Unbeaten Tracks in Japan

Yedo and Tôkiyô—The Yokohama Railroad—The Effect of 10–14 Misfits—The Plain of Yedo—Personal Peculiarities—First Impressions of Tôkiyô—H. B. M.’s Legation—An English Home

Kwan-non Temple—Uniformity of Temple Architecture—A 21–31 _Kuruma_ Expedition—A Perpetual Festival—The _Ni-ô_—The Limbo of Vanity—Heathen Prayers—Binzuru—A Group of Devils—Arche...

Fears—Travelling Equipments—Passports—Coolie Costume—A 32–42 Yedo Diorama—Rice—Fields—Tea-Houses—A Traveller’s Reception—The Inn at Kasukabé—Lack of Privacy—A Concourse of Noise...

The Beauties of Nikkô—The Burial of Iyéyasn—The 54–61 Approach to the Great Shrines—The Yomei Gate—Gorgeous Decorations—Simplicity of the Mausoleum—The Shrine of Iyémitsu—Religi...

Peaceful Monotony—A Japanese School—A Dismal 66–72 Ditty—Punishment—A Children’s Party—A Juvenile Belle—Female Names—A Juvenile Drama—Needlework—Caligraphy—Arranging Flowers—Kan...

Comfort disappears—Fine Scenery—An Alarm—A 80–91 Farm-house—An unusual Costume—Bridling a Horse—Female Dress and Ugliness—Babies—My _Mago_—Beauties of the Kinugawa—Fujihara—My S...

A Fantastic Jumble—The “Quiver” of Poverty—The 92–95 Water-shed—From Bad to Worse—The Rice Planter’s Holiday—A Diseased Crowd—Amateur Doctoring—Want of Cleanliness—Rapid Eating—...

The Plain of Wakamatsu—Light Costume—The Takata 99–105 Crowd—A Congress of Schoolmasters—Timidity of a Crowd—Bad Roads—Vicious Horses—Mountain Scenery—A Picturesque Inn—Swallowi...

Abominable Weather—Insect Pests—Absence of Foreign 114–119 Trade—A Refractory River—Progress—The Japanese City—Water Highways—Niigata Gardens—Ruth Fyson—The Winter Climate—A Pop...

The Canal-side at Niigata—Awful 120–127 Loneliness—Courtesy—Dr. Palm’s Tandem—A Noisy _Matsuri_—A Jolting Journey—The Mountain Villages—Winter Dismalness—An Out-of-the-world Ham...

Comely Kine—Japanese Criticism on a Foreign Usage—A 128–136 Pleasant Halt—Renewed Courtesies—The Plain of Yonezawa—A Curious Mistake—The Mother’s Memorial—Arrival at Komatsu—Sta...

“A Plague of Immoderate Rain”—A Confidential 161–164 Servant—Ito’s Diary—Ito’s Excellences—Ito’s Faults—A Prophecy of the Future of Japan—Curious Queries—Superfine English—Econo...

The Fatigues of Travelling—Torrents and Mud—Ito’s 175–182 Surliness—The Blind Shampooers—A Supposed Monkey Theatre—A Suspended Ferry—A Difficult Transit—Perils on the Yonetsurug...

A Lovely Sunset—An Official Letter—A “Front 216–230 Horse”—Japanese Courtesy—The Steam Ferry—Coolies Abscond—A Team of Savages—A Drove of Horses—Floral Beauties—An Unbeaten Trac...

Savage Life—A Forest Track—Cleanly Villages—A 234–243 Hospitable Reception—The Chief’s Mother—The Evening Meal—A Savage _Séance_—Libations to the Gods—Nocturnal Silence—Aino Cou...

A Supposed Act of Worship—Parental Tenderness—Morning 244–253 Visits.—Wretched Cultivation—Honesty and Generosity—A “Dug-out”—Female Occupations—The Ancient Fate—A New Arrival—A...

Aino Clothing—Holiday Dress—Domestic 262–272 Architecture—Household Gods—Japanese Curios—The Necessaries of Life—Clay Soup—Arrow Poison—Arrow Traps—Female Occupations—Bark Cloth...

A Simple Nature-Worship—Aino Gods—A Festival 273–284 Song—Religious Intoxication—Bear-Worship—The Annual Saturnalia—The Future State—Marriage and Divorce—Musical Instruments—Eti...

A Group of Fathers—The Lebungé Ainos—The _Salisburia 312–319 adiantifolia_—A Family Group—The Missing Link—Oshamambé—Disorderly Horses—The River Yurapu—The Seaside—Aino Canoes—T...

Fine Weather—Cremation in Japan—The Governor of 325–328 Tôkiyô—An Awkward Question—An Insignificant Building—Economy in Funeral Expenses—Simplicity of the Cremation Process—The...

EIGHTEEN days of unintermitted rolling over “desolate rainy seas” brought the “City of Tokio” early yesterday morning to Cape King, and by noon we were steaming up the Gulf of Y...

TO-DAY has been spent in making new acquaintances, instituting a search for a servant and a pony, receiving many offers of help, asking questions and receiving from different pe...

