The sunrise kingdom : or, life and scenes in Japan, and woman's work for woman there

Front matter

Shelf.

PRINCETON, N. J.

Division

Preface

If they who walk beside me as seven years of missionary life are retraced, find the Master near as I find him ; if they who stand beside me as the seed is sown over Japan realize the care of the Father, the power of the Spirit, the preciousness of the seed and the blessedness of the sower as I do ; if any, being themselves “heirs of the kingdom,” are led to seek with redoubled zeal to lead others to the same heritage, — then shall I feel that my work has not been in vain.

To the members of the society with which I

was most nearly connected, and under whose

care my work was done and is still carried on,

this book is dedicated. But it goes forth with

6 Preface.

greetings to All Societies, Mission Circles and Boards, and to all Missionaries who in any clime and among people of any tongue are laboring to sow the seed of the kingdom.

J. D. C.

Chicago, Sept., 1878.

Introduction

The following pages are a picture of seven years of missionary-life in Japan.

Looking upon the incidents and events here recorded, the reader may enter in some degree into the experiences of such a life, and understand, dimly at least, the richness and beauty which may be found in it. The simplicity and steadfast adherence to the one aim and purpose of mission-work, turning aside neither to the right hand nor the left for earthly pleasure or reward, may have seemed to some like a monotonous treading of the mill of duty. This little book will perhaps show to such that there are endless sources of delight and interest ever open to the earnest missionary in the minds and souls of those among whom he is laboring.

And as we go in and out with the writer of

Introduction.

this familiar account of her own knowledge of the Japanese people and intercourse with them, we shall see fresh evidence of the ever-new power of the old gospel, and realize the silent yet wonderfully transforming influence which it carries with it wherever it takes possession of the heart of man.

The writer’s hope is that the simple story of what she saw and heard during her residence in Japan, when she had unusual opportunities, which she diligently improved, of gaining access to the homes and hearts of the people, may answer the questionings of some doubters as to the benefit of mission-work, and may show what present reward the Master often gives his servants in the labor to which he calls them.

She trusts also that it will lead many who have never before done so to lift up heart and voice to God in prayer for this beautiful “ Sunrise Kingdom,” which is just beginning to turn its face toward the “Sun of righteousness,” and to feel the blessed “ healing in his wings.”

M. H. P.

Chapter I. Pagb

“ O-Hay-0 “ Good-Morning ” 17

First Sight of Land. — Voyage. — General Appearance of Coast. — Junks, Fishing- Vessels, Sailors, Harbor, Sampans. — Yokohama. — O-hay-0.”

Chapter II

Different Classes of Japanese. — Mikado. — Kugis. — Daimios. — Samurai. — Judges. — Priests. — Doctors. — Merchants.

— Mechanics. — Barbers. — Coolies. — Beggars. — Religions of the Country. — Work of Missionaries.

CHAPTER HI.

Climate. — Walks through the Rice-Paddies. — Trees. — Flowers. — Fruits. — Birds. — Animals. — Farmers. — A Pedestrian Tour.

lO

Chapter IV

Tokio. — Its Situation. — The Castle. — Emperor’s Garden. — 0-hama-go-ten. — Temples. — A-sa-ku-sa. — Shi-ba. — ^Japanese Houses. — Large Fires. — The To-ri. — Canals. — Bridges. — The Foreign Concession. — Mu-ko-ji-ma. — Sku-da-ji-ma. — Winter Climate. — Flowers and Fruit. — Missionary Life in Tokio.

Chapter V

Morning in Tokio. — Interior of a Japanese House. — Breakfast. — Going to School. — The Written Language. — What a Japanese Girl Learns. — The Baby 0-ya-su-mi-nasai. — Japanese Homes. — Position of Women.

CHAPTER VI. Going to V See Flowers ”

Japanese Holidays. — A Letter. — Dressing the Hair. — The Bath-House. — A Little Girl’s Dress. — Fans, Shoes and Umbrellas. — Meeting Friends. — Worship at the Temple. — Mu-ko-ji-ma. — The Feast. — Going Home. — Social Life. — Spoken Language. — May Days.

