The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-09-29
THE JAPANESE MECCA.
Kioto, tho Holy and Magnificent
City of tho Empire.
a Brief Description of tho Principal
Features OF Intcrcst-Thc Homo
or I:npcrors Grand Pro-
ccssion of the Priest.

Kioto is the holy city of the empire,
the one where can be seen the true
"Nippon." 1t is kind of intrcnchcd
camp and Il Mecca of Buddhism. For
mcrly it WAS named Myallo-t!at is,
"rhc Capital" For many centuries,
says the Chicago Mail, the cmpcrors
resided there surrounded by courticrs
whose great prcoccupation was to shave
Off their eyebrows and to keep their
teeth we'll ''lacqucrcd." The BONES or
priests made of the city IL vast pagoda,
where they ruled like kings, sparing
nothing in order to dazzle the eyes and
inspire fear and respect. 1t is there,
despite the fire which dcvourcd Il por-
ton of kioto, during the struggle for
the attempted restoration in 1865 Of the
imperial power, that people must 80, if
they arc anxious to see Japanese urchi-
lecture in all its splendid luxury, and
to understand the degree of fanaticism
prevailing among certain buddhist
sects. Here is, for instance, logon
undzi, the principal temple of the
"Monto" sect. 1t is divided in two
parts; one is the temple proper, the
other is the residence of the grand
priest or supreme pontif. The temple
proper is an immense wooden building,
supported by columns three feet in
diameter. But it is not there that you
must look for ornaments and luxury.
Buddha did not need them, and the
grand priest has reserved them for him
self Its residence is covered inside and
outside with admirable sculptures; the
great reception parlor is twenty-five
feet long and thirty-tivc feet wide, with
the throne OF the pontif at the further
end. The walls were painted by the
most celebrated artists of the thirteenth
! century. The hall of fans has its cell
ings entirely covered with fans of every
Imaginable shape and color. There are
also the hall of books the hall of cranes
and many others, in which the dccora-
ting artists have displayed incredible
patience and crudtion. Their works
represent the tales of strange my
thology.
The grand priest of Kioto is power
which the government must take into
account. He can ut any moment raise
Il formidable army of monks, and the
history of Japan is filled with the mar
ratives of civil wars foincntcd by the
BONES OF lIongouandzi and IIiyczan.
Every year, in the months of May and
June, there are i'll Kioto some two hun
drcd thousand pilgrims, who come from
| all parts of the country, having Travelled
sometimes five hundred or six hundred
miles on foot, begging along the road
! for Il few handfulS of rice. 1t is custom
AIRY for the grand priest to pass process
sionally on horseback once wear
! through the streets of kiotO; and all
those who arc so fortunate as to see
him, or even Il portion of his vcstmcnt,
are purified from all their sins, through
that mere contemplation. On these oc-
casions the pageant is gorgeous in the
extreme, and the whole city keeps up
the festival so long as the pilgrims re-
main ut kioto. The excitement is so in
tense that it would not he safe for a
foreigner to mix too freely in the
throng. The Inhabitants of the PROV
inccs of Yamato, Yamasio and Isc arc
strong fanatics; and foreigners must
exercise great circumspcction. taking
care especially not to trcspass upon the
rites. If member of the czarowitz's
escort smiled Internationally during q
religious ceremony, or trod with his
| shoes upon the sacred mats on the floor
of the temple, it would have been
enough to incitc fanatic to avcngc
| Buddha. 1t is on account of an inn
prudence of this kind that Mr. Mort,
minister of public instruction. who was
known to be Il Protestant, was assassi-
mated two years ago 1t is to be re-
mcmbercd also that in the beginning of
this year the Russian legation at Toxic
was stoned by n band of "sosh," be-
longing To the lowest class of people,
whose fixed idea is to prosecute for
cigncrs-