Life and adventure in Japan

Preface

If the young folks for whom this book is prepared find in it as much pleasure as the author has experienced in writing it, the labor will prove well bestowed.

Japan is an interesting country, and peculiar fascination may be found in studying its people and watching the everchanging scenes in this beautiful " island empire."

The author resided four years in the country (1871-1875), in the service of the Japanese government ; two years were spent at the city of the exiled Tycoon, and two at the modern capital of the Mikado.

This book is a simple narrative of his experiences and adventures, presented from a Christian standpoint, and reflecting the novel phases of Japanese life and character with which he was daily brought in contact.

The story will explain itself and needs no introduction.

The book, though intended primarily for the young, will be appropriate and acceptable to "children of a larger growth," who will find in it a permanent record of religious and political events that have recently transpired in^'that once-secluded land which now lies nearest our western shore.

The illustrations are taken from original photographs, and no pains have been spared in making the pictures attractive and true to the subject.

The outline map will help the young reader in locating the places of interest described. The original copy of this map was kindly given to the author by his friend and fellowtraveller, Mr. W E. Griffis ; only a few Japanese names have been used, which can easily be understood and remembered.

CHAP. X. A Trip to Kioto i?7

CHAP. XL The Missionary Outlook 215

CHAP. XIL Farewell to Japan 231

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

The New House on the Castle Moat Frontispiece

Map PAGE

A Japanese Junk 8

The Tokaido, or Public High Road i6

Dai-Butz; the Bronze Idol, 50 feet high 20

Lake and Village of Hakone - 24

Japanese Hotel in the Hakone Mountains 28

Temple Gateway 36

School House at Shidz-u-o-ka — - 44

Buddhist Temple and Pagoda 50

The New House with the Castle Grounds 58

Man Pounding Rice 76

Mode of Sleeping 80

Fuji-Yama, the Matchless Mountain, 11,500 feet high 96

Gathering Tea-leaves ; Fuji-Yama in the Background 120

Heating and Firing the Leaves — 4 views 124

Sifting and Sorting the Leaves - 126

The Kaisei Gakko, or Imperial College - 140

Entrance of the Kaisei Gakko - 144

Tower and Moat of the Tokio Castle 14S

Tomb of the First Tycoon 150

The Home in Tokio 162

Suruga-Yashiki, and College Building 166

The Mikado in Modern Dress 172

The Empress in Court Costume 176

Representative Classes of Society 180

A Japanese Gondola 196

Riding in a Kango - - 210

Mode of Carrying the Baby 214

American Mission Home 220

The Lord's Prayer in Japanese 228

Japanese Summer House and Garden 244

. ONUNCIATION

^y^y^ letter is sounded J as in falher^

Life and Adventure in Japan.

Chapter I. First Sight Of Japan

At early dawn on Wednesday, October 25th, I looked out of my state-room window from the steamer Great Republic, and lo ! the snowwhite dome of Fuji-Yama, the *' Matchless Mountain'' of Japan, rising like a temple of beauty above the clouds and mist ; and as I caught sight of it the sun rose higher and higher, causing the mountain to brighten up, and its face to smile a welcome to us in our approach to the old, old world.

Slowly we steamed up the great bay of Yedo, passing verdure-covered cliffs, rocky promontories, and small islets clothed in brightest green, while here and there the thatched-roof cottages of the fishermen were scattered along the shore.

A slight breeze rippled the surface of the water.

and Japanese junks came scudding by under full sail. The junks had low prows and ver)^ high sterns, with broad sails sometimes made of matting or bamboo, and having large characters inscribed on black bands of cloth, with which the main-sail was ornamented. The cargo of the junk was carried amidship, with a bamboo roof built over it ; and not a particle of paint appeared on the whole craft. The junks came quite near the steamer, dashing the spray from their low prows, and rocking violently in the rollers left in the wake of the Great Republic.

With the captain's permission I brought my new flag on deck, presented by friends far away, and up went my bright star-spangled banner in place of the ship's dilapidated ensign, and it flapped and fluttered proudly from the stern of the steamer.

