Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-01-22


from one end to the other, always upright, and
constantly revolving. The same feat was per-
| formed on the edge of a sword; the top ran from
the hit 10 the point and back again to the hit.
l will only describe one more feat. In the
courtyard, where the exhibition took place,
pole some 80 feet high was planted in the
! ground; from q cross-bar at the top of the pole
a small house suspended, (like your martin box
| esq, and from the door of the house a piece of
twine hung down to the ground; the exhibitor
placed a spinning top on the palm of his left
hand, and seized the twine with his right then,
tossing the top in the air, he dexterousy cast
turn of the twine around The lower spindle,
and the top instantly began 20 ascend the twine,
reached the door, which it forced open, entered
the house and then quietly laid down to rest -
In all this exhibition there neither trick nor
deception; it was plain exhibition of skill
You are well aware that am not permitted
to dvulge the details of the treaty until it has
been laid before the President and received his
approval; still, l cannot deny myself the plea
sure of communicating one of its provisions to
you. All Americans in Japan are to enjoy the
free exercise of their religion, and they have the
right to build churches. The practice of tramp
ling on the crucIfx is abolished. When you
remember that 225 years ago Christianity was
extinguished in Japan, in the blood OF quarter
of million Of japanese converts, and when
you call 10 mind the blasphemous proclamation
of the then Emperor of Japan, in which he
said, "If the God of the Christians himself
comes TO Japan, will put him to death !" you
will be ready to admit that this result is as graf
| flying as it is surprising l am proud and hap
| py that this has been achieved by our country.
1t viii be good answer to the sneer Of Burke,
which has often been applied to our country
men, "Your God is gold; your Bible is ledger"
| The pleasure feel in having made the treaty
is enhanced by the reflection that there has been
no show of coercion, nor was menace in the
least used by me to obtain it. There was no
American man of-war within ], 900 miles of me
for months before and alter the negotiations. 1
told the japanese at the outset that my mission
was friendly one; that l was not authorized
to use any threats; that all | wished was that
they would listen to the truths that l wOnld lay
before them.
It was not until my second visit to Yeddo
/ that / made any excursions in o. around the
| city 1 visited many temples, gardens, &C.
| The temples have nothing that arrest the atten-
tion in their structure or in their interiors being
in this respect less costly and ornamental than
the Chinese temples. They are, however, kept
much cleaner than the latter. They are usually
placed in fine, open grounds, and surrounded
by noble trees. The grounds are neatly kept,
and are adorned with Towering shrubs and
trees, among which the plum and cherry tree
are - be remarked; they produce enormous
blossoms, but, alas ike many snowy men, they
produce no fruit; rhododendrons of great beau
Iy, and of the following colors, viz: pink, scar
let, CRIMSON, blue, yellow, violet and white
The dwarfng of the trees and distorting them
into queer shapes Is much practiced; and they
| cut the foliage into rounded forms like dishes.
| saw a number of cedars whose trunks and
branches might be taken as representing the
bronze of vast epergne, while the foliage look.
ed like emerald dishes. r
The houses of the japanese are of wood, and
never more than two stories high; thew are
covered with thatch or tiles; the front and ends
are closed by wooden window sashes, covered
with paper, which gives pleasant light in the
interior, and wooden shutters enclose the win.
dows at night. The interior is divided into rooms
by means of sliding partitions, made Of wooden
can Dc removed IN tiiv=anaz-- These partitions
} house thrown into one room. The floors are
covered with straw mats some two inches thick
they are soft and fine, and are kept exquisitely
clean Neither chair, table, couch nor bedstead
, nor any ornamental article is to be seen. Tht
mat serves as a chair and table by day, and al
a bed at night This description of house vii
D apply to all, from the Palace of the Emperor t.
= the cottage Of the peasant. In Winter they ar
warmed by charcoal brasiers. There is not
g chimney nor pane of window glass to b
l found in the whole empire.
7 The gilded columns supporting the frette'
ceilings, and golden roofs of stately palaces, de
-crihed by old writers on Japan, are not to
y fund, and am assured by the japanese tbs
they never had any existence out of the 'Trav
S eler's Tales which relate such marves abou
e Japan. ...t-.
II The Japanese are eminently genial in the
dispositions, and there is a cordiality in the
l. refined politeness that conVinces one Of the
= sincerity. They are frugal in everything, al
y utiIitarian up TO the standard of good and wis
= old Jeremy Bentham. Food is abundant an
t, cheap. The beggars of Japan are mostly Of
religious class, and all are as fat as SEALS N,
J. one Japanese in fifty ever tastes any amin
Y food except fish. Sugar is the only luxury, an
le yet buy it here in Simoda cheaper than ye
81 can in New York. They are the best fed, cla
Sc and lodged, and the least overworked, of al
d. people on earth. God grant that future gem
&c rations may not have cause to regret the hour
in arrived in Japan! The usual dress of the j
'u panese Of rank is silk; but on the occasion of m
n audience the mobiles wore dresses made of
be coarse yellow grass cloth. This, as they say,
n to remind them of the poverty and frugality
In their ancestors. 1 have never seen damon
ly pearl or ornament of gold or silver, worn
OF any person in Japan.
er As you take an interest in the "far sex, - W
ch will expect some description of the beauties
Japan The women of condition never ma
OF visits Except the mother to married daughter
i have no assemblages of their ''dear five hundr
on friends" nor do they assemble at the tea tab
d. to hold high courts of censure on the msnne
he and morals of their friends. They go out on
DIS or twice in year to visit some celebrated tel
SIT pie, but their ordinary devotions are paid at
10, shrine Within their houses, or at pretty N
lId erected within the Enclosures of their GROUND
'ut The females ofthe aboring classes perform soI
'er portion of outdoor labor; but they not ovG
ed worked as in China and other parts of Asia.
nd Polvgamy obtains. E., man mag have al
lid number of f'seeond wives y When female
IN selected as a first wife, she prepares for b
ed "change Of condition" by smearing her tee
ih- with horrible mixture which not only biacke
iu- them forever, but also destroys portion of &
lid gums, and the lips sometimes remain permaneI
Sc " swollen. She next shayes hereyebrOws al
ig- exterminates her eye-lsshes, and changes t
fashion Of her hair. She has now only to br
I'm the knot of her girdle round to the front and
= the world knows that she is first wife, {
by commander.in-ehiefo of all the E'second wives
IL anu tue uhuie puteu PIOPIletISso VI Oil In0 SlAi
ce; rem born in the house. This last privilege ]
al- minds one of similar right exercised by t
as. wives of the respectable Abraham tRachei a
'ir- Leah). The second wives do not perform a
I'll ofthese absurd actions, consequently they {
! by far the best looking in the eyes Of the To
OF or foreigners A lady in full dress--i. G., ma
; up for mischief-is worth describing. Her ia
is thickly covered with rice -four, on viii
es- rouge-real rouge-is prettily placed, while B
ldy lips are brought to that just violent tinge tt
ex- drives the Japanes lover even to making poet
~ L