discouraged1 and it was difficult to believe that those dirty little figures shuffling along in the mud could ever have had any charm or grace of movement4 ,the path from ,gotemba to the summit is one steady ascent over beds of old ashes4 ,at first it is a very gentle rise2 the lanes wind through the fields with various crops1 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,northern ,,slope ,,of ,,fuji--,,grass-,,cutters ,,returning and past cottages with hedges of pink and white hibiscus2 but after a few miles it begins to get steeper1 the ashes are less disintegrated1 cultivation only appears in isolated spots1 and there are large stretches of gray moorland varied only with bushes and wild-flowers4 ,the mist still hung round us1 there was no landscape to be seen in any direction1 and if it had not been for the flowers and the ever-new and quaint figures on the road1 this part of the walk would have been dull4 ,besides the regular pilgrims there were many men and women leading pack-horses1 those on their way up carrying provisions and fuel for the rest-houses1 and those coming down bringing bundles of grass so large that they looked like walking hay-stacks1 and the wiry little ponies that carried them were almost invisible4 ,in front a misshapen head peeped out1 underneath were four thin little legs with enormous feet1 and as they passed1 their narrow drooping quarters1 cat-hammed and cow-hocked1 swayed at every step under the heavy load4 ,japanese drawings of horses have risen in my estimation since ,i have seen the models the artists have to work from2 there never was a more ill-shaped beast than the ordinary horse of the country4 ,in this as in many other hill districts mares only are used2 they are shod with big straw over-shoes1 which give a finishing touch to their ludicrous shape2 under them is slung a square of dark-blue cotton cloth to keep off the flies1 and a narrow strip of the same material1 with a big crimson cord and tassel printed on it for decoration1 is draped across their quarters4 ,many of the pilgrims ride up as far as the tea-house called ,uma-gaeshi 7horse send back71 and the ponies look almost as much eclipsed under the big pack-saddle with its trappings1 and the pilgrim with his1 as they do under the loads of grass4 ,when all cultivation had disappeared1 and the road was a mere cinder track over a moorland of ashes1 the flowers and bushes still grew in clusters here and there4 ,the most abundant plant was a large bushy knotweed covered with sprays of white blossoms1 and this grew far up the mountain-side4 ,there were also clumps of tall bocconia1 a campanula with large pink or lavender flowers sprinkled in each bell with tiny ink-spots1 and various less showy flowers4 ,the flora on this side of the mountain1 devastated by the last eruption1 in #agjf1 is not so rich as that on the northern slope4 ,as the ascent became steeper we got into a wood of dwarfed and scraggy pine-trees1 which extended as far as ,tarb1 a large tea-house with a little temple attached1 and then suddenly ceased2 above this there was only an occasional dead stump to break the monotonous surface of ashes4 ,here every pilgrim purchases a stick to help him up the mountain--an octagonal staff of birch1 about five feet long1 with an inscription burned on it1 and for a few coppers the priests on duty at the summit will add a red stamp to prove that the owner has actually been there4 ,we reached the second shelter beyond ,tarb quite early in the afternoon2 great masses of wet mist came constantly driving up the mountain-side2 there was plenty of room in the hut1 and nothing to be gained by going higher1 so we decided to stay there for the night4 ,all the regular tracks up ,fuji are divided into ten portions1 and a rest-house is supposed to mark the end of each division2 but they vary much in their accommodation for travellers1 and often get destroyed during the winter1 so it is well to find out before starting which are habitable and which are not4 ,number ,two 7,ni-go-me71 on the ,gotemba path1 was a roomy hut1 built with blocks of lava2 from below it looked like a wall with a hole in it1 from above it was not visible1 for the ashes covering its roof of rough planks were simply a continuation of the mountain slope2 there was no chimney1 but a mass of snow was piled over the fireplace1 which dripped through the roof into a tub and supplied the establishment with water4 ,by each shelter a small white flag fluttered on a pole to make its situation obvious4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,second ,,shelter ,,in ,,the ,,gotamba ,,path ,nothing could be more dreary than this spot on such an afternoon3 above1 below1 and on each side the waste of purple-gray ashes1 light-green spots of knotweed and thistle1 only enforcing the gloom of its color1 seemed to stretch interminably into the mist1 and nothing broke the monotony of the long oblique line except the little eminence of ,hoei-zan1 sticking up like a pimple on the great slope of ,fuji1 which occasionally showed its outline through the vague and formless clouds4 ,inside it was1 at any rate1 warm2 the raised floor was covered with coarse matting1 and on this quilts were spread1 and soon after dark we were all in bed4 ,some later arrivals had added to our numbers1 and we slept thirteen in that hut1 including the host and hostess2 but this was nothing to the crowd at the top1 where ,i think we were nineteen1 perhaps more1 for in some parts of the floor there must have been two or three under a quilt1 and it was difficult to count them4 ,even here on ,fuji you do not escape the all-seeing eye of the ,japanese police2 your passport is examined by the keepers of the hut1 and is copied into a book which gives every night the names and addresses of those who sleep under the roof4 ,about two o'clock in the morning we were wakened by our host1 who took us outside1 and there at last was ,fuji itself1 straight over our heads1 every detail softened1 but clearly visible1 and the summit looking ridiculously near in the brilliant moonlight4 ,below us was the slope of ashes and the moorland over which we had walked2 and in the distance the ,hakone ,mountains1 already far below our level1 lay half hidden by masses of moonlit cloud4 ,more energetic men might have started at once for the final climb1 but after gazing and shivering for a few minutes we turned into our hard beds again1 and it was not till after sunrise that we left our hut1 our party increased by a dreary and footsore young soldier in a soiled white uniform1 and a cheerful coolie1 carrying about a hundred-weight of planks to repair one of the higher shelters4 ,the path goes zigzagging up to one rest-house after another1 and there was not one of them which we failed to patronize2 even ,number ,seven1 which was a heap of ruins with nothing in the way of drink but a tub of melted snow1 was an excuse for a few minutes' halt4 ,in the clear morning sunlight ,fuji looked small1 as most mountains do when there are no clouds to give mystery and suggest height2 but it was a grand morning for distant views1 and the sunshine brought out vividly the strange and brilliant colors of the various materials which form the mountain--gray ashes1 blue lava1 and the reds and oranges of burned earth4 ,illustration3 ,,fuji ,,with ,,its ,,cap ,,on ,above the seventh station the path turns to the left and passes behind ,hoei-zan2 already bands of pilgrims1 who had seen the sunrise from the summit1 were making their way back towards ,gotemba1 going at a great pace down the glissade of loose sand and ashes on its side1 while we toiled on over harder cinders1 with an occasional ridge of lava1 on the upward path4 ,at this altitude the knotweed and thistles had disappeared1 and the only plants ,i saw were a dwarf sedge and a little starwort in some of the sheltered nooks2 higher still only a few lichens and mosses can grow2 there is no regular alpine flora on ,fuji4 ,illustration3 ,,fuji ,,from ,,the ,,kawaguchi ,,lake ,a big gully full of snow lies just below ,number ,eight1 and from this point the ascent is steeper than ever1 winding among a chaos of shapeless blocks of lava2 a sharp spur on our left crowned with them made a most curious outline against the sky4 ,in front of us was a strange pilgrim1 an old and feeble ,buddhist priest in canonicals and a big cane hat2 two coolies were hauling him by a cord round his waist1 and another was pushing from behind1 and even with this help he had to stop every few minutes to get his wind4 ,he smiled a sickly smile as we went by2 he was even slower than we were1 and it seemed cruel to pass him2 but he got to the top finally4 ,a sharp pull up a rocky gully at last brought us to a little wooden torii1 and to the 8,famous ,silver ,water10 a clear1 cold spring on the edge of the crater4 ,the supply is not large1 and the priest in charge of the enclosure doles it out to pilgrims at the rate of one brass cash for a small teacupful4 ,the principal temple1 and the cluster of huts round it1 form a little square on the south side of the crater1 just at the top of the ,mura-yama path1 and are reached from the ,silver ,water by means of a couple of ladders and a small fee4 ,at the top of the ladders there is a tiny shrine1 serving as stable to a toy model of a horse1 and in front of this the coppers are deposited4 ,there are only three entrances to the crater of ,fuji1 and each of these is marked by a small torii1 the sacred gateway of the ,shinto religion2 two of them ,i have already mentioned1 the third is on the north side1 where the paths from ,yoshida and ,subashiri1 which meet at ,number ,eight station1 reach the summit4 ,clouds had1 as usual1 begun to form about mid-day1 and there were only occasional peeps of distance1 but the crater itself was worthy of the journey1 and occupied us until the bitterly cold wind drove us to shelter4 ,here1 as on other mountains1 ,i noticed that the first object of the native is to get under cover2 all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them may be spread before his eyes1 but if there is a little smoky cabin1 however rough and uncomfortable1 the professional mountaineer goes inside and stays there4 ,this one was not luxurious2 near the doorway1 the only aperture for admitting light1 there was a smouldering wood-fire1 where our food was cooked before we lay down to try and rest on the loose and creaky floor-boards2 little blasts came like squirts of cold water through the cracks of the unmortared walls1 and it was a relief when a general movement of the sleepers--for a ,japanese can apparently sleep anywhere--showed the approach of sunrise4 ,the morning was clear and bright1 and we all crouched in nooks of the rocks1 wrapped in our quilts1 and gazed at the straight gray line of the ,pacific and the gradually brightening line above it1 watching for the first sign of the approaching god4 ,on the most prominent rock a priest knelt1 waving strips of paper tied to a stick and chanting prayers and eulogies1 and soon the sun rose1 as he assuredly will every morning1 whether he is prayed to or not4 ,there ,illustration3 ,,from ,,the ,,top ,,of ,,fuji1 ,,looking ,,north was such a vast space of mysterious blue sea and distance below the horizon that the big orange ball appeared to be already half-way up the heavens when we first saw it4 ,this daily occurrence seems ever new and wonderful1 always has something of the miraculous about it1 and to most minds it brings a sense of thankfulness1 as the sunset gives that of repose2 though why we should feel grateful both that it is time to begin to work and time to leave off is a puzzle to me4 ,my thoughts turned to an early morning near ,plevna1 