I HAVE dated my letter Yedo, according to the usage of the British Legation, but popularly the new name of Tôkiyô, or Eastern Capital, is used, Kiyôto, the Mikado’s former resid...

I WENT to Yokohama for a week to visit Dr. and Mrs. Hepburn on the Bluff. Bishop and Mrs. Burdon of Hong Kong were also guests, and it was very pleasant.

Kwan-non Temple—Uniformity of Temple Architecture—A _Kuruma_ Expedition—A Perpetual Festival—The Ni-ô—The Limbo of Vanity—Heathen Prayers—Binzuru—A Group of Devils—Archery Galle...

Fears—Travelling Equipments—Passports—Coolie Costume—A Yedo Diorama—Rice-Fields—Tea-Houses—A Traveller’s Reception—The Inn at Kasukabé—Lack of Privacy—A Concourse of Noises—A No...

BY seven the next morning the rice was eaten, the room as bare as if it had never been occupied, the bill of 80 _sen_ paid, the house-master and servants with many _sayo naras_,...

I DON’T know what to write about my house. It is a Japanese idyll; there is nothing within or without which does not please the eye, and, after the din of _yadoyas_, its silence...

The Beauties of Nikkô—The Burial of Iyéyasu—The Approach to the Great Shrines—The Yomei Gate—Gorgeous Decorations—Simplicity of the Mausoleum—The Shrine of Iyémitsu—Religious Ar...

TO-DAY I have made an experimental journey on horseback, have done fifteen miles in eight hours of continuous travelling, and have encountered for the first time the Japanese pa...

Peaceful Monotony—A Japanese School—A Dismal Ditty—Punishment—A Children’s Party—A Juvenile Belle—Female Names—A Juvenile Drama—Needlework—Calligraphy—Arranging Flowers—Kanaya—D...

I DON’T wonder that the Japanese rise early, for their evenings are cheerless, owing to the dismal illumination. In this and other houses the lamp consists of a square or circul...

I HAVE had to do a little shopping in Hachiishi for my journey. The shop-fronts, you must understand, are all open, and at the height of the floor, about two feet from the groun...

Comfort disappears—Fine Scenery—An Alarm—A Farm-house—An unusual Costume—Bridling a Horse—Female Dress and Ugliness—Babies—My _Mago_—Beauties of the Kinugawa—Fujihara—My Servant...

A Fantastic Jumble—The “Quiver” of Poverty—The Water-shed—From Bad to Worse—The Rice Planter’s Holiday—A Diseased Crowd—Amateur Doctoring—Want of Cleanliness—Rapid Eating—Premat...

After travelling through rice-fields varying from thirty yards square to a quarter of an acre, with the tops of the dykes utilised by planting dwarf beans along them, we came to...

The Plain of Wakamatsu—Light Costume—The Takata Crowd—A Congress of Schoolmasters—Timidity of a Crowd—Bad Roads—Vicious Horses—Mountain Scenery—A Picturesque Inn—Swallowing a Fi...

YESTERDAY’S journey was one of the most severe I have yet had, for in ten hours of hard travelling I only accomplished fifteen miles. The road from Kurumatogé westwards is so in...

THE boat for Niigata was to leave at eight, but at five Ito roused me by saying they were going at once, as it was full, and we left in haste, the house-master running to the ri...

I HAVE spent over a week in Niigata, and leave it regretfully to-morrow, rather for the sake of the friends I have made than for its own interests. I never experienced a week of...

The Canal-side at Niigata—Awful Loneliness—Courtesy—Dr. Palm’s Tandem—A Noisy _Matsuri_—A Jolting Journey—The Mountain Villages—Winter Dismalness—An Out-of-the-world Hamlet—Crow...

Comely Kine—Japanese Criticism on a Foreign Usage—A Pleasant Halt—Renewed Courtesies—The Plain of Yonezawa—A Curious Mistake—The Mother’s Memorial—Arrival at Komatsu—Stately Acc...

THREE days of travelling on the same excellent road have brought me nearly 60 miles. Yamagata _ken_ impresses me as being singularly prosperous, progressive, and go-ahead; the p...

VERY early in the morning, after my long talk with the _Kôchô_ of Kanayama, Ito wakened me by saying, “You’ll be able for a long day’s journey to-day, as you had a chicken yeste...

YUSOWA is a specially objectionable-looking place. I took my lunch—a wretched meal of a tasteless white curd made from beans, with some condensed milk added to it—in a yard, and...

AT a wayside tea-house, soon after leaving Rokugo in _kurumas_, I met the same courteous and agreeable young doctor who was stationed at Innai during the prevalence of _kak’ke_,...

I ARRIVED here on Monday afternoon by the river Omono, what would have been two long days’ journey by land having been easily accomplished in nine hours by water. This was an in...

MY next visit was to a factory of handloom silk-weavers, where 180 hands, half of them women, are employed. These new industrial openings for respectable employment for women an...

