The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-07-01
iS i'I7I'IHl!1l'E,l!I LAND or
Il RISING SUM-. n
BY q Virginia VI man.

S 5Ssa, 1s d 3l .---------
AZ, $ by 8 Kirgi
Though 3shintolsm.s! or ancestor or nature
worship Is the religion peculiar to. Ja!;
pan, and Is practlced by h eHcourtsa n
mobiles, Buddhism has the strongest hpid
on the affections OF the people u Priests
craft. workingHonathe ignorance and slr
sperstitions Of the Masses, has robbed Budds
|E4hism Of much OF Its original purity, and
divided itsintos numerous ssects, but even.
To-day it Is a&Sbeautiful system, with q
high moral code. AS a nation, however.
the Japanese are very materialigtio and
Sindir to religion In any form. They
are very International, and nerves are a
factor unknown to them.
#Ss The form and ritual Of theirS$Worshipi
are gorgeous, accompanied with incense
and music E#t The temples are q blaze Of
red ana gold lacquer, with elaborate
carvings and &paintings,a.& fitted up inside
With {SYfmagnihcent affairs, covered with
images candles, sacred vessels and orna-
mentsy the gifts Of Bdevotees, Here one
seess their best art and is distinctly
reminded ofsthe6ritual and artistic adorn-
lmientss OF thessRoman Catholic Church. s5
Nowhere can we see the lie of the
lpOSp4O ESOGhVSl1 u6S IlS rlOputhA
shrines such MS Asokusa,, at Toxic. APP
preaching through rows $o booths and
ttoysshops,t We8stoppedson the outside to
sound the greatsSgong#a and call the att
i~tention Eofathe gods TO Sours$;y1sit..sa Enter
lng,swe{fo found q emotleySthrong OF holiday
observation-disclosures mingling piety with
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES about soldiers
smOktng;Hand plgeonsfand chiokensAtak-l
Ing part an the atscene.t mndea the
rounds Sol THE %dingy idols. SoYeri$Swhom
Rwannon. the Goddess Of Mercy. reiggans.
in 4 tspeaceNoff Niryana:$E First
We're grotesque Images Sof the sNio,5Swho
scare II away demons, and next was q
praying wheel, to cleanse sins. Then!
there was a. shrine&to Jizo. fnourishery of
little1children, with Binzura, helper OF
the sick beside It, This image Is nearly
worn away from being constantlySrubbed.
Nearby was q booth OF ffortune-tellers,
whereXwe got q large supply OF armlets
and charms. Leaving this. Ore went to
see some @$wrestlers. and stopped In d
tea hOuse5long enough to- hearth temple
bell toll. sSs#Sss3E
s%oonSSgafter8 the ratification OF peace be
tween Russia and Japan, the Mikado
went to the Shrine OF Iseist o tell his an
%cestors about It'll and next the Crown
Prince went YER there for the same purpose,
and lastly the admirals. s&
| 1902 GOCDSA1Oo uhplLiooo EdEIsSlS
for they4fare a nation Of aesthetics, and
art permeates their life and enters into
all their acts. Their dainty and charm
ing ways are all an expression OF this
artistic spirit, as well as their intense
love of tho beautiful and worship$&Eof
flowers. The great Cano schoolto OF Paint
ing arose more than arhundred years ago.
and has left behindsi 1t some 10y painted
screens and temple frescoes. simultane-
1 - l,.Et ,,o, Ia ~ 49, - ~t4t I, r. oao
prints which are the Joy or the art col-
%lector. SIngItle fall exhibltions In Tokyo.
we saw many delicate modern pictures OF
nature. idonesin8 SILK, Sbut gnoth.Egfgreat,S@6
In. our travels, we bits
of the language, which proved very Use.
full to us. Knowing tn 4important word
will 5often5&save the situation. The Ian
guage Is soft and pretty, like italian,
and abounds in honorlhcs and humillacs.
Everything pertaining 70 the first per
son is vile. disgusting and 8despicable,
while that ot the second As excellent
and worthy. Tho construction Is strange,
rs don't do that" lsE translated literally;
"Honorably 3abstaining, oondescend, &ex-
cuse me, II%onorably august, pardon
deign." t
Literature Is AT a low ebb, but IT.
place Is supplied by charming myths &oI
folk lore. Poetry Is highly esteemed
though the Japanese poetry seems VERY
simple and meagre2 to the Western read
crs, The censorship OF the press is jsf
severe that the jails are filled with edl'
tors. The evening papers are ought y
boys running through the streets VIII
chimes OF bells around their waists, nnc
they present a picturesque appearance.
BY slow degrees wefcame to -Kyoto,atnf
old capital, which has not suffered any
foreign influence. but has remained pure
Japanese. 1t Ia n large city, full q
ground palaces and temples, b IN
bazaars got such q hold BonEus that "
could not do Justice to other things
While the open pores sell all. SOY,
OF attractive gewgawH u TO catch m
tourist. and tha good things are ADAPTED
to foreign taste like the things sold T
this country, Kyoto Ia true TO Its Owl
artistic nature, and produces nothing blu
objects of art. In tiny shops, harfd3
large enough for q foreigner to enter
there are treasures of silver, lacquer
cloissone. damasoene, ivory. satsuma anf
embroIderies, as we'll as curllo shops ntlllet
with old armors,l bronze, brass ana VEN
! pie ornaments, Sts8 s4it5 81.
Our tastes were soon discovered, 3ant
shop-keepers lurked In every corner 0
the hotel to lure us to our doom. LAP
preaching softly, they would present incl
cards. saying in the most appealing way
LADY, lady, you take my card lyo'
come to my shop. I like to do business
with you. / sell you cheap, old antiques
new antiques" We spent long morning
rim the fascinating occupation OF bargain
ng for our purchases, In the Orlentta
Etyle, over a cup ut tea, and NE reYe
lave what they asked at first. IN tn
kyenings. when we could not goRtp IN
hops, the shops would come to us, an
Ne held daily leyles. The robbers. q q
ge called them, brought queer ilttlle bun
les OF things In their kimono slsese1
nd spread them all oyer " o9m
ichsa tempting fashion We We're fofcse