Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1875-05-06

anu AlS COIbtO h>'A
guage and Culture.
An Illinois friend of Hon. John A.
Bingham, United States Minister to
Japan, has received letter from that
gentleman, in which he writes:
UNITED STATES LEGATION,
YEDDo, JAPAN, March D, 1873.
We occupy good
American built house, looking out
upon the great ocean whose waters
wash alike the shores of Japan and
the shores of the United States OF
America, foremost of all lands on
this planet. In the distant west
eighty miles away, the sacred noun.
tain of Japan, Frepyama, looks down
upon us and our home, now clothed
in white raiment, like q sentinel of
light, now in clouds and thick dark
ness, like sentinel of doom. 1t is a
grand, lonely, conical pile, lifting its
summit, old in story, two and a half
miles, vertical, from the plain. Pill
grimage is made to this mountain an
nually by many of these dnsky
children of the sun. Indeed, the
30, 100000 of this country are annual
pilgrims, if not to the mountain, to
the temples of shrines, and are OBJ
iects Of deeper interest to me than
the strange land itself, with its per-
petual vegetation, ever changing,
ever new; it's mountains and lakes,
and rivers, and skies, and deep, dark
seas.
A letter is too brief to say what l
think of this people, or to describe
what | have seen of their production
in art. / can not but think that an
ethnologist, who had studied the In
dians of our country, upon seeing
these people. and noting the marked
resemblance in manners, physique,
customs. complexion, DC, to the
American Indian, would conclude
that the latter are descended from
the japanese.
Like the Indian of America, the
japanese have dark complexion,
hair straight and stringy, black eyes,
run with agility and grace; are fond
of fishing and hunting, and are skill
ed in both; live in the open air;
wear loose, flowing garments, or none
at all, save girdle; wear as a gen
eral thing no shoes save the sock or
straw sandal or wooden board; both
carry the babe on their backs; see
God in clouds, and hear Him in the
wind, adore the beautiful in nature,
are full of courage and cruel in re-
venge, fearless and careless of death
and believe in the life beyond, as in
deed all men must who have not lost
their reason. / have no doubt some
of these mound building, a-going
people, in the long ago, drifted be-
fore the storms in their rude boats
to our shores, thereby peopling first
our great country, and carrying with
them from this all that they (the
American Indians ever knew of art
or language anterior to the crossing
of our European ancestors. There
is a similarity between the Japanese
and Indian tongues. The proper
names of the japanese, like our In
dians, are musical, and terminate in
the vowels. Thus the japanese have
the proper name Shiba pronounced
Sheba; Osaka, Shinequawa, YOko
hama, Yeddo or Tokia, Kamakura
Kioto, Nikko, Hiogohe; and our In
dians have Shenango, Tuscarora
Niagara, Chickamauga, Minnehaha
Ohio, Iowa, &c. The names of the
japanese Ministers of State, so far az
known to me, all terminate in vowels
2 as Sanjo, Ivakuva, Terashuia, Okubo
Z Okenua, Ito, Kedo, &c. Our Indians
j say Ohio for "beautifnl;" the Japan
> ese say Ohio for "good morning.
Each employs the word to express tn
beautiful in idea-the beauty o
. external nature or the beauty of goo'
will in life. But enough Of this, a
it is enough that we know, whateve
the history of these people may be
;, God has made of one blood all ma
} tions of men who dwell upon thl
earth, with its garniture of greennes
; and beauty and blossom.
This people now and in the cent?
ries past, in many respects, are an
were greatly in advance of our Ii
}. dians in arts and manners. In lane
scape culture the Japanese, as yo
: know, excel. 1t is to be regrette
q that with the introduction OF on
western civilization the Japanese al
destroying much that was beautiful
and l might say grand, in the al
productions of the past. Shiber WI