Part 9 (1/2)

Until j.a.pan was opened to foreigners, Tokio, or Yedo, was a mystery to the civilized world. It was supposed to be fabulously large, and was said to contain more inhabitants than any other metropolis in the world; some accounts putting it down to as many as four millions. As regards its extent, the city certainly does cover an immense s.p.a.ce. Its population, though, is but half that of London. Its large area is due, perhaps, more to the manner in which it is laid out, than to anything else--which is in the form of concentric circles, the mikado's palace, or castle, occupying the centre. Around this dismal, feudal looking, royal abode, the various emba.s.sies are erected; buildings which present a far finer--because more modern and European--appearance than does the imperial residence. Circling the whole is a large deep moat, the waters of which are thickly studded with beautiful water lilies, and spanned by several bridges. Then come the dingy and now disused houses and streets of those powerful men of a by-gone age, the daimios. The whole aspect of this question may be summed up in the word _desolation_. This, too, is surrounded by a ca.n.a.l, or moat. Beyond this, again comes the city proper, with its busy, bustling population.

We are entirely at the mercy of our ”ricksha” men, and have not the remotest idea of where they are driving us; but a.s.suming they know more about the city than we, this does not exercise us much. They rattle us along over unevenly paved streets, and whiz us around corners with the rapidity of thought; an uncomfortable sensation in the region of the dorsal vertebrae, resulting from the unusual b.u.mping process, and a fear lest, haply, we may be flying out of our carriage at a tangent into somebody's shop front, a pleasing reflection should we take a header amongst china.

Our coolies had been directed to a quarter of the city called s.h.i.+ba, and here at length we find ourselves, and are shortly set down before one of the grandest buddhist temples in j.a.pan. How peacefully the great building reposes in its dark casket of solemn fir trees! To reach the main entrance, we traverse a broad pathway lined with praying lanterns on either hand. These lanterns are stone pedestals, surmounted by a hollow stone ball with a crescent shaped aperture in its surface, through which, at night, the rays of light proceeding from _burning prayers_ penetrate the gloom. Scores of tombs, containing the remains of the defunct tyc.o.o.ns and their wives, fill the temple court; and as each successive tyc.o.o.n looked forward to reposing here after death, during life he richly embellished it, and endeavoured to make it worthy to receive so august a body as his own.

A bald-headed priest, standing at the great entrance, bids us remove our shoes and follow him. He conducts us up grand stair cases, through corridors, into courtyards, chapels, and sanctuaries; unlocks recesses, and produces sacred vessels of ma.s.sive gold work of vast antiquity and splendid design, intimating to us that these are for the sole use of the mikado, when he a.s.sumes his priestly office. Here we get our first idea of what real lacquer means. Our bonze brought out a small lacquered cubical box, of a dull gold colour, and about four inches in height, and gave us to understand that it could not be purchased for 500 dollars!

Just fancy! And then the carving, gilding, colouring, and lacquer, everywhere, is something beyond description. Even the very floors on which we tread, the stairs, the hand-rails, are all gorgeous with vermilion lacquer. One sanctuary is really resplendent, its vessel's mouldings and ornaments being of dead gold work, wrought in all kinds of emblematical designs and shapes. I feel a.s.sured that no thoughtful man can visit s.h.i.+ba's temple without being impressed with the high perfection to which the j.a.panese have attained in the arts; a perfection which the foreign mind can rarely grasp. After a donation to the polite bonze--which he receives on a gold salver and lays on the altar--we encase our feet in leather once more, and leave the sacred precincts. We may possibly never have the opportunity of paying s.h.i.+ba a second visit; but the privilege of having done so once is--to a man of research--a liberal education in itself.

The streets and their busy throng are very gay and lively. Hosts of healthy-looking and prettily clad children are running here, there, and everywhere in pursuit of their kites, and other childish amus.e.m.e.nts.

Vendors hawking their wares, as at home; the shrill melancholy whistle of the blind shampooer who, with a staff in one hand and a short bamboo pipe in the other, thus apprises people of his willingness to attend on them; ladies bowing and ”sayonaraing” each other in musical tones; the encouraging voice of the driver to his jaded ox; and the warning ”a--a”

of the _ricksha_ man; these are the music of the streets in ”the land of the rising sun.”

The city can boast in the possession of several very fine and extensive parks, that in which the Naval College is situate being one of the largest. Here the youthful j.a.panese officers of the navy were educated by English instructors in all the branches and requirements of the modern naval service, and some of the work we saw in the different parts of the building shews that the j.a.panese have become thorough masters of the technicalities, and no mean adepts at their practical application.

All the foreign instructors--except one--have now been discharged, the j.a.panese feeling themselves strong enough to walk alone in naval matters. That one exception is a chief gunner's mate, who so rarely uses the English language that, on conversing with us, he had frequently to pause to consider what words he should make use of, and even then his English was broken, and spoken just as a native would speak it.

On the return ride to Yokohama I was fortunate enough to find myself seated next a gentleman who has been resident in j.a.pan upwards of twenty-five years, during which period he has travelled throughout the length and breadth of the empire. As may be imagined he was a repository of much valuable and varied information. He could hoist out facts and figures as easily as you would fling a weevily biscuit to leeward. From his conversation with me I gained much knowledge about j.a.pan, which it was impossible I could have acquired in any other way, and all of which I have embodied in various parts of this narrative.

The manner in which the natural taste is a.s.similating itself to European ideas appears more evident when one comes to observe the hundreds of j.a.panese who take advantage of the railway. Stop at what station you like, you will find the platform suddenly alive with gaily dressed and clogged pa.s.sengers, on pleasure bent, loaded with toys or wares that have been purchased, in the gay capital.

