The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-18

gentle that theyCwiils come, 70 old and
young, and. eat from the hand.
Next to Nara, in our opinion and in
the opinion OF many even before Nara,
comes -Nikko in beauty and interest.
The spot was wisely chosen for tenn
pie, a foaming stream, rugged noun
tains ana stately trees adding to the at
tractiveness of the place. There is a
shaded avenue twenty-five miles long
leading from the lOwlands to the tenn
pie and it is said that when other feud-
al .ords were bringing stone lanterns,
one poor daimio, unable to make so
large a gift, offered to plant little trees
along the way; these, now 300 years old,
furnish a grateful shade for the pill
griIns who visit this Mecca, and the
poor tree planter is now known as THE
Wise Daimio who went into partner
ship with nature
The temple at Mike is only about
three centuries old and it's decorations
are the richest and most costly to be
found in japan AS the Buddhists and
ShintOiStS worship together here, the
temple is kept in repair by the govern
ment and one can see the best in aTchi-
lecture and ornamentation that the
temples exhibit So famous are this
temple and its environment that the
translated means: You cannot say
beautiful (kekkO) until you have seen
Nikko''
The most modern of the large tenn
pies is that at Kyoto 1t was erected
about thirty years ago on the site of
one which had burned. It is not so
large as the original, but is a reproduc-
ton in other respects and is one Of the
thirty-three temples to which pilgrim
ages are made. Some estimate can be
formed of the ardor of those who wor-
ship here when it is known that the
immense -timbers used in the construc-
ton of the building were dragged
through the streets and lifted into place
by cables made of human hair contrib
uted by Japanese women for that pur-
pose. One of these cables, nearly three
inches in diameter and several hundred
feet long, is still kept in a room ad-
/ jacent to the temple. the others having
been destroyed by fire. japanese wo-
men pride themselves upon their hair,
and arrange it with great care-what a
poem of piety-what a strong sacrifice
| in these myriad strands of mingled
black and gray,
| All of the buddhist temples stand
within a walled inclOsure, entered
| through a gorgeous gate, which con-
/ trasts sharply with the simplicity of
/ the Shinto gate. The Buddhist gate
has a roof resembling, a temple roof
and is often Orramented with animals,
birds and fantastic figures carved in
wood As an Illustration of the super
stition to he found among the ignorant
the following incident is given; An
American, Mr.. Frederick w. Horne
who lives ct Yokohama and who has
| built up large importing business IN
| American machinery, has a handsome
new home modelled after q Buddhist
temple. AT one gable he. put deviPs
head. The servants of the man living
next door. threatened to leave because
the devil looked over into that yard
But they were quieted when the neigh
| Dor put two brass cannon on his root
and pointed them at the devils head
The story seems too absurd to believe
but We were shown the cannons when
we called at Mr.. Horne's.
But Buddhism is losing it's hold upon
| the Japanese; its temples are not
crowded as they once were; its cere-
monies do not interest and its teach
ings do not satisfy the new generation
Christianity will appeal more and more
| to the educated element of the Japan
csc population Already favor is talk.
ing the place of federation, as federation
thirty years ago supplanted persecu'
ton.
The Catholics, who have been the
pioneers Of the cross IN so many lands
brought Christianity to Japan through
Portuguese missionaries about the mid
die of the sixteenth century. The sue
cess of the Jesuits was so pronounced
that in thirty years they estimated