The Republican journal., 1906-03-15
NOTES FROM JAPAN.
Letter from Mrs. e. A. Fisher to Relatives
in Belfast.

Dear sister and niece:-I think my last
letter to you was written in Tokyo It
is the largest city in Japan. We are
travelling in company with DR. and
Mrs Washburn of Washington and Mr..
and Mrs. Lloyd of England. We find it
very pleasant. Ii we want to stay
| longer in place than they do, we do
so, and then join them somewhere else.
We expect to 60 to Kobe tomorrow
and then sail from there Sunday night,
at twelve o'clock, on the Manchuria for
Hong Kong, stopping for a day at Ma
gaski, and again for day at Shanghai.
We leave here at midnight SO as to go
through the Inland Sea by daylight, as
the views are said to be very beautiful.
We visited while in Tokyo many tenn
pies both Buddhist and Shinto. You
know Shinto worship is practically an
cestor worship and many of the Japan
ese are Shintoists. We visited the Won
derful Shiba tombs and temples and in
the afternoon went to the graves OF the
forty-seven Romis. l wanted to see
their graves as the history of Japan
seems to hinge on the incidents con-
f, nected with them 1t was what in Italy
would be called vendetta. They were
all condemned to commit Harakari;
that is suicide by Sitting themselves
open. They all did so separately and
were buried in the same temple
grounds, where for two centuries they
have been honored as a reward for
their obedience to the code of their
time and country. Before many of
their graves incense is kept perpetually
burning. While in Tokyo we went to
a theatre, which was dull and uninter-
esting as a theatre but gave us
chance to see people. They all sit on
the floor and talk and drily tea during
the play. | do not wonder that they
want something to pass away the time,
for the play commenced in the morn
ing and when we were in at six in the
evening was half done. We went in to
see some japanese acrobats and they
were wonderful. One evening we went
to private house where some Geisha
girls gave an entertainment for eight
of us. OF course we had to remove
our shoes before going in, as you always
do in every japanese house. We were
then taken up stairs and seated on the
floor round the room and a braZier with
a little charcoal placed before each of
US. Next tea was brought in and
placed before US on little trays placed
on the floor Then dishes containing
sweetmeats and nuts were put in front
of us on the floor. The entertainment
consisted of one girl playing on a Tyre
and two about twelve years old dane
ing. Their dancing consisted simply in
bending and waving the arms. Their
singing and playing is not at all har-
monious, as they seem to have no idea
of music. They were much more in
l terested in us than we in them, for
they examined all our clothes and jew
elry
The next place we visited was Nikko.
1t was five-hour ride in the cars from
Tokyo as nothing goes fast in Japan
and no one ever hurries. The most
wonderful temples in Japan are at
Tokyo, both Buddhist and Shinto.
They are very large and very Clean
, Our journey was very interesting, for
, the fields were filled with vegetables,
which the natives were just gathering,
and they have many kinds unknown to
us. Their turnips grow to an immense
size and are as white and as smooth as
an egg. By the time that we began to
tire of gardens and rice fields we had
reached higher ground and the bam-
boos and crytonarias were on all sides
of us, and the mountains in the dis
lance There is an avenue here border
r ed on each side with cryptonarias that
extend for fifty miles. For many miles
it runs parallel with The railroad. The
last four miles of our journey we travel
} ed in a "rickshaw" through this lovely
avenue. The trees grow to an immense
height and size and are evergreen. The
foliage is very beautiful. We went up
among the mountains to see lovely
; cascade. There is small Buddhist
temple up there. In Catholic coun-
try it would be called pilgrimage, but
l do not know what it would be called
here. The road is paved with stones,
} and there are many stone steps, old and
messy, leading up the steepest places.
There are many shrines and stone
monuments by the side of the road and
all are overshadowed by those immense
; trees, many of them twenty feet in Cir
conference. AS the way was too steep
for rickshaw l took sedan chair and
was carried on the shoulders of four
men. We returned from there and
: went to Yokohama, which seemed to
us quite European after our visit in the
) interior. In some places Oh the way
here the people thought we were great
cnriosities and almost frightened us
: crowding round us and peering over
each others heads at us. We stopped