Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1920-10-30
Ar JAPAN SHRINES
slohts Worth Seeing in the En-
pire's Temple Cities.
,..,,.,,u Scenery OF Nlkko and the
r,ouery Great Vedde In the Cap
ne! Well Repay Visitor
for the Excursion.

.nfanv feet are now treading their
= 81 the shrines In the temple cities
1onan" saws the third of series
:. bulletins from the National Ge-
" nhic society on the places which
v,n no visited by members OF con-
- an their trip TO the Orient.
DFager Americans will stroll along
,ha shady streets of Nikko to the
- o7 the shoguns and drink in the
,S,4asorihabie beautiful scenery. their
ros an Inc while murmuring the Jap
aaaea word kekkO (beautiful), which
g the Japanese say one never learns to
nronouDce until he has seen the city
81 II Nikko. In Tokyo, called the Flow
orv Great YeddO, the capital or the
emnire. they will see the imperial pal
ooa and TIE remains of the former
81 Glory of the shOguns, a family of mil
& ttorv governors who were the virtual
rnlars II Japan for several centuries,
and in Kyoto they will probably get
confused, haZy idea of one or two
If the 500 Buddhist temples and 80
shinto shrines.
sPerhaps, too, In the temples of
Tokyo a bit Of American pocket mon
ev viii 90 to a priest for printing
pretty prayer on a slip of paper, which
n the visitor in true pilgrim fashion,
will press 10 his forehead and to his
breast and then fasten to the tenn
ple wall IN order that 1t may be a per-
petusl petition. But then when there
are 10000 deities to whom devout jap
anese write few American pleas will
scarcely clog the celestial postal serv-
ice
There will be many native pilgrims
on the way to the shrines. During
the summer months, when the crops
have been taken care of. the village
folk. though they have the temples
Of their own patron deity and the fox
god. feel that they must send out
pilgrim or two to the sacred noun
tains and holy places of Japan to
worship In behalf of those who cam
not 90, and so they provide fund for
his expenses. Nor does tie emissary
travel In state. Life for him loses
most Of its perplexities. He is
equipped with a cheap white cotton
4 shirt that can be easily washed, tight
i fitting trousers and a loose white cot
ton jacket which he tucks In with a
girdle. lie wears an enormous broad,
stiff straw hat, and on his back he
carries piece of mating which
serves him as an umbrella by day and
as bed at night.
IN Nikko though he does not come
i especially to visit the tombs Of the
shoguns ne lOafs and. invites his soul
within the shadow of the two great
mausolea Of the founder of the line
and his grandson, the merciless enc
ny Of Christianity, which stand on the
side OF the mountain. Up, up, up, he
climbs through courtyard and garden,
past one splendOr after another, until
j ne reaches the beautiful temple and
the actual burial place of line of
i rulers who usurped the sovereignty Of
the empire and held 1t for almost three
centuries, making the few years COW
ering the glory of Napoleon and Crom-
well Insignificant indeed. When the
i pilgrim reaches the top of the noun
tain he prgys Then he smokes a pipe
or two and leisurely takes up his jour
ney to the next shrine.
In August the pilgrim rolls off his
mat and the visitor from foreign lands
climbs out Of bed at the crack OF dawn
10 hear the lotus flower bloom, for the
nads burst with pleasing character
istc sound.
IF Nikko IS the most beautiful city
Ii Jopan, kyoto can be called the most
interesting Here the feminine visitor
lads herself bewiIdered by the most
tAqu'slteiy wrought of all the exquis-
ne pottery, cloisonne, bronzes, fans
ana Yelyets After she has bought
l0fe Than She can comfortably get
A'lae with, she probably will want to
's DIT Of the mikadO's palace which
e0'sfs over . acres of ground and is
'Ii9d12el by great wall with six
s''ts. OF Journey out to see the larg-
IA, ~ laSe IN japan, Lake Biwa, and the
eaF-old pine tree which stands