Evening star., 1923-10-28
FIRST ARTICLE.
by ADACHI KINNOSUKE.

FIRST ho11CLEs
) by ADACHI KINNOsUKE.
~ UR beloved Nippon was in "A
bad way, it seemed, every day
in every way. Internally, she
was piling up empty stomachs
at the rate of 100000 a year. This is
Impressive when you look at it in the
light Of the fact that Nippon is not
nearly as large as the single state OF
California. Japan proper has less than
14S,000 square miles, against Califor,
MAS 10000. And she has ten times
the rocks and mountains that California
has. The grimmest single fact of the
year of grace. 1922. as far as Japan
was concerned. was that she had to
import about 81, 900, 900 yens worth OF
rice to fight off starvation. From the
international point of view. Japan was
as badly off. Practically all the Ameri-
can friends of mine told me that Japan
was sitting up nights cooking up an
unholy war against the United States.
So. in January, this year, l went
over there to. see one thing-just how
Nippon was working out her saliva
ton.
And this is what saw:
Near the cradle city of the mikado
culture, called Kyoto. Is my old home
town. called kameoka. Rice fields, most
of them the size Of an exaggerated
pocket handkerchief. hug it on all
sides. Standing knee deep in the mud
son OF the late farmer Gombei-the
faithful guardian of my fish poles which
I could not take home for reasons
known to all the goin' -fishin' youths
days when l. too. was young. He was
as eloquent picture Of misery as a
wet crow.
Cannot Leave Ancestors.
why not try Manchrria," said,
simply because he had poured into
my unprotected ears a breathless
stream of hard-luck stories for one
solid hour without let-up, for
American"
And leave this paddy .field?" said
he. in the tone Of pious Bhuddist
who had stumbled into an orthodox
hades in the heart Of the center court
of temple. Leave the soil on which
twenty-five generations of august
ancestors tofled and died-the sacred
soft-gift of august ancestors"
1t is my honest opinion that he took
me for lunatic.
A few hours from the port of Tsu-
ruga. on the Japan sea, north along
the rocky headlands, you come to the
old castle town of Fukui. All the way
to the historic town there are thou
sands of paddy fields hanging on
their footings up along those steep
and inhosp table hillsides is an agri-
cultural miracle of the world, but
they do.
Mountains Menace.
Early one morning 1 went forth to
admire, not the miracle Of paddy
fields. nor the pluck of the farmers.
hut the superb beauty with which
nature gowned the mountainous dis
trict. But naturally I forgot all
about that when 1 met a young
farmer and his entire family battling
with the wreck of his field: The
field was not much bigger than
parlor carpet, but it was In an aw-
full mess. 1t seemed that the rain
had made a considerable portion of
mountain side slide right into 1t.
The farmer was going at 1t ike
steam engine. But he was making
Titan and not for a mere human
farmer | watched him a long time
and at last he came to rest. There
upon I opened a little conversation.
BIames the Mountain. s.
"Just what has happened?" 1 asked
him.
..It's this august Mountain-san.
Every time the rain comes down he
slides down. That's his chronic all
ment."
Evidently the farmer was glad to
have little chat. That afforded him
an excuse for a much needed rest.
He was not complaining. but what
sky-winging of prices of everything
the cotton clothes. wooden clogs. chill
dren's school books, fertilizer. char
Of a
farmers small chest Of treasure! And
then this landslide right at the time
when the rice was putting forth rs
tender heads. 1t was too terrible ior
year Mr.. Hillside had slid down into
his paddy field, he told me.
"EIave you heard Of Chosen (Korea)?"
I asked him. He pointed out toward
the sea: "oh, yes. on the other side
him of the Oriental Development Com
pany. He had heard Of that, too. How
the company was giving a colonlst
plenty of free land; loans of real money
and loans of implements to cultivate
Of the Nippon farmers to settle away
from this original home of human con-
gestion. why not try your luck over
there?" 1 suggested.
All the genial lines froze instantly
on the simple face of the young farmer;
all the smiling light went out Of his
eyes. He looked at me with the bale
full look of haunted beast. Honor
wanted to know. 1 laughed right out
at his cloudy face. That brought him
back to himself, But he explained
how often and persistently the man.
catcher. the colonist grabber from va
country, had been through the district
trying to lure some of the silly ones
away from the land of blossoms and
of the gods and of the shrine festivals
and go sailing out into unknown lands.
infested with tigers and red-bearded
barbarianS.
Built BY His Ancestor.
The farmer could not see how any
mortal with half a sense could think
of doing such a thing. pointed out
to him the fact that quite a number
Of people had gone to America and to
Korea. He admitted that readily and
added: "Some folks do something some
times and then find it more comfortable
to take to ships, but for good people
to leave this country with dumplings
and flowers and the New Years and
Bon festivals! The thing was too i'm
1t was all right for the criminals
and lunatics to go to the United
States or to Korea, of course. When
] reminded him of Mr.. Hillside with
SIlQlnS ndDlt ne became serious ana
told me the story of his small rice
field. More than a hundred years ago
Dne of his ancestors came into the
country. Where the paddy-field was
there had been a bare hillside with a
Few pine trees, battling against a
Thousand rocks for their very exist
ence. His ancestor was a mere tenant
farmer then, working on a field
nearby. But in winter days when
there was nothing for him to do he
Out in all his time on this rocky
&nountainside. People laughed at the
eoiling old man. but he worked on.