The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1895-01-12
JAPAN'S SUMMER RESORTS.
Life Made Enjoyable Mt a Small Price on
EnOshinO Island.

Enoshimo Island.
One of the most picturesque spots
In the f1owery land is the little island
OF %Enoshima, which lies in the bay
OF Tokyo. Perhaps it hardly de.
serves the name of an island, for at
low tide you can walk across on the
damp sand and need hardly go on
the low, rickety structure of a bridge
which connects the island with the
opposite beach. But when winter
storms are raging waves dash all
around the little island, end the
bridge is not infrequently swept
away. 1t is merely a few planks and
bamboos, so the inhabitants cheer.
fully set to work to rebuild it. Emo.
shima has the great advantage for a
foreigner Of being within treaty
limits"
The inhabitants of the island make
their living by fishing, gathering
edible seaweed and making shell
ornaments. The sea is literally alive
with fish, some of which are un.
known i'll English waters. Others
are well known to our fishermen,
among them the perch, the funny
fish, the mullet and a kind of sar-
dine. The women carry on a large
trade in shells, which are of all
sizes, from the beautiful Venus
ear, as large as a plate, to the many
tiny nameless shells which they use
largely for the manufacture of kan.
SASH, or hair ornaments, which are
worn by every woman in Japan.
The amount of labor and ingenu.
ity to be had for the sum of l sen.
equal to l farthing, is quite wonder
full. You may buy a grasshopper
with a body made of shells and legs
Of fine green twisted silk. 1t is deli.
cately poised on a blade of grass and
the whole fastened to a hairpin. Or
you may have n tortoise with legs
that shake at every touch and on
whose shell back is a stork marvel
Ously manufactured out of six shells.
This is a favorite 80 miyage," or
honorable return home" present,
for the tortoise and the stork are
emblems of long life.
The chief sight of the island is a
long narrow cave which is approach
ed by a platform built against the
rock. A wizened old man, wizened
as only a Japanese car be, gives you
a taper at the entrance and leads you
between the little shrines to the
shrine of Benten, the goddess Of
luck, under whose protection the is
land is placed. The cave is dark and
dripping and does not seem a tempt
ing place to come and worship, but
they tell you that Nichiren, one of
the great Buddhist saints, came there
to pray so long that he left an i'm
preston on the stor1 where he
stood; also they say that the first
person to enter the cave was the ia
nous Kobo Daishi, a Buddhist saint
who was also noted as a preacher,
painter, sculptor, calligraphist and
traveller
Life on the island is cheap if you
can sleep on futons Quilted mats)
and eat Japanese food. Otherwise
you must bring your own provisions
OF starve, for not a mouthful of
English food is to be had. The tea
houses supply dinners which vary in
price from 10 sen GU PENCE to 20
sen or possibly 100 e n Higher than
this it seems impossible to go. For
20 sci you get an excellent Japanese
dinner-soup, two kinds of fish and
many little mouthfuls of mushroom,
bamboo root, ginger, etc, which the
Japanese love so much. London
Queen.