and to an honest ,turk1 who1 as the sun rose over the bare ,bulgarian hills1 turned on his box-seat1 and1 gravely touching his forehead1 wished a good-day to his 8little brothers0 in the carriage he was driving4 ,there was a mixture of courteousness and solemnity in his manner which seemed exactly suited to the important moment4 ,when the orange glow had turned to a dazzling glare1 we walked round to the foot of ,kenga-mine1 the highest of the peaks encircling the crater1 and looked westward at the shadow of ,fuji1 a great pyramid of tender blue stretching for miles across the country at its foot1 darkening a slice of the sunlit distant mountains1 and towering above them into the sky1 clearly defined on the light mists and clouds of the horizon4 ,so sharp was the outline that it seemed as if our two shadows ought to show on the distant sky2 but though we waved our arms frantically there was no visible movement on the edge2 we were too small4 ,when we returned to get some breakfast many of the pilgrims were saying their morning prayers at the little temple4 8,sengen ,sama0 is the goddess of ,fuji2 a prettier name for her is 8,ko no hana saku ya ,hime0--8the princess who makes the blossoms of the trees to open40 ,there is another little temple dedicated to her on the north side of the crater1 and many more imposing ones in various parts of ,japan4 ,on a banner which floated in front of this second temple there was an inscription in ,japanese1 and under it these words in ,english1 8,place for worship the ,heaven40 ,i suppose this was an effort in the direction of civilization and rationalism1 but ,i resented it as an attempt to explain away the flower-loving princess1 and to dethrone her from the mountain-top where she has been worshipped in peace for so many centuries4 ,close by the banner is another spring1 8,the ,famous ,golden ,water10 and a small shed1 where bundles of chopsticks and other mementos are sold1 and where for ten sen you can buy a tin can full of the famous water to take home to your friends4 ,most of the descending pilgrims have one or two of these tins slung round them with the rest of their travelling-kit4 ,the regular ,fuji pilgrim is dressed in a white tunic with loose sleeves1 close-fitting white cotton drawers1 white socks and gaiters1 and a pair of straw sandals2 he wears the usual big hat1 which serves as an umbrella1 and slung round his shoulders he has a light rush mat1 which can be shifted to either side to keep off sun or rain4 ,round his neck he has a string of beads1 a little incessantly tinkling bell1 and a few pairs of extra sandals on a cord1 and fastened to his waistband is the small package containing his personal baggage2 he carries in his hand either the octagonal birch staff or a ,illustration3 ,,the ,,great ,,palm ,,at ,,ryugeji1 ,,fuji ,,in ,,the ,,distance longer peeled wand1 with some paper tied round the end of it4 ,the dress of the women is the same as that of the men1 except that they wear a short petticoat under the tunic1 about as long as a ,highlander's kilt4 ,i saw none of them adorned with the bell and beads1 so perhaps these are reserved for the men4 ,it is only of late years that women have been allowed to climb the sacred mountain4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,crater ,,of ,,fuji ,no one point of the crater's edge is high enough to give a panorama2 you have to walk all round1 about two miles1 in order to see the view on every side4 ,eastward is the country round ,yokohama and ,tky1 with the ,pacific beyond as horizon2 southward1 too1 is the ocean1 with the ,izu ,peninsula jutting out into it1 and the sweep of ,suruga ,bay bringing it close under your feet2 westward you get a glimpse of the ,fujikawa ,river1 with range after range of mountains behind it2 and to the northward a chain of little lakes lies at the base of ,fuji1 these1 too1 backed up by mountains1 which rise1 one behind another1 as far as you can see4 ,in some places the outer wall descends abruptly into the crater2 in others1 as by the ,golden ,water1 there is a narrow plateau between the two4 ,the crater itself is four or five hundred feet deep1 the north side mostly precipitous rock1 and the south side1 under ,kenga-mine1 a steep slope of snow and dbris2 all the peaks round it have names1 and one of them near the ,silver ,water is dotted with cairns raised in honor of ,jiz1 the patron saint of travellers1 who helps little children to cross the ,buddhist ,styx4 ,there is a rough path all round the crater1 leading over some of the peaks1 inside some1 and outside others1 which is kept in passable condition by men who collect a few coppers for their labor3 the pilgrim season is harvest-time for the dwellers round ,fuji1 and its barren top pays well for cultivation4 ,it was after ten o'clock before we had made the circuit and seen all the sights2 we met our coolies by the long row of huts at the top of the ,yoshida path1 and could see the village itself1 our destination1 lying in the blue hollow below us4 ,groups of ascending and descending pilgrims were visible for a long distance on the slope2 as we looked down on them we saw only big round hats with an arm sticking out1 and two little feet working underneath4 ,after a final cup of tea at one of the guest-houses we passed under the wooden torii1 and began the descent1 a very steep and stony one1 the loose cinders and lumps of lava requiring attention at every footstep4 ,at ,number ,nine station there is a little shrine called 8,sengen's ,welcome10 and at ,number ,eight there are six or eight good-sized huts built on a spur of harder lava1 making quite a little village1 which can be seen on a clear morning from the foot of the mountain4 ,here the ,subashiri route branches off to the right2 ours to ,yoshida turned to the left1 and we went sliding with long strides down an incline of loose ashes and sand1 into which our legs sank up to the knee at every step4 ,it was rapid but fatiguing1 and required very high stepping to avoid heavy and ignominious falls4 ,the track is marked by hundreds of cast-off 8waraji0--straw sandals--a common object on all ,japanese roads1 but here especially plentiful4 ,my companion had provided himself in ,yokohama with a stock of them1 specially made to fit over the ,european boot2 they were carefully adjusted and tied on by our servants and porters1 but ,i noticed that after the first hundred yards they had always worked loose1 and after a quarter of a mile they were hanging gracefully round his ankles instead of protecting his feet4 ,the enjoyment of walking depends so much upon foot-gear that ,i am shy of trying experiments1 and ,i found that my stout boots with plenty of nails served as well on ,fuji as on any other mountain4 ,worn as ,japanese wear them1 with a thong passing between the big toe and the next1 the waraji hold on well2 they are soon worn out1 or made useless by the breaking of one of the strings of twisted grass which tie them to the ankles2 but this does not matter1 for new ones can be bought for about a half-penny at any road-side house4 ,this part of ,fuji was very desolate1 the rocks were formless blocks piled up without any arrangement of line1 and the dbris was too loose for any plant to find a foothold2 but after a few thousand feet a ridge of more solid lava rose on each side of the gully we were descending1 and ,illustration3 ,,an ,,old ,,red ,,pine ,,at ,,yoshida that on our left soon began to show some vegetation4 ,there were pines and larches1 whose dwarfed and twisted forms showed the hardship of their lives1 and among them were some flowers too1 clusters of a delicate pink rhododendron1 crimson wild roses1 columbines1 clematis1 golden-rod1 and orange lilies4 ,the glissade of fine ashes brought us down as far as ,number ,five station1 and there we rejoined the upward path1 for no one tries to ascend over this loose stuff4 ,high up in the gully we had seen men digging out snow from under the ashes1 and taking it across the flank of the mountain to supply one of the rest-houses on the ridge to our right1 and troops of ascending pilgrims were visible now and then as a turn of their path brought them in profile against the sky4 ,below ,number ,five there is but one track2 it plunges at once into a thick undergrowth of bushes1 and after this we had no more desolate wastes of ashes1 but a constant succession of trees and flowers1 temples1 and luxurious rest-houses1 gay with the cotton flags presented to them by their patrons4 ,the forest through which this path leads covers a steep ridge of lava2 the trees are mostly pine and other conifers1 often very fine old specimens1 and under them is a tangle of flowering shrubs and plants and of fallen timber4 ,the people we met coming up seemed to appear suddenly under our feet out of the green gloom2 one party had always to draw aside while the other passed2 at times the path was a stairway of old roots1 at others a ditch between high banks1 and never wide enough for two to walk abreast4 ,we heard a sound of singing below us1 and stood on the bank while about twenty white-clad pilgrims filed by1 men of all ages1 each with a little bell tinkling at his waist2 the front ones chanted a short strain1 which those at the back took up and answered1 and their song was faintly audible in the woods above us long after the last had disappeared up the winding path4 ,the chant is called 8,rokkon shj0--the six senses purified--the six1 according to the ,buddhists1 being eyes1 ears1 nose1 tongue1 body1 and heart1 and it is only sung by the ,fuji pilgrims4 ,at ,number ,two station we made a long halt1 emptied the ashes out of our boots1 and washed our feet in the tubs of water which the little servants brought us4 ,it was a very different kind of place from the rough shelter on the ,gotemba side2 the path came down a few steps as it emerged from the wood1 passed under a torii by a small temple1 and then spread out into quite a wide space in front of a long tea-house crowded with pilgrims4 ,on the opposite side of this space were three or four platforms1 spread with blankets and shaded with matting2 these too were occupied by groups of guests1 who smoked and drank tea as they rested1 and below them the tops of the trees were cut away to give a space of open sky and a view of the distance4 ,hundreds of little flags were fluttering from long bamboo poles1 and at the other end of this lively scene the path went down a few more steps1 and became again a narrow track through the dense forest4 ,the flowers all the way were abundant and beautiful1 constantly varying as we descended from one zone to another2 at last the wood became thinner1 and we could get glimpses of the distance1 and of the grassy ridges on each side of us1 tinged with pale mauve by masses of funkia in blossom2 and when we reached the temple and the large open square of the ,uma-gaeshi we were at the end of the trees1 and before us was a great slope of moorland leading down for miles and miles to the pine grove by ,yoshida4 ,there is but one break in the long walk through flowers and grass--a little tea-house called ,naka-no-chaya1 whose three pine-trees are distinguishable for a long distance across the moor4 ,all round it there are monumental pillars covered ,illustration3 ,,naka-,,no-,,chaya1 ,,on ,,the ,,northern ,,slope with inscriptions1 which look like tombstones1 but were really erected by pilgrims to commemorate the number of ascents which they have made4 ,the variety of plants which grow and flourish on this slope of fine cinders is truly remarkable4 ,the most abundant flower was a pale mauve scabious1 which gave a prevailing tint to the whole moorland1 but the most conspicuous was a tall1 slender day-lily ,illustration3 ,,the ,,red-,,pine ,,grove ,,at ,,yoshida with a pale yellow flower1 which shone like a star in the evening when the color had gone from all the others4 ,a dark purple-blue campanula 7,platycodon grandiflorum7 was also very effective1 and a bright crimson pink 7,dianthus superbus7 with beautifully fringed petals4 ,but it would be hopeless to try and enumerate them4 ,i find in a sketchbook a list of fifty-seven which ,i noted on the way between ,naka-no-chaya and ,yoshida4 ,a little later in the year this mass of flowers and grass is mown down and carried to the villages at the foot of the mountain4 ,the last part of our walk was through a grove of grand red pines1 which seem to do better on this volcanic soil than anywhere else in ,japan1 and then across a few fields to the top of the long village street1 where we at last found our tea-house and our baggage1 and comfortable rooms1 and settled down for a night of well-earned repose4 ,illustration3 ,,fuji ,,over ,,the ,,rice-,,fields ,,of ,,suzukawa ,,fuji ,,from ,,suzukawa4 ,oct4 #c1 #ahib4 ,fuji is quite free from clouds this morning1 and in the soft autumnal sunshine every detail is clearly visible as ,i sit with the shutters wide open and eat my breakfast4 ,the foreground is a level plain of rice-fields1 which stretches away for three or four miles to where the first gentle ascent is marked by a line of villages and trees1 and in some ,illustration3 ,,the ,,flowery ,,moorland places1 where irrigation is possible1 the terraced fields climb a little way up the mountain4 ,above them is a band of cultivated country1 the general effect of it dark green1 varied by stripes of paler green fields4 ,at first the forms are sharply defined1 but higher up the whole becomes a blue-green mass4 ,next above this is a band of moorland with no trees on it1 lighter and warmer in color1 the grasses and plants which cover it tinged with yellow or orange by the autumn4 ,as the morning sun shines on it little blue shadows1 in spots and waving lines1 mark the undulations of its surface4 ,this belt of moorland reaches to the height of about five thousand feet1 and is very rich in flowers4 ,above it1 again1 is a great band of forest2 the warm color of the deciduous trees at its lower edge gradually merges into the dark blue-green of the pines1 which mount a long way up on the summits of the ridges that at this point seam the surface of the mountain4 ,it is over this forest-land that the morning clouds generally begin to form4 ,as ,i write1 a little one1 that looks like a puff of white steam1 is beginning to float over the trees1 and this will grow until in an hour's time the upper part of ,fuji will be invisible4 ,the well-defined gullies are a light orange-red tint1 and the contrast between them and the dark pines on the dividing ridges is the strongest opposition of color on ,fuji1 except that where the snow and the black lava meet at its summit4 ,as the gullies ascend and the pines disappear the color again becomes more uniform1 dark gray with a tinge of ,indian red1 the red disappearing and the gray becoming a rich purple as it runs up in irregular points and lines among the lower snows4 ,only the very highest band is a solid white2 on the left of the truncated top is ,kenga-mine1 the highest point of the crater's edge1 and next it a flat line shows where the ,murayama path enters2 to the right of this a well-marked ridge of lava runs high up into the snow1 and can be traced down to the moorland1 cutting off the ,heizan portion from the rest of the mountain4 ,beyond this ridge are two flatter curves--the summits of ,jizotak and ,kwannon-tak--on the eastern side of the crater4 ,the general outline of the mountain on the left is one simple curve1 the almost level line where it begins to ascend from the ,fujikawa ,river becoming steeper and steeper towards the top4 ,the most distinct acceleration of grade is where the forests end and the ridges of lava begin4 ,the outline on the right is broken just above the pine-clad ridges by the projection of ,heizan1 and again at the top of the moorland by another smaller hill--,tsurugi-zan2 and the effect on this side is not so much a curve as two inclined planes1 the first from ,kwannon-tak to ,heizan1 the second from there to the moorland1 after which it becomes an undulating line of mounds leading away to the ,ashitaka range of older mountains4 ,on this right side there is much less variety of color1 a sharp ridge of warm orange lava makes a crest to ,heizan1 but the great cup-like hollow behind it and the treeless slope below it are one uniform gray4 ,nearly two centuries have passed since the eruption which altered this outline of ,fuji and destroyed the vegetation1 and many more will have to elapse before the ashes are sufficiently disintegrated to entice back the trees and flowers4 ,illustration ,,some ,,wanderings ,,in ,,japan ,illustration3 ,,tricyrtis ,,hirta1 ,,atami ,,some ,,wanderings ,,in ,,japan ,illustration ,the lakes which lie to the north of ,fuji are not much visited by foreigners2 they are rather difficult of access1 and the accommodation in the tea-houses in that district is not luxurious2 but for those who can walk well1 and put up with ordinary ,japanese food and lodging1 the scenery will atone for everything4 ,the old hills on the north once looked over a great sloping plain to the shore of ,suruga ,bay1 but the upstart ,fuji arose and blocked their view to the south2 streams of lava poured from it1 and rolled down till they were stopped by these buttresses of ancient rock1 damming the rivers1 and so forming this chain of lakes at their base4 ,where the lava has been covered with fine ashes1 vegetation soon begins to conceal the work of destruction1 but the larger flows resist all attempts at cultivation2 they still stand in wide ridges above the rest of the country1 gray lichens cover them1 and dwarfed trees find a foothold in the crevices between their blocks4 ,the winding tracks which lead across them are bad enough1 for every little hump in the path is not a pebble which rolls aside as your foot touches it1 but is a knob of solid rock1 and it is your toe that has to give way2 the untrodden part of the scrubby forest would stop any animal but an active monkey4 ,we traversed one of the widest flows1 called ,aoki-ga-hara 7green-tree moor71 from the number of evergreens which grow over it1 on the way between ,shoji1 the smallest1 and ,motosu1 the largest of the lakes1 walking for hours in single file along a narrow trail with hardly an opening anywhere in the dense foliage2 it was late in the evening1 and the imprecations in ,japanese and ,english ought to have thrown a lurid light on that dusky path4 ,the dividing-line between the lava and the older rock is as clearly visible now as it was on that day when the molten torrent was arrested in its course and piled itself in a solid wave against the immovable hills4 ,some subterranean settling must still be going on1 for a few years ago the lakes began to rise1 and they have remained at the higher level1 so that as we rowed along the shore we could see below us the roofs of cottages and the fences of rice-fields1 and forests of dead pines rose gaunt and bare out of the water4 ,of all the places ,i saw in ,japan1 ,motosu seemed the most remote2 the rise of the lake must have ruined many of the inhabitants1 and a settled gloom seemed to hang over the few charcoal-burners1 wood-cutters1 and fishermen who remain4 ,we found rooms in an old tea-house1 where fine wood-work1 now blackened and decayed1 showed signs of a former prosperity which will hardly revive unless prices rise1 for when we left the next morning the landlord sadly presented us with a bill for nineteen sen 7about sixpence71 which for two foreigners and two servants came to a very modest sum per head4 ,we crossed the lake by boat1 and were landed at the foot of a trackless hill-side1 overgrown with tall grasses and wild flowers1 through which it was difficult to walk1 but our local guides soon found a path which led us in the direction of the ,fujikawa4 ,here we were off the volcanic soil1 the beeches and other trees were magnificent1 and in one wood we walked between banks of maidenhair fern 7,adiantum pedatum7 growing five or six feet high4 ,how well ,i remember that day of glorious sunshine1 the view back over the lake with ,fuji towering ,illustration3 ,,tago-,,no-,,ura behind it1 the mountain road through forests with new trees and plants at every turn1 the gaudy butterflies1 the long zigzag descent by the pine-clad spur which brought us to the ,suzukawa ,valley1 and the gorgeous sunset as we whirled down the rapids to ,shimoyama4 ,there are five lakes in the chain1 ,motosu1 ,shoji1 ,nemba1 ,kawaguchi1 and ,yamanaka1 and they descend in level from ,motosu on the west to ,yamanaka on the east4 ,nemba lies in a hollow of wooded hills1 with a couple of partially drowned villages on its shore1 in which the cottage roofs are strangely constructed1 and the people wear long knickerbockers of blue striped cotton4 ,kawaguchi is the most beautiful of them all2 its waters have only risen a foot or two1 so that no damage has been done except the submersion of a few fields1 and ,funatsu and ,kodachi1 with picturesque old temples and cottages shaded with gourds1 like ,jonah's1 are thriving towns compared with the other lake-side hamlets4 ,illustration3 ,,cottages ,,at ,,nemba ,i was staying at ,yoshida1 within easy walking distance of ,funatsu1 in the early part of ,september1 when all the countryside was keeping the ,bon festival in memory of the dead--a sort of ,japanese ,all-,souls day which lasts for a week4 ,fires were lighted at night on all the hill-sides2 the path leading up to every little temple could be traced by a line of blazing spots1 and the great lonely slope of ,fuji was dotted with them here and there1 marking the positions of the rest-houses and the few scattered huts of grass-cutters and charcoal-burners4 ,i have seen the same thing in ,switzerland1 near ,martigny1 where on the eve of ,st4 ,john's day every cattle-tender far up the mountains greeted his distant neighbors with a bonfire4 ,this part of the ceremony is called1 in ,japanese1 hi-matsuri 7fire festival74 ,other observances are placing offerings of food before the family graves1 which in ,yoshida were generally at the end of the back garden1 and erecting a little altar in the house1 on which dishes of rice1 fruit1 and sweetmeats are laid1 and before which prayers are said4 ,we had a typhoon on the #dth of ,september1 with such torrents of rain and gusts of wind that the houses had to be enclosed with their wooden shutters1 and there was nothing to be done but lie on the floor in the darkness and listen to the turmoil of the elements outside4 ,suddenly1 above all the other noises1 ,i heard a monotonous chant1 and1 opening a crack in my shutters1 ,i saw a procession of men1 dressed only in 8kasa0 and straw rain-coats passing down the village street4 ,some of them carried big drums slung to poles1 on which the others banged1 while all of them groaned in unison a sentence which ,i could not catch4 ,it was a long time before ,i could induce ,matsuba to tell me what it all meant2 but at last he confessed that it was done to drive away the storm-demon2 he was evidently ashamed of this method of praying for fair weather1 and explained that it was only in these out-of-the-way places his countrymen were so superstitious4 ,anyhow1 it was efficacious1 for the typhoon blew itself out during the night4 ,there was more or less rain for some days after1 but we had nothing again like that day's downpour1 and ,i started in more promising weather for a walk over the hills to ,kofu4 ,from ,funatsu ,i crossed a corner of ,kawaguchi1 and took a steep mountain road on the other side2 some kind of matsuri was going on there too1 and the lake was dotted with boatfuls of people beating drums and singing4 ,the road we took is said in the guide-books to be practicable for jinrikishas1 but the typhoon had completed the work of destruction which the heavy rains in ,july had begun1 and there were very few yards of it left over which a wheeled vehicle could travel4 ,on the other side of the pass1 ,misaka-toge1 where ,i stayed to lunch and admire the view of ,fuji1 and to collect seeds of a grand red lychnis which grew there abundantly1 we went through a village1 ,nakagawa1 that had been almost destroyed by a torrent4 ,the street and the gardens were filled with bowlders and gravel and fallen tree trunks1 and the roofs only were visible above the mass of wreckage4 ,the well-fitted timbers of a ,japanese roof1 especially when there is a heavy thatch over them1 make it the least destructible part of the house2 the lower part may collapse in a typhoon or earthquake1 but the roof settles down over the ruins practically uninjured4 ,i saw one near the ,tokaido which had been taken off bodily by the wind and deposited in a field the other side of the road without losing its shape4 ,i looked for the river which had done all this damage to ,nakagawa1 and found only a little1 innocent1 prattling brook about a yard wide4 ,kofu is a busy place in the centre of a large silk-growing district4 ,all the hill-sides around are covered with scrubby-looking mulberry bushes1 and in the villages almost every cottage had its pile of golden cocoons1 which the women were winding off into skeins as they sat and chattered by their doorways4 ,as you pass ,japanese houses in fine weather you see almost everything that is going on inside2 they are set down close to the road1 and the sliding-screens allow you to look right through to the garden at the back4 ,when it is cold or wet all the wooden shutters are closed1 and they have then a very sad and deserted appearance4 ,i went to a very good theatre in ,kofu1 and afterwards to what might be called a wax-work show1 but that the figures were ,illustration3 ,,lake ,,suwa ,,and ,,the ,,nakasendo ,,mountains1 ,,from ,,kami-,,no-,,suwa made of carved and painted wood1 where the incidents of the murder of ,ii-,kamonno-,kami were represented with a startling fidelity to nature4 ,he was assassinated one winter's night in the streets of ,tky by the retainers of a rival ,daimio1 and the snowy ground showed to advantage all the details of disembowelled bodies and mangled limbs4 ,the last two figures were mechanical4 ,a retainer kneeling in front of the ,daimio slowly opened a bloody handkerchief and showed him the head of his enemy1 whereupon the ,daimio's eyebrows went up and the corners of his mouth went down1 giving him a most comical expression of horror4 ,the roads are wider here than in most parts of ,japan1 and there are comparatively few jinrikishas4 ,most of the travelling is done in basha1 small wagonettes with no springs1 which jolt the very life out of you4 ,i engaged one to take me on to ,lake ,suwa1 on the ,nakasendo road1 a journey of forty miles1 and arrived there feeling like an aching jelly4 ,after travelling a few miles from ,kofu we came to a river where the bridge had been washed away4 ,i and my baggage were ferried over1 and the driver attempted to ford it1 but the water was too deep for him1 and ,i was left stranded with my impedimenta on a wide waste of pebbles4 ,fortunately the man with whom ,i had made my bargain had foreseen this possibility1 and when ,i could get some coolies to help me with my baggage across half a mile of stones and bowlders1 ,i found another basha waiting for me4 ,all the first part of the journey was a long ascent through wooded1 hilly country1 with road-side villages at short intervals4 ,in one of them1 ,tsutaki1 where we stopped to change horses1 a school treat was going on4 ,the place was gayly decorated with lanterns and arches of leaves and paper flowers1 and in the temple court-yard the children had made realistic figures1 among them a life-sized tiger1 ingeniously constructed with straws of different colors4 ,the low wooden cottages1 with broad eaves and stones piled on the top1 looked very like ,swiss chalets1 except that they all had green roof crests1 sometimes of iris1 but more often of a bunchy kind of lycopodium which the natives called yuwashiba4 ,almost every one had a screen of bamboo on the south side1 with gourds of different kinds growing up it and tumbling over the roof and the out-buildings4 ,at last1 with long spells of walking1 very welcome as a rest from the weary jolting1 we reached the tea-house at the top of the pass1 and then rattled down a somewhat better road for about twelve miles1 emerging at dusk into the broad mountain-guarded valley in which ,suwa lies4 ,the flat lands near the lake are intersected by little streams and canals1 along which the peasants go to their work in long1 narrow punts1 very like those which are used for the same purpose in ,picardy--another instance of the way in which similar conditions in widely distant countries lead to similar habits and inventions4 ,i stayed at ,kami-no-suwa in a delightful tea-house1 with clean polished wood-work1 and quilts covered with a soft thin silk called kaiki1 very pleasant and cooling to a mosquito-tortured skin4 ,cleanliness is the great luxury of the ,japanese2 their foot-gear is always removed before entering the house1 so that the mats may not be soiled2 the wood-work is never painted1 stained1 or varnished1 but left with a well-planed surface1 which shows its natural color2 the ceilings are thin planks1 slightly overlapping each other1 the grain of each being carefully selected to combine with the lines in those next it2 there are no hangings or fixed pieces of furniture to collect the dust1 and no carpets to be taken up and shaken1 so that spring cleaning1 that terror of the ,western house-keeper1 is unnecessary2 the whole room can be swept out every morning1 the walls and ceiling rubbed with a duster1 and there it is1 all as neat as a ,illustration3 ,,tourists ,,at ,a ,,waterfall ,illustration3 ,,niegawa1 ,,on ,,the ,,nakasendo new pin4 ,at ,shimo-no-suwa1 about three miles on1 the ,koshu-kaido1 along which ,i had been travelling from ,kofu1 joins the ,nakasendo1 the central mountain road1 one of the main routes between ,kyoto and ,tky4 ,a new road has been made most of the way1 admirably engineered1 with gentle gradients1 but so badly executed that it had already fallen to pieces in some places1 and it was covered with loose road-metal which made jinrikisha travelling very laborious4 ,my men usually preferred the old steep road1 which cuts off corners1 and is solid though very rough1 and after a couple of days ,i sent back all the jinrikishas except the one which carried my baggage1 finding my own legs the best means of conveyance4 ,from the ,shiojiri ,pass ,i looked back over ,suwa1 saw ,fuji through the blue haze of a lovely autumn morning1 a long way off1 but still towering above all the other hills1 and then dropped down into a new set of mountains1 rivers1 and valleys4 ,the scenery of the ,nakasendo gets more and more picturesque1 until it reaches a climax in the valley of the ,kisogawa1 on which ,i first looked from the summit of the ,torii ,pass1 four thousand and odd feet above the sea4 ,each village on the road had its own peculiarities of costume1 architecture1 and manufacture--cheap lacquer-ware1 combs1 pickles1 and so on1 and of all these ,matsuba bought a stock1 for it is the habit of every ,japanese on his travels to take back with him 8meibutsu10 the characteristic productions of the places he has visited1 as presents for those he has left at home4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,little ,,shinto ,,shrine1 ,,near ,,the ,,nakasendo ,there are many celebrated mountains in this district1 each with its own special god and shrines1 and ,i constantly met bands of pilgrims dressed in white1 with long staves and big hats1 or saw boat-loads of them going down ,illustration3 ,a ,,boat-,,mender ,,by ,,the ,,tenryugawa the ,kisogawa in the few places where it is navigable4 ,after some days of glorious weather1 with a sun which turned the wings of the myriad dragon-flies hovering over the rivers to spots of light1 and made all clothing seem superfluous1 ,i was suddenly arrested by a violent storm at a little village called ,suwara4 ,a number of pilgrims had been driven to shelter in the same tea-house2 they spent the day in chanting prayers1 ringing a little bell1 and tapping blocks of wood together to mark the time2 and they began it again at three o'clock the next morning1 before starting on their trudge4 ,the motive of these pilgrimages is not in the least penitential4 ,certain hardships have to be endured by every traveller in mountain regions1 but the ,japanese are good walkers and accustomed to simple living1 and in their composition they have a large stock of intelligent curiosity which makes them enjoy all that is new and beautiful in the country through which they pass4 ,the history and literature of their fatherland form a large part of their education1 and almost every remarkable spot has some legendary or poetical association apart from its natural beauty2 their religion teaches them1 too1 that not only temples and shrines are sacred1 but that every poetic thought or heroic deed1 every grand tree or rock or lovely landscape1 has in it something of the divine4 ,on the banks of the ,kisogawa1 not far from ,suwara1 there is a large flat rock1 which is called ,nezame-no-toko1 the ,bed of ,awakening1 for here ,urashima the fisher-boy1 a sort of ,japanese ,rip ,van ,winkle1 is supposed by some to have returned to real life after his long trance4 ,the usual version of the story is this3 ,urashima lived with his parents at ,yura1 by the sea of ,japan1 helping them in their fishing2 but one day his boat did not return1 and he was given up for dead4 ,he had met the ,sea-god's daughter1 who had taken him away to live with her and love her in an evergreen land4 ,what seemed to him like a few weeks passed by in happiness1 but at last he said1 8,my parents will be sorrowing for me2 ,i must go back and comfort them10 and he prevailed on his princess to spare him for a while4 ,she gave him a casket1 saying that as long as he kept it closed she would always be with him1 but if he opened it1 she and the evergreen land would be lost to him forever4 ,he had really been away for centuries1 his home had disappeared1 and everything in ,yura was changed4 ,in despair he opened the forbidden box1 a faint blue mist floated out from it across the sea1 he turned from a handsome youth to an old decrepit man1 and in a few minutes lay dead upon the shore1 for in that box his princess had enclosed all the hours of their happy life4 ,no portion of the ,nakasendo is finer than that near ,midono2 the valley narrows and the road in many places overhangs the rushing ,kisogawa1 the vegetation is luxuriant1 walnuts1 oaks1 chestnuts1 and maples shade the road1 and great groves of bamboo wave their plumes in every little breeze which comes down from the mountains through the ravines in which they grow4 ,by the river-side ,i noticed many fine-leaved plants2 some old garden friends1 and others new to me2 yellow wagtails fluttered jauntily from rock to rock1 and lines of swallows on the telegraph wires showed that autumn was at hand4 ,i turned off from the ,nakasendo at ,hashiba1 where it begins to ascend the ,magome ,pass1 and took a little cross-country track1 turning eastward again up the