As we passed vessel after vessel of various nationalities lying at anchor in the harbor, that flag was saluted with respect — German, Italian, English, French, Dutch, and other ships dipped their colors as we went by, and only ceased when the signal-gun from our steamer announced that we had made fast to our moorings in Yokohama Bay.

Swarms of little skiffs surrounded us, sculled by nearly naked Japanese, with brawny arms and brown skins. Dropping into one of these boats, I

FIRST SIGHT OF JAPAN, 9

made for the shore. Alone I wandered off, and peculiar were my feelings as I wended my way among the strange sights and people.

It is said that the sounds of a place first attract the stranger's attention, and so it was here. I heard an unearthly shout or yell, repeated in quick and regular succession, and turning down the street I saw a line of rough wooden carts drawn by strong coolies, who tugged away like horses and gave these guttural yells in keeping step with each other.

Boxes of tea were piled on the carts, and as I passed by the stone houses on a side street I could smell the sweet aroma of the tea that was being ** re-fired *' within, and hear the merry prattle in a strange tongue of the tea-girls as they sang together and stirred the tea-leaves on the hot copper ovens.

Taking a straight street to the left, I passed through a portion of the foreign settlement, which was substantial and comfortable, and came to a bridge crossing the canal. On ascending a steep flight of steps I reached the top of ** The Bluff,*' where many English and Americans live ; from this point a beautiful view spread before me of the bay, shipping, city, and the native town of Yokohama.

I met many kind friends at the American

TO LIFE IN JAPAN.

Mission Home, a beautiful building on *'The Bluff/' where Japanese girls are instructed in Christian truth, and where the first Sunday-school in Japan was established.

After a few days the Japanese officials arrived at Yokohama who were appointed to conduct me to their distant province in the interior of the country.

I had engaged to go to the city of Shidz-u-o-ka, one hundred miles south-west of To-kio, to take charge of a scientific school there, and teach the Japanese in chemistry, physics, and other branches of study. I was to be liberally paid by the Japanese Government, who were also to furnish my horses, guards, interpreters, philosophical apparatus, attendants, and give me a large temple in which to live. Thirteen long articles, written in Chinese, Japanese, and English, and forming three imposing-looking books, constituted the ** contract" or agreement made between us for the space of three years.

But when I came to sign the agreement, I found that the ** Dai-jo-kan*' — as the Council of State is called — had slyly inserted a clause forbidding me to teach Christianity, and binding me to silence on all religious subjects for a space of three years. Many reasons prompted me to accept, and some of my friends urged me to sign the

FIRST SIGHT OF JAPAN, II

contract as it was. The interpreter said, '' Sign the promise ; but when you get way off in the country you can break it and teach w^hat you please.'* Others said, ** Sign it, or you will lose $300 a month, and all your good chances besides ; some mere adventurer may get the position, who will do the people more harm than you can do them good."

It was a great dilemma, for I had spent all my money in coming to Japan and getting ready to go into the interior, and were the contract to fail I should find myself in a tight place.

Nevertheless I determined to stand firm on the principle at stake, and sent word to the government that unless the objectionable clause was withdrawn, the contract could not be accepted. ''It is impossible,'* I added, ^'for a Christian to dwell three years in the midst of a pagan people, and yet keep entire silence on the subject nearest his heart."

To my surprise an answer was returned after three days, saying that the clause against Christianity should be stricken out ; and the messenger who brought m: the news exclaimed, ** You have conquered, and have broken down a strong Japanese wall. Now you can also teach us the Bible and Christianity !"

I mention this to show that it pays to hold fast to the right, at whatever apparent cost ; for, instead of thinking less of me, or being vexed at my obstinacy, the Japanese officials were more friendly than ever, and respected the ''pluck*' displayed.

They immediately advanced all the necessary funds to meet the heavy expenses incurred, and were so liberal and polite as to excite my gratitude and astonishment. Under their kindly assistance I was soon ready to start on the long journey.

