The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1875-09-03

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Gifu. seventy five miles TO the east. an
ii little north. Along part Of tIis road
wa the first foreigner that had bee
over tie road. W. Had TO walk goo,
part al the way over mountains. foun,
| could walk from thirty To thirty liy,
miles over the IIuIntains quite well
My native helper gave out, and had {,
be- carried in. Il kongo basket by tw,
coolies, relieved every six or eight mile
by fresh OTrS You can tell nothing il
regard To the distance you may have Il
travel from one place tOanothrr by look
| ingat an atlas The direct distance may
not be half uS far IA the winding road,
on account of tie mountains l found
this the case in going from Tsuruga IL
Gifn. The direct distance is not more
than thirty five mil, :, and yet We had tu
travel more than twice that distance to
reach there.
found the people in and around Gifu
the most intelligent and respectable class
of japanese | have yet found. Gifu, in
my opinion, is desirable place to es-
tabliSlI II mission station. They had
made an agreement with physician
from Tokyo (Yeddo) for 81 ,SOOper year,
to come and establish and take charge
of hospitals in the Ken. Had ouI mis-
sion been n little sooner to view the
ground, it would not have been difficult
to have got in here under medical work
From here we went TO Nagaya, the
fourth city i'll size III Japan. 1t is stu
ated at the head of II large bay that
puts in from the south. Population,
about 145, ,0G0. But it i situated in the
center of the most densely populated
districts in Japan, tlie province of
Dwarf. The population of this province
is about 500 to the square mile, almost
inconceivably great. While here l OBJ
tanned permission to visit the castle, and
was taken, through the kindness of the
medical military officers, to the top of
the tower From here the whole prov
ence of Dwarf can De seen. The valley,
dotted full of villages, gives you an i'm
preston of the density of the population
that you otherwise fail to receive. The
view is beautiful and impressive beyond
description. The castle consists of seven
stories; the fist of stone, the others Of
wood built on one thousand pillars. |
| visited the schools Eng and hospitals
(military and Ken.). All of these are la
n creditably ilourishing condition. We
spent some time with the disciples of
Nicoli, an Armenian missionary from
Russia This man is received with much
favor by the Japan Governor much
more than any other missionary, and lac
has many followers throughout Japan.
think them (Nicolis's follOwers) hope
full class to labor among. This would be
very desirable place to establish II mis-
sion station, coulI an entrance be effect
ed. From here | returned home, stop
ping at Tsu and Nara. My native helper
would mol accompany me across the
mountains; the road WAS too difficult for
him. | came alone, anG had beautiful
walk, being the first foreigner who had
been over the road; passed through the
GaIhous tea raising district They were
gathering their tea and curing it. The
crop, this year promises well. ! IreHaIici
home having been absent some twenty
days, and having seen a great deal Of
Japan, and having acquired much valu-
able information in regard To future mis-
sion work.
PILGRIMS AND IRA, rLEK=,
Tie JAPANESE, Judging from the travel
you see ON the main roads, are great
travellers. The principal roads are limed
with them. Many Of these are pilgrims
travelling singiy, OF in companies Of FROM
five to ten, ur sometimes twenty-five or
thirty. These ~: carry badge of some
kin.l, e-Irrraily SWUNG from the neck in
front, and some eighteen inches or two
feet long, and three or four inches wide,
covered with red devices and various
Many, also. carry small
bottle of per(Uteery attached to this.
They age going To various parts of the
Empire to visit this or that great iemple
or idol. They stop foT a momeIt, fold
their hands, and Inurmur a prayer to
every old god, and under every green
tree along the read. They Eaake public
show of prayer saying. Alta hotel in tlie
about sIu rise, You will see the
Japanese standing with oiasped hands
looking toward the SUI and murInuring
IA prayer Some of them have n great
deal to pray for; for many of them
say long prayers. Their zaal in prayer
would put many Christians to shame. |
was once annoyed, Willie stopping at =
hotel for four or five days, ly one Of my
neighbors, who, eye,:y morning, climbed
upon q COMPOST heap and hnmmed a
long prayer If tlir weather WAS bad,
especially If It r..inrd. the harder it
rain-i the In. and !i,e louder lac
prayed
Ii oDsfs "A .Iaranese but little more to
travel than it does to -tay at hOine. lie
goes afoot. if P"ng. ahd il & pilgrim, 81
much the better FOR this passes for pm
ance; but il lac las soIne money he oc
casionaliy rides. lie can board at ho-
tel for about Is "a cents per day, and
if lie buys and cooks his own rice he eau
live much cheaper.
HOTEL LIFE IN JAPAN,
Many of the hotels ara pleasant places
to stop. The cooking is always done in
the front room, which answers the
double purpose OF kitchen, general re
ception room, and bar room. But back
of this little ways, there Censrally Is
another house. comfortably and costly
Though japanese IDEAL situated, with
comfortable rooms, and to this the bet
ter class of travellers are always taken.
Your room is eisan and covered with
thick rice straw mats. You must draw
your shoes before entering. 1t would
be a sad breach Of decorum 10 enter a
japanese house with your shoes on.
This is sometimes not pleasant TO Il for
eigner, If tie weather is cold; for yOu
have nothing bat hibaeh. with "A few