Chapter X

The Names of their Books : — “ The Ape and the Crab.” —

“ The Rat’s Wedding.” — “ Mo-mo-taro.” — “ Kin-ta-ro.” — “The Tail-Cut Swallow.” — “Story of Sho-set-su.” — “The Treasure.”

CHAPTER XL

A Journey from Tokio to 0-da-wa-ra 128

'a Letter. — Political Divisions. — Postmen. — Setting out on a Journey. — The To-kai-do. — Tea-Houses. — Ka-gos. — No-nmo-no. — The Road to Fu-ji-sa-wa. — The Hotel. — A Day’s Journey. — Night at O-da-wa-ra.

Contents,

CHAPTER I. “ O-JIA Y-0 r— ^^GOOD-MORNING /”

First Sight of Land — Voyage— General Appearance of Coast — Junks, Fishing-Vessels, Sailors, Harbor, Sampans— Yokohama — “ 0-hay-o !”

HE sun was just rising over the islands of Japan when we saw them for the first time. It was a beautiful hour in which to arrive in Zi-PAN-GU, “The Sunrise Kingdom.”

The voyage across the Pacific Ocean had been long and dreary. Day after day sea and sky were of the same dull and leaden hue. Only once or twice did the mists roll away to disclose the blue sky and the still bluer sea. One evening the breeze freshened a little, and there were white caps on the waves. The Chinese in the steerage threw out square pieces of paper with strange characters printed on them to appease

B i8 the gods of the storm. But the wind soon died away, the sea became as smooth as ever, and there was not even a gale to vary the monotony of our voyage.

The people on shipboard were not favorable to missionary enterprise in Japan. They said that it was contrary to the treaty, and that missionaries had no right to go, as such, to Japan at all. We thought differently, and looked above the treaty to One who has commanded his disciples to go into all the world.

The Japanese have a pretty legend concerning the origin of their country. They say: “A god once dipped his spear into the sea, and as he lifted it again the drops which fell from it congealed, and Japan’s four thousand isles were formed.”

But we, in our Western wisdom, cannot admit any such poetic and peaceful origin to these islands. Our science rather suggests that they were broken off from the great Asiatic continent in some violent convulsion of Nature, and frequent earthquakes still proclaim the existence of restless internal fires.

The coast-line of the Japan islands is broken and irregular, with many bays and inlets. There is little of the sublime to mark the scenery, but the islands are fair and sunny, and diversified by mountain and valley and wide-ex-

1 869] “ Good- Morning / ” 19

tended plains. Over the plains broad, shallow rivers flow peacefully in their channels, and down from the mountain-sides, into the pleasant valleys, come wild little streams, making up in swiftness and impetuosity what they lack in size.

As you travel among the mountains the murmur and gurgle of waterfalls hidden from sight fall upon the ear as they tumble over the rocks and down the precipices. Mountains, valleys and plains are clothed in the richest green, and exhibit in pleasing combination the productions of both temperate and semi-tropical climes.

Japan bears traces of the curse in the earthquake and the tempest, the brier and the thorn, but there is little here that is hurtful ; few poisonous plants or reptiles are found. The Japanese are justly proud of their land, whose beauty they celebrate in many a song and poem.

All around the islands sweeps the Pacific Ocean, dashing in white foam upon the rocks and murmuring against the low shores. Sometimes it grows rough and angry, and appears as if threatening to submerge the whole land. But it is only a threat, for even the tiniest isles are safe. After all, the sea loves the land, and delights in whispering to it pleasant stories and in casting its lovely treasures upon its shores.

As we neared our port we passed some Jap-

The Sunrise Kingdom.

anese junks. These clumsy, ill-contrived vessels do not often venture far from land, but are used in transporting manufactures and products from one part of the country to another through rivers and inland seas. Nearer the shore were smaller fishing-vessels, in whose construction and the shape of the sails you would observe a wide difference from those dotting our own waters.

The Japanese are very dependent upon their supply of fish ; as they eat no meat, it forms a principal article of their diet. In the morning, when the wind is fair, the fishing-boats go out to sea, and all day long their white sails glitter far out upon the water. Usually the fish are plentiful and cheap. The smaller ones are eaten by the poorer classes, while the rich choose the delicious tai and bora. Sometimes the fishermen bringf home sharks and enormous cuttle-fish.

