Japan, Its Architecture, Art, And Art Manufactures

JAPAN ITS ARCHITECTURE, ART, AND ART MANUFACTURES JAPAN ITS ARCHITECTURE, ART, AND ART MANUFACTURES BY CHRISTOPH...

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JAPAN ITS

ARCHITECTURE, ART, AND

ART MANUFACTURES

JAPAN ITS

ARCHITECTURE, ART, AND

ART MANUFACTURES BY

CHRISTOPHER DRESSER Ph.D., F.L.S., etc.

LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND

CO.

NEW YORK SCRIBNER AND WELFORD 1882

Printed hy R.

&

R. Clark, Edinburgh.

PREFACE. An

apology

Japan.

is

We

needed

adding to the number of our books on

for

have heard of the ways of the Japanese, of the

pecuHarities of their manners, of their feasts and festivals, of the

food they eat, and of the aspect of the country in which they

My

excuse for writing

An

architect

is

and

a simple one

ornamentist

—

I

by

am

a specialist.

and

profession,

knowledge of many manufacturing processes,

live.

I

went

to

having

Japan

to

observe what an ordinary visitor would naturally pass unnoticed.

As

a specialist, and a specialist only,

When

public notice.

grapher that

I

in

Japan

I

I

submit

edifices,

me

;

but also architectural

engaged the best ornamentist

in

volume to

engaged the best native photo-

could find to take views for

only architectural

this

thus

I

got not

details.

also

I

Kioto to make coloured drawings

of temple decorations for me.

Many public

will

be surprised when

know almost

I

say that as yet the English

nothing, and even our architects very

little,

Coloured illustrations are needed to

of Japanese architecture.

give anything like a complete idea of the glories of Buddhistic art

;

yet

I

hope that

my

book may throw some

little

light

on

Japanese building, and do something towards revealing the fact that

Japan has had a great architectural chromatic

illustrations.

history, although I

Ornament springs from

have no

architecture.

I

PREFACE.

vi

have therefore endeavoured to trace

and

ventional ornament

Drawings of to us

but

;

known

and other peoples associated with

;

that just as the Greeks, Moors,

their architecture certain conven-

is

the

To me

case.

to the time that

I

my

book

from climatic

I

the

fact

was almost

visited the country, although

had been an earnest student of Oriental In

;

Japanese have a national style of conventional

yet this

unknown up

and development

flowers, of birds, of fish, of insects, are all familiar

tional forms, so the

ornament

origin

brought before the English reader.

is

not generally

it is

its

know, the growth of native con-

for the first time, so far as I

I

art for nearly thirty years.

attempt to explain how the architecture resulted

and

religious

influences,

and how the ornaments

with which domestic objects are figured, and the very finish of the objects themselves, are traceable to religious teachings.

As

a guest of the nation,

I

was not only permitted

to enter

sacred edifices (some of which had never before been trodden

European

but

feet),

had also opportunities

I

For the

of art industry.

privileges enjoyed

a debt of gratitude to the I

members of

studying

I

by

all

forms

shall ever feel

under

for

the Japanese Government.

had also the honour of presentation to His Majesty the Mikado,

who

himself ordered that

should have every

I

facility for

seeing

what I wished. While and

Japan

in

this record

me

taken for

I

made

a daily record of what

was roughly

illustrated.

I

saw and did

about a thousand photographs, some being

had a multitude of small coloured drawings ments.

I

visited

sixty -eight

manufacturers engaged

in other industries.

mens of work from most of the

As

potteries,

the country, to

and I

fifteen

twelve.

I

of temple orna-

some

scores

of

also brought speci-

factories visited.

to the temples and shrines,

in

made

;

bought or had

by eighteen, the others about nine inches by

inches

finest

either

I

I

saw about a hundred of the

say nothing of the crowd of temples

PREFACE. nestled together on the top of I

studied minutely.

thousand miles

but

;

vii

Mount Koya-zan, many

In seeing these things

my

I

of which

travelled about

two

stay was short, being limited to four

months. I

mention these

facts so that the

opportunities of study, and

now

I

reader

may

must leave

judge of

my book

in

my his

hands. I

am much

indebted to the painstaking care of Mr. Hundley,

who has drawn

the illustrations on

wood

for

me, and to Mr. G.

Pearson, the well-known wood engraver, who has cut the blocks.

Both these gentlemen have exerted themselves

manner I

have also to acknowledge the services of

I

to

the kindest

to render the illustrations such as I wished.

acted as

book

in

my

amanuenses, and thus rendered

be written during a long and painful

most of the

suffered while

willing assistance

Tower

was of great value

Cressy,

NoTTiNG Hill, London, W., Oclobcr

1

letter -press

88 1.

to me.

my it

daughters,

who

possible for the

illness

from which

was prepared.

Their

CONTENTS. PART

I.

CHAPTER

I.

— The Grand Hotel — Sights — —Japanese — Sachi—Yedo, or Tokio — Letter-writing—The Castle—Winter Japan — Temple Pages 1-18 of Shiba — Tombs of the Shoguns

Yokohama

in the Streets

^Jinrikishas

.....

hospitality

in

CHAPTER —A — Eating

Yokohama

fire

in

— A Japanese banquet— — Hara-kiri —The Mikado— The

....

— The Hamagoten palace

CHAPTER Preparation for long journey

—A

feast night

— Kioto —The

Year

19-62

HI.

to

antiquities

CHAPTER sacred dance

New

— By water Kobe— Entrance of —The Mikado's

Awadji, Sanda, Arima, Nara

The

— Music — Tokio firemen

^Japanese dancing-girls

the hotel

a live fish

Japanese matting

n.

the .

Mikado .

into

Kobe .63-103

IV.

royal collections

— Osaka

104-12:

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER The Japanese Calendar zan

— Splendour

Return

to

Osaka

— Wakayama—Japanese

of shrines and of scenery

— Feast of the god of

cold and Japanese vegetation

— Sakai — News of

riches

.

CHAPTER Temple

of Kioto

—^Japanese estimate

Lacquer-work gaura

—Value

— Kamiji-yama

.

.

— Koya-

Salsuma

Pages 124-140

VI.

— Picnics — Honest workmanship — Tea-drinking ceremony— Otsu — Futami-

.

.

.

CHAPTER Tidings of rebellion

revolt in

of Christianity

of Corean ware .

V.

.

141-170

.

VH.

— — Yokkaichi—Manufactures of Nagoya — Comparative estimates — Castle of Nagoya— Sidsuoka— Fujiyama— Return Yokohama Ise

of wealth and skill

to

171-196

CHAPTER A

Shinto festival

......

— Nikko— The

and police supervision

Vni.

great Sanctuary

— Arrival

CHAPTER A

Japanese blue-book carpets, etc.

at

Tokio

—Japanese reports

IX.

.......

— Object

of

my

visit

197-213

— Exportation

of ginger

— Manufacture

of

214-224

CONTENTS.

PART

11.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

321-344

HI.

.....

The Lacquer Manufactures

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

Minor Manufactures of Japan

415-430

VI.

by which Fabrics receive Pattern

CHAPTER

368-414

V.

.....

The Metal Manufactures.

345-367

IV.

.....

The Pottery Manufactures

Pages 225-320

n.

...... CHAPTER

On the means

I.

.....

Religion and Architecture

Analogies and Symbols

xi

.

.

431-449

VII.

.....

450-466

JAPAN: ITS

ARCHITECTURE, ART, AND ART MANUFACTURES.

PART

I.

CHAPTER

I.

— The Grand Hotel — Sights the Streets —Jinrikishas —^Japanese hospitality — Sachi — Yedo, or Tokio — I>etter-writing — The Castle —-Winter Japan —Temple of Shiba — Tombs of the Shoguns.

Yokohama

in

in

It was on the 26th day of I

first

As

saw Japan.

December

at

in

the morning that

yet this strange country was enveloped

a soft mist above which the sun was

we could undulating and richly wooded

the mist dispersed

and gorges nestled

6.30

little

see that ;

that in

only just the

land was

some of the

picturesque villages

spots palm-trees, with their

plumous

rising,

;

in

but as

pleasantly

valle}'s, fissures,

sheltered

that in

tops, rose high

above the

houses that found shelter beneath them, and that junks of quaint aspect ploughed the shallow waters of the coast.

A

cry arises from the Japanese passengers,

looking to the I

left

(for

look in the direction

The undulating

we have in

who

several on board)

are earnestly

— Fujiyama!

which they gaze, but see no mountain.

land in front

is

perfectly distinct,

and

out on a background of gray-and-white cloud which

behind

it

;

but

I

see no mountain.

of Japanese friends,

I

thrown

rises

high

the guidance, however,

look above these clouds, and there, at a

vast height, shines the immaculate ^^

Under

is

B

summit of Japan's

peerless

JAPAN

2

cone.

ITS ARCHITECTURE,

:

have seen almost every alpine peak

I

in

the land of Tell

Como

have viewed Monte Rosa from Zermat, Aosta, and

I

have gloried

mountain so pure impressive in

its

in

but never before did

;

imposing

form, so

its

beauty, as that at which

not wonder at the Japanese endowing

do not wonder

I

—

home

mountain

for surely this

Rounding

in

its

we now

see a

I

grandeur, so gaze.

do

I

with marvellous powers

it

;

cone around which clouds love to

this vast

at

sleep being regarded as the

storm,

Jungfrau and the pre-

the wild beauty of the

in

cipitous heights of the Matterhorn

;

I

;

of the dragon is

—

the

demon

of the

one of nature's grandest works

!

promontory we soon enter the bay of Yokohama,

a

two cannon, and drop our anchor.

fire

a few minutes

In

ship

come on board, and

officials

some seek

to take passengers or merchandise on

some bring out servants of the company

A

describe.

scene of

life

and

to

shore,

which our ship

to

belongs, and others a variety of things which

the

Some belong

surrounded by a score of native boats.

is

hotels,

certain

is

impossible to

activity thus springs

up around us

it

A

of a character so novel as to be both interesting and amusing.

small steam-launch

is

now moored

to the side of our great vessel,

and General Saigo, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army, who is on board, invites me to step into the launch and accompany

him on shore

:

the launch

is

a

Government boat which has been Accepting the kind invitation

sent to convey the General to land.^ I

am

who

soon seated is

in the boat,

where we

with that

warm

affection

towards their children

unknown

in

for his child

;

fellow than he caresses

little

which the Japanese but there

is

I

and

I

is

yet

feel

that the

little

show

at all times

kissing,

for kissing

fellow has not received

almost long to kiss him myself

soon

in

motion, and

in

a

San ?"ranciscu by arrangement, so

that

we might

I

The screw

few minutes

General .Saigo was reluming from America, where

missioner for Japan at the Philadelphia exhibition. at

no

him

is

the East, and while the General manifests his love

launch

his due,

^

No

a cheerful smiling-faced urchin about two years old.

sooner does the father see the

little

find the son of the General,

I

all

of our

stand on

he had acted as the com-

met General

.Saigo

and

his party

travel together to his country.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, a

land which, as a decorative

intense

desire to

see,

artist,

whose works

who

admire, and amidst a people

have

I

my

hotel

somewhat resembling shuts back.

and

It

slender

now

I

have already learned to

I

hood that

cab, only with a

two somewhat large wheels,

lightly built, has

is

With the

civilisation.

get into a jinrikisha, a vehicle

hansom

a small

years had an

are saturated with the refine-

ments which spring only from, an old view of reaching

for

3

united together by a tie - piece near their drawn by a man who gets between the shafts

shafts

extremities.

It is

and most ably acts the part of the best of ponies, or sometimes by two, or even three men.

In the latter cases the

tandem

principle

is

adopted, and the leaders are attached to the vehicle by thin ropes.

As soon enough

as to

am

I

my

seated in

contain

my

coolies (for

I

have two)

astonishing,

if

not alarming, and

to the

Grand Hotel

—

which

carriage,

is

scarcely large

somewhat cumbrous body, off with a

set

speed which

my tandem certainly

is

soon find myself at the entrance

I

a European house

—where

I

secure

my

room

(terms three and a half dollars or fourteen shillings a day, including

everything save Breakfast

fire

and wine).

morning was

this

somewhat

neglected,

the

for

excitement of nearing land after a twenty-one days' sea-voyage

had lessened our appetites.

seemed impossible to spare time

It

meal when, with the movement of our vessel through

for a hearty

the water, shifting scenes both strange and beautiful were constantly

presenting themselves

exhilarating shine,

to

our sight.

The

keen, fresh,

the cloudless sky, the bright and cheering sun-

air,

and the gallop through the wind

caused nature to assert

itself

my

in

tiny carriage had

and demand some refreshment

for

the inner man. Sitting

down

hurried meal.

to table at the hotel

Fish,

sequence, as though while

potted

I

entrees,

were

sitting in

grouped on dishes were meats, and Keiller's

partook of a somewhat

I

and joint were presented

tins

in

due

the Grand Hotel at Paris of

Crosse

;

and Blackwell's

Dundee marmalade and jam.

I

confess that while these luxuries were in the most perfect state of preservation,

and

in

every sense enjoyable,

I

was disappointed

in

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

4

seeing such familiar forms of food instead of the tentacle of an octopus, the succulent shoot of a bamboo, the

some other such natives dainties Having finished my meal,

who

my

to act as

is

as

looked

I

am

I

secretary while

fin for.

by a gentleman

joined

am

I

of a shark, or

the country,

in

by

Prince Henri of Liechtenstein, and by Prince Alfred Montenuovo

(two Austrian princes with

whom

from San Francisco), and we

start for a walk, the secretary

We

guide.

nestle

all

villas

—

being our

Yokohama,

character half English and half Japanese

in

Here

lovely gardens, and on to the native town.

in

strange and quaint beyond

is

have been a fellow-passenger

pass through the European settlement of

where beautiful

—

I

The shops

description.

are

without fronts and their floors are raised above the ground by one high step

they are matted, and the goods are displayed on

;

so-called " stage

stands which resemble the

Strange

on

eye

the

every

wonder.

We

interest

which

is

a

ball

looked taken

We

at every turn.

for

her

to

hit

smiles

things,

to

we

— is

a

little

girl

bounces

ascending from

pass by a

which

canal

the is

and on which the strangest of boats of a

enter the precincts

we

Buddhist Temple, but we

off before

home by

the bluffs," from which

crossing

meet

look,

must take our boots "

greenhouse.

a

of

ball

We

again.

hill,

of

we admire, we amusement at the them common, meet us

we

stop,

:

and turns round while the

ground

;

in

at

watch children play,

tunnelled through a float

We

side.

are

"

strange people, strange objects

of food,

articles

cross the threshold.

we have

We

return

a glorious

view of the town and the bay, and by a road which, bordered

by curious fences where strange

(Figs,

trees

i

to 15),

abound.

I

winds

way through

its

nurseries

need scarcely say that we have

enjoyed our walk more than words can

tell.

Indeed

it

would

be almost impossible to describe the impression of novelty

minds

left

some notion of the aspect things I of may remark made by one strange repeat a " of the Austrian princes during the stroll. Had we died," he on

our

said,

"

and

;

risen

be more strange.

but

to

give

the

reader

from the dead the scene presented could not

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, The

me, and at 8.30 we set out again

princes dine with

time

this

bears a lantern, as

it

by one man, who now dark, and off we go at almost the

is

We

pace of a race-horse.

;

drawn

each

jinrikishas,

in

5

laugh heartily at the shouts of the

men, the bobbing of the lanterns, the shaking of the vehicles,

and the excitement of the furious

we

Here our conductor orders be added

are to

room

for us a native repast, to

which

the pleasures of music and the dance.

The

but there

square,

plain

a

is

European

is

windows, and the doors have European the

and on the mats stand

floor,

glass

these primitive and insignificant

which a Japanese room

and two small

to serve the

is

afford the

fires

warmed.

tables, while

We

vessels

kneel in front of us on the

the natives,

is

who

shortly

brought

in,

rests a dish of sliced raw, unsalted fish, with

being arranged

vinaigrette

veait

if

much

and placed

On

fish

and the condiments are almost

comes

fried fish,

Sachi, although is

in

its

and with

varies

it

European

leaves.

We

taste the dish after

much

sa)-,

tasteless.

made from in quality

;

in

made

it is

not

and

in this

rice.

It is

England as a Like

it is

now

spirit,

alcoholic

all

qualities,

as

we do

drunk both cold and warm, but

hot by admixture with water, but

condition

After the raw

and the Japanese estimate

excellence by flavour, aroma, and other

our port and other wines.

mouths by

the viands have the

hot sachi.

generally regarded

a white beer

reality

drinks, sachi

the

condiments of various

unsuccessful attempts at getting the food to our

the aid of the chop-sticks, but strange to flavours,

in

this tra}-

compliment to us strangers, but chop-sticks

are supplied instead of knives and forks.

many

now been

the French dish of Tcte de

garnished with

tastefully

plates are used out of

like

come

music and dancing,

their

centre of the group of kneeling female attendants.

all

and

;

only means by

Preparations having

floor.

completed, a large lacquer tray

kinds,

(called

are favoured with Chinese

amuse us by

repast, or to

the

Mats cover

fasteners.

two brazen

in

each containing a few bits of ignited charcoal

hibachi),

chairs

one room of which we

front of a large house, into

alight in

enter.

In about fifteen minutes

run.

offered to us.

is itself

warmed

;

Native Drawings of the Fences which bound Garden?

Native Drawings of the Fenxes which eol'nd Gardens.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

8

cups are usually small earthen vessels of about two

Sachi

diameter,

inches in

cups, or deep saucers.

empty

to the guest

moments cups

if

he

is

after being placed

to drink the

hot water for a few

in

warm.

sachi

serving- maid

second

a

much resembling in character shallow teaThey are without handle, and are offered

pours

empty

Into these

warm

the

from

sachi

a

delicately-formed china bottle.

Following the

and sea-weed

my

and

is

fish

and the wine a dish of sea-slugs with herbs

served, but the mollusc

as tough as leather,

is

powers of mastication are altogether overcome.

the repast, music begins with the samasin

drums

(horizontal harp), together with certain

(the

the taiko), while girls dance to the weird sounds

being graceful but strange.

This over, there

we all leave, take our drawn home at almost lightning

songs, after which

and are

On some

the following morning

care.

tsudzumu and

—

their

motions

singing of native

places in the jinrikishas, speed.

begin to

I

is

After

and the coto

(banjo),

make

observations with

Yesterday everything was so new that impressions

resulted chiefly from general effects, or curious incidents, while details

were passed almost unnoticed.

I

now, however, seem to

be more able to mark accurately what comes before me. ing on the steps of our hotel,

I

noticing the nature of the building in which

taken

up

my

To my

abode.

Stand-

glance upwards with the view of I

have

for the present

astonishment what

I

yesterday

regarded as a solid stone edifice turns out to be a mere wooden

framework bearing on is

This hotel

is

its

surface thin slabs of stone, each of which

through and

drilled partially

is

hung on two common

beautifully situated, having

looking the sea, from which

it

made road. On its As I stand on these

have above

deepest blue, an

right

is

steps

I

ocean

reflecting the azure

is

its

chief face over-

separated by a broad and well-

a canal which here meets the ocean.

rippled

me

a cloudless sky of the

by the smallest of waves, and

The white

of the heavens above.

picturesque boats reflect the rays of the sun, hidden

view by the house crispness,

in front of

due to the

nails.

which

I

stand

slight frost of the

;

night,

of

sails

from

my

while the air has

which makes

it

a'

in

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

the highest degree exhilarating.

and

though

tea, as

instead of being

i

were

I

me

quite

At

reckless fashion.

" field

had a perfect

While asked

me

passed

my

During

and

irresistible,

5.15

day

"

I

my

walk buy,

I

many

find

I

view

curios

a truly

fear, in

tired,

having

amidst the shops.

my room

was dressing. Prince Henri came into

I

London,

set out to

home somewhat

return

ham, eggs,

fish,

table in

I

him and Prince Montenuovo second day in Japan.

to join

find

I

my own

at

2,000 miles from home, and then

the shops and their contents. that are to

breakfast off

I

sitting

9

the following scraps noted

my

in

at dinner.

diary

and

Thus

under date

December 27th. It is customary here to go to a shop to select a number of goods, and then to ask the owner to send all the objects selected to your house, or hotel, for

decide upon at your

you

to look over

The people here are most polite and charming while we were making purchases tea was served to is

by no means

and

strong,

is

;

at

one place

The

us.

tea

pale yellow (almost amber) in colour,

drunk without milk or sugar.

is

and

leisure.

It

is

is

lit

served in small cups

without handles or saucers.

The

native

town of Yokohama

European quarter has

dark

at night

with gas, while the

The

streets.

foreign

settler

objects to a gas rate.

The next morning the northern

Yokohama length,

Japan

is ;

capital)

(the

I

go by appointment to Yedo (Tokio, or

by 9.34

train.

The

port of Tokio) with Tokio

well built,

and

is

eighteen

miles in

one of two railways now existing

the other railway connects

southern capital).

railway connecting is

The Yokohama

Hiogo (Kobe) with Kioto railway

is

in

(the

of specially narrow

gauge, and the carriages are m.ore like omnibuses than any to be

found on our

A

lines

train leaves

—being

Yokohama

every hour of every day mails

;

hence, while

apart, there

every day.

is

small in size and entered at the end. for in

Tokio, and Tokio for Yokohama, the year, and

Yedo and Yokohama

a delivery of letters

in

every train are

eighteen

carries

miles

both places every hour of

JAPAN

lo

These

ARCHITECTURE,

ITS

:

and indeed

places,

the towns of Japan, are now-

all

connected by telegraph wires, by the agenc}' of which messages character or in most of the European

can be sent

in the native

languages

but for conveying a message

;

extra fee

The

a strange tongue an

in

very reasonably demanded.

is

from Yokohama to Yedo

line

the greater portion of

length

its

the bay throughout

skirts

and the scenery along the

;

though curious, presents few features of marked

who happen

female peasantry

dresses, however, of the

route,

The

interest.

to be

in

holiday attire are quaint and pleasing, while the flowing robes of

men contrast favourably with our set and inartistic dress. At Tokio, I am met by General Saigo and Mr. Sekisawa, latter being a gentleman who was one of our part}' from San

the

the

General Saigo has with him his carriage,

Francisco to Japan.

which ''

runner

in

of European

is

more

make, and

common

recently been

introduced

For centuries the inhabitants of towns have been in

that

fact

into

Japan.

the habit of

in

the middle of the streets, for no Japanese town that

member has

a

England

in

rendered necessary by the

is

horse carriages have but

walking

but

;

This practice of employing a running groom

early days.

precede the carriage

to

drawn by a horse

is

precedes the carriage on foot, as was

"

properly

made

footpaths at the sides of the roads

;

I

re-

and

wells imperfectly protected are often situated in front of the shops.

General Saigo

is

a

man

handsome appearance, and

of

bearing, of about thirty-seven years of age

he

is

by no means small of

reach,

the

is

a

room

carpet,

which

in

and

in

it

I

am

in

stately

southerners,^

The

the English style.

received

covered with a

is

"

floor of

tapestry

"

stands an American stove, which can scarcely be

regarded as beautiful, though is

many

His house, which we soon

stature.

wooden building

;

like

it is

probably

of European character, but surely of

The

useful.

furniture

American make, and

in

pattern resembles English furniture prior to 1862.

As we It

sat

on European

had been arranged that

ministers

;

chairs, tea I

should

but Japanese etiquette ^

General Saigo

is

was served

visit

demands

in native

Mr. Sano that

— one

style.

of the

a note be sent

a native of the province of Satsuma.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

immediately before the reception

which

I

to ask

visit,

things are ready for the

all

if

General Saigo therefore writes the

;

ii

Japanese

first

letter

have seen written.

His writing-box

is

about

inches in width,

i i

and 2 inches deep, and contains a

i

inches long,

2

somewhat

of fibrous paper

roll

bibulous in character, a stick of Indian ink, a slab on which to

mix the

small water vessel, and a few brushes formed of

ink, a

From

vegetable hairs.

box he takes the

the

roll

of paper, an

inch or two of which he unrolls and arranges as flatly as possible.

He

next mixes a small quantity of ink, and then holding the

of paper in

his

left

viously dipped in the Indian

The

the paper.

first

a vertical column

and so on at the top

the

left

upon the spread out portion of

ink,

character

is

made

at the

second follows immediately under

corner, the

is

and

finished at the

bottom of the

of the previously written columns.

roll,

and folded, and the

box, round which the writer the

box

box the

letter

letter

is

a silk cord.^

ties

to the house of the receiver,

answer comes

and so on,

formed, then a second column

till

written,

is

sheet,

and being

When

the letter

is

by the writing

is

completed, the portion of the paper occupied torn from the

upper right-hand it,

each case the new line of writing being commenced

in

;

roll

hand, begins to write with a brush, pre-

who

placed in a lacquer

A

servant carries

himself takes from the

which has not been touched by the messenger. in like

form saying that

Mr. Sano's house, which outskirts of the

city.

is

to

all is

ready, so

we

An

drive to

a fine old Japanese building near the

Two rooms

Japanese residence are furnished

at

in

least

of this

European

thoroughly

fashion,

and of

the residences belonging to Japanese ministers, or high officials,

which ing,

I

happened

to see, this, as a

was one of the most

specimen of European furnish-

successful.

Mr. Sano was the commissioner representing the

Government

Japanese

at the Vienna International Exhibition in the year

1873, a-r>d during his visit to Europe at this period he seems to have studied most carefully the art industries of the west, and the

nature of our '

manufactures

These boxes are sold

in

;

for

England

the suggestions which he as "glove-boxes.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

12

made

own people upon

to his

return appear to have proved

his

very valuable to the industries of Japan.

During Mr. Sano's residence

government

his

to

at

make purchases

have an interest

as he thought likely to

the view of their being placed in a

be established

in

Vienna he was requested by of such manufactured objects

Tokio, much

Japanese, with

for the

museum which was about

after the plan of our

to

South Ken-

Museum. Unfortunately the goods selected were lost in Yedo Bay by the foundering there of the vessel which was charIn spite of this dire calamity, an tered to convey them to Japan.

sington

museum

excellent

has been established in Tokio, of which Mr.

Sano was the head and

chief,

the post in favour of Mr. Machida, a in

now relinquished gentleman who has travelled

although he has

Europe, and who both speaks and writes English Mr. Sano

is

a

man

well.

of aristocratic bearing, and decidedly of

He

large stature for a Japanese.

interests himself especially in

the advancement of the art industries of his country which have in

taste through his exertions.

European After

had determined

I

friend Mr. Philip Cunliffe

that

I

from the corrupting influences of

saved

a large degree been

should do what

to leave

Owen (now

my

old

Sir Philip) suggested to

me

England

for

Japan,

could to repair the loss sustained by the

I

Japanese through the wreck of the vessel containing the specimens of European manufactures. I therefore appealed to my manufacturinar

friends

and the

;

was that

result

I

took with

me

to

a collection of objects such as could only prove valuable

Imperial his

Museum.

Sir

Owen gave me

the

introductions to

Excellency Mr. Sano, General Saigo, and other Japanese min-

isters,

friends

and

it

whom

The

is

to

him

I still

visit

I

am

among

indebted for the the leading

men

many

valuable

of Japan.

presentation of this gift from our manufacturers to the

Japanese Government was the object of

to Mr. Sano.

Mr. Sano received (which

that

retain

representatives of the

my

Philip

Tokio to

we

me most

kindl}-.

carried on through the kind

of Mr. Sckisawa) tea was served

During our conversation and

careful

in natixe fashion.

interpretation

After a sump-

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

luncheon, served

tuous

European

in

me

wines, General Saigo takes

Mr. Sano

in

and with European

style

where Mr. Sano and

to the Castle,

Mr. Asami (another of our American party,

13

who

is

engaged under

European works pertaining

translating

met

tures into the Japanese language)

manufac-

to

us.

The Castle, which dates from the year A.D. 1355, was formerly an immense building enclosing gardens. It now stands in the centre of the more modern town of Tokio, which was founded in the year A.D. recent

1

600, and was ultimately built around

wars have destroyed much of

civil

Although

it.

some

this ancient castle,

huge towers and immense battlements, formed of stones of extra-

The

ordinary size remain.

Castle enclosure

broad moat, on the inner side of which

and

fortress:

Europe

is

if

as

ficial

surrounded by a

we may judge from its appearance, no The water of the moat

castle

in

broad,

is

on the outer side considerably above

it

Inside the walls there

a pleasure ground

officials

is

the vast walls of the

more impregnable.

and the roadway skirting its level.

rise

is

during the

of the Government.

a charming garden, used

summer months by

now

the high

In this garden there are small

arti-

lakes and streams of water, which are crossed by picturesque

bridges,

and are

part sheltered

in

by greatly contorted

here also are one or two charming the Castle grounds are not year, General

little

trees

;

and

Although

tea-houses.

usually open at this period of the

Saigo has not only had the gates unlocked for

us,

but has also had the tea-houses opened, and tea prepared for our refreshment. It

is

the 28th day of

December

;

I

looking as fresh as

were summer.

it

we saunter through

see trees laden with camellia blossoms

these beautiful grounds if

yet as

General Saigo gathers a

bunch of these beautiful flowers and presents them which my companions return to their homes and British

Embassy, where Mr, Mounsey

me

Legation) presents

to

staying to dine with him.

Sir I

to me, after I

go to the

(the First Secretary of the

Harry Parkes, and return to

insists

Yokohama by

on

my

the ten

o'clock train.

The morning

is

clear,

bright,

and

slightly frosty,

while the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

14

With Prince Liechtenstein and Prince Montenuovo I start for Tokio, where we meet Mr. and Mrs. Mounsey, at whose invitation we were to-day to visit

air

the

pure and bracing.

singularly

is

Two

capital.

Temple of of the

carriages convey us

Shiba, which

As

city.

situated

is

by

beyond

rural

this

bordered on

is

it

and

trees,

fields,

kinds

various the

district

upon leaving a densely-populated

for

we approach

or gardens as

fields

spreads

city

Shiba

in

lies

district

while

a

huge

as

itself

which

upon

receive

most

is

me

beautiful

in

Buildings

delightful.

detail,

striking

so

reached

is

The impres-

station.

as

so

we

step

rich

in

symbolism,

in

Had

before seen, or even dreamt of

It

beholding the magnificent

first

temples and shrines standing before carriage

curious,

is

come upon

often

the north-east quarter of Tokio.

now

I

we

in

vegetation,

the centre of the town.

by a pleasant short drive from the railway sion

outer side

its

of

journey from one side of Tokio to the other

ring, a

town,

the Castle stands in the centre of the

and the moat surrounding part

Buddhist

the great

to

a richly -wooded suburb

in

from our colour,

have

I

so

never

a Gibbons been employed

on the wood -carvings, had the colourist of the Alhambra done his

a

utmost to add to forms, which

new charm through

themselves are almost perfect,

in

the addition of pigments, and were the

whole of such details subordinated architectural

worthy

edifice

to

fitting

places

in

a vast

no more

architects of the Parthenon,

by the

could be produced than that of the buildings on

effect

my eyes now rest. The Temple of Shiba,

which

to the service of

which

may

another

same

is

like

Buddhism, consisted of seven buildings, one of

be regarded as more strictly in

all

relation

to

Christian church.

cases a pagoda,

the

Buddhist

and

I

am

—

in itself tJie

Temple, while

the pagoda bearing

edifice

that

a spire

much

does

the

to a

Unfortunately the chief building of the seven

has been lately burnt by, aries,

most of the large temples dedicated

is

it

informed that

than any

now remaining

beautiful

than those which

;

yet

believed, revolutionary incendi-

this

building was more beautiful

how any

have

building could be more

escaped,

I

am

at

a

loss

to*

ART, understand.

(Fig.

AND ART MANUFACTURES. 1

6 gives the water-tank

in

15

the courtyard of

this temple.)

We

walk through the courtyard inspecting the long rows of

stone lanterns,

>

'^''

7"

and viewing the exteriors of the various buildings

r^, >'''f^

^.

^f-

L&

^.%;

'^^l

-1.

Fig. 16.

With

its

The Water-Tank at

Shiba,

monolith cohimns, on the tops of which festooned draper}' in colours and gold

on which we find

birds, flowers, water,

is

painted.

and clouds carved with a

tenderness and boldness scarcely to be surpassed, and so coloured that each object retains parts

combine

its

produce an

to

ment of the natural objects

individual beauty, while the various effect is

almost perfect.

The

art treat-

semi-conventional, the carving

is

of the crispest, and the subjects are chosen with the view of symbolising the

Shiba

power of the Buddhist's god over

is

not

minster Abbey,

is

only a Buddhist

shrine,

all

but,

created things. like

a resting-place for the mighty dead.

our West-

Here

five

of Japan's great Shoguns (also called Tycoons) were buried, and the

Shogun (who was

practically the temporal

ruler

of Japan)

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

i6

was of the Buddhist described

the

as

Shoguns found

Mikado (whom we have

while the

faith,

was

ruler)

spiritual

We

are looking

when

us

and wondering

entering

we have

it

we should

comes forward

to put off our shoes.

were

do,

mounds

of earth.

at all the loveliness outspread

a shaven-headed priest

the largest of the edifices which

into

religion.

tombs of great beauty, while

their resting-place in

over the ashes of the Mikados are heaped mere

before us

Shinto

of the

to

conduct

now

remain.

Before

This

it

was

right that

only because the balcony to which the

it

steps before us lead, and

the floor of the temple

The

polished black lacquer.

surface of these floors

are of

itself,

may

be com-

pared with that of the best papier-mache tray that Wolverhampton ever made.

There

little

is

the

in

Japanese temples or houses ings

more

will

be said when

way ;'

of wall in

but of the structure of their build-

we come

However, the building before us

by a massive

to consider their architecture.

a large enclosed space, covered

is

supported on uprights, between which are what

roof,

we may regard

as

movable shutters

;

—

the columns and shutters

The

forming the boundary of the building. extends about six balcony, and

being

bright

it

is

and

joists

we

Internally

not visible.

decorated

;

balcony which

this

The

black.

floor of the

temple

beyond the central enclosed part as a

feet

balcony and protects rafters

connexion with either

roof

of

I

the

have just mentioned as temple

overhangs

the

from the weather, while the constructive

it

which support

it

are

left fully

exposed to view.

have a ceiling of which the structural features are

The

ceiling

is

panelled out into small squares, and

red, blue, green, white,

and gold being applied to

it

is

in

all their intensity.

might be thought that such a system of colouring as

It

could only produce a coarse and vulgar effect for the

;

but this

is

not

overhanging roof which approaches within about four

this so,

feet

of the railing of the surrounding balcony does not permit the

entrance of any excessive amount of light ultimately reaches the

black

floor.

ceiling

is

all

;

and the

reflected,

light

which

and that from a

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

We

17

now taken by our shaven-headed priest to see the In front of each tomb stands a square

are

tombs of the Shoguns.

building or shrine, one of which by his orders

back and

front, that

am

I

we may

much

so

look on the

kindled,

that

my

my

to

the

see

SACRED name

have

of these

interior

but

;

am

I

now

of the

whose remains are entombed behind.

my

I

told

that

can enter these sanctuaries, as each

officials

building contains the

both

enthusiasm has been already

art

desire

sacred shrines becomes almost irresistible

none but great

at

behind.

pleased with the one temple which

been permitted to enter, and so fully

opened

is

monument

deified

Shogun the holy

believe that

I

enthusiastic

admiration of the art of the

edifice for religious enthusiasm, as

he somewhat excitedly exclaims,

father

"

You

mistakes

great

are

which few,

Shogun," and allows

me

to

enter

a

building

any, Europeans have up to this time been permitted

if

to inspect.

These shrines are

as beautiful as the larger temples

which we

But

have already seen, and their details are as perfectly wrought. as yet I

fail

the sacred

to

name

comprehend the object of these

is

deifies

God

heroes.

that

see

to

be,

I

do not understand.

throughout Japan there

Buddhism and Shintoism

Buddhism,

what

in its purity,

;

for while

does nothing of

Nevertheless, as the Mikado, while yet regarded

the kind. the

me

strange confusion of

a

Shintoism

Shogun may

of a deceased

Ultimate inquiry led

buildings, for

incarnate of the

Church, offers

Shinto

in

public

as

on

certain days of the year prayers for his people at certain Buddhist shrines,

it is

not to be wondered at that the leading sanctuaries of

Japan should betray a blending so inconsistent.

Upon

the death of a famous Japanese, be he daimio (baron),

hero, benefactor, or

when

his

name

Shogun, he

in the

sacred and unpronounceable tablet

of about

two

feet

in

exalted to the rank of a god,

is

god world

is

allotted to him.

by mortal

lips,

is

This name,

inscribed on

a

length by four inches in breadth,

bordered by a richly carved margin

;

and

it is

this

god name which

the shrines in front of the Shoguns' tombs are intended to encase

and preserve.

Every precaution C

is

taken to insure the safety of

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

1

these tablets, as in the beHef of the Japanese the gravest calamities befall the nation if

might

On day"

this

my

in

any should be

memorable day, which history, I

learnt

many

have certainly beheld, enshrined

lost or destroyed.

will

always be a "red

facts of

deep

interest,

letter

and

I

cryptomerias and other cone-

in

bearing trees of vast proportions, an amount of architectural beauty

such as evidence

I

have never before seen of

the

liberality

;

of the

and

I

may

here mention as

Buddhists, that

when Lady

Parkes applied to the high priest of Shiba for permission to have the Church of England service performed in one of the chapels

connected with this great shrine, her request was at once granted.

