Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-03-05
A PICTURE IL



Come and Wa, - ..,s i...l3s.
Miyajima IS a. j ....., l...,, IS in q
inland sea, lying % lar WIKI. T. .l,I-
of the Ak shore that il cannot TO- sccI
from the route Cf the largt san steam
err that pass Enough those enchanted
waters. Ioreaeh ii r.cFt appropriately
one must ;ahe &c If the tiny coasting
steamers froH OsiLa AID, touching at
Il dozen quaint little ptrts or the match
less voyaGc, at Last sc the mountainous
green island, with t,mI lc roofs showing
here and there through all he dense TO-
ltagc of the heights, and, standing far
out in the water, Il heroic tCrii fit gate
way to that ideal place where death has
never come, NhC.e religion and land
scapc loneliness, legend and poesy. still
dwell, where the simple villagers, the
gentle old Shinto priests and the tame
deer, protected by the gods and loved by
the people maintain an atmosphere
foreign to the busy new Japan Of rail
roads, parliamCnts, imported military
tactics and modern war vessels. Or one
may take the railway from Kobe TO Hi
roshlma and then Jinrib- sha for l2
miles along its bay and be ferried across
IA narrow strait to this isle of the llest.
which will impress the more with its
Alc@ liam features when one comes to it
from al! the bugling, parade and din
Of mimic war that goes on in the shadow
of Hiroshima picturesque castle keep
and at its port of Ujina chief naval
station Of the empire, and, during that
victory year Of 1894, port of departure
of transport ships to Korea and China.
Then one can accept the legend tnat
MlyaJnna grew from one of the con
gcalCd drops that fell from Izanami's
Jewclcd spear, and that Itsukushlma
and her two sisters, daughters of the
god Of The sea, aptly cheese it for their
favors; that their temple rose from and
hoated III from the sea, and that the
great water tori grew with the tides as
naturally rs any coral reef.
There Is a small village at the foot of
green bank, but that is of by its com.
monplace, profane self, and the temple
IS cmbayed in an amphithoater of the
hills. with shore and water foreground
all its own. On the shore lire at the
edge Of the village a noble tori of Oshi-
ma granite, each pillar and crossbeam a
single stone, marks the entrance TO sa-
cred ground, and this road following
the curve Of the shore is lined for
quarter Of mile to the temple with
tall stone lanterns, the same alignment
Of votive lights continuing for half "a
milo along shore at the other side Of the
great shrine.
The water tori is the unique and
great feature Of Miyajima's shrine, and
one grows very familiar with it from
its representations by Japanese artists in
every line. The colossus is formed Of
great beams, each hewed from the single
trunk Of u camphor tree and strength
ened ut the base by crosshcams joining
low parallel columns, which give it bal
a"cc and solidity and most impressive
effect. These beams are covered below
the water lime with such Il heavy growth
of bTnacles and marine plants that the
tori seems very reasonably part of
the sea gods kingdom and creating
This skeleton gate III the sea is so deli
cate and falryliRe in first distant view
tilt't ono j. not prepared Tor lis great
size aud the impressive sense of its pro.
portions when one floats IN between its
great camphorwood piers, as massive
AID solid as masonry. Sculling through
this notable gateway and across the wa
ter court of approach at high tide, one
may visit every part of the temple and
penetrate othc farthcst labyrinth, pass
!. D
floating before the open fronts Of the
great shrincs The galleries connecting
the different parts Of the temple have,
strung along their leaves, hundreds of
quaint little bronze and iron lanterns,
all votive offerings, as also are the pic
lures that hang in line above them and
form famous gallery Of ancient art
Eliza kuhamah Scldmore in Century.
Tho Cheapest Funeral.