“A Plague of Immoderate Rain”—A Confidential Servant—Ito’s Diary—Ito’s Excellences—Ito’s Faults—Prophecy of the Future of Japan—Curious Queries—Superfine English—Economical Trav...

THE weather at last gives a hope of improvement, and I think I shall leave to-morrow. I had written this sentence when Ito came in to say that the man in the next house would li...

THREE miles of good road thronged with half the people of Kubota on foot and in _kurumas_, red vans drawn by horses, pairs of policemen in _kurumas_, hundreds of children being...

The Fatigues of Travelling—Torrents and Mud—Ito’s Surliness—The Blind Shampooers—A Supposed Monkey Theatre—A Suspended Ferry—A Difficult Transit—Perils on the Yonetsurugawa—A Bo...

EARLY this morning the rain-clouds rolled themselves up and disappeared, and the bright blue sky looked as if it had been well washed. I had to wait till noon before the rivers...

THE prophecies concerning difficulties are fulfilled. For six days and five nights the rain has never ceased, except for a few hours at a time, and for the last thirteen hours,...

I HAVE well-nigh exhausted the resources of this place. They are to go out three times a day to see how much the river has fallen; to talk with the house-master and _Kôchô_; to...

AFTER all the waters did not fall as was expected, and I had to spend a fourth day at Ikarigaseki. We left early on Saturday, as we had to travel fifteen miles without halting....

THIS is a pleasant place, and my room has many advantages besides light and cleanliness, as, for instance, that I overlook my neighbours and that I have seen a lady at her toile...

YESTERDAY was beautiful, and, dispensing for the first time with Ito’s attendance, I took a _kuruma_ for the day, and had a very pleasant excursion into a _cul de sac_ in the mo...

THE journey from Kuroishi to Aomori, though only 22½ miles, was a tremendous one, owing to the state of the roads; for more rain had fallen, and the passage of hundreds of pack-...

AFTER a tremendous bluster for two days the weather has become beautifully fine, and I find the climate here more invigorating than that of the main island. It is Japan, but yet...

I AM enjoying Hakodaté so much that, though my tour is all planned and my arrangements are made, I linger on from day to day. There has been an unpleasant _éclaircissement_ abou...

A Lovely Sunset—An Official Letter—A “Front Horse”—Japanese Courtesy—The Steam Ferry—Coolies Abscond—A Team of Savages—A Drove of Horses—Floral Beauties—An Unbeaten Track—A Ghos...

NO! Nature has no discords. This morning, to the far horizon, diamond-flashing blue water shimmered in perfect peace, outlined by a line of surf which broke lazily on a beach sc...

Savage Life—A Forest Track—Cleanly Villages—A Hospitable Reception—The Chief’s Mother—The Evening Meal—A Savage _Séance_—Libations to the Gods—Nocturnal Silence—Aino Courtesy—Th...

A Supposed Act of Worship—Parental Tenderness—Morning Visits—Wretched Cultivation—Honesty and Generosity—A “Dug-out”—Female Occupations—The Ancient Fate—A New Arrival—A Perilous...

I EXPECTED to have written out my notes on the Ainos in the comparative quiet and comfort of Sarufuto, but the delay in Benri’s return, and the non-arrival of the horses, have c...

AINO clothing, for savages, is exceptionally good. In the winter it consists of one, two, or more coats of skins, with hoods of the same, to which the men add rude moccasins whe...

A Simple Nature-Worship—Aino Gods—A Festival Song—Religious Intoxication—Bear-Worship—The Annual Saturnalia—The Future State—Marriage and Divorce—Musical Instruments—Etiquette—T...

I LEFT the Ainos yesterday with real regret, though I must confess that sleeping in one’s clothes and the lack of ablutions are very fatiguing. Benri’s two wives spent the early...

AFTER the storm of Sunday, Monday was a grey, still, tender day, and the ranges of wooded hills were bathed in the richest indigo colouring. A canter of seventeen miles among th...

THIS morning I left early in the _kuruma_ with two kind and delightful savages. The road being much broken by the rains I had to get out frequently, and every time I got in agai...

AND more than peace. It was a heavenly morning. The deep blue sky was perfectly unclouded, a blue sea with diamond flash and a “many-twinkling smile” rippled gently on the golde...

A CHARGE of 3 _sen_ per _ri_ more for the horses for the next stage, because there were such “bad mountains to cross,” prepared me for what followed—many miles of the worst road...

LEBUNGÉ is a most fascinating place in its awful isolation. The house-master was a friendly man, and much attached to the Ainos. If other officials entrusted with Aino concerns...

THIS is my last day in Yezo, and the sun, shining brightly over the grey and windy capital, is touching the pink peaks of Komono-taki with a deeper red, and is brightening my la...

A PLACID sea, which after much disturbance had sighed itself to rest, and a high, steady barometer promised a fifty hours’ passage to Yokohama, and when Dr. and Mrs. Hepburn and...

I HAVE spent the last ten days here, in settled fine weather, such as should have begun two months ago if the climate had behaved as it ought. The time has flown by in excursion...