Hence

Christian worship

of Buddhist temples.

is

offered every

Sunday

in this greatest

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

CHAPTER —A — Eating a

Yokohama

fire

II.

— A Japanese banquet — — Music — Hara-kiri—The Mikado — The New Year— Tokio firemen

in the hotel

live fish

Japanese matting

^Japanese dancing-girls

— The Hamagoten

palace.

This 30th of December was spent sent director of the

personages minister.

my

chiefly in receiving official

arranging for an interview with Mr. Machida, the pre-

visits, in

was not

19

in I

Tokio Museum,

Tokio, and

to pass without

sleep

by the cry of

my

the door of off in his

its

Yokohama

excitement.

I

Upon

was awakened from

putting

search of a fire-engine.

nightshirt in

A

but the night

;

my head outside saw the manager of the hotel hurrying

I

haste, I found that our hotel

the floor above me.

hotel at

" fire."

chamber,

upon important

calling

dining with Sir Harry Parkes, our

in

my

returned to

in

was on

fire

Dressing

and that the

fire

large hole in the skirting-board

showed that the

interior of the partition (which

but a lath and

plaster "

danger of our

position,

studding I

")

was

all

is

buckets,

ablaze.

I

was

in

and wall

not truly a wall

shouted for water, and

Japanese servants could bring the

in all

Seeing the before

rushed

into

the the

bedroom and seized the poker, to the consternation of a lady who had just stepped out of bed. With this poker I hacked nearest

down in

the wall as high as

flames.

timbers,

I

Water was now

could reach, and found plentifully

and a ladder enabled which the

me

all

the joists

thrown on the burning

to climb to the ceiling of the

was rapidly spreading, but after some hard work we succeeded in overcoming our enemy. In this passage

in

incident

I

fire

was struck by the

fact,

that while

no engine came

till

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

20

was out not one visitor in the hotel, whether EngHsh, American, German, or French, offered any help, while a great

the

fire

whom

gaping lubber, of the hotel,

day

had

I

energy

yet

;

part of

my

by

thanked

for the service

posure

During the following

stood calmly looking on.

was

I

found to be the proprietor

afterwards

I

of the

hotel

had rendered, and even the lady whose com-

I

so

I

the inmates

of

several

much

complimented

disturbed

me on my

was informed that our landlord considered

duty to put out

on

fires

his premises,

it

no

and that he was

well insured.

The

fire

market, for I

saw

being out, it

was now seven o'clock

piles of octopuses

inspect the native fish

sallied forth to

I

the

in

;

Here

morning.

some heaps being of reddish

hue, while

others were of leaden aspect, but the tentacles of these strange creatures

say the

gave the heaps a look of motion and

least,

Here are

was strange.

inches in length, which

in

and

stalls are

a tub live

saw offered

At

also bivalve molluscs, ten

some

ten feet in length,

including the royal tai ; while on tables

fish,

ranged some of the oddest monsters which

for food in

any

a money-changer, from

whom

get

I

a silver and paper currency after the I

left

ever

return, sits

I

some picturesque

obsolete, the former coinage having been

A.M.

I

land.

the entrance to the market, through which

At 9

which, to

can only regard as over-grown mussels,

I

large creatures of the shark character,

and

life,

coins,

now

entirely superseded

modern American

by

fashion.

Tokio, having been invited to partake

for

of a native banquet to be given by certain foreign secretaries of

Each of our

legation to the Austrian princes.

was

to invite

one

friend,

Hon. James Saumarez.

and

I

hosts,

I

understood,

was the honoured guest of the

The luncheon was

served in the most

fashionable of Japanese tea-houses, being that in which the ministers

have state dinners, and

in

every respect according to the

highest rules of Japanese taste and etiquette.

At

the Yashiki

linguists, is

the

(spread out houses)

brothers

as familiar as

Siebold, to

of those accomplished

whom

any European language,

the I

Japanese tongue

met Prince Henri of

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

21

Liechtenstein and Prince Montenuovo, Baron Rosen, Baron Gold-

whom

schmidt, and Dr. Roritz, to the latter of

of gratitude for kindness which

removed from European

I

owe a

when

far

to the tea-house, where, taking

house

stairs (for this

two

is

thing unusual in Japan), and entered

in height, a

vast debt

Our party being formed,

civihsation.

we accompanied our hosts our shoes, we ascended the

I

afterwards received

off

stories

the banquet-

room.

As

banquet was

this

attempt to describe feasted, so far villa that

of the

characteristic

The room,

it.

nation,

will

I

we London

or rather rooms, in which

resembled the front and back parlours of a

they were formed into one for our use by the removal of

certain " slides,"

of small English

may be said to represent the " double doors " houses. As we entered the room, we saw, attached

which

more or

to the right-hand wall, a slightly-raised dais,

less

shut off

from the main portion of the room with a sort of enclosed

on which sure

is

rice-ears rested as

an offering to the gods.

arranged with scrupulous care

wood stands

as an upright at

its

;

an unbarked stem of cherry

outermost corner, the dimensions

of each plank, upright, or other piece being determined

This

is

the

"

" (or

sacred niche

altar,

This enclo-

by

rule.

enclosure) which the Mikado, as the

god incarnate of the Shinto Church, would occupy were he ever to visit this hotel, and through an opening at the end of the partially-enclosed dais his food

could

not,

would be served by those who

through the smallness and position of the opening,

see his face.

The greater portion of the cupied by a window of about the floor of the room, but

which

it

is

intended, as

collected together for chair, table,

it is

all

wall facing us as

three feet

enter

any entertainment

The

oc-

is

height, resting on

high enough to serve the purpose

Japanese kneel upon the

nor anything that

native Japanese room.

in

we

;

indeed, there

we can regard

floor is

for

when

neither

as furniture in

any

left-hand side of the apartment

is

by a continuous series of windows, outside of which there is a balcony and these windows are so high that we The can readily walk on to the balcony when they are open. entirely occupied

;

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

22

room

other sides of the

consist of plastered walls, the plaster being

of agreeable texture and colour.

rooms

But although these European rooms, there

is

bear a certain

resemblance to

nothing European about them

indeed,

;

they are not only of purely Japanese character, but are constructed according to the most rigid laws of Japanese etiquette.

The windows

frames

consist of light

filled

with a delicate

in

and beautiful wood lattice-work covered with thin paper impossible to look out without moving one of the

it is

sashes

but as

;

one can

slide

matter.

The

window-sashes

all

past another floor is

window-sashes,

in

window

Japan are so arranged that

horizontally,

this

covered with matting

is

not a difficult

the ceiling, like the

;

entirely of unpainted wood,

is

hence

;

and altogether the

room has an air of cleanness and beauty which is most pleasing. When we entered the room the window-sashes were almost all

removed, but the sun shone brightly although the

A

cold.

square was placed object

air

was

cushion about one inch in thickness and fourteen inches for

each of us to kneel upon, but the real

cushions

of these

of

that

is

indicating

positions,

the

place of honour being that next to the Mikado's dais, and from this position the seats gradually decrease in value.

These cushions

were covered with a cotton material of indigo-blue contrasted

the

very pleasantly with

Four Hibachi

(or this

lined

with

in

fire-holders)

case

soft

were placed on the

wood-ash, of course

floor,

incombustible, and

half

on

full

little

the centre of this

The

and certainly fails to alter room to any perceptible degree.

heat,

the temperature of a Japanese In an English

wood

of a heavy

ash rested two or three small pieces of ignited charcoal.

Hibachi gives out but

walls.

each of

a square vessel formed of dark

Each Hibachi was

metal.

yellow of the mats,

and the green-gray of the

gray-buff of the wood,

which was

the

which

tint

room such a contrivance would be highly dangerous,

as the carbonic acid gas resulting from the union of the burning

charcoal with the oxygen of the air would render the atmosphere

almost poisonous

owing

;

but a Japanese room

to the slight

manner

in

which

is

so perfectly ventilated,

its

sides are constructed,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

that no such danger

may be

to be apprehended.

is

23

Indeed, the Japanese

said almost to live an out-of-door

life,

the house being

the ground with a substantial

rather a floor raised above

roof

than a series of rooms properly enclosed by substantial side walls.

When we in

were seated, or rather arranged, on our cushions

a kneeling posture, a female attendant placed beside each of us

bamboo

a smoking -box containing a small

of which was

intended

a

body bordered by

two

yet

whiffs,

cut

is

and

of

With

tion.

tea

the

exceedingly

is

— metal manner. — much the

richest

shreds

finer

emptied out and the opera-

is

was

continued at discre-

is

first

served, the cups being

blue-and-white porcelain of about two and a half inches

of

diameter

;

being

cup,

saucer elevated on the guest, but

remaining

in

filled

with

a

On

foot.

the guest

hand of the serving -maid.

the

girls

in

till

artistic

which flat

general here

bows rendered

cosmetic.

The

hair

:

it

firm is

bamboo

resembling

No

:

is

a

offered

stand

the

sugar or milk

pure condition.

enter,

and passing

to

the

on their knees and prostrate themselves

fall

heads nearly touch the

of dresses, and their hair is

its

gorgeous apparel

centre of the room, their

stand

stand the cup

this

in

was placed by the

simply takes the cup

used, the beverage being drunk in

Two

tea-kettle with

tea,

on a small maroon lacquer

serving -maid

to

Banko

the tea was in a small

The

handle.

is

work

pipes at

and

round,

stem

the

in

finest

This process

repeated.

filling

and the

the tobacco-pipes are charged

:

second whiff the ash

after the

tion

A

pipe). lid

most exquisitely made with a

the very

of here

is

tobacco for more than

sufficient

Damascened

into

than anything we know

the

was passed

rim,

mouthpiece and a bamboo

unfrequently

not

The tobacco

from

Japanese tobacco-pipe

generally

is

it

metal bowl and

being

A

bowl not holding

the

small,

metal

a

charged.

bamboo cup

both the

lacquer, with

finest

bottom

cup, in the

pipe (the

a

emptied

ash

the

receive

to

tobacco-box of the

pipes were

water, and

little

is

is

stiff

by a

floor.

They wear

the

most

braided in the quaint fashion

and smooth, being formed into

lavish

jet-black, and

use of strange -smelling

two hair-pins form the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

24

Powder

ornaments of each peruke. but no attempt

made

freely used

is

on the

face,

powder

disguise

the

fact,

ends with a regular and well-defined

line

which extends down

The

lips

are

is

to

back part of the cheeks.

the

being

red,

portions

central

with

painted

gold bronze

of the

pigment,

brightest

while

the

accented by lustrous touches of a green-

are

— happily

;

most potent

a

for the

kissing

unknown

is

Japan

in

One

!

of

the girls wears a broad green sash of the richest and most mellow colour

;

this

a charming art work, and over

is

of the gourd,

worked

of this spray

is

in

perfectly marvellous, having

beauty of the living plant, while of the surface which

Two more behind the pair enter plainly,

it

girls

first

two)

servers

The drawing

all

the vigour and

is

yet a consistent ornament

the

same way and kneeling and now a third

it

decorates.

(dressed

in

make

their

obeisance,

These

and prostrate themselves.

are

spreads a spray

it

lustrous plumbago-black.

of food, and

give

last,

dressed more

each guest a square

to

black lacquer salver about fourteen inches in diameter serving- girl food,

which

enters is

gaily-attired

a taiko

small

(or

bearing a

large

tray

;

another

with saucers of

The

placed on the floor of the room.

more

four

girls now leave the room, and soon re-enter with drum beaten with two sticks), two tsudzumu (or

drums beaten with the (or banjo), and a coto

samasin

The music now

fingers),

a yokobuye (or

flute),

a

(or horizontal harp).

begins, all the instruments being played but

the coto, the musicians kneeling on the

and two

filled

At

at the left of the door.

the

two at the right same time viands are

floor,

handed round, one saucer being placed on each of our These saucers each contain a lump of covered with a fine bright-green

flour,

soft,

trays.

dough-like substance

a circular piece of semi-

transparent plastic matter like a sectional portion of fancy sugarstick having a red exterior

and a white flower

in its centre,

a piece of white gelatinous matter of oblong shape.

and

Immediately

after the distribution of these luxuries a serving-maid enters bear-

ing another oblong tray other

articles

of food

filled

— an

with saucers of confections and

orange preserved

in syrup, a

small

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

opened and spread on a

fresh fish (like a sprat)

fashion, an

and

colour,

oblong object about three inches

crenated margin.

that

of food

with the chop-sticks which

how they were

but on seeing

mouth

soon found

I

convenience of the person eating.

for the

try to eat the putty-like

compound with green

attempting to bite a piece from the mass

my

that in removing

my mouth

saucer from

exterior, but

encounter a serious

I

of being wholly successful in

difficulty, for instead

find

used,

but Japanese etiquette allows a bowl or saucer to be

;

raised to the

in

;

a red

could pick up single grains of rice as well as larger pieces

I

I

black in

of white gelatinous matter with

slice

failed signally at first

I

me

of rice saddle

in length,

with white seed-like specks (exceedingly hard),

filled

and a semicircular were given to

roll

25

my

attempt

am

I

I

drawing

out an attenuated string of the ductile dainty, and that the portion in

my mouth

on the the

The more

floor.

more

my

now

connected with the larger mass

still

is

I

resting

try to separate this connecting cord

difficulty increases,

and

I

verily believe

that one

mass of such food could be drawn into a thread which would span the Pacific but even then

effort

I

in

I

try the

must take a

The the lady

I

more first

agony,

I

I

swallow the mass,

I

can break the thread

Being

floor.

satisfied

try the gelatinous rice-cake

part consume.

being so pretty that but

on the

to the dish

mouthful of this dainty,

an

my

seems an age before

it

me

which binds

at last, in

itself:

The

do not think

red it

inviting confections,

morsel

is

with one

which with

passed over,

right to venture

upon

amongst which the orange

place.

strangely weird, but somewhat exciting, music being over,

who had performed on

which she held on the

left

the small hand -drums (one of

knee and the other on the right shoulder)

lays aside these instruments for the coto or horizontal harp, four

it,

more musicians

each with a

—

—

who can sing as well as play banjo. The music now began

girls

samasin or

accompanied with singing

;

and

enter,

again

and the singing was even more strange

and weird than the music.

Two

basins of clean

warm water were now

slightly-raised lacquer stand,

and placed on the

brought, each on a floor in the centre

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

26

With them came two

warm

sachi,

one

being dry and the other sweet, while the sachi-bottles were,

like

of the guests.

bottles of

the bowls, of blue-and-white porcelain, and each rested in a

lacquer frame.

now

are

Small porcelain sachi cups, such as we

and one of these was

familiar wnth, were then brought in,

placed on the tray belonging to each of the more important

who It

dips

is

it

in the

warm

water, and holds

expected that the guests

who

it

up

visitors,

to be filled with sachi.

are thus

served

first

swallow the contents of their cups quickly, rinse them of water, and throw them across the

little

England

in

shall

in the basins

room to the friends with owing to this custom that

whom

they wish to take wine.

sachi

cups are frequently covered with basket-work, especially

when they

are

made

It

is

of egg-shell china, for this covering prevents

their being readily broken.

Music

now being performed and

is

the sachi cups are

quently passing across the room when soup

being brought in cover,

is

soups, but in

float a

it

number of

what resembling the mushroom, but different in flavour.

The

the chop -sticks

fungi

the

basin

is

pale

brown

bowl

from the

the tray and replace the cover so as to keep

The music being rise

over,

and prepare I

the

begin

four

for the

will for the

and we rearrange ourselves so that samasin players

and with I

:

observe

we should

dance

moment all may

warm.

it

girls :

who

first

brought

they move into the call

the back parlour,

see them.

The

four

a plaintive lay which they accompany

with their instruments, and the dancers begin the dance.

rhythm and pantomimic gestures characterise and the motions of the

and very

distinct in aspect

raised to the mouth,

are got

eye,

their

Measured movements,

which are very singular and conspicu-

ous, play a large part in the art of the performers.

Now

to

some-

After each sip they return the bowl to

a wine of rare vintage.

smaller room, which

The

common fungi,

that the Japanese sip their soup slowly and carefully as

instruments

fre-

the soup

placed on each of our trays.

is

but with a sediment not unlike that

soup

game

—

black lacquer bowls, each of which has a

little

and one of which clear,

served

is

comes the viand of viands

—

the most dainty of morsels

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, the bit that

is

what the green

to the Japanese epicure

alderman, a dish that

turtle is to the city

of the

fat

none other than a

is

Resting on a large Cutane dish

living fish.

27

mat formed of

a

is

rounds of glass held together by plaited threads, on which living

fish

reality a

in

green

algae.

with

nished

A

and mouth moving regularly

gills

bank of white shreds resembling damp

a

rises

with

colourless sea -weed, while

In front a

the

fish

radiating

of

tuft

is

with the

now

isinglass,

but

itself rests

on

front of

rest, till

the pile

of the upper side of the

and simply picked up

fish,

which

I

all,

now saw was

the

disgust, the

raised the skin

already loose,

;

nay, even the

of flesh already served consisted of the lower half of the

pile

creature's body.

There

a refinement of barbaric cruelty in

is

consummate

of the Japanese, for with

the fish has been so

skill

carved that no vital part has been touched the

liver,

and the stomach

on which the

intact,

left

is

;

the heart, the

gills,

damp

algae

while the

keep the lungs

fish rests suffices to

sume

its

own body

and rarely

;

a living presence at

practised only

(.'')

to man's sensual

This

by the

No

rich. ;

living fish ever

but the

infliction

makes of such

on one of the lower creatures causes, probably, no

who appear

reproach amongst a people

death with dread.

may

but, if being eaten

;

that rarest of opportunities.

appearance on the poor man's table

suffering

we con-

given to any creature to put

most miserable of victims

to be buried, this

is

it

own entombment

its

pleasure actually enjoyed cruelty

is

The

in action.

miserable object with lustrous eye looks upon us while

As an

illustration

^

self-

to regard neither pain nor

of Japanese hardihood,

say ,that over seventy persons, two of

committed hara-kiri ^

all

which contrasts strangely with the geniality and loving nature

this

its

living

from the living creature,

after slice

slice

my

Then, to

consumed.

is

which, although alive, had been already carved

is

leaves.

placed on a saucer and passed to one guest, and so

serving-maid, not having enough in the pile for

in

fish gar-

bamboo

variegated

a

back

at its

a pile of small slices of raw

is

portion of the raw fish from the pile in

victim

:

is

whom

were women,

only six weeks prior to the date of which

Hara-kiri does not consist, as

many

in

England suppose,

in

I

I

opening the abdomen,

28

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

write, because

they had been defeated in a small insurrectionary

movement.

With

the living

came on another

fish

On

also of Cutane ware.

large saucer-like dish,

were two kinds of

this

A

browned, the other white, but both baked.

fish,

the one

portion of each

was served on a large saucer simultaneously with the live quiverbut the living fish is the luxury, and each morsel is ing flesh ;

dipped

Feeling that by

soy and swallowed like an oyster.

in

added no pang

tasting

it

flavour

and delicacy

I

music, were a

fit

I ate,

and certainly

in

surpassed any of the preceding dishes,

this

The slow and solemn

to the victim,

dance, and the weird strains of tremulous

accompaniment of a dish so ghastly

as that of

which we were partaking.

But what have the Japanese to swallowing

live

oysters

We may

.?

wonder, about our

it

cannot suffer

becomes

;

reason

is

receive at our hands,

by the

we

worse than ourselves after

is

treat-

inflict

So, perhaps, the Japanese are not

there can be no doubt.

a

pain.

acute as the organisation

less

eating live molluscs, and

yet that by ment which some crustaceans

more simple

is

much

such a creature suffers we do not know, and there

to suppose that feeling

pain

much

all.

The music which now the

I

argue that an oyster

creature of low organisation, and that

What

say,

followed was more

lively,

but

still

of

same weird character. The girls danced more briskly, and in pantomimic motions simulated lovers busy at love-making,

their

while boiled slices of vegetables.

These

bamboo

slices

shoots were served as a course of

were strung on

little sticks,

they were eaten, the sticks serving the purpose of our

came more

soup, with deer flesh in

it,

from which fork.

Then

as well as fungi, served in

covered earthen bowls with pattern in blue and white.

To

the fungus employed in the flavouring of Japanese soups

but in thrusting a sword through the neck behind the windpipe with the edge outwards, and then in grasping the sword with both hands, pushing it forward till the throat

is

entirely severed

the Japanese custom of

and

falling

making

upon

it.

The misunderstanding has

arisen from

certain scratches over the region of the bowels before

committing the fatal act, in order to symbolise the reason for their death. A large volume of some hundreds of pages has been written on the etiquette of the " happy despatch."

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

29

the characteristic odour of

of Japanese

soups a

all Japanese things seems to be attrimust now be familiar with the smell boxes, fans, and fabrics. On taking these

In England,

butable.

trays,

all

could scarcely convince myself that

I

compound

was not sipping

I

Hakone

consisting of a small stewed cabinet, a

and a length of Kioto

fabric to

which a

had been added, with the view of giving body to the on the question of food, Bull

among

not

is

the

But

liquid.

have prejudices, and John

nations

all

bigoted

least

tray,

packing material

little

his

in

views on dietary

matters.

Now

our music results from two samasins, but one

This bow

time played with a bow.

first

with a heavy lash, the bottom of which

A

performer. edification,

and now we have more

something

strips of

like

also brought

filled

now

down

We

with

and

again one of the waitresses charges a pipe, the bowl of

tunes to one of the singing it

Duck

and smoked, while every

which would not hold an ordinary pea, and hands

puts

for our

served,

lively dancing.

Yorkshire pudding are

the diminutive tobacco-pipes are

now and

is

and a large drum are

fife

for the

is

much resembles a whip held to the bow by the

so that

it

may

girls,

who

it

between the

takes one whiff and then

be made ready for the next performer.

were now told that

it

would be

polite of us

small bits of food with our chop-sticks in the

girls'

to place

mouths, and

and accordingly we did so. Our trays were now again changed, and we received two black-andto throw

them the

sachi cups

;

gold covered lacquer bowls, one containing soup, and one It

may

here be remarked that

at a Japanese feast

:

it

vulgar to eat

the upper middle classes use

article of food,

but to the poor rice

buckwheat and

millet taking

a saucer of

is

powdered

its

fish-roe,

is

it

rice.

much

rice

as a chief

a luxury almost unknown,

place.

Following the

rice

over which was sprinkled

came finely

cut and delicate looking vegetable stems, like small attenuated celery, but without flavour

viands being it

still left.

;

our saucers of

Now

a large light dumpling, and

becomes more

lively,

live fish

and other heavy

followed another bowl of soup, and in

some green vegetables. The music more brisk, strange innuendoes not

the dancing

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

30

admissible in English society were indulged ness

;

yet without coarse-

in,

and while the dance and the repast (which have lasted four

hours) were drawing to a close,

we were

receiving assurances that

the highest virtue was maintained by our lady performers. jinrikishas

Our

were soon bearing us swiftly away to Mr. Mounsey's

Embassy compound. After staying with Mr. Mounsey to

residence in the

within the the

New

sallied

New Year

see the

Embassy

and spent

enclosure,

this,

the

cortege on

in

way

its

of the

the direction

the palace

to

shops,

(the

I

day of

first

see

Having

the

British

palace was

old

also

is

Year, in seeing some of the sights of Tokio.

forth

went

in, I

Honourable James Saumarez, which

to the house of the

burnt

when about fifteen thousand houses Harry Parkes, Mr. Mounsey, and Mr. were consumed by fire). Sir Saumarez being about to pay their respects to the Mikado. The nobles of Japan pay their homage to the emperor on the first day

down about

of the year

weeks

six

;

—

since,

the ministers and persons of higher order having

access to his Majesty, while those of lower rank simply leave their cards.

The

dress in which these ceremonial visits are paid

ordinary English evening attire

;

and

is

the

indeed absurd to see the

it is

some of the nobles owing to the strange One little nobleman I met cut of their European habiliments. walking to the palace in a costume which must have been very ridiculous appearance of

He

uncomfortable. at

least

wore mittens, and the sleeves of

six inches too long, hence

arrangement of

folds,

and

it

by keeping

trousers were as his

hat,

much

elbows

his

akimbo, that the mittens, which were evidently not to be hidden from view, were kept

his coat

somewhat

articles of clothing

visible.

The

legs of his

too long as the sleeves of his coat

which was much too large

were

was only by a judicious

for his

;

while

head, was kept in

its

place by a handkerchief rolled into the form of a ball, and carefully placed

between

probably, like stances,

owing

many

his forehead

other

and the

nobles,

to the changes

rim.

greatly

This youth was

reduced in circum-

which have arisen from the over-

throw of the baronial system, hence he had ordered suit

his

with due regard to his possible corporal development

Court in

the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, future.

It

a truly pitiable sight, to see fine

is

our miserable dress, and that looking

costume

Every

so graceful,

is

will

artist

for the

grieve

worst,

its

31

men

arrayed in

when the

native

and lends great dignity to the wearer. such a change having taken place,

at

we may almost term

Court has thus achieved what

the

national degradation of dress.

This being holiday season, tellers,

I

saw

one of whom seemed to enjoy special popularity. time to watch him and his hearers,

for a

plot of his yarn

;

but soon

all

uproarious laughter ensued.

tried

I

"

ment.

Where ignorance

came

I

great

was

clear that

I

had now become

bliss

'tis

folly to

top-spinners

much amuse-

be wise."

Farther

—

who were certainly clever, ^jugglers of who perform wonderful feats, and men

across acrobats,

skill,

Stopping

eyes were turned towards me, and

It

is

tale-

to gather the

the butt of his remarks and the unwitting cause of

on

some

the streets

in

with peep-shows for the children.

The morning of the day had been cold, yet bright but later the sun warmed the atmosphere, and the scene became more and more gay. From every house hung two or three white flags with ;

the red ball in the centre, and the people flocked into the streets in

holiday

the

its

the reception

for

belfry,

Many made

attire.

Asakusa with

I

nights since, the ;

Godowns

seemed

great drums,

five

Beneath us

thousand houses, only two

(fire-proof storehouses) its

only remain-

unsullied cone.

to be muttering incantations,

fires

Temple of

followed in their train, and from

and yonder rose proud Fujiyama with

priests

to the great

various shrines, huge coffer

of the pagoda got a fine view of Tokio.

was a space caused by the burning of ing

way

its

tanks for ablutions, odd-looking

of offerings,

and dignified pagoda.

summit

their

vast red gateway,

The

boys were beating

blazed in the centre of the building, incense was

burning, and small coins were thrown by handfuls into the sacred enclosure, while the grounds of the edifice were filled with stalls,

on which nick-nacks,

prints,

offered for sale.

now

I

sweetmeats, and toys of every sort were

visit

one of the shrines around the

Temple of Asakusa, where, one

after the

sfreat

other, the worshippers

take hold of the knotted rope hanging in front of the gong, and

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

32

by

it

make

the

gong produce a booming sound which is supposed god to the prayer about to be offered.

to call the attention of the

to perform their devotions, but

Most stand outside the shrine

man

and remains motionless

few minutes, with his knees, his

for a

hands, and his forehead on the the

one

with shoeless feet prostrates himself just within the Temple

streets

father,

is

mother,

sisters,

and brothers,

from one to the other,

The

floor.

great

game played

till

one

knock the shuttlecock

will

fails

to hit

it,

when

rush at

all

him, or her, and give a slap with the bat as a punisliment. is

game with

also a favourite

in

the

alike.

The

hissing

a

sound.

These humming

always hollow, and are not unfrequently cylindrical

On

is

kites are often

a in

but the strangest are those which, while high

;

make

air,

Ball

the children, while kite-flying

sport enjoyed by old and young

the form of birds

in

and shuttlecock, and a whole family,

battledore

are

kites

in form.

moat outside the Castle hundreds of wild ducks were The artillery were practising, and when their guns were

the

floating.

ducks rose almost

fired the

In the

in clouds.

moat

saw leaves

I

and bent seed capsules of the beautiful Nelumbium, or Buddhist

(Buddha

water-lily

of this plant).

is

In

always represented as sitting on the flower

summer

gay flowers and broad

not bigger than a cherry are

Going

I

reach

I

noticed beside the road a baby age,

smoking

his

pipe.

at six.

the following morning the sun, which had been shining

was overclouded by ten

brightly,

By two

Oranges

here.

more than two years of

Yokohama

On

common

to the railway station

boy, certainly not

moat must be covered with the

the

foliage of this beautiful plant.

the

fall

was

o'clock, then

considerable, but all

snow

fell

heavily.

had now become bright

as before.

The

princes are to-night to leave for Siam, after visiting which

country they are to return to China, where

about three months hence evening

in

;

Japan, with me.

I

am

to

meet them

so they dine and spend this, their last for

it

was

that

I

had

During our short intimacy,

only on the journey from San Francisco to

Yokohama

the honour of making their acquaintance, they have shown

me

the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

33

Both of them have undoubted

most friendly courtesy.

art taste.

Both are well informed on even some of the recondite questions connected with Eastern ornaments, and Prince Liechtenstein has

made

with lanterns

ten

o'clock the

honour of our

in

The

off.

At

friends.

careful record of

what he has seen

indeed a pleasure in a foreign land to

It is

travels.

make such them

and

a most elaborate

during his

hotel

little

was ready

illustrious guests,

gay

boat,

oars were plied, fireworks sparkled in the

to take air,

and

the boat was soon lost to view.

Next day

(the

the successor of Mr. at Tokio,

him

me

at

show me

to

offered

Mr. Sekisawa.

wonderful

a

collection

of

which are the private property of the Mikado, and

Nara

are housed at for over a

first

Mr. Tanaka Yoshio, the curator, and

Machida

Mr.

antiquities

Yokohama to receive Mr. Sano, Mr. is what we should call the surname), Sano as the director of the Imperial Museum

stayed at

I

Machida Hisi-Nari

in

the building which has contained

thousand years.

It

was arranged that

Nara on about the 26th of

that the

Mikado

will

give

me

He

month.

this

them

should meet

I

an audience before

I

also told

leave this

part of Japan.

At given

the incoming of the

up

cottage

and

to

is

feasting

decorated

in

place in

fir-tree find

New Year

and

the native town

rejoicing.

some fashion or other all.

Two

is

entirely

Every house, shop, and ;

but the

bamboo

bamboos, with richly foliated

tops and about twenty feet in height, are planted in the earth

about twelve

feet apart, while

a branch of the the

At bamboos

fir-tree.

ground these

immediately

in front

of each stands

the height of eight or ten feet from are connected

plaited rice-straw, in the centre of which

is

by a deep

fringe of

a curious group con-

sisting of a crawfish, an orange, fronds of a fern, a plait of straw

having the form of a twisted

loaf,

a

row of dried percimmons on

a stick, and a piece of charcoal and a chestnut each wrapped in paper.

Grouped

in

a picturesque manner, these are attached to

the upper margin of the straw fringe, from which are also pendent certain pieces of white cut paper religion.

Some

—

the

emblems of the Shinto

rich persons place at either side of the

D

door simply

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

34 three thick

bamboo stems with

the tops cut off slant-wise, with a

piece of a fir-tree in front.

In

these cases the central

about three

in

height, those

six inches

feet

three feet, while the

New Year

These

about two

fir is

bamboo

feet three inches in height.

devices vary, however, in character, but even

bamboo

the poorest of the people seem to crave after a piece of

and of

fir,

be

it

is

the sides about

at

ever so small, as eagerly as our poor look for a

spray of holly and a bit of mistletoe at Christmas.

The next day cising,

I

hear at Tokio that the firemen are exer-

and that the sight

The

the ground.

is

worth seeing, so

make my way

I

to

exercises consist mainly in causing ladders to

stand in a vertical position by the aid of hooks which grasp the "

rounds," and are driven into the earth, and in the performance of

strange acrobatic

One man ascends

feats.

a ladder, and stands in

an inverted position, with his head on one of the side uprights

;

another ascends and, grasping one of the side supports with both hands, maintains himself in a horizontal position

on by

his

feet,

and while

body extends

his

another holds

;

from

laterally

its

support brandishes in both hands a chopping instrument such as is

used for destroying walls when a

the exercise consists in the the Japanese acrobat, did of firemen a lantern.

emblem,

is

all

that

London.

In short,

" Little

Alright,"

Before each corps

which being hollow acts as

a sort of badge of the corps as well as a religious

from each hang pendent the cut papers which sym-

bolise the Shinto religion. in

in

carried a peculiar device,

It is

for

men doing

when

spreading.

fire is

their construction,

and

I

Much ingenuity has am almost as much

been displayed interested with

these ornamental contrivances as with the exercises themselves. I

noticed that

many

of the coolies had

mentioning the matter to a Japanese

who can

possibly afford

it

buy

new

friend,

clothes for

I

New

clothing, but

was

upon

told that all

Year's Day.

The

poor, however, are but scantily clad at best, yet they appear a

hardy and strong

race.

Pantaloons formed of a sort of calico

of indigo colour form the only covering loose blue jacket, on which

is

to

their

legs,

either a strongly-defined

or a badeie a foot in diameter, constitutes the dress.

while a pattern,

The

feet

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

naked or are protected underneath by straw sandals,

are either

but these are far from being durable pairs

worn out

sant

men wear

—

35

indeed,

;

I

leather coats of buff

and

have known three

Some

one day, during a long run.

in

of the pea-

rich golden-syrup colour

the lighter tint being that of the pattern with which they are

These coats are both picturesque and durable garments. While we boast of the convenience of our attire, I notice that

figured.

the Japanese dress has an advantage over mine, in one particular

The

at least.

inch or

shops are covered rather with mats than

floors of the

matting, for the matting

padded underneath

is

to the thickness of an

more with straws which are regularly arranged.

pean steps upon a

floor thus covered, the

Hence the European has

penetrate and spoil the mats.

on the edge of the raised Japanese,

floor

who wear wooden

If a

and take

clogs,

can

Euro-

high heels of his boots

them

sit

down

boots, while the

off his

slip

to

moment

off in a

without the use of his hands, as they are held on only by a sort of thong which passes between the great toe and

its

four lesser

neighbours, and by a strap which passes over the fore part of the foot.

When who,

I

was

out shopping,

I

was sometimes surprised

were English merchants, walk

told,

boots on, and stamp over the floor as though

The anxiety

destroy the mats.

it

common

with their great

were their purpose to

of the poor shopkeepers under

such circumstances was quite distressing, and drugget, a

in

men

to see

I

have seen a

bit of

blanket, and other things hastily brought and

spread over the mats, to prevent their being ruined by these un-

No

gainly visitors.

none are worse

one,

I

many

the heartlessness of

fear,

can

Japan without perceiving

visit

of the so-called foreign merchants, and

in this respect

than

appear to find special enjoyment

in

my own

eigners often speak to the Japanese as inferior creatures

as

;

and

if

harm

make

if

to the country from

Such persons do

which they

For-

they were altogether

of low class they sometimes treat

though they were dogs and not men.

able

Some

countrymen.

annoying the Japanese.

hail, as it is

them

incalcul-

they

who

the stranger odious.

On January

6th

I

left

Yokohama

to

become

for a

few days

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

^6

the guest of Sir Harry Parkes at Tokio.

me

and Mr. Asami met

Mr. Sano, Mr. Sekisawa,

two carriages

at the station with

in

order

show me some of the places of interest in the city. I now learn is to Japan what poor Frank Buckland was to

to

that Mr. Sekisawa us,

and that he

engaged

is

establishing for the

in

Japan of the ova of salmon and other

for the transport to

which he has now just received, and these

and

place

standing the

first

in beautiful

place visited.

residence

now

it is

building

it is

fish,

intended to hatch

The Hamagoten, a palace grounds which border the Bay of Yedo, was

native

the

in

Government

In America he had arranged

a regular system of fish culture.

streams.

Having been formerly a Daimio's

(baron's)

became the summer palace of the empress, while

it

used for the entertainment of illustrious strangers.

The

old and of purely Japanese construction, but the

rooms

is

and corridors are covered with European carpets with patterns of little

To

merit.

the European eye the rooms appear to be scantily

furnished, as they contain but chairs chairs

are of black

pattern which was

common

as a dining-room and

and

tables,

lacquer they are of the

and while the

old round -backed

with us some twenty years since both

bedroom

chair.

In the garden surrounding the palace

a lake of the greatest

is

purity, a

running stream, and a small waterfall, while over the

stream

a

the

is

bridge

continues at

most curious bridge, turns

at

for

when

half across the water

a right angle to the

left,

and then again

former direction, while a railing which

its

one side of the bridge

is

then continues on the other

series of

diminutive, yet old, trees, and from the is

only placed

side.

Surrounding the lake are a

bay of Yedo

is

on the right hand up to the bend, and

in full view.

One

mounds on which stand top of every mound the

old and gnarled pine-tree, the

branches of which descend and wind amidst rocks,

is

almost snake-

Such trees are particularly admired by the they remind them of the drawings of the dragon way amidst stones and rocks, with which they have

like in its character.

Japanese, as

winding

its

been familiar since their

earliest infancy.

Stretching far over the lake, and supported on a light

bamboo

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, trellis, is

a westeria creeper, which

perfectly

charming

fact

when

in

37

blossom

must

but what interests the Japanese most

;

that the whole

grounds

look is

the

represent a Chinese landscape in

miniature.

