The Butler weekly times., 1895-06-27
ODDITIES OF JAPANESE LIFE.
Freaks From the Land of the Rising sun
the National Museum.

Freaks From the Land of the Rising sun
at the National Museum
A few years ago Col. James Steven
son reported having witnessed Curl
Gus ceremony in a subterranean cham
Der among the Moquis Of New Mexico.
1t was religious performance, en-
hlems being wrought on the ground by
a prlestess in sands OF different coIors
yellow, green, red, white, and black.
Among these emblems We're the
lightning snakes" which are four in
number, the green and white snake
being female and the yellow and red
snakes male. Exact reproductions Of
two of the sand pictures are now on
exhibition at the National museum
Around the originals many weird rites
were performed, dramatizing the le-
gend Of the adventures Of the snake
hero. The celebration was that of the
snake dance
Subsequently the same art was found
TO exist among the Navaioes ard
Apaches But what could be more
surprising than TO discover il in Japan.
practiced in exactly the same fashion,
ligious purposes, In that country per-
ipatetlc artists make such sand mosa-
les for the entertainment of the crowd
that is sure to gather. The expert car
ries about with him a bottle of fine
sand of different colors. Taking it in
his hand, he skillfuily allows it to
stream through his fingers, making
ai+h ha, =, Il ~
or two colors at will. The work is done
very rapidly, and the pictures are often
exceedingly good.
Now, how does it happen that the
japanese and NOQui Indians have this
art in common? Can it be that they
are descended from the same ancest-
ors? Such a conclusion is not to be
jumped at by any means. The remote
progenitors of those Indians may have
lived in Japan. Possibly the present
japanese drove them out of the couE-
try, but learned from them how to
make sand pictures. The tide of hui
man migration swept the descendants
of the expelled aborigines of Japan to
that part of the world which is now
called New Mexico. where they have
preserved the ancient religious prac-
tice to this day, making their mosaics
with elaborate ceremonial in cham
bers underground. This theory is sug-
gested by Prof. Otis 7. Mason, OF the
Smithsonian institution.
The ancient religious ceremony is
transformed in Japan into an amuse.
ment- That IS not an uncommon pht
nomenon-the metamorphosis of Il
pious rite into game or show.
The toys of to-day are the tools of YES
terday. The weapons of short time
ago are the playthings of the present.
Children now play with the bow and
arrow, which were the means of sub
sistence ard the instruments of war in
ages gone by.
The Japanese government recently
presented to the National museum a
very interesting group of life size fig
ures representing the famous warrior
Nobunaga and his generals. The scene
depicts Il council of war on the field OF
battle. The costumes and armor are
actual relics preserved from the six.
teenth century. Nobunaga's helmet is
one that Was worn by the hero him
self. IN the latter part of the sin
teenth century he was the greatest
man in Japan, governing in the name
Of the millado. But his greatest celeb
rity came from his efforts to drive
buddhism out of the country, where it
had to a considerab BILE extent suppressed
aI ha Ii
In Nobunaga's day the Buddhist
priests We're fairly running Japan.
There religious esta blishments were
great strongholds. The greatest of
them inclosed thirteen valleys and over
five hundred temples and shrines.
Here thousands of monks were con-
gregated. They chanted before gor-
licentiousness. dallied with concubine<
and hatched plots to fan the flames ot
feudal war They were protected by
their sacred character, as well as by
physical force.
Nobunaga attacks this stronghold
and burned the shrines and temples.
killing thousands of men. women and
children. He also destroyed an i'm,
mense fortified temple and monastery
in the province OF Osaba. Several
thousand of the people tried TO escape
during storm. but were oyertaker
and slaughtered without regard to age
or sex. a Junk laden with the ears
and noses OF the slain was permitted
to float by the besieged castle in full
view of the garrison. From these tre
mendous blows Buddhism in ,Iapan mas
not recovered to the present day
Washington Star.