Japanese sailors are very expert in the management of their boats, seldom meeting with accidents. They are good swimmers and divers, and this renders them all the more fearless in the water.

The harbors are very shallow. Ships are obliged to anchor far from the shore, and passengers and freight are landed by means of small open boats, called sampans. These are

‘ ‘ Good- Morning ! ’ ’

worked by a single oar, as in sculling, and the boat is rapidly propelled with a peculiar hissing on the part of the oarsman.

When our steamer dropped anchor in the harbor of Yokohama, we were immediately surrounded by these sampans. From the deck we saw the small, frail vessels and the almost naked boatmen, with their skin bronzed by constant exposure to the sun and wind. The first view of the Japanese is not prepossessing, nor are the tones of their voices, when first heard, agreeable to the ear. But we could not dwell upon these early impressions, as we were anxious to reach the city of Yokohama, that lay just a mile from us. So bidding adieu to the officers of the Great Republic and to our fellow-passengers, whose destination was still farther on — to China, the Flowery Kingdom — we descended the ladder by the side of the steamer, stepped cautiously into a sampan, and with our baggage were soon landed on the shore.

Yokohama was not the first foreign settlement on this side of the island. The name of the city signifies “ opposite shore,” as it lies directly opposite Kanagawa, where foreigners were first allowed to live. English and French troops are stationed here, each nation striving to gain the ascendency and to obtain a monopoly of trade with a people so recently opened to commerce. In speaking of the city, foreigners use the terms native town, settlement and blujf. In the “ settlement,” houses are mostly built in the European style, and in its stores you can purchase almost anything in the way of clothing and furniture. Here also are the various churches, mission-houses, hotels, consulates and many residences belonging to the foreign population, now numbering about five thousand.

The most beautiful part of the city is the bluff. Across the bridge, near the mission-house, the road leads along the bank of a canal for a few steps, and then, making a sudden turn, takes its course up the hill, which rises gradually to about two hundred feet above, the level of the ocean and extends several miles. This road is very pretty, with embankments on one side, and on the other views of the Buddhist cemeteries, and occasional glimpses of the sea. The foreign residences on the bluff are very pleasant, and some are even elegant. Here also are tea-houses, where we can sit and enjoy the view of the settlement and the harbor whilst drinking the cup of tea which is always offered to the casual visitor by the smiling Japanese girl.

The foreign cemetery on the bluff is a sweet, quiet spot, more home-like than anything else in this strange land.

1869] “ Good - Morning / ” 23

In the native city the principal street is called Curio street by the foreigners, and To-ri by the natives. Here the curious China lacquer and native woodenware are temptingly arranged.

We have already learned a few words of their language, such as i-ku-ra (“how much ?”), arigato (“ thank you K'), yo-ro-shiu (“ all right ”), and others. But o-hay-o (“ good-morning !”) has the clearest, most winning sound of all, and is the word we oftenest hear. O-hay-o T say the servants early in the morning; ''O-hay-o f' call out the children in the streets ; "O-hay-o de goza-i masud politely say the men and women we meet on the hillside and in the native city.

All this means simply “ early,” but to us is something more than a mere salutation. And how strange it all seems to us ! It is indeed o-hay-o — “ good-morning ” — with this people. For many centuries they have lived in seclusion, and in a state of somnolence with regard to the rest of the world. Ever following the same customs, with fashion of dress unchanged, they have pursued the same beaten track of national habit. But now they are just waking from their sleep ; and stepping forth into the light of a new morning, they are pleasantly and happily saying to the world at large, " O-hay-o T

And the prayer of God’s children is, “That this land, which catches the first beams of the

The Sunrise Kingdom.

morning sun when it comes to light up the eastern hemisphere, may soon rejoice in the light of the Sun of righteousness.” And thus do the people of the West hold out the hand to this newly-awakened land, and with earnest congratulations call out to them in the same cheering tones,

^'0-hay-o K (“ Good-morning !”)

Chapter II. A Look At The People

Different Classes of Japanese — Mikado — Kugis — Daimios — Samurai — Judges — Priests — Doctors — Merchants — Mechanics — Barbers — Coolies — Beggars — Religions of THE Country — Work of Missionaries.