A few days after the above events the j.a.panese squadron of smart corvettes, and the large ironclad ”Foo-soo” (Great j.a.pan, as we say Great Britain,) got under way and proceeded to sea. It was rumoured that the mikado was to have accompanied in his yacht, and in antic.i.p.ation of his embarkation all the men-of-war in harbour dressed s.h.i.+p, though, as it turned out, he did not put in an appearance.

July 3rd.--General Grant arrived this morning in the corvette ”Richmond,” and escorted by a j.a.panese man-of-war. All s.h.i.+ps, except the English and German, dressed in honour of the American flag, which the corvette flew at her main. The two nationalities I have mentioned seem to have offered a marked discourtesy to the general, the German especially so, for just as the ”Richmond” was about to anchor the ”Prinz Adalbert” broke the German royal standard at her royal mast head, which, as it were, blew the charges out of guns already loaded for the American. The ”Adalbert” has Prince Heinrich, the second son of our Princess Royal, on board as a mids.h.i.+pman; hence the standard.

It would appear that the slight pa.s.sed on Jonathan did not go entirely unnoticed by him, for in the evening, at sunset, when, as is customary with that nation, her band played her colours down and then the national anthems, it was noticed that the English and German tunes were studiously omitted.

But the ”Richmond” had taken up a bad billet to anchor in, and to find a more secure one she steamed out to the entrance of the harbour and made a wide sweep before returning. Some of our jocular s.h.i.+pmates had quite a different view of this proceeding, for, if we are to believe them, the American went out to take the turn out of her flags, or to allow her s.h.i.+p's company to bathe, the waters of the harbour being too shallow for the latter purpose!

Unwillingly my pen has once again to trace the lines which are to record the death of another of our poor fellows, Frederick Smyth, a stoker.

Returning from leave in one of the open, dangerous, shallow boats of the place, and perhaps slightly the worse for liquor, the unfortunate man fell overboard, his body not being recovered until some days after the sad event.

July 22nd.--Up anchor once more! Onward is our motto, nor are we particularly sorry to be on the move, for I think everybody is surfeited with Yokohama, and perhaps the fact that everybody's money is all gone, has something to do with our eagerness to be off. So, boys, ”We'll go to sea for more,” as the old tars did. Just as the anchor was a-trip two royal personages came on board, the Princes Arisugawa--father and son; the father being the commander-in-chief of the j.a.panese army; the son a ”mids.h.i.+pmite” in the Imperial navy. They were attended by their suite and Sir Harry Parkes, the British amba.s.sador at Tokio. We took them a short distance to sea with us, and after seeing one or two evolutions they returned to Yokohama in the ”Vigilant,” whilst we resumed our voyage.

CHAPTER XI.

From clime to clime, from sea to sea, we roam, 'Tis one to us--we head not yet for home.

NORTHWARD--HAKODADI--DUI--CASTRIES BAY-- BARRACOUTA--VLADIVOSTOCK.

Shortly after rounding Mela Head and shaping our course to the northward, the temperature underwent a marked change, in fact so suddenly were we ushered into a colder zone that everybody is on the search for pocket handkerchiefs, these articles being in very general demand.

The eastern coast of Niphon, along which we are now cruising, has several admirable harbours and sheltered anchorages. Two days after leaving Yokohama we found the s.h.i.+p standing in for the land and making for Yamada, one of the securest harbours on the coast. Bold hills and headlands, clothed in the easily recognisable dark green foliage of the fir, rear themselves on either hand as we pa.s.s into the outer bay. This outer sheet of water--for there is an inner--has a very broad opening seaward, but suddenly, on changing course, a narrow inlet reveals a n.o.ble bay, perfectly land-locked with a village of considerable size at its head. No sooner had our anchor left the bows than a volunteer party asked and obtained permission to go fis.h.i.+ng. So far, however, as catching fish was concerned, the expedition was a signal failure, though, looked at in the light of enjoyment, it was a perfect success.

Along the beach of this arcadia an abundance of flowers grow in a wild state, amongst them the rose, whose beauty, bloom, and fragrance equalled those of the choicest culture in our English garden; and on looking at them and the other familiar flowers around, we might have been forgiven for fancying ourselves at home. Whence come our a.s.sociates, and why is it that even the fragrance of a flower is capable of seizing hold on the mind, and transporting it to the utmost limits of a continent?

The usual wondering throng of natives speedily gathered around us, eager to partic.i.p.ate in the viands which we were endeavouring to stow away.

Fortunately we had plenty of biscuit with which to satisfy their curiosity; but it was a long time before they could be prevailed upon to drink out of a basin of cocoa. When we offered it to them they touched their heads and swayed their bodies to and fro, making a very creditable pantomime of intoxication. At length, however, one of us used the j.a.panese word ”_tcha_” (tea) which had the desired effect, for one man advanced, took a drink, and liked it; and though he of course discovered it was not tea, he also found out it was not rum.

July 27th--We have now reached the northern end of Niphon, and turned westward into the broad strait of Tsugar, which separates the greater island from Yesso. The scenery about the strait is very lovely; all day we have coasted the land down, and alternate hill and dale, and here and there a giant volcano peak were most refres.h.i.+ng objects on which to rest the eye. Towards evening the great open bay of Awomori came into view, and in a short time we had entered it, and cast anchor opposite a small town, built on a level gra.s.sy plain. The irregularly scattered houses, amidst trees and greensward, have something the appearance of Singapore, when viewed from the seaward.