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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1908)
Annie Laura Miller Writes of "" . : J Utx A Mm. BY ANNIR LAURA MILLER. THE chief impression that a dweller in Yokohama, seventeen miles from the capital, has of Tokyo, is miles and miles stretching In every direction, of little gray houses and shops; and sec ondary to that Is the Impression of a city made up of things mediaeval and modern; the old moat and watch towers about the palace, the old gardens, the new wide streets and public buildings and electric cars, ' the people dressed, tome of them in the costumes of their forefathers and others dressed In the latest European style. Tho train entering Tokyo comes first to Shliagawa, a suburb overlooking1 the artificial old forts out In the bay, then goes through the outskirts of the city, passing a modern match factory and other manufacturing buildings with chimneys made of thin Iron to withstand earthquake shocks for an earthquake center Is out In Tokyo bay then passing two Imperial gardens, tt ' pulls Into the station. There is a deafening clatter and scraping of wooden shoes on the pave ment, a pause at tho wicket and one is out stepping Into a ricksha or a decrepit Victoria ordered beforehand from the stables. It is a block to the Glnza, the wide main street, and here, looking at the many electric cars and foreign buildings, one fancies oneself back In America for a moment, only to lose the delusion when the glance strays to rickshas filled with Japanese and to carts laden with country produce or to the strange signs In Jap anese and distorted English. There is a big bazaar of Japanese ar ticles, there are photographers, haber dashers, a jeweler's where culture pearls are sold, bicycle and crockery shops, a chop of nothing but coolie towels costing only a few sen each, but with pricelessly artistic designs printed on them. Conservatism Hun Mad. There Is the shop of the ciiief grocer of Tokyo, a man with a somewhat me diaeval idea of business, apparently, for he lately refused to keep a certain kind of "tinned biscuits," much liked by -his foreign customers, for the simple reason that the demand for them was so great ho could never keep them In stock. How the law of supply and demand, dear to the heart of some political economists, would suffer In a nation of such men! At the end of the Glnza Is a Nihom bashi, an insignificant bridge, but a cele brated one for in the old days it was reckoned the end of the" Tokaido, the great road connecting Tokyo and Kyoto when both cities wcro capitals. A picture of It is first in Hlroshige's famous set of prints showing the stations of the old road. Beyond the bridge is tho fish market, a busy place In the early morning. Then the little gray 6hops stretch for miles out toward Uyeno Park. Somewhere in the midst of them Is the big shop of the Mltsuls, the wealthiest family in Japan. Here among articles for foreign ers are the most exquisite kimono pat terns such as Japanese ladies wear and gorgeous obe's, heavy with threads of real gold. And somewhere tucked away In the vast city are Ivory carvers and silversmiths, the best in the empire, al though the real artistic center of Japan is still Kyoto. In Officialdom. Not far away is the Imperial, the big foreign hotel, and in this part of the city are also many of the government build ings, big. rather imposing, foreign struc tures; the government printing office, the naval department, the Judicial de partment, courts of Justice, the foreign office, the ministries of finance, educa tion and interior, headquarters of the general staff and the two houses of the diet, the' scene of stormy discussions last week, when . the party in favor of military .expansion overthrew the party In favor of. husiness expansion, and the premier, Saionji, himself handed in a resignation that was not accepted. At tlie Exclusive Palace. Nearby is the moat surrounding the Jingo palace grounds; the wide moat with big old pine trees growing above on the high wall, where are white watch towers with loop holes for archers, and groat iron-bound gates, all impregnated Ft ill w ith the very spirit of the Middle rges. No foreigners enter the palace except for special audiences, which have been granted during the past two years to men of various interests: Mr. SchlfT, General Booth of the Salvation Army, Secretary Taft and others, while the latest guests have been the Chinese prince, Pu Lun, and the little Korean crow n prince. This Is the oldest part of Tokyo, the site of a castle built in 147.6 by a great feudal lord. In 1603 Jycyasu made it his