But never before had I so many things to think of at once. Not only had I the care of perfecting my official arrangements, but I had all the minute details of ** first going to housekeeping*' beyond the range of civilization.

Imagine yourself preparing to keep house where a real house was never known ! Imagine yourself endeavoring to furnish said house where furniture was never heard of ; where bedsteads and beds and carpets and stoves were never seen ; where mirrors and windows and chimneys and coal had not even been dreamed of. Imagine yourself going to live a certain number of years in said house and place. The probability is you would want something to eat during your sojourn ; but there beef-steaks and mutton-chops are unknown, a loaf

FIRST SIGHT OF JAPAN, 13

of bread is a myth, and milk, butter, and cheese are fairy tales.

Perhaps now and then you would like to know the time of day. But no town-clock ever strikes to inform you, no chronometer exists by which to set your watch when it stops, no almanac to tell the day of the week or month when you have forgotten them. In fact I frequently did forget the day of the week, and once kept the scientific school waiting several hours for me, supposing it was Sunday ! After that I thought of cutting notches in a stick every day, after Robinson Crusoe's fashion ; and when my watch stopped I would set it by a sun-dial, which I made with two sticks, a compass, and a string.

Na-ka-mu-ra was the name of one of the officers sent from the province where I was going ; and although he was the most noted scholar of Chinese literature in Japan, he was as simple as a child, and quite amusing in his use of broken English. He called at the Mission Home to see me one day, while I was off making some purchases, and, as he awaited my return, the children of the Home volunteered to entertain him. ** They take out several cards,*' he wrote, ** singing the songs which are written on them'' (Sunday-school hymns), ** then passing the biblical pictures, very fine, to me, they said, * While you look at them Mr. Clark will soon be returned. ' The girls again merrily explained them to me, saying, * This is John the Baptist,' * This is dove,' * This is Jesus,* ' This is Abraham sacrificing his son, ' and the like. During one hour I feel myself to get some advantage from the surrounding children."

Not long after this Nakamura boldly presented a memorial to the imperial government suggesting that they build a Christian church in Tokio ! in order that Japanese subjects might have an opportunity of being instructed in the truth. Of course the government did not quite see it in that light. Nakamura was appointed to go abroad with the Japanese embassy then starting for America, but he declined, saying that he had once lived in a Christian country — England — without learning Christianity, and now he wished to retire to his own province and study religious subjects with his new foreign teacher. He was subsequently my warmest friend and most intimate companion ; he became a devout Christian under the instruction of my Bible-class, and frequently would sign himself, ** Your most humble servant, and to be your future and forever friend in the spiritual world/'

On my last Sabbath in Yokohama I attended the little chapel where foreigners are accustomed

FIJ^ST SIGHT OF JAPAN, 15

to assemble, and listened to an interesting sermon

from Rev. Mr. H , a missionary of North

China. It was communion service, my first in Japan, and the last that I should have for a long, long time, as I was going where there were no Christians. On returning from church I wrote home, saying :

'*The more I enjoyed the service, the more vividly it brought upon me the realization of the keen deprivation I am to suffer in being cut off from all holy associations, and how I shall long for the strength gained from Christian sympathy and the sound of the Gospel.

** You can scarcely imagine the impressions of one fresh from a Christian land at the first view of the heathenism of which he had heard but never seen. There is no more Sabbath here than if the Ten Commandments were never written. The sounds of labor are heard in every direction, and sin and corruption abound in their worst forms. Instead of church bells, I hear ever and anon the deep, prolonged sound of the great bell of the heathen temple, as it strikes to announce that another soul has entered to bow down to the idol. Instead of sacred music, I hear fire-crackers in an adjacent Chinese burying-ground, where worship is going on to the spirits of the dead. As I visited the temples of Yedo the other day, and saw the hundreds of human beings prostrated before their images and calling upon their gods, it did seem to me the most pitiable sight I ever witnessed ; and as I moved among the millions in the great capital of Japan who never heard the name of Christ, it seemed too solemn to be true. Possibly I may become so accustomed to heathenism and its accompaniments as not to feel their painful reality, but I trust I may never lose the earnest desire to turn these poor deluded souls from their errors. * '

