Imperial Valley press., 1937-03-14
Bv John Richard Finch

-HIS Is a tale about bicycles and Emperors;
secret agents and chorus girls; sacred noun
tains bridges and shrines kimonos and news
papermen. It's about governors and country
inns; priests and pearls; jails, and pretty girls
It's about the people met and many of the in
teresting things that happened to me during the
two years that spent in that little Napoleon
among the countries of the world = Japan
If YOU read the papers. it won't be necessary
to go into detail on the Importance OF the
Japanese among men. If you don't read the
PAPERS YOU won't read this anyway, so 1t would
be waste of time to say anything on the SUBJ
iect other than that Japan not only has place
in the sum-" but has taken the whole solar body
and put it right on her flag
Once somebody sad the sun never sets on
British territory" If you check up, youD find
that this is true But neither does the sun set
on the flag of Japan One finds her ships OF
commerce in every corner of the world the
red sun on it's background OF white floating ID
the breezes of the universe, from the Green-
wich meridian eastward until it bumps into IT.
self again. and from the arctic to the antarctic
The sons of Amaterasu Omkami the Sun God.
dess, are not far behind their ships, and wher'
ever they are found will also be found industry
thrift and at least modest prosperity
Mythology has it that Japan's first Emperor
Ilmmu Tenno was the first born OF the sun
Goddess, herself. after she had chosen ter
restral domain on the shores of the little island
now known as Japan. The present Emperor
Hirohito. is a direct line descendent of Jimmu
Tenno, and therefore of the Gods In the eyes
of his subjects he is, consequently looked upon
with the reverence of Deity.
To cav that he is democratic would be gross
exaoeeration He doesn't have chance to be-
The intentions may be there. but tradition
tradition in which Japan is so rich knocks
all democratic intent right out of him. But EN-
nf Gods nnhpnd
casionally and so it happened with Japan's
Mkado one morning IN TOKYO
Ianan is a land of the blending OF old and
now The futuristic rubs shoulders with
nast as remote as infinity. For instance, the
hicvcle has not only continued to flourish IN
Janan. but has increased in such proportions
tba. the manufacture of bicycles is today
.aior industrv in the land of the Rising Sun.
every family has at least one, There must be
a niilion of them in Tokyo alone They're every
uhere thick as flies Working on a morning
naner at the time, I seldom got down TO the
oece before the late afternoon. l had much OF
the day free and l decided that would go
native. acquire a bike and combine exercise
and sightseeing
20 il happened that one bright morning as
nadaled up the road that winds through
tI'hiva Park which surrounds the Imperial
palace grounds inspecting with interest the
eyraaf wall beyond a moat That uiViueS Ino Poih
from the Royal precincts, group of horsemen
came cantering down the road from the op-
noste direction They were quite some distance
a,gav and although | had noticed them, | paid
little attention My mind was elsewhere what
I had not noticed was lone horseman, in godly
aloofness. riding well out in front of the group.
4 wound from one side of the road to the other,
Ieisurely 1t was a fine sunny morning and
was thinking how grand place the world was'
and what beautiful country Japan.
Suddenly, very close ! heard the click OF a
norse's hoofs on the gravel and, directing my
attention TO the road in front of me, saw lone
horseman only few yards away. He was in
riding costume, and wore a soft black hat
pulled down over his eyes, but recognized him
AZ once, having attended the ceremonies in
Kyoto only few months before in which he
was coronated Emperor of Japan. He was com
ING at a trot and was moving very slowly
hit II was one of those strange and inexplain
able occasions that all of us experience r"v
and then, when we meet someone coming TO-
ward us we turn first one way and then tnt
other to find that the other person has don'