capital and here, while tho do-nothing Mikados lived in Kyoto, he and his line4uled the country fit 1" liMTiwitMtrtfl nf i until the restoration, when the Mikado came from Kyoto and made Tokyo his capital. The Stiogun who abdicated then lives still in Tokyo, a hale and hearty old man, -who practices archery some times with the long-bow In his garden. With the Aristocrats. Scattered about not far from the Im perial palace grounds are the residences ef Japanese aristocrats, the palaces of Prince Arisugawa and Prince Fushimi of the royal family, and the foreign em bassies and legations, big, old-fashioned foreign houses, most of them, that would make American architects and pWmbers throw, up their hands In horror. There are not enough houses to go around the official circle, the Swedish minister and Bonie members of the Russian embassy live in Yokohama and go back and forth by train, . while some members of other embassies live in Japanese houses fur nished and heated In European style Once, soon after the war, the betto, driving us about for a round of calls, pointed out to tis Admiral Togo's home, a simple Japanese house with a little garden hid behind a, high wall. There is in another part of' the city a small foreign settlement, called by the irreverent "Holy Land," made up of a hospital, a school, a church and the homes of some missionaries and teachers. The foreigners in Tokyo are only an in significant part of the two million In habitants of the city. Parks That the People Vsc. Tokyo has several public parks. Hibiga, the scene of ' the riots soon after the signing of the Portsmouth treaty,, is rather a bare and unattractive spot, in teresting chiefly because it is a sort. of playground lor the youth of the city, who swarm there to play their favorite game of baseball. Uyeno is the most popular park with the common people, who go there to Walk under the cherry trees that turn to rosy pink clouds when the April sun is -warm. The spot was set apart for temple grounds in 15 and a magninceni temple was built there to ward off evil demons from the palace, for the ground lies to the northeast of the palace, tlie direction by which demons come when they have foul de signs on the souls of men.' The temple stood until 1868, when it was burned dur ing the battle that gave the Mikado's followers victory over the followers of the Shogun. Little remains of the former buildings: there is a red pasoda among the cryptonierias, nnd a picturesque ave nue lined with old stone lanterns leads THE' SUNDAY QREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 16, 1908. :.v : J QijC-OOTTO 1 ft "S8 4 'i iS to a shrme dedicated to . the spirit of Iyeyasu, tlie greatest of tho : Snoguns, Beyond is tlie Imperial musqura and.be--yond that are two small temples and. the tombs of, six Shoguns. ,. But the favorite spot with the peo ple is near the statue of Saigo, the successful leader of the-Imperial forces in 1S68; here they ' sit at the little, tea sheds under the cherry trees and look over the great., gray city spread out before them. In quite another part -of the city is Shiba Park with : its' gor geous mortuary temples and tombs of the Shoguns, under gnarled and . an cient pine trees. '.One gives ' 2d sen 'to the custodian priest and enters a tem ple gorgeous . with ' lacquer; and gold, flowers and animals of many ' colors, w-ith altars ornamented . with' rich em broideries, censers and candlesticks of brass. Behind the temples are ' the tombs, simple . and impressive-iU' their quiet surroundings. ' City of Temples. ' Kyoto is a city of ' temples, built when Buddhism was a great power in the land, but-Toiyo. became' tbe '.capital Today's Activities at the National . -. .. -- - - J , - i -AT TOKYO 1 t " i ' V ii'iiiiuiiifiimii' JiiM THIS too late yto.be. much influenced by Buddhism, and. the chief shrine in the city is the simple . Shinto temple of Yasukuni,tthe "Spirit-Invoking Shrine." Here . Admiral Togo and his vice-admirals held service for the souls of the comrades, officers and common sailors, slain in the, war, addressing- thera In a moving : Invocation, as ' if they were present. - " The temple of the lower classes is Asakusa, much more a pleasure resort- J than', ' a place of ' worship, so . lightly do the populace hold their religion. - A .' street : lined . with " little .booths,' where cheap brlffht ornaments arid toys 'are sold' leads to the temple yard,, and .'inside the gate are .stalls wh2re .one' 'may. ,buy rosaries.