valley of the ,hirosegawa1 which1 after two days' walking1 brought me to ,iida and the banks of the ,tenryugawa4 ,this road was not mentioned in my guide-book1 but ,nakajima ,sanju1 the jinrikisha man who had accompanied me all the way from ,kami-no-suwa1 maintained that it was practicable1 and that he could take my baggage through in his kuruma4 ,he did ,illustration3 ,,banana-,,trees ,,at ,,atami it1 too1 but ,i occasionally had to hire two extra men to help him1 and in some places they and ,matsuba had to carry kuruma1 baggage and all4 ,there was one long climb through a dense wood which particularly impressed me2 ,i walked so far ahead of them that ,i could only just hear the continual cry1 8,yo-sha6 ,yo-sha60 with which the men encouraged each other2 the masses of foliage above me1 the shrubs and ferns below them1 enclosed me in a green maze2 from under the arched roots of a colossal cryptomeria a clear little spring gushed out2 occasionally a raucous-voiced jay flew across the path1 or ,i had to stop and examine the huge toads1 seven or eight inches long and almost as broad1 that sprawled about on the road-side4 ,when my men overtook me at a tea-house some miles farther on1 one of them was carrying a brace of these toads skinned4 ,they looked as big as the 8poulet0 of a cheap restaurant1 and he told me that they were very good for weakly children4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,ferry ,,at ,,tokimata ,at ,tokimata ,i engaged a boat with five men to take me down the rapids as far as the ,tokaido2 the river was running high1 and they would not do it for less than twenty-four yen--a good price for a journey of only ten or twelve hours2 but when you remember that it takes them ten days or a fortnight to haul the boat back1 it does not seem excessive4 ,don ,pedro's remark1 8,what need the bridge much wider than the flood80 does not apply to most of the ,japanese rivers2 usually they are just a trickle of water among a wide bed of pebbles1 which is filled after heavy rains with a raging torrent1 but ,lake ,suwa serves as a reservoir for the ,tenryugawa1 and it always has enough water to be navigable4 ,the boats used on it are about thirty feet long1 flat-bottomed and flat-sided1 with a square stern and a high1 pointed bow2 they are very loosely built and flexible1 and the bottom boards are so thin that they wabble like a sheet of paper when passing over rough water or shallows4 ,a heavy foot would break through them1 and it is necessary to tread only on the bamboos which are laid lengthwise1 resting on the cross-ribs4 ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,tenryugawa ,my baggage was piled in the middle of the boat1 and a seat arranged on it for ,matsuba and myself2 one man took the long stern oar while the other four worked in the bows1 and within a few minutes of the start we were plunging down between high cliffs1 charging at rocks which we only avoided by a few inches1 swirling round in eddies at the foot of one rapid while the men got breath for the next1 and until we stopped for our mid-day meal at the little ,illustration3 ,,the ,,village ,,street1 ,,atami--,,vries ,,island ,,in ,,the ,,distance village of ,nakabe there was no time to sketch1 or think1 or do anything but enjoy the wild1 exciting race4 ,the river twists1 between high mountains1 down a gorge with such sharp curves that it is often impossible to see any exit1 and our boat would rush down1 heading straight for a cliff against which the water dashed furiously2 while one man in the bows whacked the side with his paddle for luck1 and then stood ready with a pole1 the other three pulled like mad1 and just when ,i thought 8we must come to grief this time10 she would suddenly turn and swish round the corner into smoother water4 ,the rapids continued to be amusing1 though the fun was not quite so fast and furious1 all the way to ,kajima1 where the mountains end and a broad plain begins2 below here the river still ran swiftly1 but smoothly1 divided into several channels by long gravel banks1 on which gray willows and bamboos grew1 and snipe and herons congregated4 ,we met strings of boats being laboriously towed along3 the wind generally blows up stream1 and they are ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,tenryugawa1 ,,near ,,kajima able on these lower reaches to help themselves by hoisting a sail1 but ,i shall never understand how they get their boats back through those upper rapids4 ,it was getting dark when we passed through the ruins of the old ,tokaido bridge1 but in the dusk ,i could distinguish a row of familiar ,noah's-ark-like forms2 they were current-mills moored in the river2 and then ,i knew what my day had lacked--the companionship of the man with whom ,i had passed so many hundreds of them on the ,danube4 ,there was nothing on the ,danube quite so sporting as these rapids1 but ,i think it would be possible to get through them in a decked canoe1 such as those we used on that river4 ,the pace is tremendous2 we did the ninety miles from ,tokimata to ,naka-no-machi in ten hours of actual travelling1 though the latter portion of the journey was on comparatively sluggish water4 ,about a month after this ,i stopped at ,shizuoka1 a large town on the ,tokaido1 where ,ieyasu1 greatest of the ,shoguns1 spent the end of his life in learned leisure1 and where ,keiki1 the last of his successors1 deposed in #ahfh1 when the ,mikado came to his own again1 still lives quietly as a private gentleman4 ,how much more dignified and reasonable is his ,oriental acceptance of the accomplished fact than the restless scheming of some ,western pretenders1 who are unable to see that their ancestors1 whether kings or emperors1 owed their power to national feeling1 and persist in a futile struggle against the inevitable6 ,the ,japanese obedience to law and authority1 which must1 however indirectly1 be an expression of the will of the people1 was never better shown than in the promptness with which the sword-bearing ,samurai ceased to carry their weapons4 ,the ,samurai's blade had been for centuries his most sacred possession1 a halo of poetry surrounded it1 and the right to wear it in public distinguished him from the common herd2 and yet when the imperial edict was issued in #ahgf he laid it aside without a ,illustration3 ,,autumn-,,grass 7,,suzuki7 murmur1 and the curio-shops were soon full of swords1 which a month before their owners would sooner have died than lose4 ,it was no doubt very inconvenient to walk about always with two swords stuck in your obi1 and perhaps he felt like the curate in the 8,bab ,ballads10 who was forced by his mild rival to curl his hair and smoke-- 8,i long have wished for some ,excuse for this revulsion2 ,now that excuse has come1 ,i do it on compulsion20 but recent events show that though his ordinary life has become peaceful and bloodless1 there has been no falling off in the pluck of a ,japanese soldier4 ,ieyasu was first buried at ,kuno-zan1 which ,i reached after about an hour's ride by jinrikisha from ,shizuoka4 ,the first part of the way was over a rice-covered plain1 from which gay-colored hills1 striped with white buckwheat1 dark green tea1 and pale green daikon1 gradually rose1 narrowing down towards the sea1 and finally leaving only a strip of sandy soil1 mostly planted with sugar-cane1 between the steep cliffs and the shore4 ,the little villages were odorous with drying fish1 slices of bonito hanging in festoons in front of every cottage1 and the shore was dotted with evaporating-tubs for getting salt4 ,the mortuary temples1 which served as a model for those afterwards built at ,nikko1 stand on the top of the cliff1 and are reached by a zigzag flight of steps cut out of the rock2 they are not so elaborate as the ,nikko temples or the ,shiba shrines1 but have a severer beauty of their own1 which nature has helped by decorating every stone and tree-trunk with silvery gray lichen1 lovely in color against the background of red-lacquered buildings4 ,the interior of the oratory1 which1 with its surrounding fence1 has a roof of bronze1 is mostly black and gold1 and there the very affable priests who had shown me round held a little service in honor of ,ieyasu1 presenting me afterwards with the sweet wine and cakes which had been used as offerings4 ,it is commonly said that the body of the great ,shogun still lies under the simple stone monument behind the oratory1 and that only a few hairs were removed and buried at ,nikko2 certainly this is the more impressive spot for a warrior's grave1 with the wild hills behind1 and the sea and coast spread out for miles below the towering cliff4 ,the road on to ,okitsu1 where ,i had to rejoin the railway1 led me inland past ,ryugeji1 a temple where there are the finest specimens of the screw-palm 7,cycas revoluta7 to be seen in ,japan1 and then to the sea again at ,shimizu1 a nice little port1 just opposite the sandy fir-clad spit of land called ,mio-no-matsubara1 enclosing a smaller bay in the great curve of ,suruga1 which often appears in ,japanese pictures4 ,this is the scene of a legend which has been dramatized1 if you can call them dramas1 for one of the classical ,no dances4 ,it tells how a fisherman watching his nets saw a fairy alight on the sand and lay aside her robe of feathers2 how he managed to steal the robe so that she could not fly away again1 and only restored it to her when she consented to dance for him under the pine-trees one of the dances which are never seen by mortal eyes4 ,near the tea-house in ,shimizu where ,i stopped to refresh there was a temple dedicated to ,inari1 the ,shinto goddess of the rice-fields1 whose shrines are guarded by foxes2 the approach to it was under three avenues of small red wooden torii placed closely together1 apparently votive offerings1 for some of them were old and decayed and others quite bright and new4 ,at ,numadzu1 farther to the east on the ,tokaido1 but still on the shore of ,suruga ,bay1 ,i again left the train and ,illustration3 ,a ,,rustic ,,bridge ,,at ,,dogashima1 ,,near ,,miya-,,no-,,shita followed the course of the old road1 from which the railway here diverges1 as far as ,mishima1 and then1 after crossing the ridge of mountain which forms the backbone of the ,idzu ,peninsula1 descended to ,atami on the western coast of ,odawara ,bay1 a favorite watering-place during the winter months4 ,the orange and banana trees testify to the mildness of its climate1 and perhaps the geyser1 which every fourth hour squirts out mud and boiling water by the village street1 helps to keep up the temperature4 ,vries ,island1 with its eternally smoke-capped volcano1 lies on the horizon away across the sea1 and the natives believe that there is a connection between the two1 for whenever ,vries is particularly active the geyser discharges more violently4 ,illustration3 ,,avenues ,,of ,,torii ,,in ,,front ,,of ,,an ,,inari ,,temple1 ,,near ,,shimizu ,on the #c;d of ,november ,i started with a friend from ,yokohama to walk over the ,ten ,province ,pass 7,jikkoku-toge7 to ,hakone and ,miya-no-shita4 ,it was the ,emperor's birthday1 and all ,atami was gay with flags2 the national ensign with a red ball on a white ground fluttered everywhere4 ,we mounted the steep street1 and looked back at the village roofs and the deep blue water of ,odawara ,bay1 and then turned into the woods of old camphor-trees surrounding the temple ,ki-no-miya4 ,some of the camphors are enormous1 and the largest of them are encircled with ropes of twisted straw and bunches of gohei1 which show that they are sacred objects4 ,beyond the temple the path ascends1 first through rice-fields and then up rough grassy hills1 until it reaches the long plateau of turf