On the following Monday the horses and guards appeared at the door, and as my furniture and freight had been sent by sea on a Japanese junk, I bade farewell to all my new-made friends at Yokohama, and started off with the guards to encounter the strange experiences and adventures of life in the heart of Japan,

Chapter II. A Journey On The *' Tokaido/'

The great public thoroughfare of Japan is called the ** To-kai-do/' It is several hundred miles in length, and passes along the sea-shore and over the mountains, connecting the ancient capital, Kio-to, near Lake Biwa, with the modern capital, To-kio, at the head of Yedo Bay.

The road is flanked on either side with venerable pines, which have shaded generations of travellers and pilgrims who have passed to and fro through this beautiful country. Near the sea-shore it is protected by earthen embankments, and over the steep declivities of the mountains it is paved with stones. It runs through innumerable villages and towns, and its way-side is the best possible place to study the country life and character of the people.

Here you may meet the two-sworded ** Samou-rai," as the military gentlemen are called who wear long sharp swords thrust in their belts, and who sometimes look very fiercely at foreigners, whom they do not love overmuch for invading the sacred seclusion of their country. Here you meet the farmers also, carrying their produce to market, and the coolies, trudging along with their burdens suspended from the ends of a pole carried on the shoulder.

Here you meet bands of pilgrims clothed in white, wearing broad bamboo hats, and carrying a small bell in one hand and a long staff in the other. On the staff were strips of paper prayers, and the little bells tinkled continually to call the attention of the gods to the prayers while the pilgrims were on their journey to the various heathen shrines.

The country people were very polite, and as we passed them on the road each one would bow and exclaim, ** 0-hi-o !** (Good-morning). The children would also nod their little heads politely, and touch their foreheads as a mark of respect.

In passing through one of the towns on the ** Tokaido'* — shown in the accompanying picture — we saw a long ladder standing upright at the side of the street, upon which a man climbed whenever the fire-alarm sounded. The houses were simply wooden shanties, with paper sliding-doors, and when they caught fire, as they frequently did, the man on the ladder would shout to his neighbors, and they would run together and pull down the house, instead of attempting to extinguish the flames.

On the road-side a stream of water is seen, which the natives use in cooking and washing. The open space in front of each house is used for drying fish, sifting grain, and also for sunning the babies and children who swarm by the road-side, and who use this space frequently for a play-ground.

The mountain Fuji-Yama is seen in the distance.

We turned aside a few miles to visit ** Dai- Butz,*' the great bronze idol of Japan, which is about fifty feet in height. It stands near the former site of an ancient city of great historic interest, but which passed away some centuries ago, leaving scarcely a vestige behind, except this idol and a large temple.

The colossal image represents Buddha sitting in a large lotus-lily, in the state called '* nir-vana,'* which is a kind of divine sleep or unconsciousness. This is the heavenly state which the devout Buddhist hopes to attain. Not a heaven of holy activity and of joyous worship, but a sleep of eternal unconsciousness, an absorption into Buddha ! Yet there is certainly something very peaceful and even beautiful in the expression of repose on that bronze face, and I do not wonder that multitudes of the ignorant pilgrims worship it with awe.

In front of the image are two vases containing large bronze lotus-HHes with expanding leaves, and between the vases is a bronze brazier where incense may be burnt. Dai-Butz is very imposing without, but he is entirely empty within ; for you may go inside of him, by passing through a small door, and find his hollow form lined with shelves, on which small gilt images are ranged. His ears are very large, as all ears are on idols, and his massive head is covered with concentric rows of snail-shells, which gathered there to protect his sacred person from the sun when ^in mythological times) he rose from the sea.

