The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1920-11-10
AT Japan SHRINES
Sights Worth Seeing in the En-
pire's Temple Cities.
Beautiful Scenery Of Nikko and the
FIowcry Great Yeddo In the Cap.
ital Well Repay Visitor
for the Excursion.

"Many feet are now treading their
way to the shrlnes in the temple cities
Of Japan" says the third of series
of bulletins from the National Ge-
ographic society on the places which
will be visited by members Of con-
gress on their trip to the Orient.
Eager Americans will stroll along
the shady streets of Nlllko to the
tombs of the shoguns and drink in tie
indescribable beautiful scenery, their
lips all the while murmuring the Jap
anese word kekko (beautifuD, which
the Japanese say one never learns to
pronounce until he has seen the city
Of Nikko. In Tokyo, called the Flow
cry Great Yeddo, the capital of the
empire, they will see the imperial pal
ace and tie remains Of the former
glory of the shoguns, family Of mil
itary governors who were the virtual
rulers Of Japan for several centuries.
a confused, haZy idea Of one or two
Of the 800 Buddhist temples and so
Shinto shrines
Perhaps, too, in the temples of
Tokyo bit Of American pocket mon
cy Will 90 TO Il priest for printing n
pretty prayer on slip Of paper, which
the visitor, in true pilgrim fashion,
will press to his forehead and to his
breast and then fasten to the tenn
pie wall I'm order that it may be per-
petual petition. But then whcu there
are 10000 deities to whom dcvout Jap
anesc write, few American pleas will
scarcely clog the celestial postal serv-
ice.
"Thcre will be many native pilgrims
on the way to the shrines. During
the summer months, when the crops
tave 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 can
not go, and so they provide q fund for
his expenses. Nor does TIE cmissary
travel in state. Life for him loses
most OF it's perpleXities. lie is
equipped with a cheap white cotton
shirt that can be easily washed, tight
fitting trousers and loose white cot
ton jacket which he tucks in with a
girdlc. He wears an enormous broad.
stiff straw hat, and Oh his back he
carries piece OF mating which
serves him as an umbrella by day and
as bed at might.
"In Nikko, though he does not come
especially to visit the rtOnbs Of the
shog1lns, he leafs and invites his soul
within the shadow OF the two great
mausolea Of the founder Of the line
and his grandson, tl:e mcrciless enc
my OF Christianity, whith stand on the
side OF the mountain. Up, up, up, he
climbs through cOurtHaru and garden.
past one splcndor after another, until
he reaches the beautiful temple and
the actual burial place Of n line Of
rulers who uSurped the sovereignty Of
the empire and fcld it Tor almost three
centuries, making the few! years COW
cring the glory OF Napoleon and Crom-
well fnsiglificaR1 indeed. When the
pilgrim reaches the top of the noun
tain he prays. Then he smokes Il pipe
or two and leisurely takes up his Jour-
ney to the next shrine.
"1n August the qilgrfm rolls off his
climbs out of bed ut TIE crack Of dawn
to hear the lotus flower bloom, for the
buds hurst with pleasing character
istic sound.
"If Nil1ko Is the MOST beautiful city
in Japan, Kyoto can he called the most
Interesting. ITcrc the feminine visitor
finds herself bewildcr&d by the most
cHQuistcly wrought of I'll the ryCuis
itc pottery, cloisonnc, bronm,s, fans
and vclvcts. After she has bought
more than she can comfortably get
Eomc with, si" probably will want to
see bit of the mikado'S palace which
covers over % acres of gvouad and is
surrounded by great wall With six
gates, or Journey out to see the iarg-
est lake I'm Japan, Lake Bwa. and the
1,200-year-old pine tree which stands
near It,"