The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-08-17

big DaSS-druTn rested II against the
wheel of my 'riksha and laughed joyous
ly up into my face, es he beat out with
all his might the even measures of that
] glorious old hymn. The brilliant paper
lanterns waved wildly over my head
( hundreds of them-some on bending
! bamboos which reached above the
houses, and joyous shouts of ''Banzai!"
mingled with the blare of the brass
band. Suddenly a young man in a long.
dark kimono. with a bit of white silk
4 wrapped about his temples like a laurel
| crown, darted out of the crowd and
pressed his lantern into my hand. say
| ing something joyful in japanese as he
| darted away again, TO which L could
| only reply, ''Arigato" (thank you), and
| ''Dai Nippon Banzai.''
| Then for moment there was pam
| demonium. Women held their babies
above their heads and shouted ''Dai
| Nippon Ranzai,' Boys Ieaped like agile
monkeys on to the shoulders OF men to
get their lanterns higher, and the little
| wooden houses fairly ratified with the
deafening yells. Nobody can say Ban
zaii" like the Japanese. 1t means so
much to them, and the way they say
! it, "Ban-za -ah "a h-ee-e-e!" cutting off
the final syllable with a sharp rising
| infection. makes it mean much to any
| body. 1t is the most perfect expression
of joy in living that / ever heard
| After God Save the King and 1.-The
Star Spangled Banner the band, just
to show me how friendly they felt and
how skilled they We're in American
classics, began to play "Hiawatha" as
they marched off down the street.
ITO Maruyama Park" said Takiga,
and we started in an opposite direction
through streets doubly dark after the
glare which had just passed US. My
lantern seemed to attract a great deal
of attention, and Takiga came alongside
my 'riksha to explain to me that the
japanese characters upon it We're the
name of a society for the promotion of
patriotic enthusiasm and the title of one
of the leaders of the organization. Ev-
cry little group of people we passed
would cry ''Banzail'' and would reply
'Banzai," and leave them chattering,
as Tadga told me, about our English
allies
Maruyama Park lies on the slope of
Higashiyama, a wooded mountain to
the north of the city. It is filed with
little tea-houses, in which the samisen
twangs day and night, and with little
bright-colored booths, where one may
buy all sorts of curious japanese con-
fections and drinks and toys, or where
for half a sen one may get a glimpse
of little peep-shows, made to delight the
youthful Japanese heart. There are
places where one may throw balls at a
hole in a board a few feet away, and
get for a good aim little china geisha
girl or grinning stone god. There are
places where one may try ones skill
at archery with bows two yards long
and little feathered arrows, which fly
off in any direction but the one aimed
at And there are temples in Maruya-
ma Park--as where are there not ?-out
of which float the sounds of changing
bells and chanting Buddhist monks;
while over all are whispering giant
cryptomerias and pine-trees whistling
in the wind.
The most interesting thing. however,
in all this interesting place is cherry
tree, an old, old cherry-tree, so huge
that it is upheld by dozens of strong
props placed under every limb, and
making it look like a tree of many
trunks This tree is priced very high
ly, because, in the cherry blossom
time. it is beautiful enough to attract
pilgrims from all the country round
about. 1t is called yazukura, or the
might poisoning cherry" because,
during the time of its. blooming, bon
fires are lighted all about it at sun
down and are kept burning brilliantly
until midnight, and thousands of peo-
pie crowd upon the mountain slope to
worship it's beauty. So it was toward
Maruyama Park that we wendell our
way, through curious little streets and
over many arched stone bridges, after
we had passed the joy-mad crowd.
When we came out of a dark street
into the open space that is the en-
trance to the park, I felt like small
boy let loose with bunch of fireworks
on the Fourth of July. The whole
slope of the hill was covered with bob
bling, round red balls. All the people
in Kyoto who had paper lanterns had
made their way hither, and were now
met together under the yazukura for
one final outburst of enthusiasm. AS
soon as they saw us we were sur
rounded. I am absolutely positive that
I was the only Caucasian in the crowd,
and I was dragged by a dozen boys and
girls up the hill, Takiga laughing and
shouting in the 'riksha behind me. 1t
was really the greatest sport L ever
had, and when a young man brought
a great flag of the Japanese navy and
waved it over my head, shouting 'Dai
Nippon Banzait'' 1 replied with all the
enthusiasm at my command, and
"BanzaiI' echoed from every corner
of the park. One young man tried
his best 10 make me present Of a
lantern at least a yard and a half in
diameter, on bamboo pole eight feet
long, but by this time I had all I could
carry. had had an experience
of japanese jubiliation which few
American travellers probably ever had,
and with one final ''Dai Nippon Ban
zai," under the spreading branches of
the yazukura I told Takiga to order
the kuramavas back to the hotel