Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-06-20


lars and fifty for grown person. Gre
nation followed buddhism into japan
about 700 years after Christ and at
present is almost universally adopt
ed there. The system is quite sim
pie, wood only being used. The re-
mains are placed in a wooden coffin,
is consumed in about three hours,
except a few pieces of bone and
teeth which are placed in an urn and
buried.
Monday morning the 18th of
March we hired autos, American
makes, for ride of about forty
miles which for the first time took
us out through the country districts
The roads of Japan are merely al
leys, so narrow that at few points
can one safely pass another vehicle.
The government suspecting some of
our party to be German sympathisers
insisted on our taking a secret SER
vice man in one Of the rigs that we
might not take pictures on forbid
den territory. We are bound for the
great Diabitsu or in other words the
great buddha at Kamakura. Our
ride was most interesting. In the
streets were children everywhere
anu to dodge them was an art, here
men carrying burdens so large one
wonders and marvels at these little
mems strength. There are no ami
mails to speak of in Japan; seldom do
you see horse, OK, or mule. They
eat no flesh, except fish and chicken.
They make no butter, and milk is
unknown among them. Their diet
being cereal and vegetable entirely
You see vast fields of yellow flowers,
perhaps one-fourth of the cultivated
land INTO this plant, looking like our
mustard. This is rape and from it is
extracted the oil they burn and do
their cooking from. All along the
way we see the ever appearing rice
paddy, this peculiar form of cultivat-
ing plant life is most interesting. EN-
bankments OF earth are built up
high enough that level piece, back
perhaps only few feet, and in 9TH
ers some rods are secured, the en-
bankment being about foot above
the level Of the plat. These plats
reach to the very top of many of
the mountains, the water falling is
all held in these paddles. (Japan has
over sixty inches Of rain and most
of it falls in the months of June and
JULY. These rice paddles are COM
pletely submerged, the cultivators
stand in this mud AID work each
paddy as though in mortar box.
working it with their hand or with
forKed hoes until it is thin mud.
About the first of May they SOW
small piece to rice and about the
first Of June they transplant into
these paddles setting about eight
inches each way: it is kept flooded
until fall If not sufficient rain water
is carried in pals and no weed is
seen or allowed to trespass In fact
in travelling through almost all parts
of japan l did not see one weed and
do not presume that there is any
weed seed to start that kind Of plant
life.
The rice is harvested about Octo-
Der, the straw saved for many pur-
poses, the rice hulled and sold as the
peasants cannot afford so extrava-
giant living, they living mostly on
millet and barley connections. This
millet and barley is mostly raised be-
fore the crop of rice is transp,anted
anu Oh tltC ouLhO g ouho.
The labor of raising all crops is
done by man power, only few times
did / see pillow used and then more
crude than the ones I have seen in
Egypt, looking like the old single
shovel l used in the corn field when
a boy. To this would be hitched a
number of men and women as they
are as often and perhaps beasts of
burden than their supposedly strong
|er partner in life.
All hauling of every kind you see
passing you with human beasts
hitched to them wear web harness
CALLING the bare shoulders in such
manner that were it on one Of our
work animals the owner would be
arrested by the humane society, but
I never heard complaint, but re-
ceived only a smile when attention
was called to it. Bare to the waist
with perhaps a cloth wound round
the brow to keep the sweat from
flooding the eyes, bare-legged, with
perhaps wooden shoes these beasts
of burdenA beasts-spend
their life without murmur.
We are nearing the point to which
our trip was undertaken.
On the hills you see great images
of devils and buddhas, the first
thought Of the Asiatic is to appease
the wrath of the devil and immense
images of devils are found at all pna-
ces of worship whether it be shi-~
or buddhist. These people think y
they get away with the devil the rest
Is easy.
Kamakura was once great city
of a million people but a tidal wave
almost completely obliterated 1t in
the year 1895 and no city worth
men. loning remains.
We walk through between two i'm
mense pillars with cross bar.
shall often mention these entrances,
they are called tori and are always
at a shinto or buddhist temple; eth
er side are two immense images OF
devils, perhaps thirty feet high,
their devilish scowl. their teeth per-
haps ten inches long sticking out like
the tusks OF hog, perhaps gives one
who has 10 vivid imagination an i'm
preston of a full grown devil SUCH
as he otherwise could not picture.
Back from this tori about forty