The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-10-29
THE ANTIQUITIES OF JAPAN.


Courtesy of the Natives-A valu-
able Marble Quarry, Worked by a,
Virginian, &c, &c.
The following letter written by Frank
Winfield, a native of Rockingham coun-
ty, to his brother, DR.. J. Q. Winfield, of
Broadway, Va, we are permitted to pub
lish, although not intended for pubica-
ton. 1t will be read with interest by
our subscribers, as it gives a graphic de-
scription of the ancient temples, and the
customs and manners of the japanese.
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN, Sept. 223rd, 1891
NM Dear Brother:
We have Just returned from weeks visit to
Mike, the Venice of Japan. The place is stu
ated i'll the Nikko Fan mountains about six
hours ride by rail from Yokohama. The sur
rounding scenery is made up OF forest, lake and
river, and is of the most charming character
imaginable. No traveller in the East can afford
to miss seeing Nikko, and the Japanese have
said that he who has not seen it, is not justified
in pronouncing the word kekko (signifying
grand, Beautifully. Nikko is one of the old cities
of Japan, and tradition says was founded in the
year $50 1t is the centre of group of temples
greater splendor, than any other such collection
in Asia and probably the finest collection of such
edi1ces in any part of the world. Centuries upon
centuries of labor and millions upon millions or
gold have been expended in their construction.
| There are no less than three hundred of these
shrines and temples in this group, and to give
! you an idea of the vast amount OF money that
has been expended upon them, single eXcep-
lions are said to have cost over twenty millions
of dollars. Besides these temples the mausoie-
ums of great number of the renowned princes
and warriors of Japan have been placed here,
among these is the gorgeous tomb of I've Yasu,
the first prince Of the Tokio-Gowal e.
Every foot of ground in and around Nikko is
regarded as classic and sacred, by the japanese.
Much of their vast store of history and historic
romance have their chief scenes laid in and
around this locality
The place, too, like Kioto may be considered
one of the battle grounds of Japan. Scores of
battles have been fought in the vicinity and
| streams of blood have flowed.
From the earliest ages of which there is any
authentic record, the BuddhiSts had selected
this spot for the loo alton of a temple and which
/ is supposed to have been erected in the year SIG
Later and during the early part OF the ninth
century all of the great Shoguns and wealthy
princes of the empire who professed this faith
united their efforts to make Nikko the holy of
holies, and although the control of these tenn
pies has passed into the hands of the Shinto re-
ligion (Which occurred during the restoration
In 1863 the same interest is still kept up and it
is more than probable that Nikko will retain it's
present religious. status
Referring again to the temples they comprise
every style of architecture in their construction
and every degree of magnifcence and splendor
| in t1,oi,. into adO md
The buildings generally are of wood and not
withstandng their great antiquity are in d good
state of repair. The roofs are of tiles with grace
full projections and the eXteriors are painted in
| harmonious colors. The floors, which are usu-
ally raised several feet above the ground, are
| all finely lacquered and in some instances so
| high polish is maintained that a casual OBJ
server would mistake the wooden floor for pol
| ished plate glass. Only such portions of the
| floors are left unprotected as are supposed not
| to be used, the remainder being covered care
| fully with heavy mats. Between the doors OF
entrance and the altar, there is usually num-
| Der of low lecturns near each of which is placed
a drum or gong which is used by the supplicant
| both to attract the attention of the image to
| whom his prayer is being offered up, and to
| beat time during the chant which forms an i'm
| portant part OF their worship The altar itself
| in which is arranged the ancestral tablets is
hung with raru and costly tapestries aud
| screens. The sculpture of the various images
which adorn it are not imposing but the pillars
and panels carved in relief are wrought in a
high degree of this art. Some of the tablets are
| of pure gold and the ornaments used to adorn
| the images are in some cases precious stones Of
great value A strict regard for cleanliness is
| preserved and all of the various ornaments are
kept scrupulously clean. Boxes distributed
| about are constant reminder to the christian
visitor of his duty to charity.
The larger number of this vast collection Of
| temples lies within the suburbs Of Nikko. Beau
tifully paved avenues lined with magnificent
trees, form the approaches and a few minutes
walk from any quarter of the city win bring you
| to the moss grown thresholds Of some one OF
/ these ancient structures While there is great
| similarity in style of architecture ana general
| appearance, there few of the temples that
greatly excel the larger number in cost of con-
| struction and in their interior embellishments
These particular temples are all designated by
a name which the remainder are not allowed to
| assume. There are but twenty two temples of
the Shinto faith in Japan out of the great nun
| Der which exist which bear this title. The name
| given them is Gu and is the highest that can be
bestowed (Gu or Mya sgnifying palace. Three
| of the twenty-five temples bearing this name
are located at Nikko, and though we visited
them all and spent hours in their contemplation
and as much as would like to tell you some
| thing about them, find my descriptive powers
So entirely inadequate to the task that shrink
! from the most meagre description of what We
| saw. All three of these famous temples are sit
/ uatad in the very heart OF this cOnSecrated
ground and are surrounded on all sides by OBJ
Jects of the greatest interest magnificent five
stored pagoda which stands left of the first
1 temple is one of the first objects that attracts
attention. 1t rises to a height Of 104 feet. Its
decorations are carvings of trees, birds and
flowers, the work of the celebrated left handed
artist Haddai Near this beautiful pagoda is
the holy cstern carved out of solid block Of
! granite twelve feet long by six wide and five
feet deep. It is protected by a tiled roof sup
ported by twelve granite columns and the basin
! is SO carefully adjusted upon its bed that the
water, which is conducted into it by a series OF
pipes from a cascade near by, bubbles up and
/ pours over each edge of the stone basin in ex-
actly equal volumes that in looking at it, it
seems more like a solid block OF water than
block of stone. Nearby is a beautiful lacquered
building used a depository for complete
| collection OF the Buddhist scriptures. These are
precious volumes and are guarded with the
greatest care The books are contained in
revolving octagonal cupboard of bronze
A bell tower, with it's fine bell. a gift from the
/ King or the LOO-CnOO lSldHuS pIeSoHbeu III Uile
year 1912 $50 the inscription upon it says and
| sacred tree planted where it now stands by the
renowned Iye-Yasu in the 18th century, the
sumptuous stable of sacred white pony, (the
one seen was of another color, however, are all
! objects of interest in the vicinity. But to pro
| coed. The gate by which admittance is gained
! to the temple is a work of art. The different
woods of which it is composed are said-to have
been brought from India. The different colored
woods are inlaid with great skill and the cary
ngs, especially over the archway. are very
beautiful.
Upon entering the gate the visitor need hardly
| be reminded that it is necessary to remove his
/ shoes for the sandals OF hundreds of pilgrims
and devotees who have preceded him lie so
thickly about the entrance that they almost
| block the gateway. Passing through into the
enclosure the visitor cannot but be impressed
with the solemnity of his surroundings. The
/ wide folding doors of the temple are thrown
open and hundreds of piOuS pilgrims are seen
kneeling in front OF the various images These
pilgrims are not idle curiosity seekers ike our
| selves but are devoted believers in the Sh1nto