We

next visited the beautiful temple of Uyeno, where, as at

main building has been destroyed by

Shiba, the

remains are in

is

indeed splendid

some

;

What

fire.

but while the buildings

standing

left

respects not quite so fine as those of Shiba, the rows

of great lanterns (each pair of which has been given by Prince or Daimio) are

I

some

finer.

Having described one of the great Buddhist shrines of Tokio, will not attempt here to give any details respecting that of

Uyeno, as

I

shall

of the country.

two

have to notice Its

shown

ceilings

it

when speaking of the

architecture

character may, however, be judged of from the in Figs.

17, 18.

In the evening there was a party at the Embassy, for

Christmas

Day

—

The Prime

the 6th of January.

Sanjo Saneyoshi, with his wife and his deputy

it

was old

Minister

— Mr.

— Mr.

Iwakura,

were present, and other great personages, ladies and children, the latter being entirely in Japanese dress.

For the

ladies

and

Christmas tree which

children, presents filled

gentlemen were

amused by a magic

European

and buildings.

cities

in

lantern

;

guests

I

robe than what

ladies

who were

thought peculiarly beautiful.

we know

the surface were strewed

as a dress little

danced.

dance, as they can hire others

present in their

costumes looked very gay and interesting

particular

the Japanese

having views of

The European

The Japanese never themselves The Court to dance for them. native

were arranged on a large

the centre of the hall

;

its

It

one

:

dress

was more of a

ground was white, but over

summer-like flowers

in

the softest

of varying pinks, with here and there a speck of tender green,

while the whole was rendered lustrous with gold. all

Japanese

had like

it

ladies

is

jet-black,

and most of them

dressed in Court fashion, spread into a large

The

hair of

this

evening

flat

butterfly-

bow of less than an eighth of an inch in thickness. The next few days I spent in wandering about Tokio, looking

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

38

at shops, picking

the people

up

on the

;

art objects, i i

th

and watching the amusements of

we had

a slight shock of earthquake.

—A

Ceiling in thk Shrine of the ShSgun Tokugavva Ivemitsu. connexion with the Buddhist temple at Uyeno. A. gives the section of crossing members. B. gives the ornament at the crossings complete. Fig. 17. It

was

built in the year 1681 in

At one

o'clock on

this

Parkes was to take

day

me

the minister of the interior that

the

mail

Harry

;

but finding

was leaving he got the

appointment deferred day.

Sir

Mr. Okubo,

to

till

the following

we viewed a small memory Mikado's soldiers who fell in the

In the afternoon

Shinto temple, erected to the of the ^-

revolution

of

1868:

it

is

a

building

of which

formed of plain uncoloured wood,

in the centre

slightly raised dais bearing a large

European mirror and a small

is

a

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

vase formed of a joint of floor

temple

of the

bamboo and

covered

is

Brussels carpet of large panel pattern

more hideous European white

filled

with a ;

39

The

with flowers.

white ground

common

on the dais

spread a

felt carpet.

is

Besides the mirror the

temple contains about eighteen caned European arm-chairs.

Part of the Ceiling of the Temple of Uyeno

Fig. 18.

From

in

Tokio.

a model presented to the Author by the Japanese Government.

This temple course, from the

situated on

is

high ground close to the race-

bottom of which we get a splendid view of Tokio

with the bay beyond.

The

aspect of the city

is

very remarkable,

The

as the Castle rises conspicuously in the centre of the town. streets being broad,

and the majority of the houses only one story

high, the space occupied

houses,

when seen

in

by Tokio

is

very large.

All Japanese

masses from above, have rather the aspect

of hovels or a thatched Irish village, than of English towns. is

only when we view them

and

in

many

cases

it

is

in detail

the interior which

rather than the external aspect. carriage,

we

see proud

that

Fujiyama

we is

It

see their beauties,

calculated to

charm

Turning round to re-enter our rising as a rich purple

cone drawn

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

40

on a glowing sky, although

it

some sixty

distant

is

or eighty

miles.

On

the next day

Harry Parkes

Sir

Okubo

Mr.

Minister of the Interior.

to the

visit

went with

I

unusual stature even for a southern Japanese, and

head

and

than the average Tokio man.

taller

his

manners are

less set

while his conversation

now

a European building, like those

Government

The room

officials.

man

a

is

of

more than a

is

His bearing

is

dignified,

than those of some of the ministers,

most homely and

is

pay our

to

His house

genial.

is

fashionable with the higher

into

which we were shown was

and was carpeted and furnished

in European style. Here the servants do not prostrate themselves before the

upstairs,

Minister as Japanese servants usually do, but behave as Europeans.

Okubo

Mr,

is

in

European

and so are both Mr, Sano and

dress,

Mr. Asami.

Our conversation turned factures

;

chiefly

and the Minister requested

on the native

me

to

art

draw up a report on it

may

the

fact

Japanese commerce with Europe, and the means by which be increased.

my

During

visit

I

attention

called

way

that

much might be done

in the

fires

with which Tokio

so frequently visited,

is

and

the

tungstate of soda, or in

Tokio are most

some

Indeed,

it

is

formed, with

destroyed every ten years by

The fires number

said that a

number with those forming the

of houses equal in

entire city are

fire.

Mr. Okubo, although the Minister of the Interior,

is,

in reality,

the leading spirit of Japan.

He

took

revolution of 1868, in which

the

Mikado was brought from

seclusion

Okubo

an active

and restored to the government of

fought his

way

all

their construc-

are

chemical substance.

allied

disastrous.

by compelling in

of which the windows

paper

to

of preventing the disastrous

owners of houses to saturate the wood used tion,

manu-

to power,

his

part

in

people.

the his

Mr.

and when the Mikado assumed

the reigns of government was raised to the high office which he

now

holds,

To

Mr.

and which he justly won by

Okubo

duction of a

is

his

primarily due what

European

civilisation

prowess

we may

into Japan.

in the field. call

the intro-

And no man

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

41

have been more alive to the value of certain European

could

Japan now boasts

contrivances than this accomplished minister.

a telegraphic system as perfect as that of any European country its

coast

system

rendered safe by numerous lighthouses

is

being rapidly developed

is

towns are already place of useless

been established

lit

by gas

;

two railways have been constructed

;

due to Mr. Okubo.

mention here certain did not occur

till

sion to refer to

my

After

my

him but

may

I

and

;

return to England.

England

Of Mr. Okubo's

Mounsey.

from Mr. Mounsey's

now dead. Okubo

received from Mr.

I

following

letter the

my

is

friend Mr.

extract the passages which relate to Mr.

I

to

2(ith

of id nionth WtJt year Meiji.

Dr. Dresser.

"Sir

—

January of

In

sent

articles

last

by Mr. Owen

loth

to our

year

Meiji,

museum, and

April the articles have been exhibited to

I

you have

am much

brought

all

the people, and

the

obliged that you

After your returning

have taken the trouble to arrange them.

all

me

:

'•

"

a

a copy, while

Okubo's sad end, and to the report which he requested write

be

have occa-

I shall

which was shortly followed by another from

letter

may

perhaps be permitted to

rarely in this book, he being

return to

good roads

;

all this

respecting Mr. Okubo, although they

facts

after

larger

its

system of police has

a regular

are being made, and excellent bridges built said to be

some of

steam fire-engines have taken the

;

pumps

little

the streets of

;

;

postal

its

;

I

home

last

have notified

through the country your \aluable informations regarding to the important

you have given

of industry, which

points

during your

kindness that

visit to I

could

make

all

were obscure heretofore, and

make

the officer

to

several industrial establishments.

I

industrial

men

to

It

who attended you must be

your

for

understand the points which

can assure you that

in the future

time they

will

and bring that interest upon the commerce. " During your visit you have requested our museum to make the models of ornamental ceiling of several temples at Tokio, and now they have been a progress

finished.

" Although they are very trifling and not enough to compensate your last service,

I

present

them

to

you through Mr. C.

accept them as the token of

my

highest regard.

J.

Strome, and you

will

please

— With compliments, "

Okubo Toshimichi,

" Minister of Interior Department."

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

42

" Yedo, July

"Dear letter of the

Dr. Dresser i

—

I

have to thank you very cordially

7th May, as well as for

its

most interesting enclosure

You

which you have addressed to Mr. Okubo.

9,

for

—

1878.

your kind the report

have learnt by the papers

will

was brutally assassinated on the 14th of the same month

that that gentleman

His carriage was driving to a Cabinet Council at the Mikado's palace. was stopped by six men armed with the sharp deadly swords you know so They first hamstrung the well, who had been lying in ambush for him. Poor Okubo tried to get out of his brougham horses and killed the coachman. there were two men with drawn swords at the door, he tried the other side A fearful moment the poor man must have there were as many there too. as he

They pulled him out and hacked had when he thus saw death on all sides. to pieces, and then went and delivered themselves up at the Palace, pro-

him

claiming that they were actuated by purely patriotic motives. the

ministers are accompanied by escorts of

drawn swords.

Ito

Since then

mounted men, who

has succeeded Okubo, and he told

me

the other night that

he had just received your report, but had not yet had time to digest

"...

all

ride with

it.

must now congratulate you on having so clearly pointed out to the Japanese Government the sort of way in which they can augment their exports. With regard to the articles which you instance as certain to sell

in

1

our markets, they ought to be most grateful to you for the care you

have taken

in

their description.

...

think and hope that the Japs will

I

find your information so valuable that the)' will ask your advice again before

long.

Harry Parkes begs me thank you for having sent it to the Legation, Saumarez read it with great its contents most useful and valuable. and agrees with me in admiring your story and the way you tell it.

Sir

and thinks interest,

and

I

may add

that

Mrs.

Mounsey perused

it

with

much

Mrs. Mounsey desires to be kindly remembered to you, and

pleasure. I

.

.

.

remain, yours

Aug. H. Mounsey."

truly,

This was indeed a sad ending to a great of his removal from the

work which he had

in

life,

and the

effect

hand cannot yet

be accurately estimated.

The

receipt of

my

report

was acknowledged by Mr. Okubo's

successor, who warmly thanked

me

for the

trouble

I

had taken

in its preparation.

My

time during the next few days was occupied chiefly

paying necessary of these

Russian

visits

visits

was

to

and

in

studying the manufactures.

Madame

Ambassador (now,

I

C. de

regret

in

One

Struve, the wife

of the

deceased).

This

to

say,

ART, lady was

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

43

an assiduous collector of teapots, of which she had

more than seven hundred specimens, no two being alike. On the morning of the i6th January General Saigo and Mr. Asami called to take

me

other important places.

Mr. Asami kindly acted as interpreter.

The

to the arsenal, the

some

mint, and

arsenal occupies a portion of a garden arranged two or three

hundred years ago by a family from which the In the buildings of the arsenal for the first

time

I

Japan, and

in

hum

of machinery

cannot help feeling that while

I

may be encouraged by

the art of war

Shogun sprang.

last

heard the

the arts of peace

its aid,

and industry can only thereby lose the charms which they have small arms altered, but the

first

and

in

made and

In the factory guns were being

hitherto possessed.

all this

was no

place, there

had but

little

interest for me.

In

merit in the things produced

art

the second, the processes emplo)-ed were

;

European.

all

The garden surrounding the factories is, however, xcxy beautimany of the most celebrated in Japan, represents Chinese scene. In the garden are some lovely miniature a in summer pavilions, their little lattice windows being most charming and, like

ful,

in

Yet these are

design.

perishing for

all

while the lattices are falling, bit by is

indeed lamentable that such

to ruin, yet fatal to it

should be so

away with in design

tures

;

European

finest

cannot divine.

I

structures

civilisation

monuments

of

attention,

upon the ground.

exquisite

ancient monuments.

its

is

likely to

of the country

No

It

go

should

:

prove

but

why

nation can afford to

do

If they are of great excellence

they tend to uphold the character of national manufac-

and by attracting

they spend if

fear that

I

some of the

bit,

lack

in the

visitors

to a country the

land contributes to

the magnificence of

its

wealth.

money which

I feel

some of the great temples and

sure that shrines of

which Japan can boast were widely known, many would journey even from Europe to see them are beautiful

apparent

in

From which,

up

beyond

almost

the

but while some of the temples

description signs of deca\- are but

too

all.

the arsenal to

all

;

we went

time of the

to the great

revolution

Confucian Temple, in

1868,

was

the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

44

Japanese university where 4000 students

and daimios

—were

Confucianism, it

need scarcely say,

I

has no concern for a future

As

he knew nothing.

man

relation of

The

with man. all

no

although

natural

sciences

express

it,

Now

from

its

The Japanese had

observers

great

of

nature,

and

This great Confucian

small.

as that of

resulted, as the

Oxford

Japanese

being dedicated to learning.

is

no more.

of mathematics, and of fucianism, and

;

of Japan, as taught in

The The study

things are changed.

all

religion

provides only for the

Japan what a university such

to

and the university

men

it

classics

and the glory of the building

to us,

no way a

in

is

Confucian writings.

knowledge of mathematics was

Temple was is

the sons of nobles

of which Confucius said that

life,

a system of ethics

the universities, were

their

—

educated.

languages, has

students are dispersed of the natural sciences,

replaced that

of Con-

European professors have supplanted the learned

of the nation

;

but the wheel of fortune

again moving, and

is

Japanese professors are teaching the natural sciences which they

have learned from Europeans.

As

a building the great Confucian

sombre,

wood is

:

consisting

internally

of

Temple

nothing

is

in

a high degree

but black

lacquered

the columns are black, the walls are black, and the ceiling

black

;

and the only

relief

which

is

given to this monotony

is

afforded by the bronze sockets which encase the bases of the

columns

;

yet even these are dark in colour.

however, this edifice in

Japan, for

its

roof

differs is

from

all

In one particular,

others that

I

have yet seen

of open structure (no ceiling), while in the

carving (though this exists in but small quantities) representations of animals are

much more common than those of plants. is now the great national library of Japan, and

This edifice

some thousands of volumes, a catalogue of which was kindly given to me by the worthy librarian. Leaving the university building we visited a large temple which seems to have but few worshippers but here I was pleased with the almost interminable passages, the numerous

here are already collected

;

rooms, and sweet

little

gardens connected with the building.

On

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

45

the altar stands a pierced earthen vessel of celadon ware, which is

and contains the ashes of burnt incense and a carved branch of the Nelumbium (the Buddhist

lined with brass

here also rests

Egyptian

lotus), strikingly

Fig.

;

in character (Fig.

1

To

9).

Object carved in imitation of a spray of the Buddhist Lotus. Buddha is said to hold this in his hand when he prays for his mother.

19.

subsisting between the arts of the ancient Egyptians I

shall

have frequently to

We

now

visit

Japan

the likeness

that portion of the mint in

bank notes are printed

;

which Japanese

but here the subtleties of electric etching

At

and European methods of printing are practised. at the mint,

and

some weeks

later,

at

and that of

call attention.

one weaving factory

in

the arsenal,

Kioto which

I

European mechanism was employed

no other instance did

I

see

;

visited

but

in

any indication of the native methods

being superseded by European appliances.

The next morning was occupied unpacked which

Museum.

The sky but at

I

Nearly

five in

and

out

England

from

to

the

National

happily, proved to be in sound condition.

morning was

this

and by eleven snow

overcast,

the afternoon the heavens were once

while, later, there cold,

took

all,

chiefly in seeing the things

was a glorious

sunset.

The

more

fell

;

cloudless,

night was bright,

starlight.

January

1

Yokohama by

8.

— This

the 8.15

morning train,

went with Mr. Mounsey to

I

where we engaged jinrikishas to

take us to Kamakura, a town about seventeen miles distant on the

other side of the

promontory which

boundary of Yedo Bay. acter, it

and

lies

The road

is

through a long valley of

passes over a high

bluff.

forms

the

southern

of a very imperfect char-

rice-fields,

while in one place

In Japan the rice-fields in

some

cases

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

46

extend of the

for

many

miles together, and are even terraced on the sides

This terracing of nearly empty mud-ponds,

hills.

for

such

the rice-fields look at this season of the year, as the fields are

all

sunk below the banks which separate them, and the water has run off

from the

soil,

gives to the landscape a strange aspect.

we approach

Rising from the valley as

seem

the bluffs or sandbanks which

its

head,

north side of the promontory from that of the south.

resembles the sandbanks with which

Deal

ingen, Ostend, and

and

:

of the carex or sandgrass.

may

It

we

to

the

at

This bluff

are familiar at Scheven-

these

like

Japan has no true grass which

we come

to separate the land

with the roots

filled

is

be worthy of remark that

will serve as

fodder for sheep.

The rough carex covers much of the country but as this dies down to the ground in winter many hills become bare during the ;

months of the

cold

year,

and give an uninteresting character

The absence

the landscape.

dear in Japan

is

(it

about

of grass causes mutton to be very

2s. 6d.

per pound in the open ports

where alone meat of any kind can be had, save

European ideas

the largest towns in which

in

one or two of

are being adopted), for

the sheep have to be fed in China and taken to Japan.

however,

is

follow with our tiny carriages

;

we walk

over the

till

it

and they

disappears altogether.

by-path traversing a bank which separates is

bluff,

but after passing the summit the

road becomes narrower and narrower

rice-fields

Beef,

only 5d. per pound, as oxen will eat the coarser food.

In order to ease our coolies

A

to

two

groups of

the highway over which our jinrikishas carry us

but as this road

is

by two stones the

cut

;

by many watercourses bridged over only

ride

becomes

exciting, for

we have

often to

consider whether the space between the wheels of our jinrikishas is

greater than the width of the bridge.

These

little

difficulties

once a great city little

time.

—

more than a It is

surmounted, we come upon what was

the town of village,

situated on

Kamakura.

is

is

now

a lovely island -studded bay, the sands

of which are rich in shells, and reminds

Here

This town

although larger than Yedo at one

a temple recently restored

me

of Bantry in Ireland.

and somewhat vulgarly

re-

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

47

decorated which boasts of presents received by the

from the Crown as is

Buddha

to the Great

We

back as the year

far

i i

Shogun

first

but our pilgrimage

;

or Dai-butz.

soon approached richly wooded land, and through an open-

This Dai-butz, formed of

ing in the trees beheld the colossal figure. bronze,

80

is

forty-seven feet in height, although in a sitting posture.

has been formed of parts of about six feet square, which have

It

been brazed together, and thus the whole figure now consists Figures of Dai-butz rest usually

of one huge mass of metal.

on a is

Nelumbium)

(the flower of the

lily

;

but

in this case the

base

represented by only two petals of the flower which lean against

the wall to the right and

The

completed.

figure

left

of the figure, for

representing

a boss

From

our Scriptures

—

am

" I

light

backs

downwards,

being

The

position.

figure

only the bosom altar,

on which

vessels for

leaves

the

draped

is

In

two bronze

rest

thumbs meet

while

exposed.

in

a

assume a

stands

it

feet

height, while

in

are even higher

still

when compared with the

right

;

table -like

and two

Nelumbium), which

lotus (the

the

brazen

yet the altar with

lilies

The

cast.

altar

with their vases

flowers looks small

its

the vast figure against which they are seen.

and to the

left

inspected this figure externally is

vertical

vases each contain a group of

of the figure there

pedestal-lantern, of about ten feet in height.

hollow, and

a

vases, a bronze censer,

and flowers of the Buddhist

six

of

manner, leaving

graceful

of

in

at their points, the

fingers

front

The bronze

flowers.

The hands

have been beautifully modelled and charmingly

is

supposed to

is

the light of the world."

the figure are so placed that the

To

most

and which symbolises an idea similar to that expressed

flow,

is

a

forehead protrudes

its

which

jewel from

a

repose with

dignified

in

sits

placid expression of countenance.

has never been

it

fitted

we walk

into

is

Having

a bronze carefully

interior, for

its

up within as a shrine or chapel.

it

On

approaching the altar we see the results of an act of snobbery

which

is

in

the highest degree contemptible

;

for

on the forehead

of one of the figures which stands upon the altar or

American

cad

has written

his

name

in

some English

ultramarine

blue.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

48

An

so

act

cannot be too strongly condemned.

disgraceful

I

cannot help feeling that only a snob of a very low type would write his

name on any work

of

desecrated the offender would be at a cart-tail

but when a sacred altar

art,

is

thus

punished by being dragged

fitly

and whipped through the town.

Climbing the ladder, we ascend to a platform within the from which a view of the surrounding country and bay

figure,

be had

can

through an

descend to luncheon

in

opening

the open

and afterwards

the head,

in

air.

With the back of a grouse in one hand, and bread in the other, I wander around the figure, and notice over the shoulderblades two large metal loops, the nature and object of which

as

myself, appeals to his native

The

question

but

shine,"

how

is

as

at

this

the word

is

once

" for

the

by the

answered

I

puzzled with them

and asks

interpreter

their use. " for

words

the

throws no light upon the matter, we ask

spelt,

when the

reply

and with

shine,"

is

Varying

s-h-i-n-e.

we only arrive at the one we are obliged to be

the question in every possible way,

answer,

much

Mr. Mounsey, as

to understand.

fail

this

content.

To

the right of the

Buddha

find at religious places in

who

priest

evil,

figure,

The cost some

while the figures sold are in

as they reveal the origin of certain

Buddhism and

Christianity.

stall

of Daikoku

prints.

The

such as

little stall

This

Japan.

pictures

— and other sacred

trifling,

a

drawings of the sacred

sells

charms against Japan

is

—

maps

me

god of

of these things

but

is

cases of great interest

common

to

from which immunity can

be purchased by the charms are of almost every kind

charms appear to

often

of the district,

a favourite

symbols which are evils

we

attended by a

is

;

but the

to be simply folded bits of paper of about

four inches in length and one inch in breadth so

gummed up

that

they cannot be opened, and bearing an inscription which specifies the evil guarded against, and a red stamp, which

be the sacred seal of the temple.

One

may be

said

of the charms which

to I

bought was against smallpox, another against the dangers of travel,

another against

evil generally,

and so on

;

but the ailments

AND ART MANUFACTURES,

ART, to

be

by a small expenditure

averted

49

at this holy spot

are

legion.

On

our homeward journey with images

adorned

ance,

Buddha — and

we

visited a

of

the

they look

strange indeed

temple of great import-

five

hundred

—

as well

of

disciples

by three

as

magnificent wood -carvings by one of the greatest carvers that

Japan has ever seen, and some beautiful lattice-work. We were on the point of leaving this edifice when our

The us, and exclaimed now understand what he attempted "

an image straight before

We

shine!"

inter-

beaming countenance and excited manner, pointed

preter, with

shine

!

to

the

explain

to

when we were viewing the great Dai-butz, for the head of this figure is encircled by a Nimbus, and what we saw on the shoulders of the great figure were the fixings for this appendage to the

Kamakura.

colossal figure at

We had

upon our alighting

insisted

we had

that

tions

scarcely re-entered our jinrikishas

just

when our

interpreter

at a tea-house, in spite of our protesta-

sumptuously.

fared

Although he had

shared what to us had been an ample meal, he seemed dissatisfied

with the cake and tea

now

offered to him,

and ordered three raw

eggs, which were speedily brought in a saucer, together with

soy to serve as a sauce. placed them on the

floor,

some

Taking the eggs from the saucer he and breaking the

its

contents on the dish, adding a

to

his

little

soy,

shell of

one he poured

and putting the saucer

mouth, swallowed the morsel as we should an oyster.

Having treated the others in the same way, he drank sundry cups of tea, and then said calmly that he was ready for the journey. This little freak of our worthy interpreter was the more remarkable as the Japanese eat often and but

Japan

is

generally

a

land

little

:

a tobacco pouch

and

of

the is

littles.

little at

a time

air

indeed,

Their most beautiful objects are

knob of a

stick or the button

(netsuki)

of

often an artwork of the highest elaboration,

their dainty foods are served in small portions.

country

;

gave our guide an unusually good

Possibly the

appetite.

On

our

asking what should be paid, the interpreter explained that to ask for a bill

would give the greatest possible offence to a Japanese

E

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

50

You

hotelkeeper. for the

light

never pay, you simply give

pence or twopence-halfpenny

We

;

and the present

refreshment of tea and cake would be about two-

return to

in

our money.

Yokohama by

road,

and reach Tokio by a

late

train.

A

my

message respecting

me

brought to

Mikado was

presentation to the

next day by Mr. Sakata, an old friend

had the pleasure of entertaining some years ago

at

whom I had my house in

The meeting was a pleasure and a surprise to both, as when he came to make his official call he had not the slightest expectation of seeing his old London friend, thinking it was some one else of the same name, nor I of seeing him. His message was that the Mikado would give me audience at two London.

on the following

o'clock

private interview,

He

day.

me

and gave

that

said

was

it

to be a

a copy of the speech which the

Emperor was to make, asking me to be ready with a short reply. Of this speech I asked Sir Harry Parkes to let me have a translation.

January 20.

— Morning

as fine as ever, sky almost cloudless,

sun bright and warm.

The following is the English of the address which the Mikado is to make this afternoon Speech of His Majest}', the Tenno (ten-Heaven, no-Emperor also called Tcnshi, Ten and Shi-child), to Dr. Dresser, January "We shall long preserve in our memory the remem20, 1877. :

;

—

brance of a collection of articles manufactured other

countries,

Museum Museum

in ;

been made at the

having

in

England and

South Kensington

your country, and presented thereby to the Japanese

and also of your own kindness

in

coming

to

Japan

to

display to the eyes of our people the nature and appearance of articles

the

manufactured

road

trust that

in

Europe

leading to advance

your

visit

to

;

and

to point out to their

and improvement of

Japan may be

free

arts.

minds

We

from accident, and a

pleasant one."

To of the

this speech,

which

Mikado usually

is

are, I

said to be longer than the speeches

prepared the following reply

:

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, " I

me

Majesty has done "

The

in

honour

the

appreciate

feelingly

me

giving

small present, of which

your

Imperial

a personal reception.

have been the bearer, to your

I

Museum was

Majesty's National

which

51

got together at the suggestion

Museum

of Mr. P. C. Owen, the director of the South Kensington

London.

in

and

who gave

Co.,

Nephew, Lewis,

"

of

and

am

I

indebted to Messrs. Londos

London

For years past

Messrs.

Ward and Cope

and Co. of Kidder-

my

life

is

now

real-

your Majesty's most charming country.

humbly beg

that your Majesty

means

national

their

Jno.

have been an admirer and collector of

I

the adoption of such

people

Mr.

of Nottingham.

Japanese objects, and the greatest desire of " I

and

Elkington,

to Messrs. Jno. Brinton

;

to Messrs.

ised in visiting

Green and

the greater number, to Messrs.

Doulton,

Messrs.

all

minster,

For the objects

arts

may

be pleased to order

as will preserve to your Majesty's

in

a

form

unpolluted by European

influences, for the ornamentists of our western countries feel it

is

humbly

their privilege

that

your

to follow the great artists of

Majesty's dominions. " If

will

your Majesty

from

time

time

to

Museum specimens

allow

will

me

forward

to

the honour of so doing,

your

Majesty's

National

of our most recent manufactures, and

be of any service to your Majesty's industries, or be the

I

if

I

can

means of

promoting the commerce of your Majesty's country, either during

my

stay here in Japan, or

beg that your Majesty services at " I

when

will

I

allow

have returned to England,

me

the honour of placing

my

your Majesty's disposal.

thank your Majesty most humbly and sincerely

great honour

About

I

you now do me." o'clock this morning Mr. Sakata

I I

answer, so that

Arrayed

in

might be translated

it

for the

called

for

for

the

this

Mikado.

my

evening dress according to

instructions,

I

was taken by Mr. Tanaka, the vice-president of the museum, and Mr. Sakata, who the palace, which

At

is

a

was ten

also

in

minutes'

English drive

evening dress, to

from the Embassy.

the outer gate sentinels gave us the European royal salute.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

52

and driving through a garden, we passed a second gate and Here large low doors stood open,, drew up under the portico. and four servants conducted us along the corridors of the house, at

one side of which

a boundary-wall and the other window-

is

like " slides."

The temporary

palace of the

down)

recently burnt

Mikado

the old palace was

(for

a large Japanese house (yashiki) of the

is

The

usual simple construction and one story in height.

passages,

and such rooms as I saw, have their floors covered with European some tapestry and some Brussels, but in most cases the carpets

—

pattern

room

is

such as we should consider

into

An

artistically bad.

which we were shown had a black

slate

ante-

chimney-piece

decorated with coloured ornament and an open European grate.

The

wall slides, although of Japanese character, were covered with

a cheap French wall-paper, and the ceiling had a paper of similar character with an elongated geometrical pattern. of the

room was a

table over which

In the centre

ample

in

fell,

folds, a cloth

of soft low-toned green-yellow colour enriched with the figures

The

of dragons arranged as circular devices.

circles,

about six

inches in diameter, were

irregularly distributed over the surface

of the cloth, so that, in

some

cases,

they came nearly together,

On

while in others they were four inches apart.

The

table stood a cigar-box.

Around

was of miserable pattern.

carpet

the table was arranged six European chairs with carved

The

ogee legs and curved and open backs.

were covered with terry with a pattern

was

By

the centre of the

silk

in velvet

seats of these chairs

of imperial purple colour, and figured

or plush, and

when

velvet

this

looked upon from above gold was visible in the side of the

a

stood

table

hibachi

simple character, the stand of which, worked

(or in

fixed,

like

about two inches below while

The stand

of

plain pine-wood,

of a sieve) at the top, three legs, which were attached to

hibachi,

ground.

its

fire-holder)

hoop about three inches wide (resembling the hoop

consisted of a

circular disc

figure

of

the

rim,

it,

and a

the hoop, between the three legs, but it.

by

On

encircling

the hibachi was

disc

this

it,

of such

rested

prevented

the

brazen

its

falling.

a height that the

fire

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, was brought

same level as the table, and through downward direction the danger of up-

to almost the

the legs spreading in setting the

53

a

was diminished.

fire

This was the entire furniture

of the room.

Two

gentlemen

one being favoured with a

Having been presented the household, then

monies,

where

am

I

two

its

who

the former,

throne -room,

the

to

by the Mikado.

sides

the minister of

is

the master of cere-

is

by them

enter our room,

lace than the other.

who

to the latter,

conducted

to be received

room, having

more gold

little

first

to

am now

I

now

gorgeous Court dresses

in

It is

formed of paper

a long, narrow the end

slides,

which we enter open, and the opposite end closed by a

My

partition.

instructions are that

I

am

spot at the centre of the open end and

advance one step and bow again four steps

—

to

;

that

advance three yards

piece of furniture in this

room

is

I

—and

come

to

bow

that

;

am

at

solid

to a certain I

am

then to

then to take about

bow

again.

The only

a European arm-chair, evidently

belonging to the same suite as the small chairs in the anteroom,

and covered with the same material. of the

centre

This throne stands

end of the room

distant

front of

in

in the

the solid

partition.

We

now

return to the anteroom, when, in about two minutes,

who had remained behind, enters us. Mr. Tanaka walks first, Mr, Tanaka does not, however, enter the

the minister of the household,

and says that the Mikado I

second, Sakata

royal

advancing,

I

On my little

last.

Following

presence.

my

instructions as to

myself about eight

find right,

nearer the

will see

Emperor than

emonies, while on

feet

and close to the wall

my

left,

1

from the Mikado. (or wall slides),

we have done, and

and a

am, stands the master of cere-

and opposite

to the

monies, stands the minister of the household three times as

bowing and

:

master of cere-

both have bowed

both, having taken their places,

stand with bowed heads.

age,

The Mikado looks to me is of medium height for

to be about twenty-seven years of

a Japanese (short for us), wears a

solemn expression, and stands, as

I

sec him, in

a slightly stoop-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

54

He

ing posture.

gold

wears a European military dress, bright with

lace.

When we

entered the throne-room he was standing with his

face towards us in front of his throne.

He

bent his head slightly

but did not bow, and at once began to read his address (Fig. 20),

Knowing

audibly, distinctly, and apparently with feeling.

that

1

could not understand the language in which he was speaking, he

#v il -y

\V

^^

t.

*

^T

*

*

+

;i

#f

#.

g

1^

1

1^

7

oA-

'"J

J"j

'^

i-t

^^]

^ d

^

it -^ f ^H

=i

J^

^U X

*

i

>

?

If

f^

^'^

^ y^

5

X

^^^

K

T 2-

FiG.

20.— Facsimile

The day

following

the very Address from which the Mikado read. sent me the ver>' paper from compliment. My interpreter informed me that this is the first

in

reduced

size of

my

reception

by the Emperor, His Majesty

which he read as a special

time that such a thing has been done to any foreigner.

must have been aware that he was wasting his royal " sweetness on the desert air," yet his manner in no way indicated now read in English my reply to His I any impatience. Majesty's address, and then handed the translation of interpreter,

who

read

tones, being only a

names.

it

little

Emperor

it

to

my

and

respectful

puzzled with some of the

European

to the

in

soft

This done, we bowed and walked backwards out of the

royal presence.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

„JiUUU

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

56

town.

ascend the

I

But

and enter a box.

stairs

let

no one

for

one moment suppose that the box of a Japanese theatre has any Both the floor and Hkeness to that of a European opera-house. the gallery of the Japanese

may be

theatre

boxes, which yet are rather pits than boxes.

arrangement

A

^

stood

if I

said

to consist

of

Their character and will

be better under-

compare them

to a series

of regularly arranged "pens" in one of our cattle markets. The

Theatre.

tops of the partitions

(a a) form the Aisles.

and

as their floors,

are

There are two entrances

22.— Section of Box or Pit of

Fig.

left,

and the

level

visitor

to the

theatre,

one to the right and one to

the

of the street face, with earth

left

with the road.

purchases his

ticket.

Here the native clogs

A

platform, running

across the whole width of

the

theatre,

extended

is

downwards

throughout

the length of the building as

two

which

aisles,

their turn

meet a trans-

platform

verse

inner end

of

an

To

aisle,

is

of

left,

may

and

close

be,

to

the

a series of boxes,

pits,

or

may

call

in

the right

or to the

as the case

arranged wall,

regarded

extension of the

stage.

the

the

at

the house,

which may be as

in

cells,

whichever we

^

them, and square

shape.

These boxes Fig.

are

separated

from

one

23.— Plan of Gallery of Theatre at Yedo.

Behind the bamboo screen (a a) the "gods" stand.

another by narrow branch aisles,

and have

their floors level with the street

;

thus

it

may

be

said that the places assigned to visitors are seats in square pits

ART, about

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

inches below the level of the aisles, and into which

fifteen

you jump when you take your

we have similar

At

our theatres.

in

57

boxes such as

place, rather than

the opposite side of the theatre

is

a

row of boxes, and between the two principal longitudinal arranged

aisles are

in

rows a considerable number of these square

boxes, while the gallery

is

portioned out in a like manner (Figs. 2

i,

22, 23). It is curious to see the visitors

walking along the broad

aisles

and then balancing themselves on the narrow planks which are only the is

tops of the partitions separating the boxes

flat

;

and

it

equally strange to see the people kneeling on the matted floors

of their

little cells in

family groups sipping tea, eating sweets, or

even boiling water in a

The

stage

is

our own, but

its

kettle.

seen from the auditorium almost precisely as

back

is

formed of a plain curtain, and

scenery consists of actual models of the objects required

all ;

the

houses

nearly as large as ordinary dwellings, and trees and other things

When

being placed on the stage.

in proportion,

to be changed,

it

swung on a central pivot, and that as much of curtain as

in front.

is

while the play

is

is

is

it

a vast circle

is

behind the

This arrangement has one advantage, for

going on new scenery

distant half of the stage

necessary

the scenery has

becomes apparent that the stage

;

and

is

being arranged on the

change the scene

to

all

that

is

the pulling up of the curtain and the twisting round

There

of the stage.

is

this

theatre, that the actors enter

further

peculiarity in

a Japanese

behind the audience, coming through

black curtains with white figures, near the doors where the public enter.

It

must

also be

remembered

that no

women

are

employed

on the Japanese stage, men taking women's parts as well as own.

their

Having

entered, the

actors

acting during their progress,

till

advance along the main

platform and the adjoining stage. this

aisle,

stage

is

I

saw a horse brought along

which was a make-up exactly

stage horses.

Behind those boxes

a screen

formed

aisles,

they reach the inner end of the

after the

in the

of vertical

fashion of our

gallery which face the

and

horizontal

pieces of

58

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ART, are

artist

small

a

AND ART MANUFACTURES. piece

of

porte-crayon, about fourteen

charcoal

held

a

in

59

bamboo

light

inches long and very slender

flat

;

brushes formed of deers' hair, varying in width from three inches to one inch and three-quarters, while the hairs protrude from the

socket about three-quarters or seven -eighths of an inch, round

brushes in bamboo, and formed of white vegetable

about half an inch

in

Indian ink with

accompanying

There

much

is

its

indigo,

is full

seems as great as

gamboge, crimson

who

artist

is

in

whom

I

colours.

ultimately

of innocent humour, and his ability

His colours are Indian

his fun.

lake,

and red

One

earth.

ink,

of the other

to paint

first

comes forward, bows

ese fashion, and takes his place in front of the paper. elderly gentleman,

become

pigments a kind of dragon's-blood colour.

artists includes in his

The

and a few

slab,

one old flower-painter

interested, for he

as an artist

and

fibres,

diameter, plenty of water in a large bowl,

and

after

in

Japan-

He

is

an

having looked thoughtfully at the

paper for a minute or two, begins his work.

