Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1910-08-05

/
| little gourd for cup, beautifully lac
quered and adorned with gold and
| colors.
| One reason why we wished to visi.
| Kiyomizu-Dera was it's connection
with Ainu history. In it's precincts
stands the figure OF Bishamon, the
god who in the ninth century gave the
Japanese leader Tamura Marc q
notable victory over my poor bearded
aboriginal friends. A great picture
votive-ofering given it commemora-
ton Of the victory, hangs in the tenn
pie and represents the feats of yalor
achieved by the imperial forces. In
| the same votive hall there are quaint
pictures representing the coming of
the early Dutch vessels to the shores
Of Japan.
One of the most characteristic fea-
lures OF Japan are the picnic parties
of school children with their teachers
which are met with at all times and
everywhere. They go out to see bloom
ing flowers and redeemed mamie
seums; they go to shrines and tenn
pies and the scenes of national inter-
est, famous in their history. We
rarely go to any place of note with.
out encountering them. So here #
was no surprise to find schools of
children tramping up the great stair
way to the main temple, visiting the
ho1
and looking out over the ancient CAPT
tai and through the lovely gorge clad
in naples, which two weeks hence
will~be a fame of glory.
The lesser shrines are often quite
as interesting as the main temple.
Thus, behind Kiyomizu-Dera Is a little.
shelter with it's hundred stone figures
of Jizo. Queer things they are. the
object Of popular love and devotion.
On the base Of many of them stand
little heaps Of pebbles which have
been piled up by kindly visitors. It
seems that children after death are
often robbed of their clothing by fe-
male demon who sets them to work
at p1l1ng up stones on the bank of the
death river The task is endless. but
the little ones are helped by all who
choose to place pebbles at the feet of
J1zo. Here, too, is a statue of Bin
zuru, worn smooth by the hands of
poor sufferers. | never tire of watch
Ing these figures; whether of wood or
stone or bronze, makes no difference
their features and outlines are al
ways worn smooth by repeated rub
bing. You need not wait long to see
some poor old woman tottering along
who stops and with word of prayer
upon her lips rubs her hand over the
head of the loved figure and then
upon her own aching brow; a mother
brings her little one and strokes the
part of the old god which corresponds
to the ailfng member of the child, and
then rubs the baby for healing; or
some helpless person, knotted with
rheumatism or crippled, is brought by
kindly hands to rub the figure and
get relief from suffering.
From the platform of the great tenn
pie, projecting far over the precipitous
bank and supported on it's stately
crutches, the faithful it is said maI
precipitate themselves unframed III
these days of doubt and unbelief theN
experiment is seldom tried but not
many years ago one bold devoted
made the attempt. 1t is said that Id
was not successfu1; no doubt hill
faith was shallow. We did not throw
ourselves from the platform, but tool
the more prosaic means of climbine
down the back stairway, coming att
last into the little gorge famous forl
its maple trees. It was scene of lifA
and action. Everywhere little plat
forms of bamboo were being erected
or repaired. A few days from nowJ
and all of them will be occupied by
groups and parties of picnickers out
will be unoccupied, and it is worth
while to come here to see the joyous
autumn foliage. Not an available spot
to inspect the famous beauty of the
scene.
But meantime we must not forget
the Jidai Matsuri. 1t was really a
fine procession. The streets approach
ing the Tai-Kyoku Den were crowded
with people who desired to see the
pageant as it approached its desttna-
ton. The procession consisted of six
sections representing definite periods
of time from the date of the eity's
founding to the disappearance OF the
Tokugawa shogunate. Each section
was gotten up with careful reference
to historic accuracy; marvellous cos
tunes, things almost uncomfortable in
these present days were here to be
seen. First came the civil officers of
the Euryaku era on their way to the
imperial court. This era extending
from 1872 to sos comedies with the
founding of the city. The second sec
tion represented military officers of
the same era going to the front. The
third represented civil officers of the