After studying the image as a work of art, I climbed up into his capacious lap, and sat upon one of his thumbs, which were placed together in a devout attitude. Here I began to sing the long-metre doxology, to the astonishment of the priest standing below, who could not understand the words, and wondered what the matter was ! A year after this I sang the same hymn in Dai- Butz's lap, with half-a-dozen other people ; and we told the priest we were praising the TRUE God, that the time was at hand when idolatry in Japan was going dov/n, never to rise again, and that even Dai-Butz would no longer be worshipped.

Not far from this great image is the beautiful island of In-o-shi-ma, close by the shore, where shrines and temples are found embowered among the trees high up on the rocky cliffs, and where you may descend to submarine caverns, to reach which I had to swim around the rocks and allow myself to be swept into a dark and dreary cavern by the waves. Here a naked priest stood by a stone altar. On the ledges of the rock, where the surf rolled and dashed high in the air, little Japanese urchins were diving for pennies in the deep green water, protected by the grottos formed at the foot of the cliff ; they would catch a penny when thrown into the water long before it reached the bottom.

We spent the first night at a large city on the Tokaido, and the next morning found us galloping along the level road leading towards O-dawa-ra, a city at the foot of the Ha-ko-ne mountain pass. The whole journey to Shidz-u-o-ka required five days, for you must remember there were no steam-cars, coaches, or modern conveniences of travel. Besides, I very soon found that it was to be a journey of Japanese etiquette the whole way. As we approached the province where I was to live, whole villages appeared specially prepared for my reception. The native officials would come out to meet us, dressed in flowing robes, and salute me in the way they used to receive the dai-mios, or distinguished princes, in olden times. Although they were two-sworded men of rank, they would kneel in front of our horses and bow their heads to the earth, heaving a deep sigh of respect that sounded like a miniature typhoon !

These Yaconims, or officials, would escort us on foot through the whole length of the district under their jurisdiction, picking up any stray straw or stone that happened in the way, and motioning all carts and traffic to the side of the road with a wave of authority that made all plebeians drop on their knees at once, and keep there until our august presence was passed.

It tickled my Yankee glee not a little to touch up the horses now and then, causing these sedate officials to perform feats of pedestrianism such as they had scarcely before attempted. They took it in good part, and I usually favored them with an extra ** smile'' for their pains. If I started on a brisk trot, however, and shouted, ** Sai-o-nara!** (Good-by), they would fall at once on their' faces, keeping their heads bowed between their hands until we had disappeared from view.

At the next village we would have to go through the very same formalities, until, after a dozen or more were passed, it became rather monotonous. Whole neighborhoods were thrown into agitation by the arrival in their midst of such a strange-looking creature as the '' foreigner,*' and I was evidently as great a curiosity to the people as they were to me. Long lines of awe-struck faces presented themselves at every window and door and crevice, and crowds of women and children thronged the narrow lanes as we galloped through the principal street, making the old town echo. with the clatter of our horses* feet.

On crossing the Hakone range of mountains it became necessary to change our horses for peculiar vehicles called **kan-gos,** carried on men's shoulders. The *' kan-go" is like a broad cane chair without legs, slung securely on a thick pole, and in which you must squat, with the happy alternative of breaking your neck above or twisting your legs out of joint below. How to get into it was a mystery, so I just gave a pitch and tumble, leaving it to chance whether I came in right side up or not.

When I was fairly stowed away in the kango, two naked coolies raised it from the ground and placed the ends of the pole on their brawny shoulders. Off they trudged, as though I were simply a bag of rice or a box of cheese, and, jolting me up and down like a bowlful of jelly, they slowly climbed the steep and stone-paved path of the mountains. Now and then they rested the ends of the pole upon their stout bamboo sticks, and after shifting the heavy burden to the other shoulder away they would go again. Though their naked bodies would fairly shine with the sweat that trickled down their backs, yet they went great distances without apparent fatigue, always shouting to each other in keeping step. There are half-way stations on the mountain, where they stop to rest and eat rice ; it is very amusing to see a dozen of their nude bodies dancing around the fire, each carrying a steaming bowl of rice in one hand and chop-sticks in the other. Their appetites are well earned, and after eating plenty they finish off with a cup of tea.