Taking the porte-

crayon, he touches the paper with the charcoal point at four or five places, so as

his

flat

just

to leave a perceptible dot

brush three inches

broad,

charged

;

and then with

with

Indian

ink,

makes on the paper, by an almost instantaneous dash, a large irregular mass of gray-black colour. With a smaller brush he

now

close proximity to the gray mass,

indicates, in

what appear

to be a few feathers, next, at a little distance, the

branch.

end of a pendent Then, beginning at the top of the paper, he works the

branch downwards drawn.

Now

till

an eye

of colour, and

we

it

is

is

in the line of the

drawn, then a

see completed

cock and hen pecking

in front of a

in

bill,

less

than

branch of a

a great portion of the white body of the hen

than drawn

mass of

;

for as the

this colour

the white hen

is

body of the cock

which was

first

end which was

then

is

come

fifteen tree, is

first

a few bits

minutes, a

and, curiously,

rather indicated

gray (being the large

placed upon the paper), and as

seen against the black cock, the stopping of the

black gives the form of a great portion of the hen's body.

was kindly presented to me by Mr. Sano. The same artist next drew a small landscape but

This

interesting sketch

;

it

is

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

6o

scarcely necessary to say that Japanese landscapes lack the

of their drawings of birds,

The

and

fishes, insects,

whom

old flower -painter, of

I

have before spoken, now

took his place before the paper, and after looking at

he were picturing

in

own mind

his

charm

flowers.

it

as

though

a group of flowers already

painted, made, like the former artist, two or three dots with the

charcoal upon the paper, and filling a brush with

some green

pigment, began by forming here and there certain pseony leaves

one

leaflet at a

touch

;

but although from time to time he some-

what varied the colour leaflet

differed

pseony flower, little

in

the brush, no two parts of the

in

With another brush he formed a red

tint.

—shading

same

each leaf by a dexterous application of a

water to the paper before the red was wholly absorbed.

Rolling up the paper at the bottom (a practice which

all

the

artists

adopt when they wish to work at the upper part of the

sheet),

he draws petals of an unfolded bud.

Now

with faint

Indian ink he forms both flowers and buds of the magnolia, then

he arranges pink petals into groups, resembling the flowers of the

almond, and afterwards forms clusters of red masses, so that they ultimately appear as the peeping petals of red flower buds.

The masses

of colour being thus carefully distributed with

due regard to the laws of composition tribution of masses

may

which

be

(a

regard

commended

for the

dis-

to the authorities

of the art schools at South Kensington), the stalks are so drawn that

all

skill.

the isolated parts are brought together with marvellous

Then

the calyces

are

added, after which comes a

little

touching-up, as the formation of veins in a few leaves, the addition of certain bits of pure colour, and a spot of dark here and there.

my knowledge of European artists, I doubt whether any one could produce a sketch of such excellence in anything like the time in which our Japanese artist produced his work Judging from

;

and although

I

myself

am

a trained draughtsman, and

young man engaged exclusively in studying flowers, I own my utter inability to produce comparable with that which is now before us.

A

young

lady,

who

is,

I

was as a

plants and drawing so rapidly a sketch

understand, a flower-painter to the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

Empress, now made a sketch of a our winter aconite, but market, for the root

yellow flower allied to

little

appears as though just bought

it

up

tied

is

6i

in a

This sketch

bit of paper.

took the lady about ten minutes to complete.

the

in

She was followed

by a young man, who made a drawing of a flying duck, which is " worked " much in the manner of the first sketch but the ;

with which the body, with

skill

its

shade, and outline,

light,

was

managed, was truly marvellous. A brush of considerable breadth was dipped in water and drawn between the fingers of the artist nearly dry.

till

the

ink,

was then dipped

It

a thin wash of Indian

in

of the brush being bent outwards, so

portion

central

that the hairs of the brush

The

assumed a crescent-like form.

convex or centre portion was now hastily dipped into dark Indian

and the brush was allowed to straighten

ink,

now

three hairs were

Two

itself.

or

separated from one side and dipped into

dark ink, but these remained detached from the other part of the

By

brush.

a dexterous

hairs

making the

movement

the artist produced with one

body of the duck and an

stroke the shaded

latter,

outline, the

few separate

while the shading resulted from the darker

ink of the centre not having fully spread to the sides of the brusli.

A eye

bill is

is

now drawn,

then

feet,

added, then follows a neck,

when an admirable sketch of a

and

legs,

flying

then

baize,

and begins what we

drawing simply

man produces same method.

in

all

Indian ink.

After what

is

before us.

made

the middle-aged

fowls, kneels again in front of the

take to be a sea-piece, which he

Like the

a tint and an outline at the

when we expect

An

and a few finishing touches

duck

After two or three other drawings are

man, who painted the domestic

tail-feathers.

we take

to be

last artist, this

same

time,

waves are

the artist to place in the water

is

gentle-

and by the

finished, and,

fish,

or upon

it

junks, he simply adds a few dots and dark touches, and signs his

name. sketch

It is is

now

held up to view, when, to our astonishment, the

that of a train of rats, with one or two

party straying from the others.

What we

members of the

took to be waves prove

only to be a background, against which the rounded white rats appear;

backs of

— the uncoloured paper forming the animals.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

62

Fans were now offered

to the various

and on these

artists,

sketches were soon placed, the crenated character of the surface

apparently

in

no way increasing the

difficulty of the work.

Having had tea in an adjoining room, we returned to see an amusement in which Japanese artists often indulge. A sheet of paper being spread on the baize one of the company goes forward, and dipping a brush in Indian ink makes some simple device. In this case a cross was formed in the middle of the paper about

two

by

feet in height

called to the paper

fifteen inches

told to

is

in width.

One

draw a lady so that

in

a very admirable

visible,

in three brief minutes,

manner

somewhat marred

ment had been intended, tunately an engagement

;

but the cross, being

for the

to dine with

a few

he finished his work

a very excellent sketch. I learnt,

cross shall

With

become an unobtrusive portion of the drawing. dexterous strokes, and

of the artists

this

still

The

slightly

entertain-

whole evening.

some

friends forced

Unfor-

me

to

While in tear myself away at 6.30, very greatly to my regret. Japan Mr. Sano contributed much to my enjoyment, but nothing that he did gave

me

tainment provided for

the pleasure that

me

this afternoon.

I

derived from the enter-

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

CHAPTER Preparation for long journey

— By water

to

next

two

or

—

days

three

III.

—

Kobe Entrance of the Mikado The Mikado's antiquities.

Awadji, Sanda, Arima, Nara

The

63

were

spent

into

Kobe

Yokohama

at

in

arranging for a long journey into the interior, for through the

kindness of the authorities

I

am

permitted to travel in any part

of Japan, and the ministers insist that during the rest of I

shall consider

my

journey

I

very imperfectly appreciated

the favours and the inestimable advantages which

through the preparations so thoughtfully made

and well-being by the Japanese Government. manufacturers of the town

before

me, and

stay

myself the guest of the nation.

Before starting on

the

my

I

had an

interesting either in the

in

which

I

I

was

my

for

to reap

enjoyment

Wherever

I

went,

stayed were brought

opportunity of seeing whatever was

way

of architecture, antiquities, or

manu-

factures.

Mr. Tanaka of the Tokio Mr. Ishida and Mr. Sakata,

my

future journeyings in

finance

and

interpreter.

the

may

my

arrived at

are to form

country, Ishida

duties, while

official I

Museum

who

my

hotel with

escort during

undertaking the

Sakata acts as

my

guide and

here say that no two gentlemen could have

acted with more kindness and consideration than they did through-

out the whole of our travels, nor could any have more faithfully served the Government in whose service they were. is

now

and as

dead, or for

I

Sakata,

Poor Ishida

should wish him every advancement possible I

can only hope that he

that will reward his faithfulness.

;

will rise to a position

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

64

At 2.30 we stepped

into a boat at the custom-house pier,

with Mr. James Saumarez,

days of our

first

who

will

accompany us during the few

Bidding adieu to Mr. Tanaka, we

travels.

pulled to the ship on which

we have taken passage for Kobe. This steamer, which belongs to the Japanese Government, must be considered as fairly comfortable, and is built on the plan of an American river-boat. us

—he

having the upper berth and

from mine, "

stay

or rod

"

between

his

I

have a cabin between

the lower

I

but his differs

;

being some inches narrower and having an iron

in

passing through

occupant must

A

Saumarez and

on

lie

such a manner that

in

it

its

back with the rod passing upwards

his

leo-s.

o evening than

finer

A

never was.

this

a glorious setting sun, a sky steeped

few fleecy clouds, hues,

liquid

in

a

cool

breeze of most refreshing air, and Fujiyama rising in all its grandeur above the horizontal belt of cloud which so generally envelops its base, combine to give the waning day a charm quite inexpressible.

The

now

glory fades and darkness comes on apace, but the moon,

two-thirds

night sky

full,

softer than the island,

it

is

At 8.30 we

are opposite a round undulating

an active volcano

from being awe-inspiring,

is

;

the highest

by no means

is

in its side, issue a

calculated

changing

its

mountain.

burning moun-

and

From (which as we

also from

its

small fissure

a

few flickering flames, such as might come from in

the

air

is

cloud

a

constantly

form, and which, fiery and glowing, hangs over the

As

the

flames

rise

and

fall,

extinguished

are

rekindled, so does the cloud brighten or darken.

coursing

cast to the

to

in eruption.

portion of the island

conical),

Somewhat higher

bonfires.

"

but the

preconceived notions of a volcano

all

the centre of see

first.

on which

tain," far

winds

gives brightness to the deep azure of the clear

thus one glory succeeds another, the second being but

:

way down

see

or

no lava

precipitous declivities, and no vomiting

forth of surging matter, nor

the changing and

I

fitful glare,

is

any noise

audible.

own

such as one of our

produces, characterises this burning mountain

;

Nothing but blast furnaces

in fact, the effect

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

produced by the blast furnaces of Lowmoor or

is

inferior to that

of

many in the Cleveland district. The next morning was as lovely

We

it.

65

as the evening which preceded

ran near the land, and there Fujiyama, as immaculate

as ever, rose above the horizontal stratum of cloud which appears

to divide

it

but above

Below the cloud

in tw^o. is

it

has the colours of earth,

it

The

pure as heaven.

air

the sea

cool,

is

is

calm, and w^e go merrily on.

me

Mr. Saumarez introduces

gentleman who speaks English of great

information,

matters.

We

it

to Mr. Samishima, a Japanese

well,

and who

both respecting

and

;

certainly possessed

European

commerce of Japan, and of how

talked long of the

can be extended to Europe

is

Japanese and

I

am

struck with the sound-

ness of his views concerning the future of his country.

In the year

1878, while I

minister to dine with

him

I

at his residence in the

Champs

was most graciously received, and the face seemed

where

with

my

could have met

I

dinner was half over

to

Paris as a juror at the

in

whom

Kobe.

I

I

host

this

The day wore

its

Japanese coast near which

\\q

good

strange

that

on,

my

which

but

When

host was Mr. Samishima

my way we

Yokohama

from

w'ere friends.

glory was not dimmed, and the are running

We

Swiss scenery. effect

Elysees.

familiar,

could not remember.

time up to his death but

of the

I

recollected that

so long conversed while on

From

Inter-

received an invitation from the Japanese

national Exhibition,

results

was

only

from

some

as fine as

have here, as

the Alps,

in

an

atmosphere

untainted by smoke and unsullied by the vapours of factories indeed, here

upon

hills,

we have rugged

heights, deep ravines,

mountains upon mountains, and valleys sunk

with that play of

light,

:

piled

hills

in valleys,

shade, and shadow^, w^hich only such a

country under a bright sun and cloudless sky can give.

no town during the day, but the

hills

are in

some

cases

We

pass

wooded

to the very sea.

By

6.30 the next morning

had anchored

at 2 A.M. in

was on deck, and found that

I

Kobe

harbour, w^hich

and sixty nautical miles from Yokohama. F

is

w^e

three hundred

Cannon were

firing,

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

66

way through

rockets of various kinds were ploughing their air,

the

and the ships and junks were gay with fluttering flags. All this excitement is due to the fact that the royal yacht

hourly expected, for the Mikado

way connecting Kobe with

coming

is

Kioto.

I

to

open the new

as

have

certainly

special

assumes I

we smoke which they generate

Europe, and the

in

appointment

somewhat

take them to be the day fireworks of which

I

heard

rail-

watch these fireworks, which

are being discharged in rapid succession, with interest,

is

and

strange

learn

not

are

To my

dis-

fireworks,

and

forms.

fantastic

these

that

day

that the Japanese like letting off ordinary fireworks in sunshine. If this

is

so, it

is

almost worth letting some off

in

sunshine, for

the circles of smoke formed by some, like the rings of phos-

hydrogen that we used to make when playing with

phuretted

chemistry as boys, are very curious.

At

the custom-house the officers searched

the luggage

The

Mr. Saumarez and Mr. Sakata, but passed mine.

of

practice of

when brought from one port to another of the same country seems strange, and is certainly attended with much searching baggage

inconvenience to passengers.

A

foreigner travelling in Japan

the journey

is

to be anything

must have a passport

more than a

and

;

brief excursion to

if

some

town not distant from a treaty port (where alone a foreigner can reside) he must apply to the minister of the countr}' to which he But the difficulty in the belongs for the necessary permission.

way

of a stranger visiting the country

the passport he must not only

name

is

this.

In order to get

the provinces through which

he wishes to pass but the towns that he wishes to

He must

roads along which he intends to travel.

purpose of his

make

visit

;

and when

in the

interior

valid agreements with natives, nor purchase

danger of their being confiscated. extremely

difficult

for the

These

visit,

he can neither

goods without

restrictions render

stranger to travel in Japan.

Murray nor a Baedeker

and the

also state the

it

There

him what to see, and he can form no idea as to the roads along which he must travel hence, if he is resolved on seeing the country he must be content is

neither a

to

tell

;

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, to wait

treaty ports

at the

67

he can gather from European

till

him

residents sufificient information to enable

to arrange a route

after this the getting of the necessary permission

:

only a matter

is

of time.

The

restrictions respecting the validity of

agreements and the

who

purchasing of goods are met by Europeans

(called a bantd)

who makes purchases and

on

the

behalf

of

practically of

Hence,

European. inconvenience

little

yet

;

trade, the necessity of even a passport

as broadly as possible, being

me

ministers have, in fact, granted

and

please,

see whatever

to

I

restrictions

as all restrictions

me

for

passport

a

unaware that the Japanese for

my

The

journey.

permission to travel wherever

choose to inspect

and

;

and we hear that

arrives;

time the Mikado, with his rhinisters, will proceed railway station the procession.

The

to few,

if

wherever there

unoccupied

;

is

Japan,

orders

shown

to him. is

still,

the Japanese

is

we can view

six

feet apart.

is

It

kept clear by lines

seems strange that

an upstairs window, or an elevated position,

but

upon the Mikado

in state to the

place from which

seek a

in a short

roads are densely lined with people eager

some

of soldiers placed

All

we

so

;

Majesty, and the central space

to see his

learn that

I

;

no man

in

were

given

for the in the

see walking in the

black-faced European

that

Mikado

this

is

The conduct

approaching.

and only about

;

fifty

am

of

but immediately

yards

most slouching manner two (I

visited

same respect should be

highest degree respectful

workmen

it

Japan may look down

and when the Duke of Edinburgh

in front of the procession, I

limit

any other than myself, has such a privilege been granted.

The Mikado's yacht now

is

are

to be regretted.

is

Government have made every provision

to

the

enters into contracts

these

Harry Parkes has kindly procured

Sir

I

in

by taking with them a confidential Japanese servant

interior

worded

travel

in

filthily

advance, dressed,

afraid English) with torn

caps hanging half over their eyes, short pipes in their mouths,

and

hands

irritating

in

their

pockets.

and disgusting.

The

sight

is,

I

confess,

both

While such strange conduct might,

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

68

a case like

in

be accounted for by ignorance, another act

this,

of disrespect which

me

witnessed cannot be thus excused.

I

Beside

stood an English missionary with the broad-brimmed

worn by many of our

who had

many

hats (for

On

clergy.

But

heads.

their

this

Christian gentleman availed himself of a step in order to

and nodding

himself conspicuous,

hat all

of the male natives do not wear head

uncovered and lowered

coverings)

felt

the arrival of the Mikado,

head

his

defiantly,

one

make

declared

audibly that he would not acknowledge the heathen sovereign. I

had always thought that royalty was entitled to respect wher-

ever

was

it

standing

and

seen,

can

I

our streets while royalty was

in

that

a Japanese

passing,

and loudly

think

scarcely

averring that he would not uncover to a Christian

infidel,

would

get off without reproof, for even our street roughs, ill-behaved as

they

would

are,

that such an insult to royalty should not

feel

pass unnoticed, and even the cloth would have failed to protect

mob

from

Although not of combative

law.

disposition,

I

felt

almost irresistibly impelled to give that missionary a lesson in

manners such

as he

would not

respect for the feelings of that prevented

the

way

living

my

my

so doing

my

of revealing

easily forget,

and

it

was only

my

honourable friend from the Legation but

;

if

contempt

could do anything in

looks for

this

individual

who was

on the charity of those who desired that he should teach

the doctrines of kindness and love,

I

must have smitten him

to

the very quick, for a look of most sincere contempt must have

my

characterised

features

when he

thus

publicly

insulted

a

sovereign of high gentlemanly feelings and the greatest refine-

ment. I

If this

is

the

manner

confess that while in Japan

condemn,

wonder

or ill-bred If

answer

in

at

those with

illiterate

in

which our missionaries act (and

saw

I

whom

little

came

I

men who may be

workmen, acting be asked

in

much

to admire, but in

contact),

we cannot

stokers on board a vessel,

defiance of right and order.

why

such things are permitted, the

it

should

is

that in the open ports of Japan foreigners have

termed an extra

territorial

to

right

;

that

is,

the

what

is

Japanese have

opened a certain number of ports called treaty ports

in

which

1

ART,

may

foreigners

is

69

reside without being placed under the jurisdiction

of Japanese law.

here

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

In other words, the foreigner while resident

subject to the courts of his

own country

thus in the eyes

;

of Japanese law he can do no wrong, and the judge by

must be

tried

is

his

own

whom

he

travel

in

consul.

The English complain

bitterly

that

they cannot

Japan without a passport, while the Japanese can travel through any part of England without restriction. I cannot help thinking

commerce

that restrictions to travel injure the

yet

when speaking

of any country

;

to the Japanese ministers respecting the open-

ing up of the country, they invariably said that with the class of settlers

them up

which are now

the treaty ports,

in

claim

their

reasonable.

to

If a

extra

territorial

;

and

I

am

and

rights,

and has that regard

at all times

is

sure that no

man who

impossible

is

Japanese comes to England he

wherever he pleases, but he law

it

to allow travelling in the interior unless the

foi;

Europeans give this is

seems but

free

amenable

to travel

to

English

conducts himself rightly,

for the feelings of others

which

all

gentlemen

should have, need fear any molestation from the Japanese.

The

procession having passed, Mr. Ishida went to the govern-

ment house

to report our arrival, Mr.

Saumarez

to the

English

consulate to try and get a steam yacht for an excursion which

wished to

make

the next day, while Mr. Sakata and

I

the mountains to see two waterfalls, the one called the

we

walked up

Male

Fall

and the other the Female.

Kobe

is

one of the treaty

ports,

and

it

occupies a strip of

and the

ground lying between a range of rocky

hills

and the sea-shore being

was intended that Hiogo

parallel.

should be open to foreigners the

purposes of foreign

;

It

sea, the hills

but as this town was not suited to

commerce, Europeans were allowed to

town at the north side of a river which now separates Hiogo from Kobe, Kobe being the new town, and Hiogo the old.

erect their

The same thing occurred

at

Yokohama, where a new town

has been built at the distance of about two miles from the port originally

opened up, the new town being Yokohama, the old

town Canagawa.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

70

From

we ascended we had

the hills which

a charming view

of Kobe, of the bay, of the island of Awaji, and of the ocean

beyond

and

;

we intended In of the

was

it

to the island

which lay yonder before us that

make our excursion on the morrow. the evening Kobe is beautifully illuminated in honour Mikado's visit. As the illuminations consist wholly of to

coloured lanterns, which are here used with great lavishness, the effect

is

very charming

myriads, as

mingling

and the

;

interest

and

now being

bobbing,

visible,

These are the lanterns carried by the in

Japan

by the

heightened by the

that

it

is

now

and

effect

is

one

also heightened

a feast day at one of the great temples at

Here we have blazing beacons, the burning of

Kobe.

eclipsed.

sight-seers, for every

The

carries a lantern after dark.

fact

is

appeares to me, of moving lights which are inter-

it

incense, the

sound of music, the throngs of worshippers, and much that calculated to add interest to the scene.

manifestation

of

life,

worship, and

The whole

a

is

is

brilliant

enjoyment, such as

could,

probably, be seen in no other country.

The steam launch having been

secured,

we

are astir at 6.15

The island for which we are bound is that of Awaji in the Hiogo Ken (province), and we propose landing at the chief town, Sumoto, which, we are told, we shall reach in three hours. It may be interesting to know that before the revolution of 1868 Awaji belonged to the

A.M.

It

is

dawn, and the morning

just

is fine.

Daimio of Owa, and that the ex-Daimio was educated and now

resides

in

London.

On

to

this small

bamboo which to see certain

numerous

villages, of

Sumoto.

While cotton and

30,000 which

the island there are

houses, distributed in five towns and

3000 belong

at Oxford,

stuffs

tract is

and cotton thread are made on the

of land can boast a

found

in

potteries,

no other of which

" fluted "

district, I

shall

island,

variety of the

our chief purpose was

speak more

in

detail

hereafter.

was 7.30 before we were fairly under way, and we had not when the sky became overcast and the clouds lowering, yet we steamed on grandly. The scenery was very beautiful It

gone

far

;

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

indeed, as seen from the sea the island to which

looked almost Alpine

At

in its

71

we were

steering

grandeur.

we had not yet even reached the island, and At the town of Sumoto is situated almost at its other side. twelve we had luncheon (tiffin), so as to economise time, for we half-past ten

were told that after we reached Sumoto we should have seven English miles to traverse potteries.

It

before

in jinrikishas

we could

get to the

was one o'clock when we reached Sumoto.

The landing of Columbus could not have produced a greater effect upon the Americans than our landing in Sumoto did upon these islanders. Adults and children, rich and poor, young and old, flocked to see the strange creatures that had come to their shores. They followed us as the street arabs follow a Punch and show in London. Even in Tokio a foreigner cannot make Judy a purchase without a score

him

;

Entering the

may

we waited

post-office,

here remark that in

hotel, the post-office

the

more persons gathering around

or

but here the whole town was astir with excitement.

has to

accommodation of

;

jinrikishas

make such arrangements

We

visitors.

portion of our journey

for

as

first

very good,

The

abound.

hillsides

lies

are

I

no

can for

we were

told

fifteen.

The

along a valley where paddy

fields

wooded with camellias and dwarf

bamboos, but ferns are abundant

we see a palm-tree. At a tea-house about

it

is

soon started on the inland

but the potteries, which

were seven miles distant from Sumoto, proved to be road, at

and

;

Japanese towns where there

all

in

the shady spots, and here and

there

stopped for

five

minutes to

eight miles along the rest,

and tea was

road the

men

politely offered to us,

by the mistress of the house. The road became more we advanced. What was formerly a mere track is now being made into a good highway. Some of the new bridges are in every sense excellent, and they are sufficiently broad for a as

is

usual,

difficult

as

cart to cross them, while the old bridges

than

a

jinrikisha.

through the fields,

there

We

rice-fields, is

now

leave the

and as the path

some excitement

were

in

is

little, if

main road

any, broader for a

raised above the

the thought that

if

path

muddy

one wheel

72

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

•

of the jinrikisha should shja over the edge of the narrow bank the occupant would find himself in the sludge below.

matters rendered pleasanter by the fact that the bank

Nor

are

cut

by

is

frequent streams spanned by two planks or two narrow stones.

While crossing one of these primitive bridges one wheel of my it rested, but owing

carriage slipped from the plank on which

Hence some

slush. less

fortunate than

and

all.

An

my

and

in

be

was, are lifted over these bridges, carriage

now happened which might have been serious, The man in the shafts let go his only laughable.

backwards.

In

moment my head was on the righted, and we went on our

a

many windings we

After

two

about

may

But the vehicle was soon

ground.

way.

they

fear that

weight being behind the wheels, the jinrikisha was

overbalanced

are

I

was saved a ducking

I

who

of the party,

accident

but turned out hold,

my men

promptness of one of

to the

potteries,

reach the village of Igano, where

one of which was founded by Kashiu Mimpe,

years since, for imitating

fifty

the

Dutch ware of

Delft.

The

present potteries belong, one to the son of the founder, whose

real

name

Mimpe, but who has assumed the trade name of

is

Mimpe

Rikita, instead of the second

the

nephew of the

first

Awadji

During our inspection of the fall,

and

boiled eggs.

and a

now

is

it

I

slice or

unknown

in

;

the other belongs to Sanpe.

potter.

six o'clock P.M.

We

should have been glad,

I

two of bread-and-butter

make

a hearty meal on

confess, to

have a

in addition

;

little salt

but bread

is

Japan, save at the open ports and at one or two of

the large towns which have

become partly Europeanised

common

those

who

think that rice

know

little

of Japan, for to the poor, as

is

heavy rain begins to

potteries

is

the

I

;

arid

food of the people

have already

said, rice

an almost unknown luxury.

When we and close

re-entered our jinrikishas, the hoods, which open

like the

hoods of our Victorias, were spread, and over

our laps a sheet of oiled paper was placed as an apron.

It

must

not be supposed that the Japanese oiled paper bears any close

resemblance to a sheet of English paper which has been greased.

ART, for oil

it

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

has pliability, toughness, and a fibrous character, while the

which has been applied to

making it European

The hood

greasy.

proportions,

and

I

renders

it

waterproof without

it

had

to

in

sit

a cramped posture.

and the driving

This, with the cutting wind

we had

during our homeward ride

rain,

rendered the Occasionally,

to cross the beds of large

mountain streams which, containing but boulder stones.

my

of the carriage was too low for

journey back to Sumoto anything but pleasant. also,

73

little

These river-beds usually

lie

water, are rich in

at a level

ably below that of the country which they traverse

consider-

and, although

;

impassable during the rainy season, are readily crossed at other

The

times by the aid of stepping-stones. the crossing of one of these streams

sensation produced by

remarkable, especially

the jinrikisha acquires an impetus increasing each

men who draw

Hence

the

than

guides and masters.

its

it

when

Descending the

place in the darkness of the night.

this takes defile,

is

moment.

are rather servants of the vehicle

The boulder

stones also cause an

unpleasant jolting, and further difficulties are presented by the

stony bottom and the upward ascent.

With

the view of turning to good use the speed gained during

the descent, the

man

in the shafts,

the vehicle, lets the carriage

rush

who is now alone in charge of down at an alarming pace,

aiming at the stepping-stones, across which he runs, while the wheels of the vehicle are on either side of these stones trundling across the bed of the stream,

moment in

to find the

—and

the occupant expecting every-

bottom of the carriage torn

off

by coming

contact with a stepping-stone, or to have a ducking in the

water through the upsetting of the vehicle.

Our journey late to

is,

however, completed by 9.30

;

but as

it

is

too

steam to Kobe, we take supper on the launch and return

to the post-office to sleep.

We may

be,

are

now shown

one room

is

are favoured

However

considered sufficient in Japan

contain enough beds on I

to our rooms.

its

floor

with a room

occupy another apartment.

;

to

but

if

it

will

but

in this case

Saumarez and

while

the Japanese

ourselves,

Our beds

large a party

are

now

prepared, that

is,

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

74 are spread

upon the

we might term

three

and each of these consists of what

floor,

wadded

coverlets, each

blue -and -white

cotton fabric.

figured

about six feet long,

These are covered with a

three feet wide, and one inch thick.

In consideration

of the

wants of us foreigners, a fourth coverlet, rolled into the form of a pillow,

is

On

produced.

was placed a

a stand beside the bed

lamp, the feeble light of which proceeds from a small rush wick

hanging over the side of a saucer suspended

This,

in its centre.

with the beds, forms the whole furniture of the room. It

now 10.30, but although a bed know what to do with it. Which

is

exactly

the covering

Am

?

Or am

to

I

uncovered

?

Am

me ?

coverlets over

to

I

make

I

on the

lie

to

After

who only

partially

pleased.

do not

the bed and which

is

is

and have the three

floor

on one and have two as covering?

lie

over

puzzling

Hence

I

removed

it

my

by

my

bed a new trouble

me

telling

my

is

my

friend

I

seem

Sakata,

do exactly

to

bed and two

arises, for

until

difficulty

call for

I

determine, as the night

damp, that one should be in

I

of the three a soft bed and spend the night

threatened with abject despondency,

when

me

before

is

as

I

cold and the air

my

bed and

But

covering.

my

bed-clothes

same narrow dimensions, hence it is impossible to the coverings and owing to their want of pliability, I

are each of the

tuck in

;

only succeed

keeping the cold wind, which howls through our

in

room, from one side of

my

my

soundly

difficulties,

somewhat

stiff

I

slept

and

sore,

body

but this

at a time. till

is

dawn.

due

in

Still, in

On

spite of all

rising

we were

part to our

cramped

posture during our journey yesterday, and only in part to the

hardness of our beds.

The

shutters being

removed from the outside of the balcony,

we open the paper slides which form the front boundary-wall or window surface (for it is both) of our room. Here is a lovely little

garden, over the end of which hangs a tree

golden oranges.

On

laden with

the balcony stand two chairs, each bearing

a copper pan of about twelve inches in diameter and three inches in

depth, with water for us to

Japan.

Pendent from

the

wash

eaves

of

in.

the

Soap roof

is

unknown

hangs

a

in

little

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

trapeze-like contrivance, which

is

hand

at

in

a large

huge boulder-stone and has a

During our ramble which concerns

itself

Some

houses.

the towel horse

but this

;

is

empty,

own towels. A further supply wooden bucket which rests on a

Japan carry their

for travellers in

of water

is

75

ladle lying across

after breakfast

it.

we soon come upon

a shop

only with the making and selling of Jos

of these are very interesting, and they are

Then we

marvellously cheap.

all

see a cabinet manufactory, where

such cabinets as the Japanese must use for the storing of their clothes (although

never saw one

I

are so absurdly cheap that

The

sent to England.

home was I

bought

it

I

in

;

hence what was absurdly cheap where

was absurdly dear when

The sun was

These

afterwards

I

cabinet cost thirty shillings, but the freight

seven pounds

Having made the

any house) are made.

purchased one, which

reached

it

circuit of the town,

its

destination.

we returned

to our boat.

bright and the sky clear, but there was a strong

cold breeze blowing. We were soon under way. After tiffin I went on deck, and surely scenery never was more lovely than that which I now beheld. There was that soft drawing of mountains

on the skies which

and the scene was It

I

have never before seen out of Switzerland, enchanting.

in truth

must not be supposed that our steam launch

vessel.

although

A it

little

paint would have improved

has a deck with a cabin beneath

it,

and the cabin

for while there

is

is

reached by

a hole in

cabin, appears as a hole

it

nor

rail

— —any well

a model ;

a stoke-hole,

it,

engine-room, the deck has neither seats upon

is

appearance

its

and

and

around

means you please, when you are in the there are no steps by can be made therefore

the deck which,

in

its

ceiling,

which either the descent or the ascent

;

getting from the deck to the cabin, or from the cabin to the deck, involves the performance of acrobatic feats of no

The

mean

order.

stoke-hole and engine-room are reached from the cabin

through an aperture about two

feet

by

thirteen inches.

Windows,

which should have consisted of twenty-four panes of glass ranged in

longitudinal series, form the sides of the cabin

twelve panes at one side six are broken,

five

;

but of the

being entirely out.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

76

This, although of

little

importance had the craft been nestling

on the bosom of a small inland lake or of some placid might prove serious

if

caught by breakers from the broad

river,

Pacific,

it is on the fringe of this ocean that we float. Lounging on the deck of our little craft, I am lost in admiration of the lovely scenery as it is lit by the last rays of the setting-

and

sun

but while comparing our speed with that of a Japanese junk

;

which we overtake and reverie

am

pass, I

by a sharp and curious

my

suddenly aroused from

noise,

which

followed by clouds

is

Our

of ashes and steam rising from the entrance of the cabin.

boat stops, for the boiler has burst

put out the

We

fire.

now

are

any kind.

sailing gear of

in

the fire-chamber, and has

perfectly helpless, for

Perceiving that the night

and that without assistance we must speedily

mighty ocean,

my

first

impulse

Saumarez

proceed to do.

is

little

So

all

which

and

is

out into the I

at

once to

finds to his sorrow but

deck, one having brought with

immediately held out as a signal of

it

gets nearer,

Our Japanese

him the

made

at snail's

friends

fast to the

distress, while a

very

The junk

ap-

now only fifty yards off, but it passes shout that we will giwt much money for its effect.

A

rope

thrown, and we

is

junk and towed towards the shore, but only

pace, for the tide

ever, boats

table-cloth,

it is

This produces

their help.

we

on,

tinned meat, half a pot of jam, and one or two biscuits.

come on

proaches,

are

coming

instinctively drops into the cabin

chorus of shouts asks aid of the junk near by.

by.

is

to hail the junk, which

ascertain the nature of our food suppl}^,

a

drift

we have no

come from

against

is

us.

In a short time, how-

the land to our aid, and stepping into one

leave the steamer in charge of our sailors, and

row

straight for

the lights of Kobe.

Our next excursion is to much Celadon ware is made ;

desire

to

Japan, and at

which

visit. I it

am is

Little

is

yet

the

Sanda pottery

a district which

known

I

district,

where

have a special

of the Celadon wares of

informed no European has yet visited the potteries

made.

The Awadji

two days since have only been

potteries

which we

visited

—

one visited by two Europeans Englishman and one Frenchman, but these were in the employ of

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

the Japanese Government, and,

77

understand, were not interested

I

in potter's wares.

January

31.

—At 6.30 we

by 7.30 we have started

in

are astir; at 7

we

breakfast

our jinrikishas for Shidewara

the centre of the district in which the Celadon ware

;

Sanda,

in

made.

is

and

As

our journey, we are told, will take about four and a half hours

we

calculate that

may

night

men

we have an easy

be spent

day's

work before

and that

us,

our comfortable beds at Kobe.

in

Three

are engaged for each jinrikisha so as to economise time.

For several miles the road ascends and borders a rocky

The

the bottom of which flows a mountain str.eam.

defile, in

highest point

being gained, the road becomes easier, winding through paddy fields

but while to ing from

me

Kobe

gallop on,

the work of pulling us up the long incline stretchto the

summit of the pass seemed

run as though they could never

Shidewara at twelve

o'clock,

have brought with

me

killing, the

men

and with occasional cheery shouts

are yet as jocular as schoolboys,

I

Our men

and amidst well-cultivated gardens.

Still,

tire.

we do not reach

instead of being at four.

it till

Japan a pedometer with the view

to

of roughly ascertaining the distance traversed in out-of-the-way

and on unknown tracks

districts is

;

but an imperfect instrument,

utterly

long

the

for

useless,

but, while the

pedometer

in this particular case

strides

it

at best

proved

which these coolies

took

during their wild and joyous gallops were most unfairly recorded as so

many

make

a mile

how many The coolie in

ordinary steps, and I

have no

idea.

of their giant strides the shafts carried the

instrument, which, at the end of the day, recorded twenty-three miles as the distance run

toilsome pull up the

;

hill,

but

I

at the

am

persuaded that the long and

commencement

being considered, the speed did not average

less

of the journey,

than

five

miles

an hour.

At Shidewara we

learnt that here,

there are five potteries, but that to

be the

case.

assistants, appears district.

A

all

and

in villages

are small,

and

this

near by,

we

find

master with his son, or with one or two

to be the entire staff of each pottery in the

In Shidewara itself there are two potteries, one of which

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

78 is

exceedingly small

we

interest,

make wares

but as neither

;

by a track

leave the town

of any special

or road, which leads to a

plateau of moorland on the ridge of a high mountainous

little

We

hill.

have traversed about a mile and a half of ascending

we come to three small potteries near to each other, owned by various branches of one family. Here we rest for and road when

a time and inspect the wares of the different manufacturers the shades of evening seem to hint that return

viewing the scenery around the

hills

and

on the one

in the

we

dells

and

side,

us,

which

is

till

time for us to

a few minutes in

grand and

lovely.

On

get shadows mingling with vapours

of roseate light on the other, while

tips

across yonder valley rises a vast range of hills

now

is

we cannot go without spending

but

;

it

whose summits are

of glowing pink as the last rays of the setting sun

fall

on

their snow-clad peaks.