HENEVER we stop to examine any object, a crowd collects around us.

We soon learn to distinguish the different classes of people by their dress. Although there has been a great revolution in Japan, and the distinctions of caste, hitherto so marked, are passing away, we still observe great differences in the appearance, manners and dress of the people we meet. It may be well just here to note the various classes that gradually became known to us.

At the summit stands the Mikado, or emperor. His person was formerly considered very sacred. He was kept almost in seclusion. No one was permitted to look upon him except the very highest nobles. It is said that he had to submit to many tiresome forms, such as sitting motionless for hours on his throne,

3 26

26 The Smirise Kmgdom, [1870

with a heavy crown upon his head. He wears richly-embroidered robes of silk, on which is stamped the chrysanthemum, the emblem of royal sovereignty. No one but members of the royal family or those nearest his person is allowed to wear this badge. It is probable that the use of this emblem grew out of this flower’s resemblance to the sun, which was once an ob ject of worship among this people, traces of which worship are to be seen in relics of Sintooism still existing.

Next to the emperor come the great lords, or Kugis. They wait in the sacred presence of the Mikado and kneel around the throne. In the pictures they are represented as wearing very high hats and robes with long trains. They are but few in number, and their places in the empire or exact prerogatives are not distinctly defined.

The Daimios are the feudal chiefs, whose authority was very great until the revolution, when the progressive party, led by the Mikado (legitimate emperor), drove from his castle the Tycoon (usurping emperor) and completely broke up the feudal system, which had for many centuries prevailed throughout the empire. These daimios, although deprived of their special prerogatives, still retain the names of their provinces. There is the prince of To-sa, of Sat-su-ma, the princes of Aid-zu, Su-ru-ga, and others.

Until the revolution the daimios had as their retainers the Samurai, or Two-sworded men. These men were supported by the government, and had no employment except that of war. They spent their idle hours in various pastimes — fishing, hunting, wrestling, reading and playing with their children. With their wives and children they occupied low houses around the daimio’s residence, forming a large square enclosure, like barracks. Many of these still exist, and cover large spaces of ground.

Where there were so many independent chiefs there was, of course, much fighting, and the Samurai were expected to be always ready to go to war. They were devoted to the interests of their lords, often dying with them or for them.

Although the Samurai have been deprived of their support (except a small pension from the government for a limited term of’ years), and the wearing of the swords is no longer authorized, many of them retain their peculiar dress, which consists of a tunic and a wide skirt. They also retain their swords, wearing the long one on the left side and the short one concealed in their broad belts. They are the class with which we are brought most in contact. Our teachers and scholars, and even some of the servants, are Samurai. They are the gentry and the literati of the country, and walk the streets with an air of conscious superiority.

The judges [ya-cu-nin) are greatly feared and reverenced by the common people. They wear, in addition to the garments of the Samurai, a coat of peculiar cut, which comes high up over the shoulders, but without sleeves.

The priests {bo-san) form a large portion of the community. Their dress differs little in style from that of the Samurai, but their shaven heads give them an unmistakable appearance. Besides those in regular priestly office, there are monks and nuns, who live in and about the temples, and whose duty is to assist in the ministrations there. Also mendicant friars are numerous, who go about the country drawling their prayers in low, monotonous tones and waiting at the doors of the houses until a few copper^ are given.

Japanese doctors traverse the streets in long robes, looking very solemn and wise. A boy walks behind them, carrying their boxes of medicines, consisting principally of powders and pills. They use blisters and the moxa to a very great extent. Their fees are very moderate.

Merchants are privileged to wear one sword.

CO(JLlKS DRAWINT, CHARCOAL.

BUDDHIST PRIEST

SAMURAI.

Pages 27, 28 and 30.

K’

They form the most solid and reliable part of the community. Silk-merchants occupy the largest stores. The beautiful silks and crapes manufactured in this country are not exposed to view like the more common cotton fabrics, but are kept shut up in the storerooms. At the other dry-goods stores the goods are displayed on the shelves, the floor, or are hung up by the door-post. There are shops where more trifling articles are kept for sale, such as hairpins, combs, powders and paints, and articles used in worship. There are large tea and rice establishments, and groceries, where beans, eggs, etc., are sold. Confectioners’ shops may be found, where children buy candy made of rice, beans and paste colored with seaweed. We see large china-stores, and are interested in the toy-shops filled with pretty things for the children, and in the book-stores, where the curious literature of the country is sold to those who wish to read.

