The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-04-30
Letter from Lydia Lord Davis. &

friends of the writer:
| YOKOHAMA, Sat, Oct. 9Th, 1889.
When 1 wrote last told you of the curlos
which we saw. In Yokohama we saw many
strange things The windows in the native
houses have lights of thin white paper instead
of glass, and only few lights of glass. perhaps
five or ten glass panes in one window
| The loads which the men carry are huge and
they draw. one man drawing, one pushing.
much as we would think horse could draw
| The foreign (and by foreign we mean all not
Japs) houses and grounds have high walls or
| hedges around them. and gates. Some of the
walls have clay on the top and pieces of broken
bottles stuck in the clay-a good invitation to
keep out
| The women carry the babies on their backs in
what would seem very uncomfortable way.
The baby puts its feet nearly possible
around the woman's waist and its arms around
| her neck. When the child is very small it is
held on by part of the dress which comes up
and holds the baby on. When it is older. as 1
first described. it is held on by straps. Little
girls carry the children around also. so small
they are hardly big enough to carry them.
We are impressed all the time with the cheap
ness of labor.
The city is numbered in a queer way. Not
number or on a certain street. but simply
| number OR 2. l guess told you the city is
| divided into settlements. where foreigners live.
| bluff, where foreigners do business, native
town. where natives live. So the direction is
number settlement or number 400 bluff. just
| as the number is. The reason for this is that
the numbers were given as the lots were sold,
was number 2. no matter where in the city it
was. and so on. On the bluff number adjoins
| number 225
| This afternoon we had a fine ride around
| Mississippi Bay. The ride was in the jnriki
we had Lefore seen. We rode near the water
| and on our other hand was a bluff probably SO
perpendicuiar, and it reminded nae of the story
| OF birds nest behind the water fall. in the
Third Rsds6 Rre tSe steps ws tSqna nn
of rock. The rock was cut into the shape of
a mouth falling into pool. Here the wor-
shippers wash. There were images cut in the
side of the rock. We saw the rice growing 1t
grows about #. high and is cultivated in very
wet ground. The ground is wet by irrigation:
they work into the ground with their hands. it
is said) where the rice grows:
threshing a kind of millet in such an odd, old
fashioned way. The millet was laid on straw
with a stick which somewhat resembles prim
tive fail, and when swung. goes round and
the grain from the husk Then it was scooped
with straw scoop and let to fall on to another
separates the chafI from the grain. There it is
left to dry, the women doing all the work.
The roofs are about IL feet thick. and lilies
grow ON them. One evening we visited the
native part OF Yokohama. The japanese Ian
terms (Which are much like the Japanese lam
as d%e ike an
accompanied by a mission airy, Mr. Allen, who
Noise e noise noise II II noiseiii He said people would
come early in the morning and stay until late
at night There was curtain separating the
house IRON the street and forming one end of
the house. On the outside at each entrance was
a man sitting in high box, selling tickets,
come in. In ihe theater many of the people
were standing. We crowded through to the
back part of the room where the floor was rails
ed. woman gave us cushion to sit upon,
and then wanted ten sen extra. She talked and
talked-words we could not understand. but at
last we returned the cushion and she was salts
fed This was the performance: several balls.
2 and 8 it in diameter. with boys standing upon
them. ana with their feet. rolled them around
on the platform and then on inclined planes,
arranged around the room, rolled them to the
was well done. The orchestra made up in noise
what it lacked in music: The audience was
talking all the time. Such dinl When one
| act was finished and another ready to begin, q
man with two wooden sticks would clap them
together and then there would be perfect silence
for an instant. but ere he had finished his an
nouncement, the buzz had commenced again.
| SUNDAY. Oct. 9th. 's9.
This morning we attended service held at the
English Jail The prisoners were sitting around
the table waiting for the preacher who usually
has charge of the services. Their faces were
not SO hardened as one would expect to see.
The Jail has yard in front with nice flowers
growing, and looked pleasant. Then we went
to the Union Church which is situated the
exact spot where Perry's Treaty was signed.