- The dingy;' hall pf ; the temple is filled with votive ' offerings, contrasting strangely with the; gorgeous altar' which is pro tected, by, a-. wire netting from the flocks of' pigeons that - flutter . about. The" temple grounds swarm with peo ple, men, -women and children, pausing at, the tea sheds or going on to some of the many shows, to nave a photograph m 5 ? , 5 "? PHO TO&RAPH SSm.-ECTRIC CARS taken, to wander through the menag eries and feed carrots to tlie monkeys, to watch the trained birds perform, to see wrestlers and tumblers or to watch the skeleton dance at tlie clever puppet show;. . - Pray a Little, Play a'XIttle. A wonderful place, Asakusa, where the people pray a little and play a lit tle and go home weary after a pleasant day. ' The , Nishi-HongwanJI is differ ent a new temple, very spacious, very dignified, w-ith a religious atmosphere about it that lowers even the unbe liever's voice to a whisper as he walks forward to see the altar. . A favorite spot with the people Is the temple in closure, where the I'orty-Seven Romies are buried.. It is. in a quiet spot In Shinagawa, away' from the noise of the city, that the Forty-Seven lie, "brave men and true," who died for their lord; and tho people flock there by the hun dreds to .worship and burn incense. In another part of Tokyo, in a cemetery attached to a small t"emple, is . the grave of Hokusai, "the old man mad with painting." ... floral Festivals! . ; - Then there- are the flower gardens and festivals, dear to the Japanese. Tokyo has been burned so many times that there is a saying that "Fire is the flower'of Yedo," but there are real flowers, too, in their season. There is the Imperial cherry - blossom garden party, given In the grounds of the Summer palace, and. there is the Im perial chrysanthemum party, given when the maple leaves turn red in the grounds surrounding the palace of the Crown Prince. These are for . foreign and Japanese officials and visitors. Every Autumn Count Okuma issues invitations to a garden party in his chrysanthemum . garden - in the out skirts of Tokyo. Count and Countess Okuma receive their guests at the en trance to a restful Japanese bit of gar den, then the guests pass on to look at the flowers and to have tea in a pa vilion. Every Spring all Tokyo goes to see the wistaria at Kameido, to sit under the vines drinking tea, to clamber over the half-moon bridges , or ' simply to gaze by the hour at the long stream ers of flowers that hang overhead and are reflected In the pond below. There is a reony show, too, each Spring, of flowers wonderful. In color and shape, i --J' xniw -vtpa kc a a WBJZE JiTVWm&jfr of a beauty that makes our sturdy gar den peonies 'common' and unattractive by comparison. There are other flower shows and festivals, for. the Japanese never -lose an opportunity to linger over fIowei-3 and trees. The theater Is a' great diversion of the middle class Japanese. They go and spend the day with their families, Her Leapyear Privilege LEAP year has come around once more and everything looks promis ing for ' a big crop of regulation jokes.' Susceptible young men who have been respectfully (and otherwise) de clined during the last three years like to talk now about their ' slim prospect of eluding capture. Of course nobody ever knew of girls proposing in years divisible by four, any more than, in those divisible by three or five. But that makes no difference. The subject is too good a one for the joke maker to abandon. It has been his prop erty for hundreds of years anyhow and that gives him some rights. According to tradition it was no less a personage than St. Patrick himself who conferred what is commonly known as the leap year privilege on. women. And it was St. Bridget who" beguiled him into making the concession. That takes the origin back to about the year 400. which would seem to give it good deep roots. This is the story as told by the tradition mongers: One day as St. Patrick was strolling along the shore of LougU Neagh, he was accosted by St. Bridget, who with much weeping and wailing declared that the sisters in her nunnery felt themselves to be deeply abused because they as women had not the privileeg of ; popping the question. At' that time' celibacy, although approved by the church as the. proper life of a religieuse and consequently made binding oir the individual by a private vow, .was not enforced by a general and absolute rule for the' clergy.. St. Patrick was sternly resolved upon celibacy for hlmself.