We find, too, a class in which the merchant and the artisan mingle their callings — those employed in the manufacture and sale of umbrellas, shoes, fans, lamps, tables, chests of drawers, mats and other things, all exhibiting great skill and exquisite neatness. There are carpenters and smiths, masons, stone-cutters, lapidaries, and carvers in wood and ivory. Many are employed in making the beautiful lacquered articles, turning bronzes and manufacturing china-ware in every conceivable style.

Barbers form a numerous class, and do an extensive work in keeping the faces of the men smooth and a bald place on the top of the head, while the heads of priests, old women and babies are often completely shorn.

In the cities are jugglers, who perform wonderful tricks, and acrobats, who amuse the people by tumbling and wrestling, and geishas, or girl-minstrels, who sing and play upon the samisen, a species of guitar, and a popular instrument in Japan. At night blind men, called a-mas, blow their shrill whistles in the streets, and are called on to rub sick or tired people. They profess to cure diseases by manipulation, in the same way that magnetic physicians have undertaken to do in our land, and they have a regular school for instruction,

Nin-so-kus (coolies^ are the most numerous, and form the lowest, class in the social life of Japan. These are they who bear the heavy burdens, draw the carts and perform the most menial occupations. Even among them, however, distinctions may be found, as those who work in hides and leather are looked upon by the coolie race itself with great disdain, and are kept separate from all others. We presume this is owing to the fact of their coming in contact with the dead bodies of animals and being thus defiled, according to the strict rules of Buddhism.

Beggars. — Beggary is a profession in Japan. The beggar is doomed to beg all his life long, and to do nothing else. He besets the traveler on the highways, and waits about the temple-gates to receive alms from those who are going up to worship. He sleeps where he can, and when death comes lies down by the roadside, few hearing or pitying his dying groans.

Such is a description of the people we meet in Japan. Let us now look at the religions of the people. There are two principal religions in the land, Buddhism and Sintooism.

Buddhism is an imported religion, coming through China from India. It was at first very simple in its details. Its founder, the first Buddha — the Sha-ka-sa-ma of the Japanese — taught mercy and tenderness. The first Buddha died, and his followers said that a great many wonderful scenes took place at his death. He and his five hundred disciples were deified, and images of them were made and worshiped. These are beautiful statues with mild, placid countenances, touchingly suggestive of mercy. Some of them are represented with three heads and six arms, that “ they might better help men,” says a Japanese.

Some of these images are called Ho-to-kes, a name applied to such as are not yet deified, but are on the calendar for that high distinction and retain all the elements proper to such a result. The gods Bin-dzu-ru, whose image we see in the temples as the Pain-god, and Gi-zo, who is in shrines by the wayside as the special protector of travelers, and in the cemeteries as the god who cares for the souls of the dead, are Hotokes. Mothers believe that the god Gi-zo watches over their dead infants in paradise.

The Buddhist priests talk of abstractions, contemplations, absorptions and annihilations. Many sects have arisen, and the whole system has become very complicated. It is hard for the women and children to understand anything about it. And yet Buddhism is a wonderful system, and has a powerful influence over the human mind. Sometimes it appears in a refined and cultivated form and its votaries are scholarly men. Even Christian missionaries cannot fail to commend the humanizing influences of this system.

Sintooism is the native religion of Japan. Its probable origin is in the worship of the sun ((9- Ten-to-sama.) The moon (Tsu-ki-sama) is also an object of worship. The emperor (Ten-ski-

THE SEVEN HAPPY HODS. Page 33.