In the afternoon we went through the rain. in
our jinrikishias, to a Japanese Sunday school
lin Charge of foreigners. of course 1t was very
interesting. Many of the teachers are natives.
so lovely some of them. Many an American
might envy the beauty of some of these Japan
ese women. The children were well behaved
They were repeating verses to the teacher. In
one school they were singing Jewels" We
could not understand the words, but how home
like the tune sounded.
This was one of our most pleasant days. (By
the way. we had our washing done here-5s
pieces tor 90 cents.l At noon we took the train
for Kamakura. which is about 10 miles from
Yokohama. This place, Kamakura, 400 years
, ago. was the political capital of Japan. Very
t9 Nesr fUIey Ssre we yisited Temple and couid no
enter without removing our shoes. Mr.. Davis
took his off and went in We could see nearly
as well outside. They had service while we were
there Strange service, which seemed like Bit
of ancient history preserved for US to see in this
eP ene % to ber
the walls of the Temple and the mountain:
around. No one benefited, no one uplifted by
About a mile from Kamakura we saw the
famous bronze statue of Bnddha. We theI
went on in our rikishas from here to Enoshima
which is an island in a bay about miles from
Kamakura. We alighted from our rikishas ant
climbed a sand hill. and descended on a sandy
piece of ground to the water. Enoshima is
peninsula in low tide-fn high tide an island
1t was now surrounded by water and we cross
out of the water and is clothed with rich gre el
foliage. On the island is a little village witt
assembled the street, with shops on either side
where shells, sc, were for sale. Among othe
things was tne famous aO a glaSs InreaH one &
| only in the deep sea off the coast of Japan.
has also been brought up in the dredee off In
cable downward and its sponge upward.
!. 1t was getting dark and we did not stop to g
to the top of the island, or visit the cave as w
had planned. 1t was now quite dark and W
| were anxious to leave. The sampan could no
get close to the shore and so we were carried o.
| mans hack to the water. only lew f66t. o
course, but it was quite novel exper ience
We were rowed to the land as the moon wa
coming up. Our boat so heavily loade
the water splashed over the side OF the boa
once or twice. We could see a few light. o.
Fathers Mercy - We looked back at the islam
with its many lights sparkling In the distance
the hiIl the lights were lost to our view. At th
foot of the hill WAS tea house (chow house
where we drank tea and ate some sandwiches
which we had lrried with US. 1t would no'
have been quite dark. but the moon was shinin
brightly, and such lovely ride as We had. o
our right was high bluff with trees upon i
The moon shining down upon us through thes
trees was a sight of quiet and tranquility 8
built clos to the road and was a little afrait
though really there was no fear. There cam
to my mind: "As the mountains are aboI
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his pee
pie from this time forth even forevermore.
Then my fear was gone. We rode thus about
u Fugezawa, where we could take the train fc
n Yokohama. We had wait of an hour or tw
~ and so went across the street TO a tea nous
- We sat down on benches and chairs in front Q
this house. (They are more like booths at
fair, open. you know. on one side( They al
yery polite, as have said before They brougl
cushions for us and we took out our book
Japanese and English phrases We found IL
z word for oysters. so just for fun we asked hin
IN simply saying the one word. Tor if you spea
too MANY words they become confused, not b.
ing able to understand people who don't tai
of japanese well. The man pronounced the wol
% several times and then started on the run dow
S' the street. We were taken aback. for we didn
want oysters because we could not eat them Il
way they would cook them. but on lookir
again we found the word for persimmon WI
= almost exactly like the word for oysters.
our relief he soon came running back and
~ his hands-not the dreaded oysters, but persin
n mons. In tie waiting room, or rather. in Il
. depot are two waiting rooms one for 1st clas
one for End. The 1st class room had straw ma
ting on the floor and few newspapers on
m table. Soon we were on the train and in
. hour were in Yokob anna. On the train was
woman and her daughter, should think. II
woman took a few whifs from the pipe al
then passed it to the girl, who did like wis
'Vhare were q man and woman, probably hU