The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-06-25
THE RIGGENF STATUE I'm TIlE
WORLD.

| lIaJ ruler de tactO open, ltS greater auVan-
tages led the Mikado and his Cabinet to
occupy it. This old capital, at one time
900, is now reduced to 10000. 1 arose
early, and was glad to find clear morning.
I walked out at side door of the inn, and
found myself in one of the approaches to a
Shinto temple. l was almost under one of
the granite tout, or monuments. This one
is about sixty feet high, and four stone
lanterns at the corners of the squares are of
great size, and older than any have yet
seen. just as the sun was rising above the
eastern hill, I watched the men and women
as they came in front of the open temple
door and threw their offerings in. Then
clapping their hands, they fold them, bow
the head in devotion, and go away to the
duties of the day. For moment the tenn
pie was deserted, and man came out with
his face turned full to the rising sun-the
temple faced the south; he went through
the same devotional exercises that l had
! just seen, but he remained longer, bowed
with his head to the ground, and exhibited
more fervor.
We have visited several temples situated
on the hillsides, on the east side of the
plain on which the city is spread out. The
oldest and largest is known as the Chionin,
/ O,,l ha1nnrrC tn l,o
large, measuring in It's front over 200 feet
! This sect never paint their temples, and
this one presents dreary aspect of wealth
er-stained wood. Its age is given as 270
years only, and it occupies The site of an
older one destroyed by fire. Stone steps
lead to the bell tower where hangs the
great bell said to be the largest in Japan
1t is sounded only on the 18th and 25th Of
each month. 1t is suspended about seven
feet above the ground. The metal at its
rim is eleven inches in thickness. We saw
another bell in size little less near the site
of another temple, resting on granite sup
ports, on the ground, near where it fell.
The bridge leading to a mountain temple
is of great beauty. 1t has two arches, and
each arch double; one inverted under the
other, SO that the passages form circles
The whole, including the balus!rade is of
cut granite. In strong contrast with their
religious establishments is the architecture
of the town. The streets are narrow and
unpaved, tie houses small and squalid and
poverty is written everywhere.
We have just returned from a visit to
Nara, one of the old capitals of the empire,
distant about thirty-six miles. We drove
at brisk trot for an hour before break
occurred in the line of houses, when we
crossed a branch of the Uji river, by a
bridge about thousand feet long. We
entered long street of what was once, a
thousand years ago, great city. Away up
the slope of the hill it is covered, where
ever we went with walls and pavements as
indestructible as the hill itself. Granite
stairs lead into the wild forest, which now
covers the site of vast temples of wood
broad avenues, whose rocky pavement was
worn smooth by the feet of devout pilgrims
before Christ was born.
Here was erected, 1900 years ago, the
largest bronze figure the world has ever
known. 1t weighs 450 tons, and the third
temple now covers it, without apparent
injury to the immense statue. We went
around it, but could form no estimate of its
size. Our Minister at Toxic told me that
it was sixty feet from the seat of lotus
leaves to the top of its head, and that a
man could climb through the nostril. An
officer is sad to have taken a chip of the
casting, and an analysis of it gave 500
pounds of gold in the alloy. great halo
of gilded wood sets off the dark features as
they arc revealed in the shadows of the
roof.
To-day we rode to Lake Bewa, distant
about seven miles, and our route lay along
the great Tolaido. The road is about
twenty feet wide, well macadamized, with
the inevitable walled ditch on either side
1t is the great thoroughfare from Osaka tc
. Toxic, and from the lake to Kioto it was &
= continuous stream of travel, many cattle
and few horses laden with goods of every
description. We entered the town at the
south end of the lake, and were taken tc
flight of stone steps to climb to temple
/ that overlooked the lake. We ascended
| them, found ourselves, on the pleateau ex,
cavated in the side in the mountain anC
, turned to look upon the largest lake il
, Japan, 1t is sixty miles in length, bu
narrow at the south end. 1t is surrounded
by rich alluvial lands. Our guide next lee
US to see bell, which, he told US, had no
been rung in twelve hundred years, ant
pointed to o small wooden building at the
,, head of q flight of wide stone steps. We
. looked in through wooden bars, well worr
l by curious visitors, and saw supported on
strong wooden table, bell about four fee
: high with bad crack, which seemed tt