Our

coolies start

on the return journey with an

by the bracing

tread, induced

air

elasticity of

and a descending road, which

soon brings us to Shidewara, where we find Mr. Ishida (who had stayed behind somewhere on the way), and, to our surprise, the

Government

who had accompanied us to Awadji seated in Where the Government official can have sprung

official

a tea-house.

from we cannot imagine,

his first

is

we must

returning, as

stay the night here

we

are in no

;

but Saumarez and

way prepared

and have not even a tooth-brush with the dangers of the

and worse bridges,

staying the

night

beautiful town,

as best

In

we

is

carried on

we can

we consent

on

for a two-days' journey,

To

us.

his pleading that

thus

is

near, that the village in

very beautiful, and that by

see

to remain

is

another

industry and

a

and to get through the night

can.

front

of every Japanese hotel,

greater portion of little

insist

;

industry

this

I

way are considerable, owing to the bad roads we turn a deaf ear but when we are told that

the chief seat of the basket manufacture

which

appearance amongst

Ishida informs us that he has secured us rooms, and

us to-day. that

for this

its

length, there

is

and running along the

a sort of seat which, although

more than a continuation of the

floor

beyond the

sliding

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

partitions, constitutes the

place,

windows.

and here we have our dinner

This ;

is

79

the travellers' resting-

but to our sorrow most of

we brought with us have disappeared, and what remains in the way of provisions is chiefly a pot of jam. It was a happy thought of Saumarez putting that jam in the basket, for in most places rice can be got for money and although poor the sandwiches which

;

water scarcely forms of

rice boiled in

gives

makes

a relish and

it

since the time of which

only jam and a

and

rice,

monument ought

I

I

it,

now

jam

a satisfactory meal,

Very

at least, palatable. write,

have

often,

made my meal

I

of

soon came to the solemn conclusion that

Saumarez for first introducing jam when on an inland journey

to be erected to

the practice of carrying English in

itself

Japan.

The wayside place,

—

hostelry or rural inn of Japan

is

an interesting

scrupulously clean rooms separated only by sliding

its

paper partitions,

raised

its

on which the Mikado would

dais,

sit

should he ever select this apartment as his resting-place, the side-

opening

the

in

which

partition

rails

off this

domestic throne,

through which his food Avould be passed, the balcony outside the

room with the garden beyond, and the

bath, which

for the refreshment of the traveller, give

to

cannot

fail

is

deemed necessary its

hotel look slides

are

supplied

enclosed in a separate room, which generally

within sight of the central

within

is

a character which

to please.

While the bath lies

it

damp

courtyard or garden,

that the process of unrobing

precincts

;

and

here,

where

all

may

all

the rooms,

I

is

not

be conducted

the rooms of the

upon the one enclosure, and where the

removed from

it

front

window-

observe two of the

newly-arrived occupants of opposite rooms undress, and wearing literally

nothing but a smile, walk along the balconies

the public rooms in the most unconcerned

manner

neither noticing, nor being noticed, save

by the rude

in front

possible

;

of

and,

foreigner,

proceed towards the bath-room, which the one enters while the other remains on the balcony awaiting his turn. tainly a

There

charming simplicity about the Japanese, who,

condition he

may

be,

has never

\'ct

in

is

cer-

whatever

discovered that under any

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

So

circumstances he

me were

is

naked.

have seen

I

indeed strange sights

but

;

at

many

what

hotels

to

never saw a lustful look,

I

a lewd act, nor any manifestation of ill-advised emotion, incon-

may seem

ceivable as this

European mind.

to the

we

After our meal, which consisted chiefly of rice and jam,

ask for a

brandy or wine, as we thereby hope

little

but nothing of the kind

digestion

;

heard of

in this

we

known

happy and innocent town.

clap our hands, for this

manner

the

is

Our beds

called in Japan.

are soon ready

Saumarez and three

lets for

is

for

to encourage

or has ever been

Being ready

in :

for bed,

which the servant

is

there are three cover-

me, and to each

allotted a

is

bag

of rice husks for a pillow.

We

are scarcely in bed

when

a girl enters our

walls of most rooms consist of movable slides, readily be pushed aside, one

nothing

a

in

to take

any of which can

always being surprised by the

is

some unexpected corner, for there is Japanese room that represents a door or fixed place

entrance of a servant

of entrance,

room

In these strange houses where three

a pillow out of a cupboard.

— people

in

enter

most convenient to

at

the

point

we we

rise,

and on pushing aside the

themselves.

At

seven

in

the morning

window-slides in front of

us,

perceive that

been placed on the open balcony

in

a small tub has

front of our room,

beside this stands a large vessel of water covered with

ice,

while

and that

a towel hangs from the pendent towel-horse, for Mr. Sakata has

explained that

we were unprepared

home.

Hot water

and

added

this

shiver

is,

for

spending the night from,

however, brought us

to the cold

in

a

little "

serves at least to melt the

and wash, and dry ourselves as well as we

Japanese towel,

should be remembered,

it

is

piggin,"

ice.

can,

We for

a

only a piece of thin

blue-and-white cotton cloth, of three feet in length and ten inches in

width,

pattern,

purpose

it

and while

it

is

adorned with an

often

interesting

appears to the European but imperfectly to serve the

for

and on two

which little

it

is

Our beds

intended.

are cleared away,

trays about twelve inches square and supported

on legs three inches

in

height,

is

borne our breakfast, which

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

consists of tea, boiled

a

in

large

The

room.

of the

eggs,

covered wooden tea

and

rice

the

being brought

rice

iron frame over a hibachi (fire-holder) resting

the

in

supported

a teapot

in

is

—

which stands

vessel

8i

on the

centre

by a small

The

floor.

eggs are in saucers, one of which occupies a corner of each of

our trays, and with the exception of an empty bowl, a diminu-

and a pair of new chop-sticks Avhich

cup,

tive

fill

three other

corners of our trays, they constitute the entire settings of our breakfast-table.

A

serving

girl,

who

brings with her a small tray,

behind the rice-box, and holds out

one at a time. of a

flat

to

kneels

one and then to the

place on

it

our rice bowls,

Putting into the bowl a portion of rice by the aid

wooden spoon, she hands and

solely to serve the rice

choose to ask

first

we may

other her tray in order that

now

We

for.

it

have some

breakfast, for as there are

to

owner, her duty being

its

anything that a guest

to bring

may

eating our

little difficulty in

neither egg-cups nor egg-spoons,

we

have to adopt a method of peeling and sucking and sucking and

which would scarcely seem elegant

peeling,

European breakfast-table

At

eight o'clock

we

;

and worse than

are there, for the morning, which

and

frosty,

little

if

practised

we can

at

get no

a

salt.

are on our road for Arima, the seat of the

basket-manufactures, and a lovely road

we

all

hence our coolies run

is

we

travel.

fine

and

Arima

well.

is

In two hours

clear, is still cold

a most charming

Swiss-like village, beautifully situated on the side of a valley

where a mountain torrent dances between moss-grown stones and winds beneath the shade of rich overhanging street of the

The

foliage.

chief

town consists almost wholly of basket-manufactories,

bathing establishments, and charming tea-houses, and here nearly all

the buildings are two storeys in height.

A

more

esqueness of

beautiful its

town than

this I

never saw, for the pictur-

buildings and their delightful cleanliness would of

themselves render

it

most

attractive

;

but here

scenery, lichen-covered crags,

moss-grown

and

impetuous

withal,

indeed

is

the

rushing

Arima, that

I

of

feel as if

G

stones,

waters.

we

find

plumose

So

lovely ferns,

beautiful

weeks could be spent here most

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

82

After

happily.

room

tiffin,

tea-house of the town,

in the chief

principal street

which was prepared

for

us in an

upstairs

we walked through

the

and inspected the basket manufactories, the chief

Here we

industry of the town.

many

see baskets of

kinds and

shapes, baskets both large and small, baskets so dainty that the

highest lady in any land might boudoir, be

it

give

to

ever so carefully arranged.

tion of beautiful baskets

them a place Japan

my

the land of baskets, and while up to the time of

Arima work had found

common

of a

all

kind

its ;

way

and

it

her

Indeed, such a collec-

never before met with.

I

in

is

visit

into the

London market,

was not

until

I

truly

much it

was

pointed out to

the Japanese that the better kinds would find a ready sale in

Europe that they were introduced

We

now

discover that

Arima

into England.

one of the most fashionable

is

watering-places of Japan, and that

possesses mineral springs

it

which have a great reputation

for healing virtues.

one of the bath-houses, which

in

Lukerbad

in Switzerland,

some

and here

We

look into

respects resembles those of

ladies are enjoying themselves;

but they have dispensed with even the most simple apology for

They

a bathing costume.

however,

are,

in

no way abashed by

our presence, and, to our astonishment step from the water to hear particulars of the foreign visitors.

Much is

beautiful straw-work

indeed so abundant that

But

here.

about

I

that

it

is

I

offered for sale in Arima.

thought

all

it

must be manufactured

brought from Tagima, a town

is

now

so far spent that

we

are obliged, though most

reluctantly, to take once. more to our jinrikishas,

return journey.

On

paper of an inferior character been

collected

Upon

wetting.

paper-mill

;

but,

first

feeling

start

little

on our

caravan

which we are approaching much is

made from waste paper which

and reduced to pulp by

entering the village

we stopped

little

at the

more than door of a

on being told that there are two much larger

manufactories farther

Our

and

the road Sakata stopped our

to explain that at the village

has

It

miles distant and directly inland.

fifty

Time

find

is

down

the village,

was of wonder.

we went

If this

to

one of

these.

be one of the largest

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

what must the smaller

mills vat,

83

mills be, for here there

is

but one

and that no larger than an ordinary washing-tub, one hand

frame on which the paper

made, and

is

only seventeen inches

this

by twelve, while one woman and a boy constitute the

entire staff

of the establishment.

The frame which the woman uses has a margin of wood, while a layer of bamboo threads, about as thick as the shank of an ordinary pin covered by a sheet of hard

She was

ogram, and inches deep

in ;

size

silk

which was

sitting in front of the vat,

three feet six

in

forms

its

centre.

shape a parallel-

by two, and about eighteen She had the " frame " in

was the pulp.

in this vat

her hand, and by her side rested a pile of the wet paper which

had just been formed .

;

but here the sheets were not separated the

one from the other by layers of flannel or any other substance.

Having

stirred

the contents

of the

simply dipped her

vat, she

frame into the pulp and collected as much as she wanted, and by a dexterous

movement caused

of the frame.

Allowing

the water to drain pile

it

to flow evenly over the silk surface

to rest for a few minutes to give time for

she added this newly-formed sheet to the wet

by inverting the frame, and thus went on making sheet

On

sheet.

placed, is

off,

it

after

the top of the pile of wet sheets of paper a board

and upon

this a

is

few large stones, thus a quantity of water

squeezed out from the newly-formed sheets

;

and the

fact that

these sheets do not adhere the one to the other must be explained

by the great length of the small

amount of

at this

used

I

crushing

is

The

manufacture.

size

employed

obtained from a small conical root

do not know the name, the glutinous matter being

by soaking

extracted

of Japanese paper, and by the

fibre

in its

paper manufactory

of which

A

size

it

for

long

a

time

in

water

and

then

it.

sufficient quantity of

paper, the

water having been pressed from the

boy brings a plank of wood of about

and thirteen or fourteen inches

in width,

six feet in length

and then removes the

boulder stones and the board from the newly-formed paper, then separating from the heap the uppermost sheet, and placing this

on the plank, he presses

it

down

so that

it

adheres by

its

own

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

84

moisture to the board on which

and a

third sheet.

and leans planks

operation

In one instance

by

and so with a second

placed,

I

is

disposed of in this primitive manner.

observed that an economy of space was secured

six sheets of paper being stuck to the one board

each side

air

continued with other sheets and other

is

the whole pile

till

is

in a slanting direction against the side of the house.

it

The same

it

This done, he takes the board to the open

—

three on

but this board was outside one of the small factories of

;

The paper

the village, which probably was not so rich in boards.

being dry,

simply peeled from the boards and arranged

is

it

in

bundles for the market.

We after

now go on our way, and our men run

well.

a twenty-five miles' gallop they scamper

through the town, and appear as fresh as

if

At Kobe

like wild

Arabs

they were beginning

instead of ending their hard day's work.

Our next whole of

my

journey, one of the most interesting during the

Japan, was to the ancient city of Nara,

travels in

me

where Mr. Okubo invited antiquities

to inspect the rare collection of

which have been the private property of the reigning

Mikado from very remote ages. The time at which it was formed unknown, but the collection probably consists of presents given to the early emperors by the envoys of foreign potentates, and of the spoils of war. Whatever its origin may be this is certain, that an inventory of the main body of the collection was made more than a thousand years since, and that this inventory still is

exists with the objects therein catalogued.

We

are astir early, for

now saying by

train for

Osaka

from Osaka we thirty-three

we have our packing At ten

adieu for the time to Kobe.

— an

hour's run

and a half English

half an hour on the road our

they began

by

start in jinrikishas for

it.

go through the suffering fatigue.

To me toil

it

is

rail

do

we are we leave

as

on the way to Kioto

Nara, which

miles.

to

o'clock

is

;

distant about

With but one stoppage of

men end

the journey better than

perfectly astounding

how

the coolies

which they do, and that without apparently

Fancy a heavy man

about thirteen stones), wrapped

(for

in thick coats

my

weight was then

and a

fur rug, seated

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, in

85

a carriage with a large heavy dressing-bag at his

dragged by the same men rate of

between

thirty minutes

being

feet,

and a half miles

for thirty-three

at the

and six miles an hour, with only stopping

five

The

on the journey.

exertion necessary for the

superhuman

fulfilment of this task seems almost

yet these feats

;

my

inland journey.

As though our poor coolies had not dragged already, we were told at Nara that the hotel was

us far enough

of endurance

I

shall often

have to record during

Having reached and inspected it, hotel, and that we must go

the other side of the town.

Sakata said that back to another

was not a good

it

the town

in

my

but

:

suspicion

prietor has an aversion to foreigners, for in

way

half a mile on

that the pro-

is

some of the

out-of-the

where a foreigner has never or rarely been seen the

districts

Japanese seem afraid of him, and Sakata himself brought up to believe that

if

me

tells

that he

was

ever a foreigner caught a

Japanese alone he killed and ate him

;

and when he was nine

years of age he had the firmest conviction that the belief was literally

borne out by

While the hotel

fact.

for

distant, the coolies start

from a long

rest,

as cheerfully as

No

A

people that

Japanese

is

I

a

is

good mile

they were just fresh

if

and with shouts and laughter bolt

astonishing speed. the Japanese.

which we have to make

know

most happy as

off at a

of are as

never to be angry, and

said

must say that although we were often

most trying positions

in

I I

never once saw Ishida out of temper, and

I

Sakata in the smallest degree angry, while

was frequently almost

boiling with rage.

The Japanese

are said never to scold, and

never to punish their children, yet

such happy, well-behaved children,

I

never but once saw.

I

—

heard a child cry save when actually

never in

my

before

life

so cheerful, so merry.

in

bodily pain.

Is

it

I

because

the Japanese are almost exclusively a herbivorous race while are largely carnivorous

By

we

?

six o'clock, having run thirty-four

and a half hours, we

saw

never

are

housed

in

and a half miles

in six

our hotel, a grandly quaint

building of true Japanese character, with the kitchen open to the street,

and a courtyard with a gallery

all

round.

We

dine in true

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

86

Japanese fashion on the

floor,

a recumbent position, for

Nara country. I

is

writing has to be done in

neither chairs nor table.

one of the oldest and most interesting

Prior to the revolution of

have already

signifies

my

and

we have

said,

i

means southern

capital,

of the

cities

word Kioto, as while the word Tokio

868 Kioto

(the

northern capital) was for seven hundred years the capital

of Japan, and for some years previous to this the Mikado's resi-

dence was at Nara, which was then the imperial

was

It

city.

during the imperial residence in Nara that the rare collection of antiquities to

was placed

the house where

in

remains, and

still

it

Okubo has kindly obtained for me but many objects were old even when The city also is full of antiquities of

inspect this collection Mr.

the Mikado's permission

brought together

in

;

Nara.

the greatest interest.

Up

to

two years since these

antiquities of the

Mikado had

never been seen save by those immediately connected with the

emperor himself

but then for a short time some of the treasures

;

what we might

were exposed,

in

great temples

of the

people by

railings.

call

the cloisters of one of the

town, in glass cases protected

This

is

the

first

time,

I

believe,

from the

on which

they have been shown to any foreigner, save when they were

open to public exhibition two years

since,

and

is

it

certainly the

only occasion on which the foreigner has been allowed minutely to inspect

and to handle them.

Hearing that they were to be

opened, Mr. Saumarez asked that he might see them at the same

time with me, and this permission was readily granted.

The following interesting Mai/ of ]une 12, 1875

extracts are from the Japan Weekly

:

"

Nara was

the residence of the

after this date the

remained down

to our

four were females.

Mikados from

a.d.

708

until 782.

Imperial residence was fixed at Kioto, where

own

Their

times. rule,

Seven sovereigns reigned

at

it

Shortly

has since

Nara, of

whom

with some slight interruptions, was a prosperous

and glorious one, distinguished by the cultivation of the arts, literature, and religion. In the reign of the empress Gemmio Tenno (a.d. 708 to 715) copper was first found in Japan. In 718, under the succeeding empress, a collection of laws in ten volumes was made, and shortly after a history of Japan in fifty volumes was composed.

The Mikado, Shomu Tenno

(a.d.

724

to 748),

had

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

87

relations with China, and in his eighth year two Buddhist priests arrived, one from Southern India, the other from Siam. About the fifteenth year of his

reign a colossal

Buddha

in the province of

of copper, overlaid with gold, was erected at Sitaraki,

Omi, by the exertions of a

priest

named

Kioghi,

over the whole kingdom to collect funds for the purpose. this statue

was transported

there to this day.

known

better it

will

It

Nara, and

to

is

the famous Dai-butz which exists

being three feet higher than the

fifty-three feet high,

is

Dai-butz at Kamakura.

thus be readily understood

It

who went

In the year 745

was cast

how such

in

a number of pieces, and

a colossus could be transported

from Sitaraki

to Nara. Little of the gilding anywhere is now visible. The head also of the statue is of more modern date than the rest. The temple having been burned in the sixteenth century, the head was so injured that it

the present face is much coarser and sterner than Kamakura Dai-butz, and is probably not an exact reproduction of the original. The religion of Buddha was making great progress in Japan at this time. In 746 died a priest named Gen-bo, who had brought from China

required to be replaced

;

that of the

thousand volumes of Buddhist books, and

five

many

images.

749 an

In

imperial edict was issued forbidding the slaughter of any animals in Japan.

Poetry was also

much

cultivated,

and some compositions of

this class are

still

extant.

The

"

last

sovereign of the seven,

Kwonin Tenno, died

782, and his

in

successor determined to remove the seat of Government to another place.

was some time before a to

locality

Kioto did not take place

till

was permanently 794.

fixed upon,

furniture

and property of

all

in

which the imperial

kinds was disposed.

" This building exists to this day in complete integrity.

It is

massive timbers laid horizontally, being raised from the ground on solid trunks of trees eight or ten feet high.

every

sixty-first

year since

Nara

Previously to the Court quitting

an immense wooden magazine had been erected there,

It

and the transfer

its

building, that

It is is,

said to have been

at the

made

of

pillars

of

examined

beginning of each cycle,

when necessary. What is more astonishing is that the objects deposited there by the Mikados have been kept in perfect safety from the eighth century down to the present time, having escaped the danger of fire, and repaired

robbery, and turbulent times, those destroying agencies which in no other part of the world, probably, have ever allowed any building of importance, less

have

a wooden one, to remain intact for so long a period. in the course of centuries

been added

Some

much

fresh objects

to the original collection, but those

which belong to the first deposit are all named in an inventory made in the eighth century which was deposited with them, and they can thus be identified

and distinguished from recent additions. " This being the age of exhibitions and popular the head of some antiquary that it was time to bring

it

came

to light the long

into

hidden

Nara repository. Hence the Nara exhibition, which has been by many foreigners during the present summer, although we suspect

treasures of the visited

instruction,

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

88

had any idea of the extraordinary character of the objects We have, it is true, in Europe marvellous collections

that very few have

exposed

to their view.

of the antiquities of

all

ages, which have been brought together piecemeal.

The genuineness and exact date of some of these objects can be ascertained, but how many of them are damaged and mutilated from the vicissitudes they have undergone, and of how many is the history and origin more or less open to question

What would

.?

the antiquarians of

Europe say

if

an ancient building

containing the household furniture and effects of Charlemagne, with a catalogue

same made under

of the

opened

for the first time,

preservation

But of such a kind

!

now

that monarch's immediate' direction, ^ were

and the contents announced

now

the exhibition

is

to

be on view,

to

be

all in fine

oft'ered to the

eyes of

Japanese antiquaries. "

The temple The

of Dai-butz affords a convenient locale for the display of these objects brought from the royal magazine are arrayed in the

curiosities.

area immediately round the great statue, on each side and behind outer galleries or cloisters which form the exterior of the temple

is

it.

a

In the

still

more

extensive collection of antiquities, contributed by various temples or by private

To some

possessors.

of these objects a

that of the contents of the

still

higher antiquity

is

attributed than

Nara magazine, and the very remarkable character

we have inspected induces us to think that this belief is well know exactly what external evidence of their age

of several which

founded, although we do not exists.

"

Amongst

century

which there

is

screens,

pictures,

books, sculptures, masks, of

a very large collection, pottery, and glass, copper bowls and

dishes, spoons, soap

(!)

round cakes the

in large

and ornaments,

scratchers, beads dresses, hats,

Nara Mikados of the eighth

the curiosities belonging to the

may be mentioned

and nondescript

bells,

articles.

size of quoits, tortoise-shell

weapons and

back-

utensils of various kinds,

Probably the larger part of these things

The

are of foreign origin, and principally Chinese.

eighth century was the

middle period of the great Tang dynasty (a.d. 620-907) and the books and pictures here collected

are a rich field for the

Some

literature during that time. likely to

poetry which

be Indian or Persian than Chinese.

A

study of Chinese art and

we saw

struck us as

more

jug or ewer of white glass,

about a foot high, excited some incredulity as an object of the eighth century. We were told by one informant that it was not to be found in the original inventory, while another antiquary,

assured us that

it

is

there.

able for the freshness of

been

just

cloisters

^

him

is

said to

is

engaged

in

studying the collection,

—

The miscellaneous collection in the outer various ages, from some alleged to be one

mill.

embraces objects of

number

who

specimen of Chinese writing paper was remarkappearance smooth and unstained, it might have

produced from the

Charlemagne of the

its

A

have been so particular that he had an exact

of eggs which the hens laid

upon

his property.

register furnished

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, thousand

hundred years

five

The most

old,

down

89

to those of the time of

Taiko-sama.

antique of these curiosities are certain bronzes which have an Indian

and some statuettes of clay (?) which remind one of Greek work more than anything else. Some wooden statues, of nondescript physiognomy character,

may perhaps be

We

Corean.

of remarkable

artist,

saw one picture ascribed

The

merit.

pictures, on

best

and there were many specimens of

Corean

whole, are

the

The Japanese

attributed to Chinese artists, or copies from such. lovers of autographs,

to a celebrated

those

are great

this class of relic

notably writings by Yoritoma, Taikosama, and lyeyasu.

It would be imposfrom two days' cursory inspection of the Nara exhibition to give more

sible

than the faintest idea of the value and curiosity of

its

contents.

evident

It is

that here are the materials for the study of Indian, Chinese, antiquities,

such as are not likely to

satisfactory to in

and Japanese be congregated anywhere else, and it is

know

that Japanese antiquaries of high attainments are

engaged

cataloguing and describing the collection.

We

have been reading and preparing ourselves

morrow and was first found

of the -gold

it

may

in

Japan

;

made

of Nara, which was

Shomu Tenno,

in

the fifteenth year of the reign of

was covered with

hence the gold employed

metal,

year 749, the great Dai-butz

in the

or in the year 739,

entirely brought

in

start with

my

work had been

vast

this

this precious

from foreign countries.

Saturday the 3d of February 1877 great day in

for the sights

be worth while to mention that while

We

history.

one of the

Museum

are

up

officials

always remain a

will

at seven,

and

after breakfast

from Tokio, who has been

sent to conduct us to the treasury and the sights of the town. First,

we

here, as fire.

see

a

temple

everywhere

else

consisting in

Japan,

of

much

buildings

several

but

;

has been destroyed by

Originally the garan or complete temple

(or,

as

we should

group of temples) consisted of a number of buildings, one of which was the main temple or kon-do, one a pagoda or to, say,

one the eating-house or shioku-do, one the saidono, and one the bath-house or yuya.

been destroyed by

fire,

or nanyen-do, has been

have been added, and

while

eastern

Some

southern

From time to whole were now

rebuilt. if

the

would consist of a pagoda or nanyen-do, an

one, the

golden

lecture -room

to,

a southern

temple

or

or

of these have

round temple time, buildings

standing,

they

round temple or

tokin-do,

a

western

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

90

golden temple or saikin-do, a chief temple or kon-do, a lecture-

room

or ko-do, a northern round temple or hokuyen-do, a bath-

house or yuya, a building termed an anteroom or hosodono, and a

refreshment -house called shioku-do

now remain

but

;

pagoda, the eastern

the

are

of these

golden

that

all

temple, the

northern

round temple, and the southern round temple which

has been

rebuilt,

have been

but the three old buildings which

in existence

Under each of the main temples of one of sacred buildings material

of this

;

these groups of

indeed, the Buddhist scriptures enjoin the performance

The

rite.

materials prescribed for this purpose are pearls,

the Japanese shako, which

and a kind of

shell

by

called

appears to be that of the Sqiiilla

new or southern round temple is a great Buddha Buddha of which we read last night), but although

In the

mantis.

(not the great

proportions are colossal,

in a large

and

ill-lit

it is

building,

not very

where

it is

visible,

being enshrined

seen only through white

In front of this colossal figure are

curtains partly drawn.

sacred vessels, indeed, so many, that with the image and

roundings the temple is

remain

customary to bury seven pieces of precious

it is

gold, silver, agate, coral, amber,

its

still

about twelve hundred years.

filled almost to the door,

is

allowed to enter the building save the

sur-

and no one

The

priest.

many

its

disappoint-

ment to me caused by this arrangement was great. The northern temple of this group contains another Buddha and a number of other idols, besides an immense pile of blocks used for printing the Buddhist scriptures, but this Dai-butz

comparatively small.

The

are about twenty inches

and a half

in

long, nine inches

The

thickness.

is

blocks used for printing the scriptures

grain of the

broad, and an inch

wood runs through-

out the length, and they are engraved on both sides, the engraving,

however, only extending within two inches of each end.

much

These blocks are engraved print wall papers, that

is,

and produce the impression vening wood inch.

is

cut

away

like

those

the portion which is

to the

left

is

with which

we

to receive the ink

standing, while

all

the inter-

depth of about one-eighth of an

The unengraved end -portions

of the block are reduced

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

to the thickness of about three-quarters

of an

91

inch,

and serve

only as handles.

may be

It I

thought that

speaking of these printing-blocks,

in

ought to have compared them with the blocks from which we

woodcut

print our

illustrations

but the reader

;

I

woodcuts are engraved upon wood with a

vertical grain,

the

blocks of which

woodcuts also parts

are

are

but

I

under-

will better

stand their nature by the parallel which

have drawn,

for

our

whereas

Our

speak have a longitudinal grain.

engraved with great fineness, and the sunk

little

below

general

the

surface

of the block,

both our wall paper blocks and the Japanese blocks

whereas of which

I

speak are cut more deeply and

in

a

more simple

manner.

many

In this temple are also there

indeed,

are

piles

of such,

small gods formed of

wood

;

they being

the remains of a thousand figures, which were

formerly arranged together in the manner of the

members of

concerts .

;

the chorus at one of our great

and of the old arrangement of these

gods they show us a model.

I

am

struck with

the simplicity of treatment which these figures present,

and with the crispness and beauty of

their folded drapery, indeed, the treatment of

the drapery reminds

me by

its

simple excel-

lence of the best sculptured works of our

mediaeval times

own

and between some of these

and those with which we are familiar

figures in

;

own

our

cathedrals there

is

a striking reFig.

semblance (Fig. 25).

Seeing

these works, the priest presents

They

my

interest in

me

25.

Small God, or

Stati'e, carved

in

Wood.

with two.

are about eight inches in height, and while one

perfect the other has in part crumbled

away through

is

tolerably

the effects

of time.

In the eastern golden temple there

many

curious idols,

some of

life size,

is

another Buddha, and

some larger, which evidently The priest now tells us,

represent peoples of various nations.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

92

these idols were presents from China, others from

some of

that

and that

India,

uncommon

not

is

it

Japan

in

presents

to find

of this description in the great Buddhist temples.

This

temple,

much

is

A

decay.

to

the

like

out of repair

we were permitted

last

indeed, what

;

is

here stored

number of coarse earthen

hundred years

and resembling

since,

often served

is

(only in

this

enter, falling

made about

vessels

a

form a modern tea-cup

in

on which the

of the country, with a particular form of stand

cup

to

is all

case,

cup and the stand

the

are larger than those of the present day and are united together), are

as well

here,

as

such as

I

saw

Tokio

in

mace -like

one of those curious

consisting of a bent stem of the (Fig. 19).

Nelumbium

censers,

Buddhist lotus)

(or

This censer has a flower and

leaf at the end, the flower ascending

and the

while in the centre of the stem there

a

is

leaf descending,

young and unexpanded

leaf.

This object was made about a hundred years ago, and

while

I

have only seen

Buddha holds

it

and that incense Seeing priest

my

presents

in is

his

it

left

upon an

altar,

I

am

hand when he prays

sometimes burnt upon

informed that for his

mother,

it.

admiration for both the cups and this censer, the

one of the former and the

latter to

me, and

have no compunctions of conscience about taking them, is

here perishing

will

;

and soon, unless things greatly change,

be ruin and desolation.

Under

the Shogunate

I

for all all

rule these

monuments of antiquity were carefully preserved but the present Government seem to consider it no part of their duty to guard ;

from destruction these ancient buildings and their contents. We next visit the pagoda, which is a splendid structure of

remarkably

fine proportions.

There

is

the pagodas of Japan and of China.

always uninteresting and possessed of

a great difference between

While the little

beauty, those of the

former are invariably both graceful and beautiful. ever, the

Our

in

In China, how-

form than

in

Japan.

priest-guide opens for us the door of the pagoda, and

entering,

By

pagodas are much more varied

latter are nearly

we

find a

few idols

climbing, scrambling, and

arranged

on

its

basement

upon floor.

squeezing through spaces which

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

are almost too small for

me

to pass,

I

93

reach the upper gallery,

from which we have a magnificent view of Nara and roundings.

am now

I

informed that

who has been permitted the

to

first

whom

the

I

am

the

to ascend this pagoda,

eastern

golden

sur-

its

European

first

and that

I

am

temple has ever been

opened.

Time temples

is

;

hence we

passing,

we must not

but

cannot tarry longer without

leave

at

these

inspecting an

old

— Lions of Corean workmanship, guarding the gateway of the great Temple of Todaiji in Kioto. It is impossible to view these without the thought

Fig. 26.

of the lion and the unicorn being

coniferous

tree

the

in

awakened

of

old

trees,

cone-bearing plants

especially ;

the mind.

grounds, the

horizontally with great grandeur.

fond

in

branches of which spread

The Japanese

of the

species

of

are particularly fir

and other

propping up their branches with great care

and securing them so that neither storm nor tempest

them

off.

From

tip to tip

shall lop

the horizontal branches of the tree

before us measure one hundred and forty-eight

feet.

We

now

give a subscription to the temple, bid adieu to the priest, and leave.

Walking nearly a quarter of a mile we arrive at the temple This of the Great Buddha (Dai-butz), the largest in Japan. is

the

years

temple of Todaiji, built eleven hundred and thirty -one since.

At

the gateway stand two stone lions (Fig. 26)

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

94

supposed to be of Corean workmanship.

In the porch, at the

=

gateway, are two colossal standing gods or niwo with a club of a form

name

is

common

mitsshaku kongo

Fijian weapons,

in

first

kings, one

and whose

the other bearing a brazen mace, such

;

hand while praying, and named

as a Buddhist priest holds in his

narayen kongo.

This porch,

many

is

which these

in

deities

have

for so

wooden uprights in height by twelve feet in one hundred feet (or pillars) being Having passed this colossal gateway we go circumference. years stood,

of vast proportions,

its

chief

through a second of similar proportions, then across the courtyard to the temple

Buddha, for

itself,

wherein the great Buddha

fifty-three feet in height,

almost

This

enshrined.

is

the enormous temple,

has a nimbus eighty -seven feet in diameter, on which rest

it

sixteen images, each eight feet high.

by

fills

broad

nine feet six inches

;

Its face

sixteen feet long

is

shoulders are twenty-eight feet

its

seven and a half inches broad, while nine hundred and sixty-six curls

adorn

head.

its

The temple posture)

in

has been

which twice

great

this

figure

by

destroyed

fire.

rests

sitting

(in

During the

last

fire the head of the figure was much injured and loosened, and shortly afterwards it was thrown down by an earthquake, when

a

new head was

The head

cast.

of this figure

nearly so well as that of the Great Dai-butz

much inferior to that The new head was cast in the

and indeed figure.

Our

it is

visit

to this temple

enough met with here he be

any student of the

days

if

is

not weeks

first

past,

but as

;

is

whether

we

are

to

inspection of the collection of ancient objects in

Buddha.

;

sixteenth century.

destination and renewed our acquaintance with him,

the

Kamakura

of the other parts of the

show us the great collection we must hurry on. Having reached our

keeping Mr. Machida (who of antiquities) waiting,

at

like

necessarily short, while there

is

to interest

artist or antiquarian, for

do not

I

we begin our

Nara, and find

part in corridors surrounding this temple of the great

The

objects here displayed are arrayed chiefly in plain

pine-wood glass-fronted cases, so fastened that the contents

may

any tampering with

easily be detected, for, instead of being furnished

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

with locks which, as

made

in

may

Japan,

95

be easily picked, they

simply fastened by twisted strips of tough paper

are

strung

through two clasps and knotted together, while a red stamp

The stamp used

impressed upon the folds of the knot.

purpose somewhat resembles our old-fashioned

formed of wood, and the part which

and not sunk.

raised

This seal

is

it

is

to yield the impression

is

charged with a kind of red

is

paint,

and then pressed upon the knot of the

It

obvious that a contrivance of this kind

is

in the

way

of keeping out a thief;

but

it

it

of adjustment to bring

soft paper-string. will

cannot

whether the case has been tampered with or has once been untied

for this

only

seals,

is

do nothing fail

not, for

show

to

the knot

if

would be quite impossible by any amount all

the parts of the impressed seal again

together in proper relation to one another.

Through the kindness of Mr. Machida these seals are broken whenever I wish to investigate any object, and I feel it to be indeed a privilege to handle and examine these rarest of antiquities. Here are sword blades one thousand three hundred years old,

which are made of copper, but these belonged to the gods

(idols),

and came from a temple called Horiu-zi

There

is

(zi

means

church).

a large iron shield about six feet in height, in every

On a saddle, way well wrought but its age is unknown. known to be about one thousand years old, is a conventional ;

Persian -like

A

good.

peacock, wrought

repousse brass, which

in

is

very

Chinese vase, which has been here preserved for over a

thousand years, and has a black ground, with a spray of bamboo

and certain rocks wrought upon are

wood

it

in

gray,

carvings of lions executed with great spirit

but the ages of which are

unknown

one thousand three hundred years thousand years of age.

There

is

;

two old,

by

sceptres, the

ings of

There

" feeling,"

one being is

one

a thin iron bowl most beautifully ;

this

is

a thousand

such vessels were formerly carried through the streets

;

priests,

and

while the other

shaped, the bottom of which has been patched years old

interesting.

is

who

held them out for the purpose of receiving offer-

rice.

One

piece of bronze-casting, which has been preserved in the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

96

Mikado's collection ever since the inventory was made a thousand years since, ever seen.

as perfect a work, of

is

It

any that

kind, as

its

I

have

the frame of a sacred gong, and consists of

is

two dragons entwined together and standing on the back of a In another work a lotus flower cast in bronze springs

griffin.

from an ornament consisting of flames superposed on water water and the heat producing vegetation spirit or

god (Buddha) that

work

on the

sits

The age

Another

which the petals are

a crystal drop (Fig.

the

reaching up to the

flower.

unknown.

is

age, in

—

of this

lotus of great all

tipped with

and a small clay

27),

figure with the hair so arranged as to resemble

exactly what

we know

as the jester's cap with

which have been added *"m7';^''^t'/'''^°'"'' (Nelumbium) Flower, preserved in the Imperial treasury, with crystal drop in metal socket hanging from its

apex.

Each

is

in

of the

a tunic, evidently of Chinese workmanship, -T'

^y[^\^

-'

'

^ nchly-embroidcred collarcttc in gold

and colours

long shoc-Hke stirrups on which

;

of the outer

flower

had

things

later years there

i

petals

Of

occur in the collection.

ass's ears,

•

1

i

''"'^''^'

about

five

hundred years

since,

the

earlier

form of stirrup where the front part of the foot was incased

There are one or two simple pieces of

truncated cone.

j

thc foot would rcst, and which supci'sedcd,

being chairs and a small cabinet, six hundred years

old,

in a

furniture,

both used

on ceremonial occasions, and several pieces of armour which belonged to that warrior to whose

Kobe

(Hiojo),

and

in front of

memory

which

I

a temple was built at

saw the beacon

fires

during

the time of the illuminations a few days since.

There was

also an entire

row of Chinese Celadon vases (each

of about twenty-two inches in height),

some having the sea-green

glaze on white, and others on red, earth.