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A Look at the People.

sama) is regarded as the direct descendant of the sun. Some deity must have made Japan, they say, and thus their fables and stories of gods were invented and images formed. Japan is filled with these images. We see them in the temples and in shrines by the wayside, on the tops of the highest mountains and in the farthest recesses of the caves. Every house has its shrine, and the people carry about with them pictures or exceedingly small images of the gods. There is Ha-chi-man-sama, the god of war, and I-na-ri-sama, the god of rice, and Ye-be-su-sama and Dai-ko-ku-sama, the gods of riches, and many others. The image of the fox is worshiped as a servant of I-na-ri, because the animal is a devourer of the insects that are apt to feed upon the rice. The snake is one form under which the god Ben-ten appears. The horse, the image of which is seen in many temples, is the servant of Ha-chi-man-sama. These images are of all sizes, from the tiny Dai-ko-ku-sama, which we can scarcely hold in our fingers, to the colossal Dai-ButsUy on whose thumb we can sit with ease.

Some of these gods are merry-looking fellows. There are seven who are called the “ happy gods” of Japan, and they all have smiling faces ; while others are hideous in their appearance, such as the red and green monsters who stand

c at the gates of the temples to protect the other gods, and the frightful representations of Satan and his attendants.

Now, the people say that these gods are in Paradise, and these images are only used as aids in worship. The most intelligent among the people deny that they are idolaters at all. However this may be, we find in Japan a mingling of sentiments and ideas drawn from these two religions, so that Buddhism and Sintooism often blend in the eyes of the worshiper. In one respect both sects agree. They all worship their ancestors^ and thus show a Mongolian origin in common with the vast neighboring nation, the Chinese.

The writings of Confucius are much read in the empire. Confucianism is a system of moral teaching.

Long years ago some Roman Catholic missionaries were in Japan, and a great many people heard of God and of the Lord Jesus. For a time the missionaries were allowed to teach and the people to believe and worship as they pleased. But one of the Roman priests was foolish enough to tell of the power of his lord the pope, whose aim was universal sovereignty of civil as well as spiritual power. Upon this the government, fearing that the pope would come with a great army and take possession of the country, entered upon a course of the severest persecution. They banished from the land all foreign priests and tortured the native Christians, putting men, women, and even little children, into the prisons, or, still worse, pitching them into the crater of a burning volcano. They threw the converts from the great rock Shima-bara, which rises almost perpendicularly out of the water in the harbor of Nagasaki.

The Christian religion was prohibited, and the edicts to that effect, written in large characters and nailed to high boards, were placed in conspicuous localities throughout the whole empire. A large cross of wood was made, and every year was brought out for the people to trample upon. Some of the earliest ideas we have connected with Japan are drawn from pictures in which mothers are represented as bringing their children forward to trample upon this cross. Such was the effect of Jesuitical intrigue on the one hand and governmental jealousy on the other that Japan for three centuries became closed to all Christian efforts, and held herself aloof from all civilized intercourse.

But since the visit of Commodore Perry of the U. S. Navy in 1854 the gates of Japan have been thrown open once more, and foreigners are again allowed to dwell here. Following upon the soldiers, the sailors and the merchants came the missionaries, ready to spread the truths of the gospel, ar;d to tell the Japanese, not of the power of the pope, but of the power of the Lord Jesus, whose kingdom, though not of this world, is yet an everlasting kingdom whose dominion hath no end.

These missionaries are learning the manners and customs of the natives, and gradually winning their confidence. Much of their time is occupied in studying the difficult language and preparing grammars and dictionaries ; also in translating the Bible and other books for popular use. They are now distributing Bibles in the Chinese tongue, and also teach English to those who apply, using Christian books, and sometimes the Scriptures themselves, for that purpose. The missionary doctor treats the physical diseases of his patients and tries to lead them to the Great Physician. The missionaries are watching, praying and waiting for the time to come when the gospel may be publicly proclaimed in Japan, and its people allowed full liberty to worship as they please.

Chapter III. Summer Days In Yokohama

Climate — Walks through the Rice- Paddies — Trees— F LOWERS — F RUITS — BiRDS — AnIM ALS — FARMERS — A PE- DESTRIAN Tour.

HE August days pass rapidly in this new, strange land. The weather is warm, but we have usually a pleasant breeze from the sea. Some days the rain comes down in torrents, for this is the rainy season in Japan. The dampness and heat make the vegetation very rank, and everything is fresh and bright and green as in early spring. There is little danger here of long-continued drought, and consequent famine.