-'but he was so moved by tho lamentations of St. Bridget that he offered to help out the nunnery ladies by conceding to them, an occasional enjoy ment of the privilege of proposing. Being an ecclesiastic, ", his' thoughts naturally turned on groups -of' seven; .so. he said they might propose once in seven years. Seven years! No wonder St. . Bridget demurred. A girl'.who was. 34' when one of these privileged years 'came would be 21 before she would get another chance, AST Capital rnrn, - jf " eating and sitting for hours packed In little boxes, watching the stage in tently, weeping with the -unhappy characters and laughing with the happy ones. At the Meljaza not long ago we saw a thrilling melodrama, translated from the French and adapt ed a Sirt of semi-foreign play far too . full of morbid and bloodthirsty stiuatlons to stilt our taste, hut thor oughly enjoyed by the Japanese audi ence. Another time at tho Kabuklza we saw a lovely, allegorical little opera In one act. It formed part of the theat rical performance given afterward by Baron Goto one of the ablest of Japan's statesmen In honor of Prince Pu Lun. Diplomats and aristocratic Japanese formed the audience that evening. It was one of the few times that people of the higher class have attended tho theater, which was for bidden them in the old days. Scant Entertainment of Diplomats. Diplomats who have lived at Euro pean courts say that nowhere else in tho world are the foreign representa tives received so little at court as in Japan. There are the two garden par ties, but tlie only day when the diplo matic corps goes in a body to court Is on New Year's morning. Then they are formally received, given light re freshments and each person present is given a small lacquered box containing candy. On the 3d of November, the birthday of tlie Emperor, Count and Countess Jlayashl, of the Foreign Of fice, give a ball. It Is a brilliant spec tacle. This year the third fell on Sun day, so the members of the British and American embassies, true to their re ligious training, did not dance in the court quadrille, with which the ball opened; only the other European dip lomats and their wives danced with the Japanese princesses. When distinguished foreign officials come to Tokyothey are entertained wijth tiffins and'uinners. given at the Imperial Hotel, and with Japanese feaats and geisha dancing at the Maple Club; some few are entertained at the palaces, but they are seldom invited into , tho homes of Japanese officials. Not long ago Admiral and Madam Iju lu gave a big reception at the Naval Club, the genial Admiral going about from table to table toasting his guests, while Lieutenants and Captains of th navy served them. Tokyo is an interesting capital, with its mixture of old and new, of Jap anese and European, and one might spend a lifetime there learning to know it thoroughly. Yokohama, Japan, January 20. and all the best years of her life for that special purpose would be gone. For at that time a woman of 21 was as much a matrimonial antiquity as a woman of 31 is today. Consequently, so the story goes, St. Bridget threw her arms around St. Pat rick's neck and exclaimed: "Arrah, Pathrtck. Jewell! I daurn't go back to the gurrls wid sich a proposal. Mek It wan year in four!" To which the genial saint replied: "Biddy, acushla. squeeze me that way again and I'll give you leap year,' the longest one of the lot!" Thus encouraged and bethinking her that she herself had no husband St. Bridget forthwith proposed to St. Patrick. But he had taken the vow of celibacy so he had to soften his refusal with a kiss and the present of a silk gown. . "And ever since then." says Walsh, who tells the story In his "Curiosities of Popular Customs," "if a man refuses a leap year proposal he must pay the penalty of a silk gown and kiss." However, there Is a. limit to this obliga tion, for other authorities say that the lady cannot claim- the dress unless at the time of tho proposal she -is "the wearer of a scarlet petticoat, the lower portion of which she must exhibit to the gentleman, who by the law of leap year is compelled to present to the lady the dress which shall cover tlie petticoat." This reference to "the law of leap year" is more serious than might be supposed, for it is declared that the custom of women proposing wan actually upheld by laws in Scotland, France and Spain, "while in lilnland tho custom was so deeply rooted that it needed no laws to uphold It." - in 1228 a law was passed in Scotland making a man liable to a fine of not more than 10 for refusing a woman during leap year, unless he could show that he had proposed to somebody .else prior to leap year or had been engaged by some other inquiring woman. One thing is' certain, the fflth of Feb ruary Is more scantily provided with saints than any other dily in tlie year. St. Oswald being the only one in the calendar for that day.