Certain of these bear

bands of Chinese ornament or sprays of foliage wrought upon them, while the ornament on others

But the most curious object singular formation (Fig. 28).

a rat which

sits

is

obviously Indian in character.

in the collection

Here the

upon the top of a

oil is

is

perhaps a lamp of

stored in the

body of

Half way down the pole

pole.

and resting on a projecting bracket

is

a

saucer, in the centre of

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, which

a pin that connects

is

saucer

with the bracket on which

it

and leaning over

saucer,

this

in

is filled

with

a lamp which exhibits no peculiar

qualities

till

most of the

oil

has been con-

a

stream, which

Then suddenly replenish

to

suffices

now

the

rests

:

the

is lit

we have sumed.

it

When

a wick.

side, is

its

and the wick

oil

97

nearly

ex-

hausted saucer, issues from the mouth of the

The

rat.

saucer being

discharged from the

no more

full,

mouth

rat's

oil is

till

it

is

again nearly empty, when the kind creature sitting "

up

and so on

store of oil

till its

The manner

in

which

this

the

effect

although

simple,

a further supply,

aloft " yields

curious, for

achieved

produced

cannot run from a vessel unless

admitted to take rises

air

is Fig.

The peg which

place.

its

it

on which

to the support

terminates in a knob or cap

;

on which the rat

but the peg

as is

is

hollow and

the rat

by a tube which runs along the bracket and then ascends

perforated immediately below

its

above the bottom of the saucer. oil

hole

therefore

From

is

oil

It is

this

oil

can run from the

part of

the collection

some two hundred yards

much more

is

distant,

should be noticed,

exposed

no further

oil,

The

body.

obvious, then, that

to run out of the rat's

again covered by

no more

it

rat's

cap, or about half an

sinks to a point at which this hole

and thus allow the this

rests, as well

connected with the body of

is

pin which stands in the centre of the saucer,

the

pre-

by the detail, A. The lamp about two feet in height.

through the stand to the upper portion of the

is

Lamp,

indicated in the rat's body and in the upper part of the stem

rests

it

28.— Curious

served in the Nara treasury. The construction of the lamp is

the centre of the saucer and at-

in

taches

is

whereby

principle of the vent-peg or pipet fluid

is

only an application of the

is

it

exhausted.

is is

rat's

is

when

air will enter

mouth

air

inch

;

but when

admitted, and

mouth.

we walked

to a

building

which contains a second and

interesting series of objects.

This portion

is

arranged

in a

kind of entrance-hall and

H

in

one

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

98

Machida informs us that everything in the room is known to be at least twelve hundred years old but all the objects are not Japanese, nor is he able to say whence many Some, however, are obviously Chinese, and of them have come.

large room, and Mr.

;

some

while

Indian,

Indian

and half

which are half Chinese

several,

character, are perhaps from Tibet, Yarkand, or other

in

inland country lying near to India and China.

we have

In this room

a magnificent collection of art objects,

which have found their home

But what

years.

in

me most

interests

perhaps

woven

the

is

and are thoroughly mediaeval and

Had

their patterns.

made

I

certain specimens from

sington

Museum had

were more Arabian

One of a

not

known

but a cursory examination, the

and had

I

should have supposed that

collection

in

the South

Ken-

been lent for exhibition here, while others

in character.

of the Arabian-looking

fabrics

reminded

me

strongly

in

which a

VArt Arabe,

in that magnificent work

plate

the style of

in

to the contrary, I

Bock

Italian

fabrics,

preserva-

for these, while of this great antiquity, are in perfect tion,

hundred

for at least twelve

Japan

portrayed (see plate entitled Etoffe dc

similar fabric

is

XI I.

In the specimen here at Nara the pattern consists

"^

sicde).

of circles

ientiirc,

regularly distributed, both horizontally and vertically,

and separated from one another by a distance equal to about half their diameter.

These

circles are fringed

by

a sort of Arabian

ornament, of such width that these fringings of the various almost meet. face,

circles

In each circle are two conventional lions, face to

while in the spaces intervening between the circles are other

Red and

small animals.

dull yellow

is

not an

uncommon com-

bination of colour in these Arabian-looking fabrics here. fabrics of this

There are printed cotton the

figure

the

colour of

a

is

usually white, on

pattern

to

the

agent,

figured

while

" resist."

ground

others

appear to

portion of the fabric having

tected from the action of the dye

a

period also, where

plain coloured

Belonging to

;

having, obviously, been removed by

the ground

colour -discharging

some

this

by what

is

owe

their

been pro-

technically termed

remote age, there

is

also

a very

ART,

by two

piece of leather, about fifteen inches

fine in

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

of white lines arranged in the form of well considered

and a

scrollwork,

enamel

cloisonne

dish, with the wires projecting

from the body about one -sixteenth of an in

six inches

feet

of pleasant yellow-brown colour, and with a pattern con-

size,

sisting

99

the cells

The enamel

inch.

however, concave, for the surface has never been

is,

Of

ground down.

same age are

the

most excellent

certain

metal mirrors, some being circular, and one being square

some of these (probably all but one) The one that is certainly Japanese

now

and about

circular, its

fifteen

back closely resembles

One from

be found on similar objects.

to

but

are of Chinese manufacture. is

inches in diameter, and the pattern on

those which are

;

China has

its

character

but the Japanese mirror has a case covered with a

red

;

fabric of

silk ;

back figured with a geometrical pattern of Celtic

mixed

colours,

—

gray-white, yellow, blue, and dull

of which are outlined with black, and

all

The

ground.

of

pattern

Persian and that kind of

this

flat

fabric

is

in

ornament which

background of pre-Raphaclite

pictures.

on a green

fall

between

character is

general as the

There are some grand

pieces of Indian embroidery, in which the simplicity and purity

of the ornament

is

delightful.

These certainly surpass

in

tender-

ness of line, precision of form, and just distribution of the parts,

have before seen of the kind

anything that

I

been

for

in

Japan

;

There are vases of various kinds, some Greek Arabian

in

and they have

twelve hundred years.

character,

in

form, others

some Chinese, and some Japanese.

One

with black ground and bands of incised red lines might be a

work of the best Athenian characters with which

its

age, were

surface

glass ewer with a well-formed

lip,

is

it

in

not for certain nondescript part, covered.

There

of very pale blue-green colour, and rather rough texture (like of our pickle bottles), but the Japanese

came

;

they only

emperors obviously closely

know

that

it

a

has been

some

do not know whence in

it

possession of their

for

one thousand two hundred years.

an

Arabian

work,

is

and somewhat elaborate handle

To me

it

is

and the appearance of the glass

resembles that of the pendent enamelled lamps which

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE, have during the

few years been brought from Egypt and

last

purchased for the various European museums (Fig. 29).

There

is

a metal jug of

having around

its

proportions and Persian shape,

tall

body a row of

gilt

animals with engraved

Japanese metal water-bottle with

outline, a

by a

low and curious spout covered

and

I

may

lid

;

here add that a spout rising to

the level of the orifice of a vessel seems to be a late invention in

not

observable,

so

far as

Japan I

;

for

see,

on

it

is

any

native vessel in this collection.

There

are

leather bags, such as were

around the wrists of archers to prevent

tied

the arrows cutting them, a double-headed trident used in ancient times for the catch-

Rough Sketch of a

FiG. 29.

Glass Ewer, preserved

ing of

in the

Mikado's treasury at Nara. It undoubtedly an early Arab-

madmen,

a

box covcrcd

witli

baskct-

.

work aud

is

part lacqucrcd, a

itt

;y/(??/j"j/

brass

tray of sixteen inches in diameter, with a

stag in high relief in

centre,

its

two very wonderful basso-relievo

carvings in white marble, and as perfect and sharp as the day they

were

cut.

The

subject of these

and conventional clouds.

and of great excellence. in

There are two plates (each

in

yellow,

and an earthen bowl, the top of which

green and the sides striated, the stripes being due to the run-

ning

down

of the marginal green glaze over the white ware of

which the bowl

is

There

formed.

brown pattern printed upon in

fifteen inches

diameter) of white biscuit- ware, with pattern consisting of goose

and flowers is

a snake, mythological animals,

is

These are undoubtedly Indian works,

a

number of

it

is

but

;

a coarse white fabric with I

was specially interested

pieces of thick felt each four to five feet square,

which are well made and have most charming and simple patterns of true Indian character

wrought upon them by the entangling

of woollen yarns with the hairy surface of the fabric. fabrics

arc

now made

in

Persia

;

Similar

but the patterns of these old

works are simple and pure, while those now manufactured are figured with ornaments indistinct

and of complex character.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

As

the process by which these

been practised, so it

as

we here

find

a floor

may

briefly describe

Japan,

kind that

I

I

have ever

made

felted, or

is

seen.

unwoven

into an

being sprinkled with water to which a

and then

made has never

spread a quantity of short hair, generally that of

is

camel, which

the

in

cloths are

specimens which, although twelve hundred years,

old, are the best of the

On

know,

far as I

felt

toi

cloth,

by

acid has been added,

little

rolled with a stone roller or beaten with stones or clubs.

This beating or

rolling,

when continued

for a sufficient time, achieves

the close intermingling of the hairs, or the felting of the fabric.

But before the

felting

is

quite complete, coloured woollen yarns

but imperfectly spun are arranged loosely upon the surface of the

now

nearly formed fabric, and by manipulation of the

finger (which

is

in

protruding hairs of the process, a

by the completion of the

felt that,

homogeneous

fabric

formed with figured

is

Leaving the large room, we now go exhibition

of old quite

European and Persian

be from

to

five

to

There are here also many cloths types, but

examined the

as

collections

where they came from

carefully

the circumstances, for Mr. Machida,

dared not leave

us,

and

was

I

no museum of antiquities

half so instructive to the

Where

else could

and, although as

where the

is

unknown.

I

is

felting

surface.

to the hall,

consists wholly of fabrics, believed

hundred years of age.

eight

thumb and

part a twisting process) are so united with the

we

who

is

in

him

as

more than a thousand years

Persia, Central Asia, China,

first

left

old,

their makers'

and Japan

know,

I

this rare collection at

see fabrics printed, embroidered,

on the day when they

There

out.

world, so far

the

European as

charge of them,

in

afraid of tiring

under

possible

as

?

Where

and

Nara. felted,

almost as fresh

hands

in India,

else could

we

see

these strange connecting links between the arts of Egypt, India,

China, and Japan, that

we

find here

?

We

now taken

are

massive structure which has sheltered and preserved this of wealth for over a thousand years, and, strange to say,

to see the little

it is

world

a mere

large oblong building formed of triangular logs of ivood (Fig. 30).

These logs are arranged

like those of a

Russian timber house,

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

I02

and ends

after crossing at the. corners protrude like the sides

and

"

of an

on a

The

Oxford picture-frame."

series of circular

Fig. 30.

—The

old

Wooden

Building in

preserved for twelve hundred

years_.

and two

feet

upon a stone building

in ;

diameter, and

the roof

upon the building when second, and

this, in

its

hundred years back, and one hundred and a portion of a

height

first

erected.

This

is,

probably, the oldest

in the world.

of

is

each one of these rests loosely

tiles,

but that which

The

comparatively modern.

is

five feet in

Nara in which the Mikado's treasures have been The roof has been renewed from time to time, but

the other parts of the building remain as

wooden building

building thus formed stands

wooden columns of about

tile

fifty

it

was

turn, this

first

now

covers the

roof which was placed

erected was replaced by a

gave place to a third about

five

was replaced by the present about

years since.

Mr. Machida kindly gives

from each of the two

me

latter roofs.

In looking at this ancient building one

is

perhaps most struck

with the fact that wood which has existed for a thousand or more years,

and has been exposed to an atmosphere

as trying

at least

as that of Great Britain, should have endured to the present time

more surprising still, the wood is was when it was first placed here.

and, it

at this

In

worn by the action of the weather, indeed, a log

was exposed

it

moment

some I

as

cases

was three or four inches

less

Japanese seem to have an almost imperishable wood. ;

but what

is

it is

much

observed that where in

than where hidden, yet the wood was not decayed

of our oak

sound as

;

diameter but the

We

boast

oak when compared with wood that has

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

103

actually resisted the storm and the blast for over twelve centuries,

and

as sound as

is still

ever was.

it

Mr. Machida now orders the large and curious padlocks to be

Upon

taken from the doors of the storehouse.

we

find

divided into three compartments,

it

with large wooden

chests

and

;

is

it

To my astonishment

find

I

of which are

all

for so

many

only

one -third

that

centuries.

Mikado's rare treasures at Nara have been unpacked. vast

number

many

may

of great trunks

in all probability there are

now

subjects

contain

filled

these chests that the

in

Mikado's antiquities have been preserved

passing the entrance

of

the

What

this

cannot possibly say, but

I

here objects which would throw light on

imperfectly understood, and would do

much

towards perfecting a history now unknown to the world.

We

were about to bid our host adieu, when he begged us to

we saw

return to the building where

This he terms a pagoda, but

wood, some six inches

in

in height,

reality

to

little

object

lies

in

its

accept.

a turned piece of

is

it

me

It

is

hollow, and the orifice

by a pear-shaped wooden stopper, but the great

closed

of this

desires

with a base and discs protruding

horizontally one above the other. is

the oldest of the treasures,

was a small object which he

as here there

interest

containing a specimen of the

first

printing ever effected in Japan.

When first

the art of printing was introduced to the country the

work performed was the reproducing of one passage of the

The

Buddhist scriptures. these

million of

copies of this passage were incased in

pagodas and deposited

little

them were placed

I

in the

when

I

number of these

temple at Nara, and

and

this

letters

toil,

little I

it

I

However,

pagodas did

at

that a

difficulty with difficulties

said to be the

found that it

is

it

of

god had

certain that a

one time exist

in

the

could believe anything respecting Japanese

but unfortunately they have nearlyall disappeared;

most interesting

on the

much

is

language and

inspected

only sixteen of these appendages.

patience and

It is said

was once shown a god which was

of a thousand arms, but

vast

a temple.

here, but there

numbers, owing to peculiarities translation.

in

little

gift is

enclosed

roll

worm-eaten and decayed.

Yet the

of paper are readable to this day.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

I04

CHAPTER The

sacred dance

Having

visited

hotel and to

—A

feast night

one or

IV.

— Kioto— The royal

two

collections

we

other temples,

— Osaka.

return to our

we go by

a native dinner, after which

invitation

of Mr. Machida to see a religious ceremony consisting of music

and dancing

—

a ceremony the performance of which

—but our

at considerable

expense

prepared for

and has sent some Government

pany us

purchased

officials to

accom-

to the temple.

It is

streets

us,

is

good host has had everything

the night of a sacred festival, and

are also decorated, as the

town within the next day or two.

Nara

all

The

is astir.

Mikado is expected to visit the Bamboos stand at either side

of the streets at distances of about twelve feet apart, and these are connected

by festooned straw bands which hang

of six feet from the ground.

From

We

cut papers symbolising the Shinto religion.

an avenue of gigantic cryptomeria

have ever seen which are sold

—where

by an avenue turning on the never forget. colossal

Here

coniferous

is

feet,

turn into

— the grandest avenue

and other

right,

now

hang the

gay with trifles.

we behold

lanterns,

Leaving

a sight which

I

I

on

this shall

one of the most lovely of groves, formed of

trees,

lanterns at either side. to ten

trees,

are stalls rendered

toys, sweet stuffs,

at a height

these straw bands

with

innumerable

These lanterns vary

and nearly every one

two thousand

is

lit

(I

stone in

monumental

height from four

afterwards learnt that

two hundred lanterns in this grove.) Every now and again we come to little flights of rude steps, for the avenue ascends the slope of a rounded hill. This rising there

are

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, ground, the flocks

gaily dressed

of

who

people

105

going

are

to

the temple to pray, and the strange aspect of this vast forest of

stone lanterns, produce a scene in the highest degree surprising.

At

the top of this beautiful grove, amidst a vast crowd of

lanterns, rises the its

temple called Wakamiya.

It

celebrated for

is

thatched roof, the thatch being very thick and regular, and con-

sisting of layers of the inner

most perfect of

kind

its

containing a god, which enter

service

is

is

Facing

abode.

its

the road,

what

bark of a

Japan

in

;

so sacred that even

this shrine,

which we have come to see

This house

The room

that

we

is

enter

is

may

a priest

its

a parallelogram.

side Its

with coarse lattice-work, over which no paper frames, hinged at the top, open inwards, and

to

the

road.

windows, which

is

filled

These

strained.

when open

are sup-

a horizontal position by hooks from the ceiling.

in

On

not

In this the religious

form the entire road-side of the room, are heavy frames

ported

the

to be performed.

long building with

a

is

is

a shrine

is

but at the opposite side of

called a " priest's house."

is

This roof

fir-tree.

and near the temple

this

the

evening of our

visit

the whole

of these

side

windows are open, hence whatever takes place within the room is

visible

to

those

the performance

and thousands congregate to

outside,

of a

service

in

which they evidently

all

see

take

interest.

At

the distant end of the room, as

we

enter, four priests are

kneeling on the floor behind small deal tables or

altars,

and

front of a large folding-screen, on which deer are painted.

has a

flute,

in

One

another a small hourglass-shaped drum, another small

cymbals, and the fourth curiously shaped pieces of wood, which are

knocked together Facing the

priestesses

and

in the

street, five

and

manner of our at the side

"

bones."

of the room, are three

female children, while along the open

side,

or facing the priestesses, are five small tables, like those in front

of the priests

;

these tables bear the rattles, or sistrums, from the

handles of which streaming ribbons are pendent.

The

priestesses

beauty, which

is

wear red under

chiefly white

;

dresses,

and a robe of great

but here and there

is

dispersed

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

io6

over

surface

its

a

spray of the westeria creeper

little

with a touch of colour,

—

with the red of the under of about

in

green

the green contrasting most pleasantly

Each spray occupies a space

skirt.

four inches square, while six or eight inches of space

Fig. 31.— Back view of dress of priestess of

Fig. 32.

— Front view of

Fig. 33.

— Hair of priestess of Nara.

dress of priestess of

Nara.

Nara.

intervene between the groups.

When

seen from the back, and

when the arms are held at right angles has much the form of the letter T (Fig.

to the body, the dress

31); but what

we may

term the shank part does not surround the body, but merely falls

as a broad sort of streamer, which, were

it

sufficiently long

to rest on the ground,

In front,

would form a train. the shank portion of the T is

as a sort fabrics

;

the centre,

while, arranged

of habit-shirt, there are folds of red, white, and

(Fig. 32).

colours

down

split

and the two parts are crossed over the chest

employed

The whole in

it

dress

is

most charming, and the

are the Court colours

are priestesses of a Shinto temple,

lilac

;

for the wearers

and the Mikado

is

the head

all

Japanese,

of the Shinto Church,

The

hair of the priestesses

intensely black.

It

is

is

long and, like that of

not plaited or braided in any way, but

flows loosely

down

the back; only being

by a curious

flat

gold band (Fig. 33).

tufts of red

and white flowers which

pins take the position of horns.

bound together

at the top

In the front two

stick out at the

little

ends of long

Close to the priestesses, as they

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

107

kneel against the side wall of the room, stand two hexagonal

boxes of about eighteen inches

in

height and eleven inches in

diameter, which appear to contain fans.

The boxes

with leather-paper of golden hue, and the room

supported on oil

We

by candles

is lit

candlesticks standing on the ground, and b)'

tall iron

lamps which

are covered

on small brackets projecting from the

rest

who have been

enter the building together with others

rows across the end

invited to the service,

and range ourselves

most distant from the

priests, leaving a large clear

in

walls.

space between

them and ourselves. Now all prostrate themselves, for it is supposed that the god is leaving the shrine opposite and coming into our midst. esses

The

up

priests strike

and two children

their music,

when

very slow and solemn, and the priestesses,

room with slow and

the three priest-

The music

and begin the dance.

rise

who walk

rise, lifting

grace and dignity,

across the

stately step, yet with a slight dancing gesture,

prostrate themselves to the very floor in front of the

They now

is

little

tables,

much

the sistrums from the table, and, with

move

in

a rhythmical, yet most solemn and

impressive, manner.

For about ten minutes these beautiful motions are alternated with prostration before the

little

tables on which the rattles arc,

while at other times the rattles are employed in the dance.

After

prostrating themselves with, the deepest humility before these tables or altars,

where they remain

still

little

as death for a few minutes,

with the rattles in their hands, they return the rattles to their places on the tables, rise

and again kneel

they originally occupied by

The next dance in

is

entirely

dances, for there are five in

of the

The dances not to

rise

from

the positions which

all,

five

children

just described,

;

but

it

differs

and the following

are merely slightly varied repeti-

All are equally solemn, equally impressive,

first.

and alike beautiful

in

by the

no important respect from that

tions

in

the wall.

in

the highest and purest sense of the word.

over, all

prostrate themselves

our places.

A

priest

;

now comes

but

we

are told

forward, bearing

one hand a small tray of clean unpolished and undecorated

pine-wood on which are a

few rough, unglazed, small earthen

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

io8

and

saucers,

other

the

in

and of the

(Japanese wine),

brazen

a

size of a

vessel

containing

two semicircular spouts, and a long wooden handle small

of the sacred wine (about a

quantity

poured into a saucer by the

whom

of those for

priest, is

Fig. 34.

Used

taken from the tray by one

The

drinks.

recipient

Brazen Vessel with Wooden Handle. we use the flagon at our Holy Communion.

bows and

second portion, in his turn,

we have

The

priest then passes to

at the Shinto Sacrament as

the next, pours wine into another saucer, this

A

(Fig. 34).

dessert-spoonful),

the dance has been performed.

now bows and

of this wine

sachi

small saucepan, but having

when the drinks,

partaken of this Shinto sacrament.

all

that the dance

is

supposed to have

was

I

spiritual efficacy,

of

recipient

and so on,

till

aware

and that the

wealthy have such dances performed as a means of grace, but

was not aware that Shinto had

We been so

we

its

I

sacrament.

now return home from the sacred house in which we have much interested, by the lantern-lit grove, but on our way

diverge a

little

from our path to see the chief Shinto temple

of Nara, that at the top of the grove being only the second in

importance

in this

Here we

town.

find eight

eaves of the roof, and is

hundred metal lanterns pendent from the

all

ablaze with light.

a large raised wooden platform which

this

is

And by

there, opposite,

scores of lanterns

the playground for the children, and from

sound of the tramping of voices.

is lit

many

feet

All seems brightness and joy and mirth. I

unkind look,

are thoroughly happy.

all

comes the

Amidst the

do not hear one cry of sorrow, nor see one

crowd of children

—

it

and the ringing of cheerful

AR T, AND AR T MA NUFA CTURES. Much

we have seen to-day has been

that

and never within

possible interest,

my

09

the greatest

of

much

experience has so

been crowded into a few brief hours as on this visit to

1

day of our

first

Nara.

have learnt that more than a thousand years since fabrics

I

were made which so closely resemble the during the

last

two or three

be told from the other

:

finest

—That from some

works of Arabia one can scarcely

centuries, that the

part of Asia cloths were

derived, so similar to those of Italy immediately preceding the

time of Raphael, that the one would pass for the other.

found that Chinese embroidery was as perfect years since as

it is

were

in style

the

only

fifty

more

pattern

now, and that the patterns on Indian fabrics

same

as those produced in the

purer

years since, but

beautiful to

colour;

in

in

that the

Saracens were conquering Spain than

Thus we have the strange centuries

fact

of

art

at

it is

greatest purity of design,

and giving

felting

the

time when the

moment.

at the present

brought before us that twelve

produced fabrics bearing

ago India

same country

form, better in design and

was better understood

felt

have

I

twelve hundred

and without any

patterns

of the

Hindoo orna-

taint of

ment, and that the art of India was at that period better than is

We

now.

know

it

though a

had

I

highest

what time Indian ornament development

?

it is

it

at this

would seem as

art of

day

;

in

manufacturing metals was as

both China

far

advanced

that the art of forming cloisonne enamels

back as

it

is

was then formed into ewers by some Asiatic people

could be

it

we now

this.

as perfectly understood twelve centuries glass

for

as

however gradual, has been taking place from

have also learnt that a thousand years ago,

and Japan, the as

its

decline,

day to

that

ask, then, at

now ;

;

was that

that iron

hammered into the most beautiful and thinnest of bowls made metal peacocks with spreading tails that

that the Persians

;

wood-carving was as well understood

in

years since as at almost any later period

;

Japan twelve hundred that sculptures in marble

were as perfect then as now; and that the manufacture of porcelain in China was as thoroughly understood and as successfully practised

no

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE. Thus we

then as recently.

find

from the collection here at Nara

that twelve hundred years have passed over the Eastern world

without bringing about any great improvement

most of the

in

manufactures, while in some retrogression, rather than advancement, is

painfully apparent.

The

fact

also

is

brought before us that but few new manu-

factures have been invented during the time that these things have

been hidden

we

the Mikado's treasury, for

in

here find illustra-

tions of weaving, felting, embroidery, porcelain, glass, metal- work,

hammering,

chasing,

casting,

and

damascening,

engraving,

of

lacquer-work, wood-carving, inlaying, stone-cutting, block-printing,

of leather- making and leather- stamping, and of

my

which time does not permit of

recording

;

many

other arts

and beyond these

but few manufactures have been invented even to this day.

There which

up

is

one specimen

me much,

interests

in the collection

although

of antiquities at Nara

have not even mentioned

I

We

are

which are

Bombay sandalwood boxes

those

familiar with

all

inlaid with tesserae of white metal, ivory, either white or

These boxes.

stained green, and sometimes with deep red wood. Sir

it

to this time.

George Birdwood

tells us,

are but copies of works produced in

Yet the Persian work

Persia.

from that of

Bombay

differs, in

one essential particular,

for while in the latter the

;

inlaid

tesserae

are brought close together, they are invariably separated in Persian

work by a surface.

fine

brass ribbon, the edge of which appears on the

am

not aware of ever having seen a specimen of this

I

Bombay work which modern happen

;

could be regarded as anything more than

but of the Persian work

I

have not only seen, but

hundred years

;

aware that we can trace the history of however,

I

find in

Nara

hundred years of age knows.

I

example which may date back some two and beyond some such date as this I am not

to possess, an

In

this

;

this

a coarse specimen

manufacture. of this

Here,

work twelve

but where the specimen came from no one

example the

tesserae

are

in

form elongated

hexagons of about one and a half inches from point

to

point in

the longest direction, and seven-eighths of an inch in width, and a

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

metal line separates the hexagons.

iii

we have evidence

Here, then,

of the existence of a manufacture, though, in this case, in a crude state,

which, so far as

I

know, we have only been able to trace back

two or three centuries

for

art,

so

it is

collection

most and just as this specimen what we have regarded as a modern

at the

reveals the ancient origin of

;

possible that were the other two-thirds of the Mikado's

open to our inspection, they would exhibit to us

more advanced stages of its development. While speaking of Indian manufactures, I may make a box in the collections at Nara, as it was formed of

this art

in the

to

bamboo arranged

the

on boxes

common

bamboo used

in

in the

The narrow strips and the manner

India to this day.

manufacture of

this object,

formed the original of the porcupine

the

find in the

more probable,

of

in

boxes of India, or that

quill

The

Mikado's collection.

for while

of

probable that either this

it

these Indian boxes suggested to the Japanese the

we now

strips

precisely as porcupines' quills are disposed

which they are placed together, render

as

reference

most of the

arts

making of such is by far

latter

which have been

practised in Japan are traceable to the Asiatic Continent,

I

have

not yet succeeded in tracing any Japanese influence on the arts of China,

India,

Persia,

Asiatic

Turkey, or any other Eastern

country.

Inspection of the Nara collections also reveals this fact

—

brought prominently into notice during a long journey

fact

Japan —

in

that while the Japanese are the most subtle and delicate

of workmen, the most accomplished of handicraftsmen, the most conscientious of race.

There

is

a

artists,

they are yet by no means inventive as a

good deal of truth

in

the statement

that the

Japanese have originated nothing, but have improved upon

ever}--

thing which they have seen.

Throughout Japan

traces of Indian

while Chinese objects of better class

most of the nobles

in

the land

;

art are constantly found,

may

and

I

be seen

in

the houses of

have also found patterns

of Persian, Egyptian, and even Celtic character on native work

but of these things

We

I will

;

speak hereafter.

must always remember that

at

an early period of

its

112

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

history Japan

was successful

in

invasion and

the

conquest of

and this is certain, that many of the arts of Japan, as some of its best architectural features, were derived from Corea. Through this peninsula many objects of Chinese manuCorea

;

well as

some from the more

facture, as well as

hands of the Japanese.

into the

that at Nara,

collection which, like

central parts of Asia,

Indeed, there is

is

came

Kioto a

in

the property of the

also

Mikado, consisting largely of things brought to Japan from Corea

by the conquerors of the country. the

relations

Nara

of this

mention

I

collection

now only

this

that

manufactures of

the

to

may

Japan, as well as to the industries of the world,

be better

understood.

To-day has

mony

also brought us face to face with a religious cere-

of special interest, and a

We have here, in

Japan.

a sacrament which

is

ceremony peculiar

in itself a fact of

no

little

most striking circumstance connected with the to-night

is

to in

interest

which reference

dance of

religious

by the

As, however, this matter

an old number of the Japan Weekly Mail

from that excellent journal a portion of an

extract

is

made

in

but the

;

likeness to the rites formerly performed

its

priestesses of Isis in ancient Egypt.

referred

Nara

to

connection with an early form of religion,

is

I will

article

in

to this ceremony.

Speaking of Nara, the writer says said to be second in antiquity

:

—

"

Here

is

a Shinto shrine,

and importance only to that of

Ise.

In a building not far from this shrine, and probably connected

with

it,

we witnessed

religious

handsomely and

three

young

girls).

girls,

Their movements were of a very solemn

their use of the sistrum or rattle recalled the

priestesses of Isis, of

unfailing

The performers were

dressed, but perhaps less showily than the ordinary

Geyslia (dancing kind,

a posture-dance performed as a species of

ceremony.

whose performances

accompaniment.

another a drum, and the

Three third

priests

this

Egyptian

instrument was the

—one

playing

occasionally beating time on the two simple pieces of

accompanied the dancers. of this kind were paid for

We

a

flute,

chanting with his voice, and

wood-

were informed that performances

by devout persons much

as masses are

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

"3

paid for by Catholics.

There are eight dancers or priestesses

attached to the temple.

They are the daughters of priests or of we presume, the office is considered

respectable inhabitants, and,

a highly honourable one."

We

The next morning we rose had not got far when our

early

and

strolled

through the town.

attention was attracted

by a

care-

roofed wall, the lower portion

fully

of which was built of a black rag-

and the upper and major part

stone,

of plaster tinted to a pleasant yellow-

ochre colour, along which were drawn

On

white

parallel

five

any

rounded

(Fig.

35).

lines

we were with

told

that

the

yellow wall

white lines running through-

five

length denotes that the build-

its

ing

or

and ruling white

it

mere caprice of the owner,

a

is

building,

special

whether tinting

out

lines

our asking whether this wall sur-

belongs

nected

to,

with, the

or

is

directly

con-

Mikado, and that

none but those of royal blood can have

a yellow wall

upon

it,

while the

with any lines

number of

Fig.-

3^.— End of Wall. The Wall is of This colour, and the lines, indicate that a

yellow-ochre colour. five parallel white

lines

employed indicates the relationship

person of royal blood owns or administers this property.

Emperor.

to the

Some

few years back, when about to send an assistant to

Spain and Morocco to make sketches of

my

good

Spain

is

friend

Mr. George

the land of nails."

kinds of art objects,

all

Augustus Sala

My

said,

"

Remember

assistant sent me,, from

country, sketches of the grandest nails that

I

had ever

this

seen,

and

even some of the nails themselves which he had managed to pick up at curiosity shops. But Mr. Sala was but imperfectly informed on this matter, for Japan

Spain

:

and

walked with

this

is

the land of nails and not

he would have been the

me around

first

to

admit had he

the old city of Nara this morning. I

Here

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

114

the temple doors are positively bestudded with such nails as are in

the truest sense ornaments,

A

huge hinge

is

'^6.

Fig-.

here sometimes attached to a temple door

with nails havingf heads from half an inch to an inch and a half

Old Nails from Temple-doors

Fig. 36.

in diameter,

Naka.

while every available part of the door

cases occupied

With

in

by

strained to stay

I

am

and note

while thus engaged

I

know

some

heads three and a half inches across.

nails with

these nails

itself is in

positively delighted,

forms

their

that

But here we have not only

am

I

nails

hinges two to three feet in length.

in

my

And

metal plates and bindings on the doors.

my

con-

feel

I

sketch-book

a drag on

but hinges

and

;

yet

companions.

— grand

hinges

besides hinges

we have

In Nara the old metal-

work would supply the art student with material for study, and examples to copy, for weeks and in no town in the world that ;

I

know

much that is interesting in this way be found. are many bell-pulls, knockers, and door-handles,

of can so

In Troyes there

which are place,

is

rich

in art

glorious specimens

metal-work of

;

and

hammered -iron

in

St.

Gothard, for a small

Frankfort on the Main,

still

remain to us

from

Nara you are everywhere impressed with possessed by the town in its metal-work.

medijeval times the riches

Andermatt on the

interesting.

;

but

in

ART,

We with

now have another

115

look at the great temple of Dai-butz,

and the more we look at it the more we are The columns of the gates, as we noticed yester-

vast gates,

its

lost in

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

wonder.

day, are one hundred feet in height

by twelve

feet in circumference,

while each consists of but one piece of wood, and the building

was erected eleven hundred and thirty-one years

since, or in the

year 750 A.D. It

difficult

is

hundred years of wood, and

to conceive of

any building existing

in a perfect state, especially

is

exposed to the atmosphere

here before me, although

it,

when ;

it is

for eleven

formed only

yet such a building

is

unlike the old treasury, has doubtless

been at times restored.

When

such facts as these are considered

understand

why we

should

seems

it

now be persuading

difficult to

the Japanese to

and not of wood, especially when

erect buildings of stone

it

is

remembered that Japan is a land of earthquakes. What buildings can we show in England which have existed since the eighth century and are yet almost as perfect as

when

and yet our buildings

and not on earth

which

is

rest

on a

solid foundation,

first

built

?

constantly rocked by natural convulsions.

Besides this

Japanese have, by the medium of wood,

the

produced a characteristic and beautiful architecture.

In the great

temple of Shiba we have a development of architecture perhaps equal to anything that has been produced by any people in any

Why

age.

then should

we

lead a nation, which

adopt new methods by which

it

can only be

made

Moreover, when a nation that has erected

traditions of the past.

in itself great, to

to appear small

its

?

habitations in

more solid material, it retain in the new method of building the Thus the Egyptians formed the columns

any simple manner, has begun invariably appears to

is

to build in

of their stone -built temples in the form of bundles of Papyrus

reeds

;

centre,

the roofs of

many Chinese

and thus perpetuate

in

buildings

sway down

in

the

form the bent pole which formed

the ridge of the original tent -dwelling, while the walls of the

Alhambra

at

complete,

for,

Granada

are

mere Arab shawl patterns with borders

while yet nomads, the Arabs formed their primitive

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ii6

dwellings of the rich tissues which they wove.

we

find the

more

solid building

In

all cases,

embodying the thought

then,

or idea of

the original abode of the people.

But history supplies us with a

more rem.arkable instance

still

of the perpetuation in stone of an earlier method of construction, for

many

of the rock-cut temples of India are simply copies of

works or of a

While

style of

mere copy,

work which had pre-existed

wood.

in

not desirable that any stone building should be a

it is

either actually or in

wooden

of a

spirit,

structure, a

nation which would produce a noble architecture must erect such buildings as express the sentiments, faith, and wants of

and the buildings erected must be adapted conditions of climate, and

result

"

We, however, have

wrongly and

foolishly.

we have

fifty feet ?

gateways and huge temples

Hence

I

Can we teach them how in

to

stone so that at the end

cannot help thinking

it

standing?

I

only right that

we

still

from obtruding our advice upon a people who know their

own wants better than we We now walked to the gaiety and

life

;

do.

avenue, which

Here we

of food, such as the deer the deer

like,

come and

so

night

last

is

it

see deer running about,

Poor

as dogs are with us.

call,

we saw

the noble cryptomerias of which

gigantic indeed.

our

to erect

high, on small bases, so that

of eleven hundred years they will find them fear not.

acted both

Can we show the Japanese how

they will withstand the earthquake

tame

pro-

and these the natives

;

In this matter

imitate.

buildings one hundred and

raise vast

"

work-house architecture

expected to

refrain

particular

Tokio, the capital of Japan, one or two of the worst

in

specimens of are

people,

from a legitimate use of the

material most suited to their erection.

duced

the

to

its

in

such

formed are

and almost as

women offer to sell us little balls we make a purchase and then, at

eat out of our hands.

The deer have

the free run of the town, and wander wherever they

like.

Little

images of these deer are the popular toy of the place, just as the bear

is

dominant

We now little

visit

in

Berne.

a temple for the purpose of purchasing certain

netsukies which are peculiar to the town.

Many

of these

J

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, are

form of the deer

the

in

grotesques, while

pecuHarity consists

their "

others

" cuts,

clean

the

their being

are

but

;

formed by a number of

surfaces.

man brought

After our return to the hotel, a

An

which we eagerly bought.

fans,

or

lobster

the Httle carving consisting thus of a series of facets

and not of rounded

Nara

some

crawfish,

recumbent posture

in

represent in

117

us

old

some

priest

beautiful

from the

temple to which we yesterday gave a small subscription also

mark of

and, after greeting us with every

called,

respect and kindness,

begged our acceptance of some beautiful oranges arranged on a most charming tray.

The

cloth with which the oranges were

covered was a thing to be coveted.

must certainly be

oranges

the

common

basket.