where the ,ten ,province stone stands4 ,though so late in the year1 there were still plenty of flowers4 ,down near ,atami long sprays of hototogisu 7,tricyrtis71 with spotty purple flowers1 hung out from the sandy banks1 and by our path ,i saw ,michaelmas daisies1 golden-rod1 dark-blue monk's-hood1 sky-blue gentians1 magenta-flowered garlic1 thistles of various colors1 wild chrysanthemums1 pink or white with a gold centre1 and the beautiful white stars of the grass of ,parnassus4 ,the sun was quite hot1 and we pulled out some provisions and sat down on the grass near the stone to enjoy them and the marvellous view4 ,to the north the snowy cone of ,fuji rose high against the blue sky2 between us and it the long crest of down-land was mostly covered with suzuki 7,eulalia japonica71 a lovely grass with tall plumes of seed which shine like silver gossamer1 and the ranges of lower mountains were brilliant with the autumnal colors of maples and other trees2 below us on the east lay the little peninsula of ,manazura1 jutting out into ,sagami ,bay1 with a curve of rice-fields on each side of the narrow neck which connects it with the mainland1 and beyond it the long straight line of the ,pacific was broken only by ,vries ,island and its cloud of smoke2 a succession of hilly promontories and little bays stretched all down the coast of ,idzu to the southward1 and returned northward again up the other side of the peninsula1 past ,joyama1 with a lake-like inlet of sea1 to ,numadzu1 where the great sweep of ,suruga ,bay began1 bordered with sands and sunny rice-fields1 and ended only at ,kuno-zan1 far to the westward4 ,our path went on along the downs1 ,illustration3 ,,jiz ,,sama1 ,,near ,,hakone through suzuki1 dwarf bamboo1 and little stunted woods1 until a deep descent led us down to the ,hakone ,lake1 dark blue and sombre among its encircling hills2 it then mounted once more for a short distance1 passed the hot springs of ,ashi-no-yu1 and finally1 while the grassy hills still glowed in the light of the setting sun1 brought us down to the ,fujiya at ,miya-no-shita1 where a delicious natural warm bath and a good dinner made a fitting termination to a glorious day4 ,at the bottom of a ravine almost perpendicularly below ,miya-no-shita lies the little village of ,dogashima1 with a turbulent mountain stream and a very shaky bamboo bridge4 ,the path and steps leading down to it are kept continually green by the overflow from the warm springs1 and when ,i was there they swarmed with land-crabs1 queer little beasts with bodies of dark green1 blue1 brown1 or red1 and a pair of light-colored claws1 which they held up in a threatening attitude when ,i attempted to catch them4 ,as they heard me approach they scurried off towards their holes1 but they were so clumsy and so numerous that ,i could hardly help stepping on them4 ,one of the common objects by ,japanese road-sides is the figure of ,jiz1 a ,buddhist saint who is the helper of all who are in trouble1 and especially the patron of travellers and children4 ,near the path between ,hakone and ,ashi-no-yu we passed a colossal presentment of him1 carved in bold relief out of a mass of andesite rock1 a very striking work of some ancient sculptor4 ,it is said to have been done in a single night by that marvellously active saint ,kobo ,daishi1 who1 according to popular tradition1 climbed all the mountains in ,japan1 and found time1 when he was not preaching and confounding sceptics1 to perform wonders in sculpture1 painting1 and calligraphy4 ,jiz1 in the rudely carved statuettes by the way-sides1 is a benevolent-looking priest1 holding a traveller's staff in his right hand and a globe in his left4 ,he stands on a lotus flower1 and around his feet are piled many pebbles1 placed there by wayfarers4 ,the reason for the custom is this3 ,on the banks of the ,so-dzu-kawa1 the river of the lower world1 there lives a hag who catches little children as they attempt to cross1 steals their clothes1 and makes them toil with her at her endless task of piling the stones on its shores4 ,jiz helps these children1 and every pebble which is laid at his feet lightens the labor of some little one below4 ,i never passed without adding my contribution1 and if ,i cannot attribute my safety during my wanderings to his kindly aid1 at least ,i am indebted to him for many a pleasant thought1 and for the memory of many a lovely landscape or flower seen by his side4 ,illustration ,,autumn ,,in ,,japan ,illustration3 ,,the ,,autumn ,,lily ,,autumn ,,in ,,japan ,from the spring-time1 when ,i reached ,japan in the rain and began to grumble at the weather1 and all through the damp and the downpour of the summer months1 ,i had been consoled by the promises of my friends4 ,they assured me that when the autumn came ,i should have week after week of glorious sunshine1 a clear fresh air1 and probably not a wet day between ,michaelmas and ,christmas4 ,either the season was an exceptional one1 or else this is a cherished myth2 there certainly were more fine days in ,october and ,november1 but not a week passed without one or two days when work out-of-doors was impossible4 ,they talked1 too1 of the glory of the maples1 of hill-sides and rocky ravines clothed with scarlet and crimson1 and their enthusiasm in this matter was amply ,illustration3 ,,fields ,,near ,,hamamatsu justified1 but no one had told me of the beauty of the lilies of the field1 which decorate so many of the banks between the rice patches with their tassels of glowing scarlet4 ,i saw them first near ,hamamatsu1 a pleasant town on the ,tokaido1 which ,i reached on the #afth of ,september1 after a little tour in the interior2 their brilliant color at once attracted me1 and ,i hastened to make drawings of them1 for my passport had almost expired1 and ,i feared that ,i might not find them elsewhere4 ,there was no need to be in such a hurry1 for they seem to grow abundantly wherever they get a chance4 ,hamamatsu was quite unlike any other ,japanese town ,i had seen2 the houses had a projecting upper story and broad overhanging roofs1 and the principal trade seemed to be in toys4 ,there were shops full of drums and kites1 and dolls with all their belongings1 and the thousand and one things which the ,japanese delight in giving to their beloved children4 ,as ,i passed a little garden ,i saw what looked like a fearful atrocity--dozens of babies' heads1 pale and gray as if in death1 cut off at the neck and impaled on short ,illustration3 ,,the ,,edge ,,of ,,the ,,tokaido1 ,,near ,,hamamatsu stakes1 stood about the ground2 but on coming nearer the mystery was explained3 they were life-sized dolls' heads of papier-mach1 put out to dry in the sun before receiving their final coat of paint4 ,the neighboring villages were peculiar2 every cottage was protected from the winds by a high hedge of clipped yew1 and the street seemed to pass between two green walls1 over which the heavily thatched roofs just peeped4 ,the openings gave a glimpse of court-yards and cottage fronts where women and men were hard at work1 threshing their beans of many colors and spreading them on mats to dry1 weaving blue cotton cloths1 or winding off the skeins of shining yellow silk4 ,the typhoon a fortnight earlier had strewn the ,tokaido with pine-trees2 a passage wide enough for a jinrikisha to pass had been sawn through some of the great prostrate trunks1 and others were still supported by their mangled limbs1 so that we could squeeze under them4 ,they sadly impeded the work of a company of white-clad engineers1 who1 with all the latest military contrivances1 were laying a field-telegraph along the road4 ,what a contrast were these sons of change to the fishermen returning from their morning's work with heavy loads of bonito1 and to the peasants with their simple and primitive implements1 all working and living as they have done for centuries past6 ,politics and changes of government matter very little to them2 the rice crop and the take of fish are affairs of much more importance2 they are the real life of a country1 preserving its habits1 costumes1 and traditions1 and staving off for a time the influences of railroads and steamships1 which threaten to reduce man's condition throughout the world to one dull level of uniformity4 ,fortunately they form a solid majority in every land1 a mass not easily moved1 and even in progressive ,japan it will be a long time before ill-cut trousers and steam-ploughs replace the kimono and the spade4 ,the ,tokaido ,railway takes you in twelve hours from ,hamamatsu to ,kbe1 and while waiting till a new passport came from ,tky ,i had time to see a little more of the beautiful country around that hospitable port4 ,the shores near ,suma and ,maiko1 a little to the westward1 are picturesque1 and close by is the ,strait of ,akashi1 through which a constant stream of traffic passes1 ships of all kinds and sizes1 from the little fishing-boats towed from the beach1 to the big steamers from ,europe and ,america4 ,the island of ,awaji lies across the entrance to the ,inland ,sea1 leaving a narrow passage at each end2 but the tide rushes so violently through the ,naruta ,channel to ,illustration3 ,,the ,,island ,,of ,,awaji1 ,,from ,,maiko the south1 between ,awaji and ,shikoku1 that it is often unnavigable1 and most of the shipping comes this way4 ,there are the remains of a ,daimio's castle at ,akashi2 the main building is gone1 and the plateau on which it stood is now a garden with tea-booths1 but the foundation walls1 the corner turrets1 and the moat show what an important stronghold it must have been2 and the view from it1 down the ,inland ,sea to the west1 over to the ,shikoku ,mountains on the south1 and eastward to ,osaka ,bay and the hills of ,yamato1 is extensive and very fine in its outlines4 ,at ,maiko ,illustration3 ,,on ,,the ,,shore ,,near ,,maiko1 ,,the ,,strait ,,of ,,akashi ,,to ,,the ,,right there is a grove of curiously blown and twisted pine-trees1 with the quaint forms which are loved by all artists1 especially by the ,japanese2 and near ,suma1 wherever the wiry grasses had got a foothold among the sand1 the shore was gay with scarlet lilies4 ,the botanic name of this flower1 which is really more like an amaryllis than a lily1 is ,nerine japonica4 ,its ,japanese name is not so easy to determine1 for wherever ,i went it had a different one2 some of these names are shiwata-bana1 teku-sari1 chiridji1 and ushino-ninniku 7cow-garlic71 but ,i think the commonest is higambana 7equinox flower71 and the best1 for its opening marks the change of the season1 the beginning of the end4 ,it is probably because of this that1 beautiful as it appears to ,european eyes1 to the ,japanese it is a flower of ill omen1 associated in their minds with death and decay1 and never used in art or in floral arrangements4 ,the children1 indeed1 gather great armfuls of it2 but they never take it inside their homes2 the great bunches they have collected are either scattered among the family tombstones or left to wither on the foot-paths4 ,they seem to like picking it because its juicy stem snaps so easily1 and often amuse themselves as they sit by the road-side by breaking the stalks half through1 leaving them hanging in regular joints1 much as our children make dandelion or daisy chains4 ,near a little graveyard set down among the rice-fields the flowers grew in great profusion1 making a gorgeous splash of brilliant color as a foreground to the gray stones1 the yellowing grain1 and the pale blue distant hills4 ,the rice was ripening fast1 and flocks of ,illustration3 ,,lilies ,,by ,,the ,,shore1 ,,suma rice-birds flew hurriedly across as they were chased from field to field by shouting boys4 ,i wish ,i had made a