Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-08-22
PLEASURE GROUNDS
0F<E JAPANESE
A. @. Baker Tells 1t His Trip to
Nara, Where Ee Million
Japanese Tourist 4 Zach
Year. Hx
OVER 1000 DEER
IN THE PARK
A Trip to Nagoya Castle Was Of Spe-
cial Interest. Was Built in
1910.

stop the sacred city of Nara. This is
a small city of about 0,00O. 1t was
one of the early capitols CT Japan
and it's religious surroundings and
beautiful parks make it the delight
of tourists and pilgrims. These pill
grims come in a uniform that repre-
sents their mission.
japan is great country for tour
lists of the Japanese race. l think no
other people see so much of their
country as do these people; over half
million of Japanese tourists visit
Nara each year. These comprise
largely the children still in school
who with their teachers come in
train loads and you will see per-
haps five hundred in company not
over 10 years old. Perhaps here it
would be we'll to describe how they
reckon their age. If child is born
Dec. 80, the next year it would be
two years old. 1t is called one year
January, they always count as an
other year, so these ten year olds
are in fact less than nine in the aver
age.
On our arrival at Nara we took
Rickshas direct TO the beautiful
Nara Hotel a place so pleasant that
We stayed here longer than we other
wise would The hotel owned by the
Chosen railroad is surely an adver-
tisement for that system.
We ride through their fine park,
a park having over 5000 acres in
it and the finest we saw in Japan. In
this park are over 1900 stone lant-
erns about eight feet high, donated
by the wealthy men of Japan.
There are in the park over 1000
deer so tame they follow you, eating
from your hands and fumbling your
pockets for feed. They are sacred,
and what pleased me was to see the
kindness shown by the Japanese
children to these animals, not like
our American children who would
amuse themselves by throwing stones
at such innocent creatures; these
children treat them with the gent
lest kindness.
In this park are many temples, but
the Shinto temple of Karuga and the
great Buddhist temple. of Todaiji are
of most interest. In this TodaiJl
temple is the great Buddha, or as
they call it the "Daibutsa" This inn
age of the great Buddha is SO feet
high, made Of bronze and is won
derful image, but not as imposing as
that at Kamakura which l described
in my former letters, but larger. 1t
is a wonderful piece of construction
and II in America it would be look
ed upon as a delight of architecture.
This great statue was erected in
the year 749 A. D. and is a remind
er of what their skill must have been
at that early date.
In a walk of twelve miles l took
around the mountain in the park the
great burial mounds (MissasagD as
they are called, many of them cover
ing an acre convinced me that at an
early period there had been the sys-
tenn of burial in japan that still ex-
lists in China. ~.
They have great museum at Nara
the finest in Japan and in it are rel
les of the past military age Of this
country.
I will here describe how you dis
Germ between the Shinto and Budd-
hist temples. Before you reach the
entrance Of the Shinto temple you
must first pass through the Tori;
sometimes there are a row of these
Toriis. When you reach the temple
YOU will see papers cut into angular
forms pinned to trees, ropes a1d 9th
er surroundings. The temple is al
ways thatched, there are no sacritor-
ial fixtures and no show or furniture
or fine finish.
In the Buddhist temple you find II
filed with religious properties, a
great cast of Buddha and gaudy dec
orations.
or the throng Of tourist children
we see many with scalp disease look
ing like BARRIERS itch. Doctors say II
can be easily cured but they refuse
to interfere with nature and later IN
life 1t leaves them. 1t no doubt is
e(Coatinued on page 81