It

is

Presented better

in

than

such a manner served

if

from a

interesting to notice the beautiful objects

which a Japanese, when he wishes to show either Ins own wealth, or respect to another, will bring from a house that appears to

contain nothing but a few domestic utensils.

now wished

Mr. Machida

us adieu and

and promised to get copies made nails,

which

had to-day seen

I

The Japanese

for

in the

love antiquities

me

of

a

pleasant journey,

some of the grand

old

temple doors. for

own sake and

their

for

the sake of the objects with which they have been associated, and there

much

is

in

the Shinto religion which

calculated to stimu-

is

late this veneration.

My old

;

admiration of the art was mistaken for veneration of the

hence Mr.

by getting

nails

Machida, instead of

made

expense and trouble,

in imitation in

fulfilling

his

engagement,

of those at Nara, went to great

order to procure genuine pieces of old

metal-work from some ancient building of especial interest after letter

my

return to England,

from

of language,

my "

heads, used in irons

to you."

old

and

I

friend,

I

in

received a

;

box with a charming

which he says

in

the quaintest

present two ornamental coverings of nail-

Rashomon and Congoshuin, and twenty-one

To

thus

our great amusement, the

"

irons " proved to be literally " old irons," so far as

with the exception of one or two only.

But

I

old

twenty-one old

we could

see,

value them for the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ii8

sake of the giver, and the day

knowledge present

am

I

As we

may

I

discover in

may yet come when, by increased them points of interest which at

unable to perceive.

Nara

left

for

The road

Kioto the sky became heavy.

was new, having been prepared

Mikado, who

for the

to visit

is

town in a few days. On our journey we stopped for refreshment at a little wayside inn, where the inevitable eggs and rice

this

appeared

;

now welcome,

but they were

and half melted snow had been

At

this

for

was

it

some time

Mikado

hotel the

little

for

falling.

on

to stop

is

bitterly cold,

way from

his

Kioto to Nara, and for his reception a new room has been preThis room

pared at the back of the house.

nished pine-wood with the usual paper

consists

of mattress -like pads, also

openwork

simple

the paper slides, for in circulation

is

stocked with

There

is

fish,

is

feet

in

any of which you may

made

for

A

tops of

provision for the

In this case the

In the garden

diameter, which select for

a charming simplicity about

preparations have been

this

peculiarly simple. four

is

top of the room as a

the ceiling and the

the slides be closed.

small fish-pond of about

floor

a raised dais, which

covered with matting.

rooms there

all

of air should

pattern of the lattice

is

runs along the

lattice

of frieze, intervening between

sort

and the

slides,

Near one end

covered with matting.

of clean, unvar-

is

all

is

a

well

is

your dinner.

No

this.

costly

the visit of the emperor, no

elaborately fitted rooms have been prepared, no expensive furniture

purchased. at

a

little

The Mikado comes wayside

But that room

is

formed are of the there

is

inn,

its

way

:

the materials of which

and the workmanship

a look of cleanliness about

it

which

any country, and impossible Looking at this room and admiring

to equal in

it

is

faultless,

would be

it is

while

difficult

to surpass. its

beauty,

our surprise at the simple taste of the Mikado. that the food which he will partake of

is

that prepared for the guests at the hotel.

To

that a

and stays

with only one small room as his abode.

perfect in best,

as one of the people,

we expressed

We

were told

exactly the same as us

it

seemed strange

monarch should content himself with such simple surround-

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

and such common

ings,

fare

must have a marked

this

yards

find

which has been

in length,

Mikado

to be ready for the

At

but on a people like the Japanese

effect.

we

Farther on the road

;

a bridge two hundred and built in twenty-seven

days, so as

we reach Kioto, cold and which we have been obliged

the end of a seven hours' journey

as

sit,

foreigners

in

the hoods of the jinrikishas

up our abode

Mariyama Hotel

at the

make

their

European Hotel, yet it

fifty-

to pass over.

wearied with the cramped position to

119

home it is

We

were spread.

—

take

the house at which most

while in Kioto.

It is often called the

a thoroughly Japanese building, although

possesses tables and chairs, bedsteads and washstands.

After a

semi -English dinner, Mr. Saumarez leaves us to join Sir Harry Parkes and the other foreign ministers palace, in

morrow

in state at

the reader

months

make

order to

a Yashiki, or Daimio

in

preparations for their appearance

may have

gathered, trains have been running for

some

past.

While

this

hotel

by no means

is

small,

it

uncomfortabl)'

is

of visitors, owing to the influx of people desiring to see the

full

ceremony. justified in

I

have a bed, however, but

saying that

I

have a bedroom,

I

should

for ray

we

six-fold draught-screens, such as

scarcely be

bed

of a room, divided off from another portion which

by

to-

the official opening of the railway, on which, as

is

use in our

is

in

a strip

also occupied

own rooms.

Early the next morning, on pushing aside the window-slides,

was more than surprised

The

spread before me.

wooded

hill,

From

base.

and

at the magnificence of the

hotel stands high on the side of a richly-

my room

faced the plain which extends at

the balcony surrounding the building

on a grand old spreading

wooded

slope, while

I

view which lay

fir-tree,

I

looked

its

down

a lovely garden, and a richly-

yonder lay stretched

far

over the plain a vast

Here and there rose pagodas of beautiful proportion and elegant shape, while beyond the plain were snow-clad mountains, city.

mingled with cloud and

As there

is

I

looked from

mist.

my

balcony,

I

could not help feeling that

a likeness between the lovely view before

me and

that

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

I20

may be

which

obtained behind the Salt Lake City in America.

But while the town case,

presents but

itself

of the highest interest

is

it

interest in the

little

The

the other.

in

one

Lake

Salt

City has a half finished appearance, and consists largely of insig-

wooden

nificant

greater

vastly

houses, while Kioto

Both

size.

rounded by mountains

much

same

of the

;

most picturesque and of

is

however, stand on plains sur-

cities,

both cases the mountains seem to be

in

and

height,

in

both cases the city

much

is

nearer the one side of the plain than the other.

This

a gala day here

is

the shops are closed, business

:

is

suspended, and the streets are decorated, while people in holiday

So dense

crowd the chief thoroughfares.

attire

the railway station, that

am

I

is

the throng near

compelled to give up the notion of

getting within view of the pageant, and to content myself with

being a general sight-seer. In her Voyage in the Siinbeani,

opening of

this railway.

Lady Brassey speaks

curious that

It is

we were both almost

that, while

little

beyond the

spare time,

day to Osaka, which two

was

The

hours.

I

to be

of the railway,

treading in each other's foot-

we should never have met during our

Finding that

Thomas and Lady

Kobe end

Brassey) were observing those at the

steps,

should see the Kioto

while Mr. and Mrs. Brassey (now Sir

festivities,

and

I

done

sight-seeing,

I

sojourn in Japan.

Kioto

in

which

for

moved on

could

I

the following

reached after a railway journey of

distance

of the

less

than

Japan

forty miles, but the trains in

is

run slowly.

Osaka towns

and

in

is

probably the most important of the manufacturing

the country.

has, for this

there

is

very

rather regard

Here

I

reason, been

little it

take up

It is intersected in all directions

called

my

Amsterdam than

abode

canals,

Yet

the Venice of Japan.

likeness between the

as the

by

two

places,

and

I

should

the Venice of the country.

at the Jiyutei Hotel, in

the quarter of

the town called Kawakuchi, a building two stories in height, and called

the

European house

are furnished floor is

much

like the

;

but although the rooms upstairs

Mariyama Hotel

without furniture, as

is

customary

in

at Kioto, the

ground-

Japanese houses.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

The manufactures bamboo-work is made and

wood-work

lattice

of Osaka here,

like

those

also toys

and cabinets

Much pierced in

hard

37.— Part of a Window.

and white

of China, tea-trays, bronze

carved lac-work, and

kettles,

many kinds. of many sorts,

of

(Fig. 37), vase-stands

Fig.

wood,

and

are

121

many

metal

other things.

After studying the manufactures of Osaka for about ten days, I

left

it

by

jinrikisha

for

Wakayama,

the

chief

town

of the

We

province of Kishiu, distant about forty-two English miles. start

at

10

A.M.,

and

in

two hours (twelve miles) reach Sakai,

one of the two towns of Japan

we

visit

in

which carpets are made.^

a temple reached by a bridge, the road over which

convex that notches have to be cut without them

it

would be impossible

help of the handrail with which ^

Carpets were formerly

ceased at the time of with,

Here

tlie

made by

it

is

for the feet to

to cross

it,

rest in,

is

so

and

even with the

furnished.

the Prince of Hiezen, but this private manufacture

revolution in 1868, as the

Daimio system was then done awav

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE.

122

Soon

we approached

after leaving Sakai

a distance of four or five

miles, a

the sea, and saw, at

range of mountains,

glorious

On

which must either be an island or a promontory. about the same distance,

running towards the end of the

go through a

left,

is

its

background

truly wonderful

turn to

when

source, cross the ridge,

its

and lakes

it

Here a

upon the view.

bursts

mirrors

like silver

green surface, has a range of snow-clad mountains as ;

and yonder a

at

are

not unlike that of Linton in North

vast plain, having rivers traversing

breaking

left,

we

we

In thirty miles

this ridge.

defile,

Devon, and following a stream to a scene which

our

another mountain chain, and

is

little

village nestles

beneath

us.

its

We now

begin a rapid, zigzag descent by following a sort of Saint Gothard

The moon

road on a small scale, and reach the plain at twilight. is

new, but

clouds flecking

There

is

and the

it,

stars

come out with

Our road

for the

common.

next mile

lies

form mighty torrents.

become contracted the river-beds,

As

or, in

some

unmercifully jolted,

;

it

;

but

little

which flow

rain

rivers

gradually centres of

dry up.

In the middle

we have been most which we cross by means

to the river,

This carries us and our five jinrikisJias

indeed

I

In this valley the cold seems

never before

felt

cold at

seems almost to stop the action of the

preparation for a thoroughly cold drive,

I

to

any

in the

I

all

approachYet, in

heart.

had dressed myself

thick tweed suit, thick underclothing, a flannel over-shirt, a silk

at

over which

across the stream at the same time.

almost unbearable

is

in the late

and, collecting in the

rapidly-running

cases, entirely

we come

of a flat-bottomed boat.

fall,

there

to small streams,

of this strange, stony valley,

it

such valleys are

:

During the rainy season (which occurs

other time of the year these

ing

great brilliancy.

across a vast river-bed, con-

sand and innumerable boulders

spring time) vast quantities of water valleys,

fleecy

little

a fine "afterglow," but this beautiful light soon passes away.

sisting of a little

here

sky has a few

its entire circle is visible, the

dressing-gown, and a very stout topcoat, while over

had a large wadded possum skin

rug.

But with

in

a

wadded

my

all this

knees I

had

borrow from one of our coolies a blanket which he was not

using to wrap

my

head

in.

AR T, AND AR T MANUFA CTURES. At

a

little

we reach Wakayama.

eight

before

excellent Japanese hotel, where, after a

and

English,

in part I

I

write

difficulty of

keeping

most

warm

cases,

them, but

this failed to

vails in this part of

underclothing, wear

manage

to

to

keep out the

Japan

so

;

I

my wadded

myself round and round

keep out the

I

to take with

wadded dressing-gown and

But even

in part

in

an

Japanese

have now overcome the

me

wear

was obliged

my

good

friend

while travelling a

it

night-dress.

a

as

terrible cold

which now pre-

to retain

my

thick

dressing-gown, and

then wrap

By

I

the fur rug.

cold.

is

Japanese beds and of the

of the

in

good meal,

Here

23

diary and go to bed.

through a suggestion of

me

Saumarez, who advised thick

my

have already spoken

difficulty, in

1

these

means

just

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

124

CHAPTER The Japanese Calendar zan

— Splendour

Return

To-day

to

Osaka

V.

— Wakayama— Japanese cold and Japanese vegetation — Koya— Sakai — News of Satsuma

of shrines and of scenery

— Feast of

being the

revolt in

the god of riches.

February

15th of

Japan according to the old Calendar.

is

The

New

Year's

system of dates was only adopted a short time since

now keep both

Most of the shops

days.

in

is,

according

to

Japanese

beginning of their empire. been, as far as last year,

far this

for

is

It

is

known, anything

chronology,

when one was proclaimed by

Sabbath

the

This year,

in

has

Japan

Government

;

proclamation has affected only the Government

shops are open and business

is

have

2537, from

strange that there like a

in

hence some

;

Wakayama

been closed to-day, and general holiday has been kept. 1877,

Day

Julian year and our

transacted on

all

the

never until

but thus officials,

days of

the year, save on the great holidays and on the feast days of their favourite gods.

Under the old system of recording time many difficulties arose, for the same year was constantly recurring, and to specify any particular year reference had to be made to the reigning Mikado

as well as to the

name

of the year

;

and, curiously, the

hours of the day bore the same names as the years in a cycle.

The Japanese

day, however, from midnight to midnight, was only

divided into twelve hours, each as long as two of ours.

Their

clock also differed essentially from ours, time being here marked

by a small horizontal hand, which that of our thermometers.

slid

down

a scale, resembling

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, The names to

which

125

of the years in a cycle and the hours in the day,

added the hours of our

latter are

t

me

Ne, mouse

indicated, are 12 at night.

Ushi, ox

2 A.M.

Tora, tiger

4 A.M.

Uw,

6 A.M.

hare,

Tatsu, dragon

8 A.M.

Mi, snake

Uma,

10 A.M.

horse

1

.

2

noon.

Hitsuzi, sheep

2 P.M.

monkey

4 P.M.

Saru,

Tori, cock Inu, le,

The year

6 P.M.

dog

8 P.M.

boar

A.D.

:

10 P.M.

1877

the year of the boar, the preceding

is

year

being that of the dog.

Wakayama but

is

it

is

a town of

medium

especially celebrated for

its

size with several

industries,

oranges, and here in the

garden of our hotel, bitterly cold though the weather trees laden with

golden

For the strange tropical plants, will

cold

I

grow

semi-tropical

that

in a

can account only

of

frost

the

little

are two

fruit.

fact

this

preceding

way

as, in

even

in

almost

all

:

and

night,

and almost

fruits,

country where there

in

winter the sun yields such heat the

is,

thus

is

such intense

the

depth of melt

cases, to

the

cold

never

icicles

a yard

penetrates deeply into the ground. I

have seen pendent from the eaves of a house

in length, rise

;

yet

which have been formed between sun-down and sunI

never saw ice on which

once, and that sun's rays

might venture to walk, save

I

was on a small pool

by an overhanging

entirely protected It is also

rock.

highly volcanic country like Japan subterranean heat

something

to

do with

keeping

the

varying depths have here been

made

of

roots

Whether any observations respecting the

earth's

or not

from the

possible that in a

I

may have

plants

warm.

temperature at

cannot say

;

but

the fact remains that we have the orange luxuriating, the teaplant flourishing, the

bamboo

acquiring colossal proportions, and

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

126

here and there a palm-tree in a sheltered spot, while the cold

experienced It is

is

sometimes almost Polar.

morning

is

very cold, and

the sky

;

ice

is

almost cloudless, but the weather

is

we perform our

everywhere, yet

ablutions

on the open balcony.

Our a

business to-day

Estuary

village,

The scraffito

Some have work

Kuroye-mura, or Black

called

which we reach about mid-day.

lacquer wares

quality.

lacquer manufactures at

to see the

is

town ten miles distant

little

is,

made

here

cheap and of medium

are

patterns given to

them by

ceased, and the inferior

unimportant places,

am

the

work of

is all

that replaces

better form, has

its

and of a few other

this village

so far as

it,

European that has ever

first

in

Since the overthrow of the

baronial system that beautiful manufacture, in

I

made

however, very inferior to that formerly

the dominion of the Prince of Kaga.

This

scratching.

I

know.

this town,

visited

and

At

the whole of the inhabitants turn out to see the wild beast.

Awaji the excitement caused by the appearance of the foreigner was indeed great official

;

but here

two policemen join us

They

at

Wakayama

Kuroye-Mura

are certainly useful in clearing our

On

way back we saw one

our

A

knows no bounds.

it

has accompanied us from

for

for the

Government

my

safety,

same purpose.

way through

the crowd.

of the thirty-three Japanese

temples of note belonging to a particular sect of Buddhists.^ stands high on a mountain-side, and

The building in splendid camphor -wood steps.

mountain, plain, bay,

sea,

itself

tree

and

and

It

reached by three hundred

is

not very remarkable, but the

is

front

in

islands,

of

which

it,

it

and

the view

commands

of

more

are

lovely than words can express.

On

beginning

the

descent

I

felt

utterly

terrified

at

the

appearance of the steps by which we had reached the temple, although accustomed to heights

;

a staircase consisting of

for

hundred steep steps in an unbroken line, same size, is something fearful to look upon.

three

the

This

is ^

all

of exactly

no peculiarity of the temple of Kimee-Tera.

The

great temple of Asakusa in Tokio

is

one of

the thirty-tiiree.

Many

ART, temples

in

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Japan stand on rocky eminences, or wooded

high above the road, and almost

and beautiful

On I

situations.

our return to

Wakayama

preferred to go and see

I

have to speak

for

but hearing that a pottery

;

is

Of

it.

made

is

only two miles

the manufactures

I

shall

hereafter.

At

the hotel

my

inspection

found specimens of the native industries sent

I

by order of the governor of the town.

what we might describe

these are

round the town, where

strolled

I

which the well-known Kishiu ware

away

slopes,

temples have commanding

all

found large cabinet manufactories

in

127

Amongst

as cotton flannels both plain

and

chequered, bed-tickings, a kind of arrowroot, Japanese isinglass, preserved oranges,

and

manufacture resulting

tanned

ox hides

—

new and

a

smal*

from the introduction of the beef-eating

European into the country. Here, for the

by the natives the in

which

first

"

time,

Hand

saw the

I

"

of Buddha."

a series of finger-like

fingered orange," called

This

is

a peculiar variety

members protrude from

the upper

parts of the fruit to the length of three or four inches.

from

strange variation

this

of

form

it

differs

little

Apart

from the

ordinary orange.

Our next excursion was terest

—

to a city of the greatest possible in-

a city consisting almost wholly of temples, and nestling

summit of a vast mountain. This High Field Mountain, can be reached work we were therefore actually on our

in a slight

depression on the

city, called

Koya-Zan

only by a long day's

or

;

road by 7.15 A.M.

Our way

for the first few miles lay in the direction of

but instead of leaving the river as

we should do

town we followed the bank of the stream

for

Osaka

;

to regain this

twenty-seven or

twenty-eight miles, crossing and re-crossing the water from time to time.

We

we were

told

were now at the small town of Miozi-Mura, where that

proceed farther. prepared

;

we must take

We

here have

kagos, as jinrikishas cannot

tiffin

but after an hour's delay

five miles farther

while the kagos are being

we

are told to

go four or

and then get them, and that jinrikishas can go

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

128

on,

though with

We

difficulty.

but soon find our carriages

start,

we run

of Httle use: the road, or bank, on which

is

narrower than

we walk. Kamuro-Mura may be

the vehicles, so they are carried, while

The kagos

supplied

us

to

at

thus

a circular disc of basket-work with a slightly

described.

Each has

raised rim

suspended by four ropes from the centre of a pole of

wood about twelve three inches in

feet

length, six or eight inches deep, and

in

Extending from the centre of

thickness.

pole to the right and

a

left is

this

while a board ascends as

little roof,

a back rest from the basket to the hindmost part of the canopy.

To

take a seat in this vehicle

is

a

much more

The Japanese

than might be supposed.

and through being accustomed

to squat

infancy their joints have a pliability

perfectly happy.

My

feet will

After

hang

out,

many

and

I

floor

from being cut by the raised edge of

success

of mine

We

is

is

;

earliest

Hence my

to ours.

my

my

and appear only

partial.

and save them

legs,

seat.

Three men are engaged to carry the burly suffice for

men

obliged to get the coolies to

form two stirrups of string to support

two

from

sort of ball

my

efforts

am

on the

unknown

companions double themselves up into a

matter

difficult

are chiefly small

foreigner, while

each of the other members of the party

;

thus one

always resting while two are at work.

now

start

on our march, a

man

bearing each end of the

enormous pole, from the centre of which the scale-like contrivance depends with one of us seated

in

it.

The men walk

and

steadily

with firm step, stopping to rest about once every hundred yards

but when about to stop each

man

At every

pole a strong stick which he carries for this purpose.

stoppage one of

my men

is

released, the spare coolie taking his

Uncomfortable though

place.

I

am, the

air

is

hill

When we

started in the

on the right bank of the

me up

I

do not know.

river,

I

am fall

kago we were ascending a high and how the poor men carried

Yet they talked and laughed as though

they were simply amusing themselves. half an hour the scene

I

soon

so cold, and

so tired from the exertions of the last few days, that asleep.

;

places under his end of the

is

When

simpl}' wonderful.

I

awake

We

in

about

are on a

little

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

path skirting a mountain slope, and down some

beneath

feet little

us,

wrapped

village

To

in palm-trees

the village in

We

now I

down below numerous

manufacture of paper, for the

much higher hill than that The path soon becomes so

just passed.

The peeps

vast stony bed,

its

Sometimes we look down

shall never forget.

I

the centre of

that seems bottomless,

defile

around are cryptomerias of huge proportions.

all

We

way through

tortuous

between the trunks of trees into a while

we have

the trees in a forest, and the river that

as

deep

into the valleys

the views of mountain peaks, which are here as

repeatedly crossed winding its

in the

dried lean against every wall.

get out and walk. us,

a

and bamboos.

begin the ascent of a

we have

over which steep that

it is

dell, nestles

hollow we descend, and here every

this

house appears to be engaged boards on which

hundred

fifteen

a strange and most precipitous

in

129

now

gain the edge of another picturesque valley, at the

other side of which

is

we reach by

a village, which

mountain and making but a

This

slight descent.

is

skirting a

the village of

Kamiya-tsuji, and as there are no hotels in the sacred city to which

we

we should have been

arc journeying,

for the night

obliged to remain here

had not the governor of the province

despatched a policeman to give notice of our preparation might be

my

kago once again, but

becomes perfectly

my

in

fearful

;

our sojourn

for

so

than

less I

in

fifteen

the city.

I

so that

now

try

minutes the ascent

again alight, to the great joy of

coolies.

This mountain for,

made

goodness

in his

arrival,

while

it

differs

much from any

towers to a great height,

with immense timber trees to

its

that is

it

I

have before seen,

most richly covered

very summit.

Here are

also

great vine-like stems, rising from the ground to the lower branches

of the trees, and then in a hundred festoons leaping from to bow,

—

a thoroughly tropical habit.

Westeria-creeper plant

is

in

its

native abodes

here thoroughly tropical,

which at

this height

The snow

gets

I

we

;

am

told that this

is

bow the

yet while in growth this

are getting to ice

and snow,

cover the ground to a considerable thickness.

more

slippery, the path

K

more

steep, the ravines

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

I30

deeper,

have

as

trees

they surpass anything that

till

down

looked

I

I

now

to such a

The bottoms

do.

feet, fill

pushes

me

my mouth

snow, and stars of

On

with

so steep that

My

thirst

More

snow.

toil,

is

so great that

more

exceeding brightness above our

left

is

more

moon and

a few

we reach

the top.

and

until the revolution of ten

city,

foreigners have yet visited this most remarkable of

the

Englishman that has

fifth

Harry Parkes being one of the

We

are

set foot

is

on

and but few all cities.

sacred

this

soil,

I

Sir

five.

now met by two more

private (the one with us

years back,

For ten centuries no female

passed this spot.

had entered the hallowed precincts of the sacred

am

gladly

a small temple, and on the right a Dai-butz.

years,

woman had

us,

I

lovely views,

the late twilight, with the crescent

in

I

so a coolie, having straw sandals on his

;

from behind.

For a thousand no

it

plumous vegeta-

rich

its

The path now becomes

towers far above.

can scarcely climb

many hundreds

of valleys are

of feet below us, yet the mountain, with tion,

Never

have before seen.

I

depth between immense trunks of

— —and

policemen,

a corporal),

a sergeant and a

a priest, and, by

the lights of lanterns, are conducted to a great Buddhist temple,

where we are to lodge It

up our abode or at

for the night.

must not be supposed that

its

in

in

the sacred edifice

lodging itself.

in a

temple we take

Around

back, yet immediately connected with

it,

the building, are arranged

living-rooms, which are to the Buddhist priest what the parsonage-

house

is

The

to an English clergyman. living

The ceilings woodwork of

rooms placed

at our service are

most charming.

are in square panels of plain, clean wood,

the walls

is

also without paint or varnish.

and the

The

slides

forming the partitions between adjacent rooms have landscapes

drawn upon them in a heavy horizontal clouds in

solid

beautiful,

though conventional manner

;

cross the mountains, but these clouds are

gold, with a raised outline

and diaper-work upon them,

the diaper and the outline being rendered visible only through their surface being raised

An

excellent meal

is

above that of the ground.

now

prepared, but no eggs, no

fish,

and

i

ART,

may

no meat

Being exceedingly hungry,

four.

One

be sold on the mountain.

1

3

profane policeman

me

brought with him ten eggs, of which he gives

has, however,

my

AND AR T AIANUFA CTURES.

eat without scruple, enjoying

I

meal, and drinking freely of the hot Japanese tea.

Although everything European

Japanese,

is

and so thoroughly

so pure, so clean,

influence

invaded

nevertheless,

has,

paraffin

lamp of the

brought to me.

I

felt

wretched specimen of

and commonest

form

ugliest

make was

that the place was desecrated

Brumagem

art

the

common

precincts of this city of temples, for in the late evening a

by

this

and apart from the question

;

of taste, the danger of introducing paraffin into such an inflam-

mable building

am

I

in

as a Japanese house

very great.

is

the town of Koya-zan, a town consisting chiefly of

temples, of which four hundred and forty tain,

now

exist on the

moun-

while formerly a thousand such buildings nestled amidst the

which here surrounds

rich foliage

In the town there are one

us.

hundred and ninety-nine houses and shops not connected with the temples, and the population

whom

three hundred

one thousand and ninety-five, of

is

and eighty-five are

Here

priests.

is

the

largest university for the rearing of priests in Japan.

February

18.

— By

we

seven

are

astir,

and by eight have

breakfasted, and are ready to see the temples. bitterly cold,

my this

and the night has been intensely

bed was the largest Hibachi that

I

towel,

which

I

Yet, Avhen

had spread beside

it

buckram, while a bottle of water near

With

I

awoke

to dry,

my

the town.

Passing the

and interesting

things,

shops, where

I

have never

the morning a

in

head was

I

stiff

as

solid ice.

we

started to see

purchased a few old

and trudging through the snow, under the

shadow of cryptomeria

we entered

little

Japan, and

in

was frozen as

the chief priest of the temple as guide,

is

Placed near

so.

have yet seen

contained a pile of glowing charcoal, such as

seen before in this country.

the

The morning

a vast grove

trees a

hundred and

fifty feet

where gigantic coniferous

trees

in

height,

spanning

roadway and meeting together form one vast cathedral nave,

under which monuments to ten thousand of the great dead find shelter.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

132

This grove

magnificent beyond

is

all

All the larger

to twenty feet in height. in form,

is

The

top-

a compressed sphere, the fifth a cube.

is

Then comes ing,

\l____7

a

the base, consisting of a lotus mould-

and a slab or

hambra

38.— Monument IN THE Sacred Grove at kova-

a 11

;

and here and there richly orna-

elaborately coloured

as the Al-

Granada.

at <-

These shrines are as as

1

All of thcsc erected

rests

shrine of superb architecture gives variety

mented and

I

on which the whole

either side of the grove little

to the scene.

/illl.ii\\\\\

plinth,

There are hundreds of these monuments

(Fig. 38).

at

by

1

•

1

1

monuments and shnnes have been or friends of deceased per-

relatives

and the larger structures commemorate almost exclusively

great

warriors.

A

boy runs before the priest, and in a out the names of the chief celebrities to whom

singing voice cries

little

monuments have been erected. We saw the first monument here

the

are similar

stones.

square and has four ear- like corners, the

is

fourth

sons,

monuments

of the form of an onion, the next of a cup, the third

FiG.

the

monuments, from ten

and are made of the same number of

most stone

Under

description.

richest of foliage are arranged thousands of

raised,

it

having being built

during the lifetime of the founder of this grove, Kobo-Daishi,

who

died A.D. 843.

As

I

see

it

the grove

trees

;

On

very charming.

is

snow, several inches in depth

;

the sun

is

white masses of the crystallised water, like so

doves, keep falling from the branches

the ground

is

just peeping through the

high above

many us,

spotless

while the

thousands of monuments, and the richly coloured shrines, make up a scene altogether indescribable.

Traversing the grove for about a mile, and crossing one or

two streams, which are spanned by bridges, we come to a temple directly facing us,

nates the grove.

we

and which, with This temple

is

its

associated buildings, termi-

the Toro-do.

Into this temple

look, but are not permitted to enter.

About

a hundred lamps are burning in

it,

and the

priests are

ART, engaged

in

AND AR T MANUFA CTURES.

melting the frozen

over charcoal

oil

1

order to

fires, in

As

kindle more lamps, and replenish those already burning.

eye becomes more accustomed to the dim light of the sacred

we

see that

is

it

filled

with lanterns

our

edifice

somewhat

indeed, stands

;

3

resembling those used at our railway stations for the lamps of the train are

crowded together, and while each of these contains three

numerous as almost

layers of lamps, the stands are so

entirely to

the temple.

fill

Our

priest-guide

now informs

us that there are eight thousand

of these lamps in the building, that on ordinary days about one

hundred and

fifty

hundred are

fifteen

kept burning, that on feast-days about

are lit,

on the 26th day of April

while

—

the

anniversary of the death of the founder of the grove, and of that sect of Buddhists to

which

the temples on this

all

nearly the whole eight thousand are

with smoke and greasy with

on our

left

lit.

As we

oil.

belong,

hill

The temple

black

is

face the temple

we

see

a small piece of enclosed ground, containing a few

mounds

monuments of great simplicity These are the monuments of Mikados, and it crowning them. may here be noted, that while the Shogun found his resting-place in a magnificent tomb, the grave of the Mikado was always a

plain

simple is

mound

of earth with stone

of earth

not a cemetery.

It

;

is

but no one

buried

is

in this

grove, for

it

simply a vast collection of monuments

raised to the illustrious dead.

Behind

this temple,

which

is

building almost hidden by trees.

wood, and has on

its

summit

sents the soul, or spirit, of man.

who

so rich in lanterns, It

is

thatched, and

I

see

the

a small built

of

that onion-shaped ball which repre-

This

is

the shrine of the founder,

died one thousand and forty-four years prior to

here

is

my

visit,

and

poor coolies who dragged our jinrikishas from

Wakayama to Kamuro-Mura performing their devotions. Although they had dragged us twenty-five miles, they follow us throughout the remainder of our journey (twelve miles) and climb this great

mountain as though they were actually

We to a

now

in

need of exercise.

return through the grove, and, passing the shops,

pagoda of peculiar construction.

Near

it

is

come

a temple, differ-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

134

ing widely from that at the end of the grove, for (it

was

years

eighteen

built

This

beautifully decorated.

We

now

visit

by three

received

fifty

new is

the Gokoo-Shio.

is

who show

priests,

prized manuscript

nearly

we

another temple near at hand, where

These consist

edifice.

it is

exceedingly clean, and

since), is

are

us the treasures of the sacred

chiefly of swords, but there

a

is

much

by the founder of the grove, one thousand and

years old, and yet in excellent preservation, and a manuscript

by a Mikado who reigned some temple

the

in

which

these

centuries

rare

since.

antiquities

The name

of

preserved

is

are

Kongoho-Zi. Visiting a house containing a thousand gods,

drawings of their favourite

I

bought two

divinities, a piece of blessed rice cake,

and two pieces of a kind of moss that

said never to die.

is

After continuing our round as long as time will permit, return to our temple, and are not a

pared for

which

Our host

us.

tells

to eat beast, bird,

fish,

or eggs.

neither create nor destroy

and also

priests to marry,

its

Thus

it

is

supposed that they

life.

thinking matters over,

I

am

at

a loss to understand

where the four hundred and forty temples which are said on

this

the

mountain-top are

four

and

I

have seen some twenty or

hundred odd have not come within

Through each ings,

;

vista in the

of these,

all

I

we

glad to find a meal pre-

us that the sect of Buddhists to

mountain belongs forbids

this

Upon

little

wood

am

I

my

to rest

thirty,

but

observation.

see, indeed, the roofs of build-

told, are temples.

But

in

order to

understand this mysterious city properly a sojourn of weeks would be necessary

;

and even then but

little

would be known of the

innumerable shrines, monuments, and temples which make up

Koya-Zan. In the midst of journey.

The

fast- falling

snow we

priest brings us to the

start

on our return

end of the buildings, and a

policeman sees us to that Dai-butz which marks the entrance of the town.

None

of us enter our kagos, for the road

and the path so slippery that we are

Soon

my

is

so steep

afraid to be carried.

boots become as slippery as the ice-covered ground

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, on vyhich

Two

tread.

I

come

coolies

my

to

135

and

help,

manage

I

by putting an arm round the neck of each. Seeing that the Japanese can walk in safety in their straw

to get on only

sandals,

ask the coolies to

I

have a stock

in reserve

in this position I

native shoe. well

am

I

can

now walk

we reach a warm hollow

till

my

forced to take off

that

I find

boot

they

soles, as

no amount of tying secures them

but as

;

my

a pair on

tie

boots and adopt the

So

with ease.

which the snow

in

Here the discomfort reaches its acme, as I might as through iced water with naked feet as walking

melting.

is

well be in

goes

all

wading

sludge with

simple sandals on.

We

continue our journey along the winding path and

such descents as

We

down

never remember seeing, even in Switzerland.

I

wear neither topcoat nor

hat, sheltering ourselves

from the

snow with a native umbrella, yet we Never did I see effects more weird and grand than those which are almost melting with heat.

are

now

Trees bending over with snow, palm-trees

before us.

down yonder,

while

;

bamboos

of aspects,

presenting the strangest ostrich feathers

drawn distance which might belong

huge white

like

beneath

far

us, is

to another world, as

a dimly-

has no

it

features familiar to us in this.

We cold,

night

journey on, and

to be spent

is

The

my room

there

communicating

and no

fire

just as

it

is

from the

We

is

directly with the

my

rug,

I

bitterly

town where the consists of eggs

it

are lodged

clean and

is

frieze of eight inches in

open

Snow and

air.

ice

depth

without

wind courses through the chamber

do not add

pleases,

is

well ventilated, for around the top

an open-work

within, while the

dressing-gown and

we

hotel in which

certainly

it

little

and to have a meal, though

little

comfortable, and

to comfort

;

sleep soundly

yet,

wrapped

and

suffer

in

my

no harm

cold.

have a long day before

are on our road.

get

The evening

becomes dark.

hence we are not sorry to reach the

as usual.

of

it

them

on,

and to keep

My

hence

my

I

feet

us, so

we

damp

rise early

and by seven

it is

impossible to

resolve to try Japanese socks

and sandals,

boots are so

that

dry and well wrapped

in fur

;

but

how

vain

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

136

are man's hopes

We

!

have not got two miles on the road when

the path becomes narrower than the vehicle

hence

;

trudge through the snow, while the jinrikisha

road

Reeds

us.

ground, and

is

path look like solid

at the side of this elevated

many

in

parts the path

but

is

Throughout the whole of

the jinrikisha. there

Our

carried

is

along a path, skirting a river often forty to sixty feet

lies

below

have to

I

broader than

little

this portion of

our ride

constant excitement, for the danger of our slipping over

the precipice

is

a sudden lurch

not slight, and once

I

was saved only by making

the opposite direction, while

in

my men

gave a

sudden bounce.

A is

you is

cold bath

likely to

is

not pleasant at this season of the year, and

your descent, and the water which you reach

in

it

be peculiarly distasteful when the carriage accompanies in forty feet

but one foot deep.

The road

gets

but the snow gets thicker

better,

eleven o'clock half our journey the sun shines

fitfully,

The snow becomes if it

We

to the

tures of the province,

glass

find

we had been making, with

as

—

Government House a building of great and see samples of the manufac-

—

which have been collected here

There are cotton

beads (the glass

in

a crude

for

my

crapes, earthen vessels,

fabrics, silk

being imported from

state,

me

as specially

European wants.

Bidding adieu to the governor, we

visit

on

in the

in

most simple and rude manner

shops which here abound

manufactures of Japan,

—

for

—and

Sakai

is

the chief carpet

first

manufactory, a very small establishment, carried

streets

day.

Europe), with other things, but nothing that strikes suited to

fall,

we

sludgy, then less in quantity, and

beauty, and formerly a temple

inspection.

ceases to

hail.

were an August

now go

The snow

over.

by

still

and then come showers of cutting

Sakai, the town for which

dry as

is

;

the

which weaving ;

is

then the cutlery

seat

of the steel

afterwards a pottery, where only

coarse wares are made.

We

were just going to take our seats

Mr. Sakata,

whom we

had missed

for

in

our jinrikishas, when

some time

past,

came

in

ART, excitedly with

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

the

news that a revolution had broken out

Satsuma, and that an army was on

Sakata himself

rebellion.^

13V

is

way

its

in

thither to quell the

We

from the south.

however,

start,

for

Osaka, and after a pleasant run reach our old hotel, where

am

glad to find a comfortable European bed awaiting me.