sketch of a ,japanese scarecrow2 there were plenty of them about1 and ,i never saw one without laughing2 they were full of quaint humor and invention1 and the little birds seemed to enjoy them as much as ,i did4 ,they recalled the remark of a stranger in a fly-haunted parlor in ,south ,carolina1 where a small clock-work windmill revolved in the centre of the table4 ,i asked whether it drove the flies away1 and the owner replied1 ,illustration3 ,a ,,graveyard ,,at ,,suma 8,at first it scared them some1 but now they come in to ride round on it40 ,the shore was always full of life and activity2 bronzed fishermen1 naked except for a narrow white loin-cloth1 were launching their boats or hauling them ashore1 towing along the beach1 pulling up nets1 or chanting as they rowed their heavy craft1 standing up and pushing the long bent oars with a forward jerk1 in the same way that a gondolier works4 ,the smaller sailing-boats are all rigged with the simple oblong sail which is so often shown in ,japanese drawings1 made of narrow strips of cotton cloth loosely laced together2 the larger ones have a jib and a jig-sail as well4 ,illustration3 ,,hills ,,behind ,k,,be ,futa-tabi1 ,maya-san1 and the other hills which rise behind ,kbe are as well worth seeing as the shore1 full of picturesque walks2 the country at the back of them1 commonly called 8,aden0 by the foreign residents1 on account of its barenness1 is a curious waste of disintegrating granite1 seamed and furrowed by the heavy rains1 where only some scrubby bushes find a precarious foothold on the shifting soil4 ,coolies from the neighboring villages come and cut these for firewood1 and carry the heavy fagots for miles to earn a few halfpence4 ,in ,arima1 one of the hill villages1 there are hot ferruginous springs where hundreds of people go to bathe2 but the arrangements are not so primitive as those ,i saw at ,yumoto2 the baths and dressing-rooms are private enough for the shy foreigner4 ,there is so much iron in the water that you come out of it covered with a red deposit which takes some days of washing to remove4 ,on this excursion1 as my boots were in hospital1 ,i tried ,japanese foot-gear--thick cotton socks and straw sandals2 they were very light and comfortable at first1 but after a time ,i was conscious of every little pebble ,i trod on1 and ,i got back to ,kbe with a good deal of pain and many blisters4 ,foreigners who have often worn them get hardened between the toes1 and many good walkers and mountaineers use them habitually2 heavy boots are an encumbrance when not on your feet1 and though the straw sandals are quickly worn out1 a few extra pairs are no serious addition to your baggage4 ,on the #fth of ,october ,i had finished my drawings among the pines and the sand hills1 and a new passport had come1 which gave me permission to wander for three months longer through the provinces near the ,tokaido1 so ,i bid farewell to my good friends and the comfortable club-house in ,kbe1 and ,matsuba once more left his wife and family to follow my fortunes4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,bamboo ,,yard ,,at ,,maibara ,our destination was ,maibara1 a little town on ,lake ,biwa1 not many miles from ,hikone4 ,as ,i passed it by rail ,i had noticed that the flooded fields on the margin of the lake were covered with a blue-flowered water-plant1 a good foreground to the blue water and the distant mountains1 and ,i hoped for blue skies to complete the picture1 but they came only at rare intervals4 ,on a piece of waste ,illustration3 ,,blue ,,water-,,weed ground near my tea-house a travelling theatre had been erected1 a structure of bamboo poles with mats hung over them1 which was not calculated to keep an audience dry1 and not once during my stay were the company able to give a performance4 ,the manager occupied the room next mine2 he was an excellent performer on the samisen1 and a pious man withal4 ,every morning from seven till half-past he said his prayers1 repeating in a monotonous singsong voice a sentence which sounded to me like 8,ya ya yura no10 and tapping two blocks of wood together to keep time4 ,he belonged to the ,shingon sect of ,buddhists4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,travelling ,,theatre1 ,,maibara ,the prayer formula of the ,monto sect1 one of the most popular and powerful1 owning the great ,hongwanji temples which are found in all large towns1 is1 8,namu ,amida ,butsu10 while the followers of ,nichiren1 as they beat their drums1 murmur constantly1 8,namu myh renge ky40 ,we soon became good friends1 the manager and ,i1 and he spent many hours in my room drinking tea1 looking at my sketches1 and in such conversation as my rudimentary knowledge of the language permitted1 but unfortunately ,i never had an opportunity of seeing him act4 ,when ,i left he presented me with a printed cotton towel in an ornamental wrapper1 and ,i gave him a penny black-lead pencil1 and we parted with mutual expressions of esteem4 ,i had other visitors too3 the station-master and the chief of police wanted to see my pictures1 and ,takaki1 ,o ,shige ,san1 and little ,kazu1 with the brown velvet eyes1 came over from ,hikone to call on me1 and arranged to meet me at the ,nagahama matsuri4 ,this annual festival takes place in the middle of ,october1 and seems to be a gathering-ground for all the country-side4 ,in many respects it was very like a country fair in ,england1 but the main event on all the three days is the perambulation of large triumphal cars1 called yama1 on which companies of children give dramatic performances4 ,i was fortunate in having a brilliantly fine day1 and as ,i bowled along the five miles of level road from ,maibara in a kuruma with two good runners1 ,i passed troops of people in holiday attire1 old peasants1 gayly dressed young girls1 and wandering friars with huge bamboo hats that looked like bushel baskets4 ,the town was gayly decorated with flags and with lanterns bearing the device of the city1 and crowds were pouring into it by road and rail and boat2 for ,nagahama is a busy port at the northern end of ,lake ,biwa1 and a regular service of steamers runs between there and ,otsu1 at the southern end4 ,this mixture of things ancient and modern in ,japan always seems amusing1 especially when1 as in ,nagahama1 there is not much of the modern4 ,the row-boats which came in with their loads of passengers were of unvarnished wood1 decorated with black patterns on the bows1 and1 except the police and the railway officials1 ,i saw very few men in ,european dress2 there certainly were no women in anything but their own becoming costume1 and ,i was the only foreigner in the town4 ,my landlord had been thoughtful enough to engage a place for me in a tea-house opposite which the yama stopped and gave a performance3 all the partitions had been removed1 and the floor1 divided into squares by low movable railings1 was covered with family parties who had brought their own cushions and provisions4 ,illustration3 ,,launching ,a ,,boat ,my heart was filled with covetousness as ,i saw the fine old lacquer bento boxes which they produced after carefully removing many silk wrappings4 ,there are twelve yama in the town1 each owned by a different guild or society1 the members of which teach the children their parts1 provide dresses for their play1 and accompany the yama on the festival days4 ,the cars are huge things1 taller than most of the ,japanese houses1 and quite fill up the ,illustration3 ,,lake ,,biwa ,,with ,,flooded ,,rice-,,fields1 ,,near ,,maibara narrow streets2 they are built on solid wooden wheels1 and are dragged about by strings of coolies1 the young men of the guild dancing and shouting in front of them1 waving fans by day and lanterns after dark to direct the coolies' movements1 while the older members follow in white-curtained carts4 ,the wood-work around the stage is lacquered1 gold and black and red1 with elaborate brass ornaments1 and the pagoda-like roof which covers it is of burnished gold1 surmounted with a dragon or phnix or other mythical animal4 ,the part behind the stage is enclosed with hangings1 ,chinese embroideries1 ,persian rugs1 or silk brocades1 and two of them had fine pieces of ,flemish tapestry1 which must have come over with the ,dutch centuries ago2 the buxom ladies and knights in armor looked odd1 and yet pleasantly familiar1 and my heart went out to the expatriated strangers1 so lonely amid that ,eastern crowd4 ,in front of each stage hung a bunch of 8gohei10 the twisted strips of white paper which are the universal emblem of the ,shinto religion1 the only simple things among the masses of gorgeous color1 and they seemed to give the key-note to the whole2 for ,shinto is1 above everything else1 an ancestor-worship1 a religious respect for the country and for the men whose heroic deeds still inspire its people1 and the short dramas which the children acted were all founded on old stories--how ,yoritomo's son sacrificed his life to save the young ,mikado1 and other well-known motives from ,japanese history4 ,the boys were admirably trained and beautifully dressed2 they rolled their eyes and grimaced in exactly the same way as their elders of the profession1 and the crowd vigorously applauded their facial contortions4 ,in one company there was a little mite of two years old2 he had not to speak at all1 only to cry out once or twice1 but he knew his part as well as the rest1 and always looked up at his boy father at the right moment4 ,during the afternoon ,i walked round the town1 first to the ,buddhist temple1 the great hall of which was crowded with people sleeping1 eating1 and praying1 and then up the long avenue leading to the ,shinto temple of ,hachiman4 ,it was lined with stalls and booths for refreshments of all kinds1 with conjurers1 purse-trick men1 lucky wheels1 quack-medicine vendors1 and so on1 and near the big granite torii and lanterns were the market-gardeners with dwarf pines1 oranges laden with fruit1 camellias1 and other trees4 ,one had nothing but orchid-plants1 none of them1 unfortunately1 in flower4 ,i joined a large circle of spectators who were watching a scriever1 which is1 ,i believe1 the professional name for the artists who draw on the flag-stones2 this one had no pavement1 so he prepared an even ground by sprinkling some light gray sand over the dusty road2 his colors were bags of black1 white1 red1 and blue sand2 from one of these he took a handful1 and drew his design by letting the powder run from his closed fist in a line which varied in thickness as he tightened or loosened his grasp4 ,he wrote or drew in this way with wonderful rapidity as he squatted on the ground1 and he talked all the time1 obliterating each drawing as soon as he had finished it4 ,i watched him draw a figure of a girl1 and he began by putting down the spots of the pattern on her kimono with blue1 then added the shadow lines of the dress1 relieved it here and there with white1 sketched the face and hands in red1 and finally added a bold outline in black1 which completed the picture1 thus working in that reverse way to our natural instincts which you so often notice in this land of ,topsy-turvydom4 ,as evening approached1 all the yama began to collect in the square in front of another ,shinto temple1 where the great ,hachiman car with colossal swords1 and the ,mikoshi1 a shrine carried about on men's shoulders1 were already placed4 ,in the river on one side of this square many boats were moored1 spread with rush mats and with the red blankets which have become so common in ,japan1 and in them people were picknicking2 over the bridge which crossed it the unwieldy structures were dragged from the town by shouting crowds2 each in