The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1893-03-17

D:s: sss,'a:s:1 S:. -:
.:--.:..-s syn J1uy tecsnse hoped to
become. acquainted With the customs
and u<4<fs OF this people, and partly for
: The resson that was wai Jog to reach nv
nnal Destination.
We landed at Yokohama on the morning
efN.v. 5,h, and were delayed o mooih and
half waiting for passports to our present
home.
1t may net be amiss to tell you something z
OF the trials Of a foreigner in obtaiping .
passport. The japanese Government does
not ailsw US TO G. beyond tue Treaty Posts,
and IL one wishes to live in other parts of
the Empire, application must be made
through some local school-board 20 teach for
q certain lerg'h Of time in the city in which
emo proposes to live. In my OWN case per
nirsion was gained through the trustees of
tho kochi Bible school TO reside in this city
for q specified time as shisho. l expect to
teach for certain number Of hours q day
10 fulfil the the terms Of my passport, aud
am also engaged in the study Of the language
in preparation for missionary labors.
The city 10 which We are living has O pop
ulation OF about fifty 'houssnd, 1 suppose,
snd 10 the capital OF one of the South west
provinces. 1t is noted especially for its
beautiful bay, and its ancient castle, the
stronghold Of one of the Doimyos or terrific
rial lords Of feudal Japan. Sea'ed on the
top Of torraced emine ace and su. rounded
BY massive stone walls, rising one above
another, with the city and outlying villages
At our feet, it is indeed "besutiiul for silu-
ation." cannot say that The city itself is
so beautiful, q, the houses ars too low and
too much in need of paint, to suit the taste
Of . wrsterner, Within, however,, many Of
them are very artistic and beautiful.
Tho people are very fond Of flowers and
in the grounds Of every important house is
4 miniature park with its pond. aud beau
tif4l fsh, and well-trimmed shrubbery.
The country, in general, too, is beau ifu!
from almost every point Of view; it's snow
capped mountains, its water falls, its rivers
and streams, literally clear as crystal. its
vine clad rocks and boulders, its bays and
its broad, fertile and well-cul,ivated valleys,
form picture of marvellous beauty.
It 10 nee Hess for me to say that the
Japanese arc very polite and ceremonious.
Ii two gentlemen, for instance, meet on the
streets, they will form right angle at the
middle Of the body, remaining in this posi-
iion several s-con Is, and repeating the bow
several times Ii theymeet in 3 house, the
hspd must Be brought to the floor two CT
three time, if one wishes to be very polite
The children are trained in habits of ccre-
monious salutatioa from childhro |, and We
are often greetel with the words, kon,ni-
chi-wa, aud q most lracaf',' 49,
ueferentinl
bow, irom tho little ones around the d. ors of
our house, aud OH the streets,
Perhaps Joy would be interested in the
description Of the kind Of houses we live in
The pictures sent you Will give you a very
correct idpa of their interior parts.
One can have many or few rooms in n
Japanese house, as The preference may be,
slnce the rooms are divided by sliding par
tiuons. They are used as doors, and are
often covered with beautiful papera, and
are easily managed. Many of the houses
here are surrounded by massive stone walls,
aud most imposing g,teways at the entrance
The exterior OF the house consists princi-
pally Of s,ijiug wooden doors which are
closed at night, aud lin q Japanese house,
in rainy Wsa. her. we nave in our house
glass sliling doors within these outer ones,
which give Is plenty of sunlight, and make
the house cheerful even on q dark day.
l have not been able TO do evangelistio
work, as could not speak the language.
l have made, however, in company with
9thSr missionaries, several trips to some of
tho numerous adjacent towns and VILLAGES.
Our journeys are made over the very best
macadamizcd roads, in jinriklshas. The
name means 'man-powcr vehic.e." that is,
vehicle pulled kY man; or, US one has
Wi,tilJ rsInarked, o "Pul!-man car
One Of these trips was made to attend a
Christmas celebration by the Christians in
one of these twas. II was both festive
and y religaus observance Of that season.
We fis' had the religious exercises appro-
pirate to the occasion, followed by the reci.
tations Of verses from the scriptures, and
postioal selections relating TO the birth of
Christ. The celebration closed with games
in which all heartily joined
The scene was both impressive and full of
Joy 10 US, as We thought Of the rapid advances
these people had made from the darkness
Of hosihenism into the glorious light Of the
Gospel Of Christ. The exercises were The
more impressive from the fact that they were
held under the shadow Of heather temple
Our attention wa, called to the fact that II
celebration was alss going on within the
temple. As We passed by one night we
heard the beating of drums aud saw the
flashing VI lights, and, on euquiring as to
what was b ing done, were told that the
priests were celebrating in this way the
return Of the gods who hal been away on a
visit to q neighboring island.
Thus you see the battle is still being
waged here between darkness and light
hsathsnism aud christianity. We are not
Z arful, however, as to the result. Every
thing p,ints TO the complete triumph of
christianity. May God hasten the day
Yours in Christ,
Unnv