The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-12-10
FIR ON TIE ORIENT.

RES of Japan--A:l Interesting enc
Graphic Description.
We have heretofore published two let
ters from Mr., Frank Winfield, written
from japan, to his brother. Dir. j. @.
Winfield, of Rockingham county, Va.
We give below, another equally inter
esting and instructive and which we are
sure will be read by the VTRGINtAN's
patrons with pleasure.
YoKouAs1A, JAPAN, Nov. 9, 1891.
ny Dear Brother;
NV last letter was devoted to description OF
Nikko and It's ancient and artlsticay decorated
/ temples and shiines its lnausoleu'llS ana IT'S
charming sylvan scenery. Having siace maze
quite an extensive toil Of the interior visiting
en- route nearly all of the places OF INTEREST III
1 JAPAN will make this letter the su0Jec6 OF
what we saw on this trip through this most in
teresting country. But as the limits Of an ofdl-
nary letter will not admit of detailed descrip-
ton, will conflne niy letter mainly to the chief
place OF Interest among the many which VIEWS
| ited-'the old Capital ity. Kioto." The city OF
| Kioto has perhaps more antiquity and more ms
tory than any other city in Japan it was
founded early in the seventh century ana was
! the canit4l of the Empire from the year 1888 to
the revolution of lfS when the shosun gov
| eminent was overt'irown and the Mikado pc
came the head of the government. This event
in the history of Japan carried with it the re-
Inoval of the capitol fro.I hloto to Tokyo where
il has remained to tie Present. Gate.
The famous cd city is pleasantly situated III
nlain surrounded by s}eautifl hills and is almost
eouaIiy divided by heriver Kama Gowa. Which
flows through it. 1t has DIT present resldenI
population of about SU0,00G, which is probably
not much more than one-haif the population it
contained during the Shotgun rule. Its suburbs
are crowded with temples of more or less an
tiauity Among the most prominent IS the
Chin-ou In, founded in the year l2ll. The k1yo-
| Midzu, the origin Of which has been lost in the
mists of time; the Haniui, San -jen. DO and the
Nishi Hon GAVIN il, the last two founded dur
ing the 18th century. The temples have named
comprise but few of the most prominent, but
with one exception are not those OF the greatest
antiquity. The Chin ou-In is one OF the finest
of the group, and its location and surroundings
are extremely beautiful broad avenue
planted on either side with cherry trees, leads
up to the main entrance. The exterior pillars,
cornices. and panels are all richly decorated
| with carvings of birds and animals. ON the IN
| terror the ceilings, which are heavily carved
present dragons and female figures representing
angels bearing musical instruments in their
| ,
Grated In front stands pair of gilded lotus
| plants in bronze pots u fact high. On the right
highly oinamentel cabinet Finished III famous
| gold Iacquer) containing the tablets of Iye-Yas-
SD. To the left a similar cabinet where are also
deposited the tablets ana other highly priced
relics. The main building faces south ard from
its galleries a charming lew OF the city and
surrounding country nay be obtained. Its d1-
mansions are as follows length l67 feet, depth
I3S feet and its neisg1it.A feet, and l Believe IS
conceded t be the largest structure OF the kind
| in Japan. in tho same enclosure stands bell
tower which contains the famous bell-the
largest ever cast in Asia. Its height is IL feet
| and !iameter Q feet, and its weight II tons.
| The Kyo-slidZu, the origin of which there
seems to be no authentic record, is also pleas
| antly situated amid a forest OF piles, ana
crystal brook winding through its garden. The
temple is reached By passing through two
| storied gateway anu ascending long hight OF
stone steps. The exterior furnishes 70 contrast
to that OF the temple just described and its IN
terror decorations are much the same. 1t has
its relics and its treasures like all the rest
| Among the former is preserved some very curl
GUS things. Ore is a letter from one of the dew
otees Offering all end 3wmant of ten thousand
pile o. rice to the abbot ii by his prayers ne
could procure his adopted mothers recovery
from some chronic il.nHss and insure her life to
be prolonged if not for tPea years, or two years,
at least for thirty days. Tradition says that the
prayers of the good abbot were answered and
that the full lease of life asked for extended
to the invalid mother. There is also deposited
here various documents granted by the military
| chiefs during the age OF their civil commotion
in Japan granting certain privileges to the
I priests connected with The temples, giving them
| indemnity against contributions for war pur
poses, &c.
To conclude with the temples and ancient
shrines of I<ioto, shall refer butbTiefy to one
other-the San Jul -sanDo. This temple was
founded in the year ll32, was destroyed by fire
in 1a49 and rebuilt in 1865. 1t is filed with i'm
ages to the number OF one thousand. The main
apartment which contains this vast array OF
gided images is $50 feet long by so feet wide.
The one thousand images, each life size, are ar
ranged in ten tiers, gradually rising one above
the other towards the back of the building.
Each figure is the possessor OF ten hands ana
| arms which are all outstretched and grasping
various articles and Notwithstanding the great
number of hands and the articles held therein
no two contain the same article Evidences OF
antiquity are plainly visible in this temple. The
massive cross beams and pillars. once decorated
| with gorgeousiy colored designs, have ain ost
! entirely faded away and the pillars themselves
are crumbling to dust The images Which are
of wood gilded with some metallic substance,
seem to have better wthstood the ravages of
time and are i'll fair state OF preservation.
There is much mere antiquity Of the most inter
esting character about Kioto including tie
| Palace Of tile Mikado, with its lovely gardens,
occupying twenty-sx acres in the heart of the
city, but space will not admit Of further descrlp-
ton as l am DESTROYS OF telling you something
of the modern as well as the ancient features of
| the place.
Of course the antiquity of this country is its
most interesting feature to the Traveller. but
when he has tired OF that there is Still much
more that will interest him. The people Of the
| Orient themselves in a large city like Kioto are
a study worthy of the travellers attention ON
a pleasant afternoon let him take one of the
principal streets-I would suggest San 10 Dori
street for this is the Broa 1way of Kioto. Let
him loiter along and watch the pretty faces and
the neat figures Of the japanese girls who come
! in groups of tyyOS and threeS chatting and
| laughing under the shadow of their many col
ored paper spnshades. The fall and winter
STYLES of grapes and brocades are on sale at the
various shops and around the tempting display
! of these beautiful fabrics these Oriental beau
| ties swarm like bees about flower. The pas
sion for shopping seems to be ruling one with
the Japanese as it is with women in other parts
of the world. and every pleasant afternoon
finds them enjoying this tavorite pasttime.-
Lettering is pleasure where so bright and ami
mated picture of Oriental life may be enjoyed,
| but we have started out to visit the workshops
and sales rooms Of the celebrated Nshemula
whose grapes and hrOcades are the admiration
! Of the Far East, and whose screens and en-
| broideries were awarded the grand PriX at the
Paris Exhibition. Hence we must hurry along.
You will remember that sent you paper from
! here some months ago describing the process of
manufacture of grapes and brocades in this
| cO,lntrv