turn gave a final performance in front of the temple1 and was then drawn aside to make room for the next4 ,this began at half-past five1 and it was eleven o'clock before the last of ,illustration3 ,,one ,,of ,,the 8,,yama0 ,,at ,,the ,,nagahama ,,matsuri ,from a printed programme sold on the street them had been ranged with the others to the right of the temple steps4 ,as night came on they were covered with big lanterns1 the stages were lighted by lamps in glass shades1 and attendants with candles on long sticks illuminated the face of each little actor while he was speaking4 ,when the six gorgeous yama with their attendants and gayly dressed performers were all drawn up in line against ,illustration3 ,,some ,,hats ,,at ,,the ,,nagahama ,,matsuri a background of solemn cryptomerias1 with an excited crowd dancing and waving lanterns in front of them1 the spectacle was more beautiful than any words of mine can suggest4 ,in spite of the excitement1 ,i saw only one quarrel2 a young man1 in order to get nearer to the stage1 had pushed past a big coolie1 who had evidently taken as much sak as he could carry1 and for a few seconds ,i thought there would be a fight2 but a bystander pointed out to the indignant man that the youth had to get nearer because he was short-sighted and wore spectacles1 and peace was at once restored4 ,on the way back to our tea-house1 where my friends from ,tennenji had dined with me1 we passed a street full of stalls1 with pipes and pouches1 cheap jewelry1 hair-pins and combs1 and many other knick-knacks suitable for presents4 ,i wanted a few of them1 and found that ,o ,shige ,san was a talented shopper2 she had her limit1 ten sen1 and usually succeeded in getting the article for that sum1 whatever the original price might have been4 ,as ,i wandered round early the next morning ,i found that the yama had already been moved to their stations in various ,illustration3 ,,the ,,temple ,,garden1 ,,seigwanji streets1 and were being cleaned up in preparation for the day's performances4 ,the town is studded with tall fire-proof go-downs1 in which the precious vehicles are safely stored during the rest of the year4 ,near ,maibara there were large orchards of persimmons with brilliant-colored fruit1 which1 as ,andrew ,marvel says of the oranges1 8hang like gold lamps in a green night40 ,they were particularly beautiful in the well-designed garden of ,seigwanji1 where ,i made some sketches4 ,it is a fine example of a temple garden1 and some massive evergreen oaks form an impressive background to the gray stones1 the carefully trained pines1 and the trimly clipped shrubs2 but except for the persimmons1 a few reddening maple leaves1 some late blooms of platycodon1 and the scarlet berries of a little ardisia1 it was all green and gray4 ,illustration3 ,,miniature ,,pagoda ,,in ,,the ,,temple ,,garden1 ,,seigwanji ,in the cottage gardens near ,suzukawa1 a little station on the ,tokaido to the south of ,fuji where ,i made a short halt late in ,october1 ,i began to see some chrysanthemum flowers2 they were not particularly fine or effective1 but ,i found plenty to paint there1 and wished very much that the days and my remaining weeks in ,japan were not getting so short4 ,the village lies behind a range of sand dunes1 which are overgrown with ancient pines1 and beyond them is the shore of ,suruga ,bay1 a grand expanse of gray volcanic sand1 called by the ,japanese ,tago-no-ura1 where fishermen are always hauling at nets in lines of naked brown figures against the blue sea1 or wandering back in groups across the sands in long dark-blue coats1 with pale-blue and white handkerchiefs tied over their heads1 carrying their nets and parcels of fish wrapped in straw4 ,at my tea-house1 the ,koshuya1 ,i reaped the result of their labors1 and got excellent dinners of red or gray tai1 lobsters1 and huge prawns1 cooked by a man who was a real artist and took a pride in his profession4 ,the first really fine chrysanthemums ,i saw were in ,yokohama1 when ,i got back there early in ,november2 ,i was disappointed to find that they were in temporary sheds put up to protect them from rain and sun1 and not in masses out-of-doors1 as ,i expected to see them2 but they were excellently grown1 and in the softened light of the oil-paper shades their colors showed to great advantage4 ,the plants are treated much as they are with us1 raised in pots from cuttings taken in the spring1 and encouraged with plenty of manure until the buds are formed2 before flowering they are removed from their pots and planted out in bold groups of color in the beds which have been prepared for them4 ,some plants are reduced to a single stem1 on which only one enormous blossom is allowed to develop2 these are generally arranged in a line1 with each flower stiffly tied to a horizontal bamboo support1 and the effect is very sad2 but the excellence of the gardeners is best shown in growing large bushes1 which have been known to carry as many as four hundred flowers of medium size1 all in perfect condition1 on the same day4 ,an ,english gardener who had visited every show within reach of ,tky1 including the ,emperor's celebrated collection in the palace grounds1 told me that he had seen no individual blossoms equal to the best dozen or so at a first-rate ,london exhibition1 but that these great plants with their hundreds of flowers were ,illustration3 ,a ,,chrysanthemum ,,show ,,at ,,yokohama triumphs of horticulture4 ,the most curious examples of chrysanthemum-growing were to be seen in the ,dangozaka quarter of ,tky4 ,the long hilly street is bordered on each side with gardens enclosed with high bamboo fences1 and in every one1 by paying three rin1 you could see groups of life-size figures mainly covered with chrysanthemum leaves and flowers4 ,they represented scenes from history1 the drama1 or ,buddhist mythology1 and were constructed with frame-works of bamboo1 inside which the flower-pots were concealed1 the shoots being brought through the openings and trained over the outer surface4 ,the heads and hands were made of painted wood1 and swords and other accessories were added to make them more life-like2 the draperies of living leaves and flowers were skilfully arranged in large folds1 and1 as in most of the popular shows1 they depicted the costumes of ,daimio and ,samurai of the past4 ,at each entrance ,i was given a sort of play-bill1 a roughly printed broad-sheet with a wood-cut and a description of the different groups1 serving as an advertisement of the gardener's establishment4 ,one of the finest places for autumn colors is the large garden behind the arsenal in the ,koishikawa quarter1 laid out by a former ,prince of ,mito as a quiet retreat for his old age4 ,it covers several acres1 and is certainly very beautiful1 with its lakes and islands1 solemn groves and shrines2 but it is silent and deserted2 the people are only admitted by a special permission2 and ,i liked better the maples which line the banks of the ,taki-no-gawa near ,oji1 where crowds were quietly enjoying themselves1 sipping tea and sak as they sat in front of the tea-houses and gazed down on the trees1 or strolling along in picturesque groups under the crimson canopy of foliage4 ,the little river glides along with barely a ripple1 and it reflected all the glory of the leaves which stretched over it in sprays of scarlet and gold1 reminding me of a ,japanese poem1 8,i wish to cross the river1 but fear to cut the brocade on its surface40 ,another poem1 dating from the time when it was customary to present silk or cloth to the ,shinto gods instead of the 8gohei10 which now serve as a symbol1 shows the national admiration of the autumn leaves3 8,this time ,i bring no offering2 the gods can take the damask of the maple-trees on ,tamukeyama40 ,there are many other trees in the rich flora of ,japan which are as gay as the maples1 though no others which show as great a variety of color2 the dark leaves of the tulip-tree turn to a rich cadmium yellow1 and the icho 7,salisburia7 is covered with pale gold1 while many of the shrubs1 grasses1 and herbaceous plants with bright and varied tints help to relieve the solemn everlasting green of the pines and cryptomerias which clothe the eternal hills4 ,and so in a blaze of glory the ,japanese year ends2 but long before these last leaves have fallen the camellias are once more in flower1 and continue until the plum blossom comes in ,february1 a connecting link in the chain of beauty and flowers which encircles this happy land4 ,one of my last days in ,tky was spent in showing my drawings to the students of the ,uyeno ,school of ,art1 where ,professor ,okakura1 the president1 who combines with a good knowledge of ,western art a great reverence for that of his own country1 is attempting with no small success to keep up the artistic tradition1 and to revive those artistic industries which were falling into decay4 ,he had invited artists of other schools1 some of whom had studied in ,paris and ,rome1 but ,i was most interested in the remarks and questions of the purely ,japanese students1 and in their eagerness to discover any motive1 besides the reproduction of nature1 in work so different from their own4 ,at the ,asakusa matsuri they were already selling emblems suited for the new year--the rice-rake to scrape ,illustration3 ,,the ,,arsenal ,,garden1 ,,koishikawa1 ,t,,ky together dollars2 the rice-bag1 daikon1 and red tai1 suggestive of good fare2 and the target with an arrow in the bull's-eye1 meaning1 8,may you hit the mark60 arranged round a mask of the goddess of fortune2 and with a stock of these to bring me good-luck1 ,i sailed away on the #ajth of ,december across the dreary and flowerless ,pacific4 ,illustration ,illustration3 ,,lychnis ,,grandiflora1 ,,misaka-,,toge 99 99 99 99 99 ,,books ,,with ,,illustrations ,,by ,,alfred ,,parsons ,a ,,selection ,,from ,,the ,,sonnets ,,of ,,william ,,wordsworth4 ,illustrated by ,,alfred ,,parsons4 #dto1 ,full ,leather1 ,gilt ,edges1 #e #jj4 7,in a ,box47 ,,the ,,warwickshire ,,avon4 ,notes by ,a4 ,t4 ,,quiller-,,couch4 ,illustrations by ,,alfred ,,parsons4 #hvo1 ,ornamental ,half ,leather1 #b #jj4 ,,the ,,quiet ,,life4 ,certain ,verses by ,various ,hands3 the ,motive set forth in a ,prologue and ,epilogue by ,,austin ,,dobson2 the whole ,adorned with ,numerous ,drawings by ,,edwin ,a4 ,,abbey and ,,alfred ,,parsons4 #dto1 ,ornamental ,leather1 ,gilt ,edges1 #g #ej4 7,in a ,box47 ,,old ,,songs4 ,with ,drawings by ,,edwin ,a4 ,,abbey and ,,alfred ,,parsons4 ,with ,mounted ,india ,proof ,frontispiece1 left loose for framing4 #dto1 ,ornamental ,leather ,cover1 ,gilt ,edges1 #g #ej4 7,in a ,box47 ,,published ,,by ,,harper ,,brothers1 ,,new ,,york4 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,before ,i left ,tennenji he wrote in one of my sketch-books the poem inscribed above in ,japanese characters4 ,the reading is1 8,yukuri no ,omi no midzu-umi no fukaki kokoro wa chiyomo chigiran10 and it may be roughly translated thus3 ,deep as the water of ,lake ,biwa1 my heart has been ever true and changeless since chance brought us together4 ,b 8,daikon0 is a large kind of white radish1 which is boiled and cut in strips and served as a savor with every meal2 it is very tough1 and both the smell and the flavor are repulsive4 ,a well-known ,yokohama poet has written some verses on the subject1 which show a great knowledge of culinary ,french1 and a rooted dislike to the vegetable which is shared by most foreigners4 ,it commences in this way3 ,cook loquitur 7gently74 ,won't daikon do ,to stew ,with carrots and a bean or two8 ,methinks 'twould give a savor rare ,to cutlets la ,financire4 ,won't daikon do8 ,master 7decisively74 ,no--daikon will not do6