In coming down hill the coolies trot very fast, and jolt one almost to pieces ; but on level ground the kango goes easily, and when you get accustomed to keeping your legs tied up in knots for two or three hours at a time, and are reconciled to wearing an artificial stiff neck for the same -period, it becomes quite comfortable, and you can soon imagine yourself being rocked to sleep.

On the pass we encountered naked runners, or post-carriers, with their broad-brimmed hats and their httle post-boxes slung on a stick over their shoulders. These are the swift-footed fellows who afterwards brought me my home mails from Yokohama.

After ascending several thousand feet, through thickly wooded ravines, we reached the picturesque village of Hakone, nestled among the mountains, at the head of a lovely lake of the same name. The whole vicinity of Lake Hakone is perfectly charming, and I used to frequently stop here afterwards, as it was the '' half-way*' point between Shidz-u-o-ka and Yokohama.

The lake is six miles long, and the water is blue, clear, and cool ; at one end of the lake is a small peninsula (seen in the picture), and near it are the thatched roofs of the houses of Hakone village, close by the shore. They look like white patches in the distance. A clump of trees behind the peninsula marks the spot where the road comes down the hill-slope, through a grand avenue of pines and poplars, and enters the village near an ancient guard-house that used to be the military ** key'' of northern and eastern Japan. Only the foundations of this guard-house now remain. The whole village of Hakone, like many of the towns scattered along the ** Tokaido,'* is located entirely on one street. The houses are plain wooden huts with paper shding-doors, matted floors on which people eat and sleep, and roofs covered with thatched straw, without chimneys, and having holes at the top to let out the smoke. Babies were sprawling around on the floors, or strapped upon their mothers' backs like an Indian's pappoose. Sometimes the baby's head was shaved, with tufts of hair left upon the sides and back of the head ; at other times the child wore a little red cap, which I used to think quite pretty until I found it signified small-pox I

The ** hotel " at Hakone was like most of the others we stopped at on the Tokaido ; the landlord was very polite, and the women of the house favored us with loud demonstrations of welcome by uttering a chorus of strange sounds we could not understand.

Our coolies turned us out of the kangos on the porch of the hotel as though we had been in wheel-barrows ; and taking off our shoes, as all Japanese do on entering the house, we walked across the clean straw mats to the inner apartments prepared for us.

Japanese houses are only one or two stories high, but cover a great deal of space, and have many rooms, separated from each other by framework and sliding-doors covered simply with rice paper. All these sliding-doors can be thrown open at once, making one large hall, so that from the street you can look straight through the house to the garden behind. The kitchen is at the very entrance, so that in coming in you pass through an array of pots and kettles, and see the women boiling rice and frying fish over a fire kindled on the floor, or in a stone fireplace where there is no chimney. Unsavory odors greet you of unmentionable Japanese dishes, and you are glad to escape the noise and smell by retiring to your room, which faces upon a small garden ; here you sit upon the floor and rest as well as you can, in the absence of beds, chairs, sofas, or common comforts. My cook prepared supper from the preserved provisions brought with us in tin cans, and every thing was served on tiny little tables, scarcely a foot high, in dishes no larger than saucers.

After tea soft quilts were spread upon the floor of the guest-chamber, which is one foot higher than the other rooms, and a wooden pillow-block, with a little round roll on top of it was placed at the head of the pile of quilts for a pillow ! When I placed my neck on the pillow-block I felt as if I were about to be decapitated ; but they covered me with a great stuffed quilt, shaped like a coat, with arms two feet wide that flapped over me. Then they hoisted a great mosquito-net, and tucked the edges under me to keep away tlie rats ! I wondered at this, until I rolled from under the net, and found the rats at midnight playing tag over my face ! Nor could I drive the creatures away until I struck a match, when they fled at the light.