Smyrna times., 1859-01-27
JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE.

tive in Japan, in which he gives an interesting
account of his visit to Yedo, the capital, to pre-
sent lette. from the President OF the United
States to the Emperor Ten months were
spent in battling diplomacy before Mr.. Hlrris
received permission to present the letter in per-
son. But his perseverance, overcame all OBJ
stacles. Two months were consumed by the
japanese in making their preparations for his
journey from Simoda and his reception at Ysdo.
The Emperor gave orders that he should be re-
C aived at all points on the route with the hon
ors paid to princes of the blood. lie thus de-
scribes his escort:
My train numbered some one hundred and
| i1y persons, Composed Of guards (my own)
nOtrlmon bearers, cooks, grooHs, shoe bearers,
cUne bearers, tan-bearers, and last, though not
| least, standard bearer, and large number Of
coolies. | had permitted the japanese to ar
range and dress my train according to their
ideas Ct Dropricty, and what they conceived
WIS due to the representative Of the President
OF the United States. My guards. each with
t~O swords in the grdle, and clad IN new silk
dresses, 3 they swell. and struttcd about, APP
peared to be nightly npIlfed in heart"
while they and my bearers and grooms Oppe1r-
ed to have broken out" all over their bodies
with "spread eagles" as the back breast and
sleeves OF their dresses were sprnklcd over
with the arms Of the United States, which were
neatly painted on them
performed the journey partly on horseback
AMI partly III uorrmon which is the japanese
name Tor pllanquIn. The japanese norrmon
viii compare with he celebrated iron cages OF
Cardinal Balnc, of Frauae. in which the poor
lntaate could neither be down or sand up. In
the norrimon, the japanese kncel aud pla &c
their feet close together, aud then SIT on their
heels; 1t they wish to rcposc themselves, they
.ean forward, and rest the chm on the knees,
50 that the body and l!bs form three horizon
tai to'dS ur p,.re-a position winch they as
surlc aud keep without annoyance from long
practice, aud from the great fl xlbrIlIy of their
joints, but which is almost unattainabe by a
white man, aud Is absolutely uncomfortable.
iir IirrrlS however, had norrlmcu" of
comfortable form prepared for himself, ard
seems TO have cnoycd his Journey, having the
Obsequluus attentions paid to hlm by his atten-
dans, nd hy the authorities of the villages nd
towns through VIII CHI be passed. The roacs
were Repaired aud swept, bridges built, and
hnu'es, with bathrooms and every comfort, ar
ranged at the different stopping places. Mr..
llprris E0tes some objects of interest which he
observed on the road-lhe land journey from
S'nodd to edo being l50 miles, but We pass
"n 70 his entrance into the capitol:
On Monday, the 3Oth Of November, made
my entry into lcdo. My followers put on their
catnIssmus, dresses OF ceremony, decorated
with any quantity of eagles. | should not have
known when passed the line wh,ch separates
S'n' gano from Ycdo, had not the spot been
pointed out to me, as the houses form con.
tInuous street, for some miles. before you reach
the actual boundary Of the city. From the gate
by which catered the city, To my quarters,
was about seven miles The streets of Ycdo
are divided into sections of l20 yards, bv gates
aud palisades Of strong timber. This enables
the aoI!cc TO isolate any portion of the city, or
any line running through il, and thus prevent
the assembling of crowds or mo5<. When we
approached gate 1t was opened. and al soon as
the rear had passed through, i was closed
Nj wI;h~tandIng all lh,s, the number thatas-
semhled was prodIglous. The centre OF the
way was kept clear, and the crowd kept back
by ropes stretched along each side OF the street.
! The asscmbage WAS composed of men, women
aud children, OF all ranks ard cOnduions-the
women being the larger number. | estimated
the twO lines %! people that extended along the
way. fon my entrance into the city to the
pace prov Ided for my residence, to have been
| ful 3jO,OUO. Yet in all this vast concourse
DID not hear word, except the constant cry
Of the ina arbngers Satu Satu! You may think
1t impossible that silence could have been main
tanned among so large number of women but
| assure you It was So
NJ Harris was conducted to the inner circle
Of tie orIs'ucraiic quarter, and was received
there by high officers Of the Emperor with con-
gratuiatlous. The Emperor sent him, as
| present, large box filled with bon Gons. A
week passed after his arrival, before his pres.
entatlon 10 the Emperor, and in the meantime
he visited the Chief of the great Council, of
State, Prince Holta, aud gave him copy of
his intended speech to the Emperor. The
Prince subsequently, gave Mr.. Harris u copy of
the reply the Emperor would make:
On the Monday week alter my arrival, | set
out for the palace. My train blazed out in new
silk dresses, and my guards wore their breeches
rolled up to the middle of the thigh. You must
know that the wearing of breeches in Japan is
q mark OF high rank, or, it worn by an inferior,
that he IS in the service of one of the highest
rank so that the wearing of breeches here is
as much coveted as it is said to be in certain
quarters in America, and that here, as well as
in America, the article is a type OF emblem oi
power or authority. A new nag, made of ia.
panesR Grape, was carried before me. This
flag is the first foreign banner that was ever
carried through this great city, and mean tC
preserve 1t as precious relic.
passed through a large hail in which some
300 Or 400 Of the high mobiles of Japan. al
dressed in their court dresses were kneeling
and as silent aud as motionlrss as statues, anC
from this hall entered the audience chamber
At this moment a chamberlain called out in
loud voice, Merlcan Ambassador" and III,
, Prince of Slnano threw himself down ant
crawled along as | walked in. Mr.. lleusken
my Secretary, who carried the Presidents let
, ter, hailed at The entrance. | advanced up th'
room, maklug three bows as proceeded, ant
halted at the head of two lines of men, wht
= were PROSTATE on their faces; thuse on m!
right were the five members of the Council o
State, with the Prince of Bittsu at their head
aud those on the left were three brothers of tn
Emperor.
His Majesty was seated on a chair placed o.