The next two days

I

are spent in Osaka, with the exception of

a few hours devoted to visiting a pottery near Hiogo, where Kishiu

ware

is

We

made.

it

may

learn that the insurrection has spread to

and Mr. Saumarez writes from Tokio to say

several provinces,

that

now

be serious, as most of the army consists of Satsuma

men.

The weather now two days

since, for

Yonder, however,

and

I fear

winter in

in

that were all

presents a striking contrast with that

it

gloriously

is

the higher ground,

Upon our we found that to

as

warm

of

as spring.

snow -clad mountains,

the distance arc the

we on

severity.

its

visiting the pottery,

and

fine,

we should

still

find

from Kobe, after

return

leave the railway station

Osaka we had to pass between two rows of policemen. A little excitement was caused by one of our party being seized, but after explanation he was allowed to join us again, the fact is, at

—

he was accused of being a Satsuma man, and this

all

the natives of

province unless in Government employ, being regarded

insurgents, are cast into prison It is a feast-day

till

tranquillity

of one of the gods of riches

:

as

restored.

is

—

the god Yebisu

is

receiving homage, and both here, at stations on the road, and

at

Kobe, hundreds of people are out ^

in

holiday attire worshipping

This rebellion ultimately became very serious, and

The

route in Japan.

rebellion of

1868 A.D. which ended

it

materially circumscribed

in the

my

overthrow of the Shogun

and the restoration of the Mikado, was headed by General Saigo, who, being victorious, was ultimately made the Commander-in-Chief of the Mikado's troops. This General Saigo had a younger brother who also became a general in the royal army, and it is this

brother of

whom

senior Saigo has

now

I

have so often spoken

at the

commencement of

himself become the arch-rebel, and

The younger brother has we have the strange

is

this

work.

The

warring against the powers

made Commander-intwo brothers heading contending armies. After months of warfare the rebellion was ended by the Royalists proving victorious, and the rebel chief committing hara-kiri. The younger brother is now the Japanese Minister of War, but those who are interested in this matter should read that admirable book, The Saisiona Rebellion, by Mounsey. which he himself

set

up.

chief of the royal troops, hence

recently been

spectacle of

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

138

Yebisu

their god.

(the red tai)

under

his left

where you

may

worshipped are numerous

is

purchase on his feast-day, toy fishes of red

This god and another, Daikoku, seem

colour and sachi tubs.

may

always associated, and they

Charms

of small images.

fish

fond of sachi.

is

god

this

sits

ahvays laughing, has a

is

arm, and

Near the temples where stalls,

He

one of the seven gods of plent}\

is

with one leg up and one down,

both be purchased

the form

in

are sold on this feast day, each bundle

of which contains a piece of gold paper (supposed to be an old

gold coin), a model ingot of

bag of

ingots, a

silver,

bags

for

money, a large bag

hammer

an account-book, a

rice,

for

hammer

(the

of the god Daikoku), a key of a warehouse, a measure of quantity,

This bunch secures

a pair of scales, and ribbon-like streamers.

good luck cured for

to the possessor,

in

;

who

may be

simplest form

of riches are, Yebisu^

— Daikoku, who

one hand, and

with his

in its

pro-

one halfpenny.

The seven gods described

and

also

is

hammer money

on two

sits

always laughing

have already

;

if

this

hammer

god

falls

and who

sits

very large bag containing valuable things is

I

appears wherever the blow

has a very large stomach, large ears,

high forehead,

whom

rice bags, holds a

;

—

Jiuro,

who

;

strikes

—

has a very

very old, has a long beard, holds a staff

hand (generally a deer

is

gets riches through his

Hotei,

beside a

in

his

represented as following this god), and

wisdom

;

—

Ben-ten, a goddess,

musical instrument and snakes following her

;

—

who

Bishiamon,

has a

who

wears armour and gets rich by conquest, has a spear, and bears a small pagoda in his

hand

left

;

and Fukuroku, who wears a cap

resembling that of our brewers' men, with the top falling over,

and has a beard, but

The

his wealth.

to every

one

in

cannot learn

I

this

gentleman acquires

three and the female appear to be

first

Japan

how

;

known

but the latter three are not well known.

and beautifully carved.

some of which arc most elaborately One pagoda and temple are worthy of

special note, as even the

under surfaces of the over-hanging roofs

Osaka

is

rich in temples,

are most richly modelled and coloured. '

If

any one laughs inordinately

it is

But a description of the

said that he laughs like Yebisu.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

numerous temples of beautiful is

city

this

though some of them

Here

fair.

in

in

a belfry

only appear monotonous,

could

we

In one that

are.

going on and music which reminds

139

me

visit

chanting

of an English pleasure

a priest with two thick shavings of

is

wood

hand, each being beautifully cut, and about ten inches in

his

length by one inch and a half in breadth

name

Behind the

of a dead child.

and

in the chant,

Around

—

priest are

who have

written the

is

two women joining

lost their infant children.

the interior of this belfry runs a small gallery, the

lattice railing of

children

they

it is

on each

;

which

is literally

covered with the belongings of

and on the

frocks, hats, sandals, dolls, etc.,

floor of the

many similar things. These have all belonged to now dead, and have been brought by the mothers to this The chant being over, the priest strikes the great spot.

edifice are

children

sacred

times with a heavy rope which dangles by

bell three

causes

to give forth

it

its

the shavings to the mothers, one to each.

women pit

take to

some twelve

sunken tank situated

a feet

is

filled

which seems to be climbing over water the

women

then gives

These shavings the in

the

bottom of a is

from the mouth of a tortoise its

edge.

Into this running

bamboo bowls and handles

once these shavings are

water, the mothers

and

introduce these shavings by placing them in

ladles with cylindrical

When

side

long by eight in width, into which water

The tank

always running.

its

He

grand booming sound.

free

seem perfectly

of great length.

and are immersed

satisfied

;

in

the utmost complacency for a few brief

moments and

happy, having, as they think, done

that they can for the

all

the

they watch them with

home

return

little

departed ones.

There

is

a

particular

stands in front of consists of

Here

at

all

many

They

and arranged

counted a

all

top,

and a tie-beam.

painted red, as the temple in

groups without order.

hundred of these curious

temple, which, like so

which

are hundreds in the grounds of one temple

to the Fox,

are

torii,

Buddhist, temples, which

two uprights, a cross-piece on the

Osaka there

(Fig. 39).

I

kind of gateway called

Shinto, and

many

in

Japan,

is

structures.

is

dedicated

In one group

From

this

on high ground, a view

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

I40

of the town, surrounding country, and bay can be got, which, under

the effects of sunset as

At 8.30 we

I

saw

it,

was most splendid and charming.

leave for Kioto, where

we

find

two long rows of

policemen guarding the exit from the railway station, each with

Fig.

39.— Temple in Osaka. Showing a few of the Torri in the Temple Grounds. Here the Fox is worshipped as the God of Agriculture.

The

a paper lantern.

each of

calls

my

escort by name.

communicated our coming as

one, reading from a scroll of paper,

first

lest

The Governor

of Osaka has

any of the party should be arrested

Satsuma men. I

now begin

danger during

to

my

wonder whether

journeyings, and

I

have been exposed to

whether the police escort

which has accompanied us from town to town has been needed for

our safety.

Thus

far

I

had looked on them

obtrusive adjunct to the part}', but after

my

safety

all it

may

as

rather an

be regard for

which has induced the authorities to act as they" have take up

my

quarters at a tea-house called

done.

I

on the

plain, thus saving the

hotel on the

hill.

fatiguing ascent to the

Nakamura,

Mariyama

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

CHAPTER —Japanese

Temple of Kioto

Lacquer-work gaura

To

—Vakie Kioto

the

see

least,

I

VI.

— Picnics — Honest workmanship — Tea-drinking ceremony— Otsu— Futami-

estimate of Christianity of Corean ware

— Kamiji-yama.

days at

141

temples

am

told,

in

the

most cursory manner ten

would be needed.

We

visit

first

a

temple called Kiyomidsu, beautifully situated above the Mariyama hotel.

one of the thirty-three temples of which we have

It is

already spoken. to a Buddhist

Leaving the temple, we proceed along the

cemetery

—

hill

All the tombs, which are

Nishi-otani.

very closely packed together, are pyramids of stones, the only variation in

any being that the top stone of the

times a mere cube with a

domed

top,

pile

is

some-

sometimes a cube with a

square mushroom-like cap, and sometimes a cube with panelled sides. I

in

am

told that poor persons

when dead

are placed

in

a box

a sitting posture, and are carried to the grave in a kago, while

the rich

lie in

person here in Japan can be buried wherever he pleases field,

by a

roadside, or under a tree

;

all

that

that he purchase the ground for his sepulture.

ing a lovely prospect

We

now come

is

is

A

site

in

which

is

a

is

object,

the head and shoulders of an

These planks

are covered with gold paper, but as every join in the effect

in

command-

gateway of Otani, a beautiful

enormous Dai-butz, formed of planks of wood. whole

—

needed being

generally preferred.

to the

and thence to a temple

visible, the

A

a coffin and are dragged in a kind of horse-car.

wood

so coarse as to be almost horrid.

is

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

142

we saw

After this

"

Corean

the

ear

monument

(Fig. 40),

"

form ahnost exactly resembles the monuments of Koya-

which

in

zan.

When

the Japanese went to battle in former days,

customary

them

for

bring back

to

the slain as trophies

was

was, however, found too

it

;

it

the heads of

great a task to bring back the heads of those slain

conquest of Corea, hence the ears only were

at the

secured as

had been ex-

After these

trophies.

mound, on

hibited in Japan, they were buried in a

the top of which this

JMAkkiii.VvsSi

s.

Next we

I

Fig.

thirty-three divisions.

— Corean

40.

"Ear

"^

monu-

monument

stands.

see the Sanji-sanken-do or temple of

and two yards

This temple

length,

in

is

divided into thirty-

is

MENT."

.

.

three

absolutely

spaces

by

hence

pillars,

with life-size figures.

filled

It

one hundred

is

name, and

its

is

popularly believed

that there are in this temple thirty-three thousand three hundred

and thirty-three

Some

and one.

but

idols,

in

are only a thousand

reality there

of the idols, however, have forty hands

;

others

have nimbi on which small figures occur, and some are sheltered

by canopies crowded with

little

deities.

Hence

although erroneously, that the larger number

These

figures are arranged

and

rising gallery,

These

lines are,

all

in

is

it

is

supposed,

reached.

straight rows on

a gradually

face one of the long sides of the temple.

however, broken

in

the centre by a Dai-butz, and

twenty-eight figures, which are of special interest, as they are a

thousand years

old,

In front of

and were brought from Nara.

these stands an idol with a nimbus and a vesica piscis on which

There

are a thousand small gods, each with a nimbus.

popular belief that the ridge of this temple-roof piece of in

it,

wood

(willow),

is

and that the whole of the

save those from Nara, were

is

also a

formed of one idols contained

made from branches

of the same

tree.

We

now saw

the largest pagoda in Japan, the T5zi-no-to, or

that connected with the temple of Toki. portions, but

is

on the pagoda

without any of that rich

It is

of splendid pro-

carving which we observed

at Osaka.

i

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, At

split

round one of the temple buildings, and throwing

written, running

Fig. 41.

stick

we see people, both old and young, bamboo on which the name of the temple is

the temple of Tozi

with slips of

a

143

that this

box each time they get round

a

in is

East Gateway of the Temple, Nishi-hong\van-ji, Kioto.

to

it.

I

understand

considered to confer some religious advantage upon

the performers.

The gateways as the temple to

of the temple Nishi-hongwan-ji are as beautiful

which they

lead,

Here we who shows

and that

is

much (Figs. priest who speaks

saying

by a

41, 42, 43, and 44).

are received

English wellj and

us through the main building, the

many rooms connected in

which a peculiar

From

the priest

revolution of

" I

tea

with the temple, the garden, and a house

ceremony

"

takes place.

learnt a fact of peculiar interest.

After the

1868 the newly -formed Government adopted,

to

a certain extent, both European manners and customs, and set

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

•44 itself

to

manufactures on a

establish

with a desire to

utilise for their

European

own good

Filled

basis.

the experiences of other nations, they serious-

whether

ly considered

European

progress

was not traceable the

influence

Christian

to

of the

religion

upon the people, and whether they should not adopt the Christian

together

faith,

with

European

a

With the studying

civilisation.

view

of

Christianity

and

porting on

the high

it,

re-

priest of Nishi-hong-

wan-ji,

and priest who has

Akamatz,

been our guide around this

beautiful edifice,

were sent to England Fig. 42.

— DooK, or Gate,

and with that object in

the East Gateway of the

remained

Temple, NisHi-HONG\vAN-jt, Kioto.

for

In sending these particular priests the for

which has no

their sojourn in

Christianity professed,

idols,

and allows the

London they reported

was

inferior

and that

in

to

our

drunkenness were much more

all

London

eighteen months.

Government had

they belong to the most spiritual of

sect

in

a motive,

the Buddhist sects,

priests to

marry

—

but after

;

that as a civilising agent

the religion which they themselves Christian

common

country crime, than

vice,

in their country,

and

where

Shinto and Buddhism prevails.

The next temple nificent structure, built

that

we

visit,

that of Chion-in,

is

by the most celebrated carpenter

a mag(builder)

ART, that

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Japan ever knew, and a man who

Fig. 43

— Carved

Panel

in

is

145

idoHsed by the craft of

East Gateway of the Temi'le, Nishi-hongwan-ji, Kioto.

The

the present day.

of

tention

at-

the visitor

is

here directed to a portion of an umbrella which visible in the

is

This

roof.

was the umbrella of the carpenter -builder, and that

said

is

there,

in

he

order

it

left

it

that

a

part of his belongings, as well as his work, should

remain to posterity. In a building connected

with this

temple

is

largest bell in Japan.

the It is

nine and a half feet in di-

ameter at the mouth, eleven inches thick at the rim, and Fig. 44.

Details OF East G.\TEW AY OF the Temple, N,sHi-HONGWAN,Ti, KioTo.

•

.

c

i.

•

i.

•

i-i.

sixtectt fect HI hcight.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

146

The

other temples which

we

those already seen, and there

visited

is

that the high

;

and

we

but during our rambles

five

of the temple

priest

them which

a sameness about

renders any description unnecessary see several with the yellow walls

are of less interest than

white

lines,

which indicate

of royal blood (Fig. 45).

is

Here

may

I

none

notice, that

of the children of the Mikado,

the

save

succeed to

marry priests

My

;

to

is

throne, can

the

boys must

the

and the

be

girls nuns.

Japanese companions

now arranged

that

dance

a

should

I

room of the

see in the large hotel

who

eldest,

peculiar

to

Kioto, in which the costumes are

those of the characters

To me

personated.

dance

beautiful,

Wall

Fig. 45.

in

The

Kioto.

five parallel

lines indicate that the building belongs to

ciently

white

a person

this

strange rather than

is

and

I

am

familiar

not

suffi-

with

the

represented

characters

to

of royal blood.

catch

This

representations.

combination

the

meaning

of dancing

and

which the motions are slow, gentle, and graceful, had seven

hundred

years

back,

and

is

much

of

the

acting, in its

appreciated

origin

by the

Japanese.

The weather talk of picnics arrived.

The

;

now

is

so

warm

that people are beginning to

but unfortunately the picnic season has not yet favourite excursion for the

merry-making people

of Kioto, during the time of the cherry blossoming,

yama, a

buy

hill

famous

As

for its cherry-trees.

at

is

to Arashi-

Killarney you

objects of arbutus wood, and at Jerusalem trinkets formed of

olive stems, so at

Each of these

Kioto you buy boxes formed of cherry wood.

objects

is

inscribed with

which the cherry-tree has grown,

the

name

of the

hill

on

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, Picnicing richest art

much enjoyed by

is

and

most

careful

the Japanese, and

workmanship

147

some of

expended

is

their

the

in

production of cases, boxes, and various contrivances, in which they

Some

carry their picnic to the country.

of these contain vessels

of the most minutely figured lacquer-work, bottles formed of silver

with golden sprays, and sachi cups perfectly delicious in

inlaid

character.

On

the ninth day of January (old Calendar) the Japanese go

out and gather seven kinds of grass, taking their picnic with them

each person carries his

supply of sachi

hedge

salad.

have already engaged the best photographer

I

;

most have a separate

taken home, boiled, mixed with

grasses are

and eaten as a

rice,

picnic-case, while

bottle-gourd slung over the shoulder on a

in a

The

stick.

own

in

Kioto to

make photographs of architectural details and rare objects, and I now engage the best decorative artist in the city to make coloured drawings of temple decorations as

examples of true Japanese

art that

The next days we spent and manufacturers, and but on the 28th

in

in

I I

am

can.^

(Fig.

46).

the

figures, figure,

bus,

is

On

our road

its

band stand

;""

in

central

measuring

and a vesica

the

called

next at a temple

Lucerne

^

main building (Butsu-den) are three

being a Dai-butz

fifty feet in

sitting

on a

lily.

The

height without the base, has a nim-

piscis of vast dimensions.

Both the temples

Next we see a Buddhist 47) founded by a priest who came from Ingen,

and the gods are six hundred years temple at Uji^ (Fig.

we

in full relief

a covered bridge resembling those at

Here

;

to visit certain celebrated temples

which has a huge dragon

pendent from the ceiling of

where there

the

searching the curio shops for treasures

we arranged

at a Shinto temple,

all

visiting potters, metal-workers,

ten miles distant from our present home. first

anxious to get

old.

Accompanying the drawings which I ultimately received from this latter artist was model of a complicated bracket of which I wished to have a drawing. To my owing to his imperfect knowquestion why this model was made, the answer came that ledge of perspective he could not draw this elaborate work, and that he had consequently - This is the temple Takinoo-no-yashiro. made a model instead (see Fig. 72). ^ This is Obakuzan Manpuku-ji. 3 This is Hodo of Tofuku-ji (Fig. 46). 1

a coloured

—

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

148

in the district of

Annan (now

of the columns with him.

who brought over

Saigon), and

forty

In the courtyard of this temple are

immense stacks of for printing the

tures

blocks, used

Buddhist scrip-

they are tied together in

;

bundles of ten, and there must

be

many thousands

of them.

Crossing a river which flows

from Biwa Lake, and

the sur-

roundings of which are highly picturesque,

tea-house Fig.

46.— Wall of the Temple Tofuku-ji, Formed of wood, with bracketed

Kioto.

and

structure,

plaster.

we

enter a charming

which the empress

in

stayed a week or two since,

when

on her way to Kioto from Nara.

We are now

at the village of Uji,

on the highroad from Nara to Kioto, and the tea-house where we is

the Kiku-ya (Kiku

= Chrysanthemum

;

Ya chouse).

At

rest

Uji

the best tea in

Japan

grown

is

48

(Fig.

gives

part of a tea-

making

estab-

and

lishment),

every

nearly house

here

engaged tea

in

is

the

industry.

Here sold

also

are

netsukies,

tea scoops,

and

other

trifles,

formed

of

the

Fig. 47.— Interior of

Roof of Obaku Temple.

hard and closegrained

wood

of the tea plant.

in these productions,

for

As

they are

rather than to please true lovers of

art

works there

made

is little

merit

to gratify excursionists

art.

k

ART, After luncheon

on

piles,

AND ART MANUFACTURES. we go

one more temple which stands

or supports, rising out of water.

appears Indian

in style,

Fig. 48.

details

to see

the

Tea Manufactory at

Uji,

are all seen to be Japanese.

more

to

be regretted as

splendid temples in Japan.

open the building

for

description.

handle

in

a

the

This temple

is

glance

no longer

is

This

one of the most the priest brings to

so remarkable as to deserve

is

a rod of

wood an

inch and a half

diameter and two feet in length, while the lower portion

is

iron

inserted through a hole in the door of about

two inches

diameter, the bent metal portion being introduced

this colossal

this

key

till

being caught the bolt

opened

The

he has found a is

priest

now

feels

slot in a large

thrown up by an

effort

is

This

about half an inch square.

then a portion of the handle.

it

constructive

their terrible work.

has been

it

first

its

near Kioto.

The key which

our inspection

mere bent piece of

key in

Its

At

but upon closer observation

used, and neglect and decay are doing is

149

and

first

about with

wooden and

bolt

the.

;

door

(Fig. 49).

This temple

is

eight hundred

and eighteen years

most of the internal decorations which remain are as pure

old,

and

in style

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

50

as the

ornament found on the old

when

first

Nara, and are Indian in

building must have been of extraordinary beauty

The

character.

felts at

members of the roof

erected, for all the structural

are

elaborately inlaid with pearl, and a piece which has dropped from

the ceiling shows that the inlaying has

Be-

been of a most finished character.

tween the structural members the ceiling is

painted

with

flat

ornament, rich

design and beautiful in

stand on which a Dai-butz elaborately inlaid as

temple

is

were intended

= house).

do

;

as

is

This

^= peacock

an

It is

in-

teresting fact that in these great temples

work

the

i

it

Howo-do (howo

the

and peahen ;^,

if

rests

most minute inspection.

the

for

in

colour, while a

all

is

of the most honest and

Whether seen from

exquisite description.

a distance or near finished,

it

is

all

equally well

and even those parts of a temple

which are never seen are as carefully treated as those which are always visible.

Upon my

return to Kioto

an

I find

elaborate English dinner prepared at the

is

am

hotel where I

49.— Inside of Entrancedoor OF ISURIDONS, Ujl, NEAR Kioto. The end of the key

Fig.

but Shio-Rokui

door and feehng for the slot in the bolt. Leaning on the floor and the bottom bar of the door is a padlock its key being on

Governor of Kioto, and two other

the floor.

friends Ishida

the

"

a

title

large secretary

of the

interior

head of the board of commerce.

Mikado and Nagasaki. is

his

He

ministers, but will

Mr. Machida,

also a Ju-Goi (Ju

my

=

;

Goi

=

Kawase

is

department as well as the is

here in Kioto with the

leave in a

who opened

wise

officials

Japanese

and Sakata.

conferred by the Mikado, and Mr. "

am

Kawase Hideharu; Makimura Masanao, the

are also present, as well as

;

is

I

the guest of Ju-Goi

seen protruding through the

Ju-Goi

staying and that

day or two

for

for us the treasury at Nara,

fifth)

and

is

a large secretary

of the interior department, as well as head of the imperial museum.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

151

Both of these gentlemen are under Mr. Okubo, the minister of the

who

interior,

is

a

Ju-Sanmi (Ju = wise Sanmi = third) and a while the two other gentlemen, as well as the ;

" first-class " officer

;

Governor of Kioto, are each Secretaries in

We

secretary.

commerce and

fourth-class

" officers.

Government departments

sub-large

secretary,

"

small

secretary,

ranked as large

are

secretary,

and

sub- small

have a pleasant evening and a long chat on the industries of Japan.

In the morning the chief manufacturers of Kioto meet at the

House of Commerce," where I am received by the Governor and Mr. Kawase. After some time spent in considering the works offered for my inspection by the manufacturers, T was welcomed This over, I examined the works of to an elaborate luncheon. "

several artists, certain kinds of lacquer ware, sachi cups formed of

orange

rinds,

and many

looms weaving figured

fabrics

and

;

silks, rich

in a building close

by

I

saw

damasks, and cloths of various

descriptions.

Here on the top of each native loom a boy is perched, who is the prototype of our "Jacquard apparatus," and who, gathering together threads, raises them so that the weaver, by passing the

Up

shuttle beneath them, gives figure to the fabric.

our fabrics that trolled

it

I

it

way

must be remembered,

is

"

draw boy."

in

who

thus con-

This method of

advance of the more primi-

of working each weft thread across the warp by dipping

under or passing

By

here see before me, and the lad

the pattern was called the

weaving, tive

the same method of giving pattern to

we employed

of Jacquard

to the time

it

over certain threads as necessary.

the agency of the

looms which the world

I

now

makes

;

"

inspect

draw boy

"

Japan

some of the most

and were

it

is

producing

in

the

artistic fabrics that

not that the Lyons weavers can

when once they have the pattern before them, and produce them at a much lower price than the Japanese can, those now being woven would be highly saleable in imitate

some

European

of these fabrics

countries.

There

is,

however, another drawback to these

beautiful fabrics of Japan becoming popular in Europe, most of them contain gold the thread with which it

for while is

woven

1

JAPAN ITS AR CHITE CTURE,

52

is

:

far

from durable, as

a strip of gilt paper, and not a string

is

it

This want of durability has created a prejudice against

of metal.

these Japanese fabrics which

it

will

take a

time to overcome.

little

we have

just

machinery producing

silk

Side by side with the primitive looms which noticed

the

see

I

finest

of

French

brocades, and the newest of card-stamping machines for supply-

newest of looms with

ing the jacquard of this curiously, the

its

our markets

highly

now be shown

while those produced in the native looms are

;

five o'clock I bid

but before doing

museum

so,

promise to meet the former at the Mikado's

at nine o'clock to-morrow morning.

booths and a large

hall, in

Commerce

To

specimen attached.

unknown

possible to

name

of the

me, as a stranger,

interest,

number of covered

are a

which specimens of the manufactures

of the district are arranged, with the

highest

Kawase and Mr. Makimura,

adieu to Mr.

Close by the House of

and

here

soon

I

Here

European commerce.

this

I

now common

in

bringing with

our markets

me

;

but

its

maker of each

display

is

discover

see for the

of the objects

first

time

This beautiful ware

a specimen of Japanese translucent enamel.

my

but

artistic.

At

is

;

woven by the new French machinery bear

silks

patterns of a bad European style, such as could not in

cards

introduction was due to

the specimen which

saw here displayed

I

with the other manufactures of Kioto.

To me

the idea of collecting together

the manufactures of

all

name

a district, and attaching to each specimen the

seems one which might well be adopted

in

of the maker,

England.

Surely

business might be increased by the foreign merchant seeing speci-

mens of

all

our manufactures, and learning where he could get

whatever he needed, without the long and laborious process of visiting all the

manufactories

might be provided ford,

in

in

a district.

A

hall

of this kind

Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Brad-

Stoke -upon -Trent, and other large manufacturing towns;

while in

London

a central hall might be arranged for the display

of the chief manufactures of the country.

Here merchants and

shippers would see at a glance where the particular wares which

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

they sought could be obtained

and

;

153

neither the State nor the

if

MunicipaHty would bear the cost of the necessary buildings, a space would suffice to meet

trifling rental for

With the display of

the manufactures of Kioto

and from

for the

collective exhibition

That

does the district good

it

am much

I

gather an amount of information, which, but

pleased,

it I

necessary charges.

all

would take weeks to accumulate.

it

is

certain.

On

translucent enamels

some thousands of pounds of European money have been spent in Japan, which would not have gone there had I not seen alone,

the one specimen amidst the articles of Kioto manufacture.

There

is

another curious fact connected with the open

The people

in large letters.

are requested to produce excellent

works, as the position of a nation character of

its

In the evening

handicraftsmen.

its

noticed

I

side a Shinto temple, of

The next morning

go

beacon-pans, arranged out-

the feast-day

it is

museum

also there

is

;

and

was

I

told

an ancient one.

fire is

to the

Governor of Kioto

museum

to

meet Mr. Kawase receive

to

The

us.

not a place open to the public, but a royal palace

is

containing

a

large

collection

Mikado, and prepared visit.

I

in

fires

which

that this practice of burning

the

greatly dependent upon the

is

manufactures, and upon the nature of the work

produced by each of

but

air

Here are boards bearing addresses printed

part of this display.

for his

of

antiquities

belonging

inspection, as he

is

now

to

the

here on a

In interest the objects here collected are second only to

those preserved

at

Nara.

I

have thus the opportunity of

in-

specting and handling a second large collection of Japanese an-

such as even the natives themselves do not know.

tiquities, is

It

intended, however, to exhibit these treasures to the public at

some

future time,

and a building

is

now being prepared

for their

reception.

In this collection, nothing pleases

specimens of lacquer-work, as these

manufacture

in

various

curator of the collection as regards

ages, tells

me more

than the various

illustrate

the state of the

and bear authentic

me

that

dates.

The

the finest gold lacquer,

workmanship, was made during a period of two hundred

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

154

years, beginning about three centuries since artistic

work was done

lacquer -worker and

to

its

it

were

artist

making the box,

lacquer -worker

In olden times the

prior to this time.

the

separate tray, or

or

individuals

At

"touchy" and

About

however, the

artist

finish"

upon

side

such

it

which characterises

three hundred years ago,

and the lacquer-worker became one, and then

was produced work of the highest mechanical

Ranged

the

period the drawing was

this

but lacked that

clever,

the best work of later times.

—

bowl, and giving

beautiful surface, while the artist painted

decoration as might be required.

five

but that the most

;

by

hundred years

excellence.

side,

we have specimens

old,

which are of a peculiarly

of lacquer-work over artistic

and

interesting character, others four hundred, others three hundred,

and specimens made only immediately before the revolution

Those that are

1868.

five

hundred years

old, or

in

more, are chiefly

works with black grounds, and low -toned polychromatic orna-

ments

dull

in

colours

;

burnt

red,

and with a

"

sienna,

broken

"

raw sienna, and

After carefully considering these works for some time

Thus

that which

than one hundred years old)

I

find

it

between lacquer-work of certain

possible readily to distinguish

great periods.

green

sage

gold outline.

we may

is

call

modern (being

easily distinguishable from

less

that

belonging to the middle period (which ranged from one to three

hundred years

since), while

characteristics from that

made

which

—

is ;

separated by obvious

and even between that

and that of

is

a specimen of what

of producing this particular lacquer has

long been

the secret of

the

its

my

lacquer

manufacture

is

and

I

;

—

but the art

lost.

I

also

Japan, but that

now unknown.

return from Japan industries,

in

called vellum

is

a lacquer having the colour of parchment

hear that a violet lacquer was once produced

Since

hundred years

five

a manifest difference.

is

In this collection there lacquer

older

is

four hundred years back

since there

again

this

I

have given much thought to

have been enabled to send out

material which has again brought about the production of purple

lacquer

;

thus a lost art has been revived.

ART, Here are in

Fig. 50.

50 and

"

51).

monstrance

One

Buddhist Monstranxe.

" of

the

was born

in

Roman

Catholic Church

of these contains the tooth of a bishop,

This was presented

the son of a Chinese emperor, in the year a.d. 622. stable," as this prince

155

specimens of an object which closely resembles

fine

character the

(Figs.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

a stable.

a temple in Japan by Prince Mamayado, The name Mamayado means "door of a

to

A shows the

side view of the upper part.

while in another are small metallic lumps found in the ashes of a

cremated

priest.

been wise there burnt, in

and

if

The will

be

superstitious believe that

many

the

man

has

such lumps found when his body

not that there will be but few.

some cases formed almost

if

entirely of gold,

The monstrance and

is

is is

of exquisite

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

156

design and workmanship (and of these gold objects there are fine

specimens

the

in

museum), and

have a symboHcal

parts

their

much may be

significance from which

learned

but of this

;

shall

I

treat hereafter.

Here

is

an ink slab resting on a massive stand of pale blue

glass which T

am

assured

is

of Japanese manufacture and

hundred

years

interesting

found

which

;

one

is

most

the

collection

is

small room, where dresses,

crown, a

formed of

but

of the

part

in a

rude

a

old

felt,

were

of top-boots

pair

and a few other

things,

by the

great

brought

General Taiko from Corea, when he re-conquered that country about three

hundred years

since, are collected.

Of

dresses there are in this col-

lection

about twelve, some of which

are formed

of

brocaded

silk,

while

made of embroidered maOne or two of these I should

others are terials.

certainly regard as Chinese, while one is

of a character which

I

have hitherto

regarded as purely Japanese, the fabric

being hard and appearing to consist of parts joined together.

on Buddhist Monstrance.

Fig. 51.

Whether

clouds.

not

and

know it

;

is

this i

latter dress '

and consists x.

is

The

large

pattern

and bold,

^ a r j chiefly of dragons •

these dresses were manufactured in Corea

andj

we do

but under any circumstances they are of great interest certain that

Japan received many of

its

manufactures

from Corea, while some Japanese are of opinion that the Coreans also furnished

boots

the Chinese with most of their

formed of

of figured

felt,

felt,

as

such as

I

gold threads woven into

and

this

gold consists of

I

have just

saw it,

gilt

said,

There are

arts.

and several squares

One of the dresses has many modern Japanese fabrics,

at Nara.

like

paper, while the pattern

is

of scrolls

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

and anthemions such as now form the

157

figure " of

"

many

native

fabrics.

From crapes,

this

collection

and with what

have to describe

my

the fact of

The objects I

this

seeing

I

went

I

to see the process of printing

saw was much interested

process hereafter,

but as

;

it.

curio shops in Kioto deal almost exclusively in

and Corean wares, but

less

a

for

said to be

is

an inlaid bronze vase of

sum than

But what astonishes

Chinese

they ask such prices that

Corean cup

small

dollars, while

Chinese manufacture no

demanded.

for these

A

could purchase nothing.

worth two hundred

shall

now mention

can only

I

I

hundred pounds

six

me most

the price of a

is

is

little

teapot of dark red earth, in which are small specks of yellow-ochre colour.

The specimen shown me has

may have

it

hundred

for four

a fractured handle, hence

shillings,

while

if

were perfect

it

could not be sold for less than four times this sum.

I it

Specimens

having the yellow specks somewhat larger are worth about six pounds each, the latter being an imitation of the former but the ;

secret of production has been

In the evening to a

or

"

temple garden, tea-ceremony

prepared

in

"

went by

I

in

—

known

to but

invitation of the

order to see what

is

man

one

in

Governor of Kioto

called the "tea-service"

the cha-no-yu, which the Governor has had

a building set apart for this purpose.

saw, however,

I

only that part of the service peculiar to the hours o'clock.

each case.

five

In connexion with every large temple there

house appropriated to the performance of

one can engage the house

for this

this

and

six

a small

ceremony, and any

A

purpose.

is

similar house

is

attached to every large residence or yashiki.

Here, as

I

saw

it,

and as

paid professor of etiquette

is

it

is

performed

the host

;

but

if

at

the temples, a

friends are invited

by a man of high rank, he himself performs the part which the professor now takes. Only four guests besides the master should be present.

The room

in

which the service

is

held

is

being covered by four and a half mats (each mat three). feet

The house

is

entered by a hole or

small,

its floor

by window opening, two is

six feet

square, which, although level with the floor of the room,

is

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

158

Properly enacted,

about sixteen inches above the outer ground. the service,

and

is

host

me, begins at seven

tells

one o'clock

till

the exactness with which everything

ladle,

in

the morning,

in the following night.

great peculiarity of this tea-drinking ceremony consists

The in

my

continued

or whatever

particular way, set

particular part

down

A

done.

is

spoon, cup,

hold

of

in

a

and touched

in

a

in a particular place,

and everything

;

is

handled, has to be taken

is

done with the same strange

precision.

What

I

saw was part of the ceremony of

and part of the ceremony of is

simply a lesson

"

" thin

thick tea-drinking

;"

tea-drinking,"

but the whole

those laws of politeness, which were formerly

in

so rigidly exacted in every mansion and on every state occasion,

and which are aristocracy.

kept up

largely

still

and no servant entered the house master kindling the short,

the houses

in

Originally the ceremony was of a

doing everything

which

in

for the guests

took place

it

making the

boiling the water,

fire,

of the old

secret character,

but in later years

;

—

the

and, in

tea,

it

has

become a mere ceremony of an extremely fashionable character. One or two things in this service struck me as especially strange.

Thus, both host and guests knelt from the time they

entered the building

the time they

till

the master had to go to a

little

left

it

;

and even when

back room to fetch water, cups,

or whatever he might require, he shuffled on his knees to the slide

which served as a door, and then, having opened through the opening rose to his feet

the guests.

he was well on the other

till

but this he must not do while

;

The

chief guest, moreover,

company, and no word

uttered save

is

host during the service, be

demands everything but the particular is

:

it

if

a bowl, or the teapot.

on

his

in the

presence of

the spokesman for the

by the chief guest or the

ever so long.

at

The

chief guest also

he

;

which each request has to be made

arranged by the code of etiquette.

shuffles

shuffled

when he

thus he asks for tea, and for refreshments

moment

chief guest also asks

is

it,

side,

may

At opportune moments

the

look at the tea-caddy, a spoon,

Receiving the necessary permission, he

knees to the place where the object demanded

ART, is,

takes

it,

bows

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

159

to the ground, then rising, touches

his forehead

forehead with the object received, and begins to examine

his

Looking

at the teapot, he asks if

then opening

pound

after

;

it

and smelling the

it

is silver,

it

it

;

costs

per

to the next guest

and

makes a remark to the host which should, same time a compliment and a pun.

it.

who made

what the tea

tea,

which inquiries he passes

then

if

possible, be at the

After each of the guests

has duly inspected the object, the chief guest shuffles again across the floor and

returns

it

to

used

and

;

possession of

maker

the

some

which a Japanese manifests

pride

little

tea-box

little

is

put

preserved

;

and

I

in

Europe.

a silk bag, and then in a box, and

in

have seen

the

in

But many of the things most

something remarkable.

is

then in another bag, and then

in

is

by a celebrated

tea jar, a spoon, or a cup

esteemed by the Japanese would be unappreciated

One

object

after-

same manner.

on these occasions that the rare things of the household

It is

are

Object

place.

its

brought, examined, and returned in the

in

little

another box,

order that

in

it

be

rough stone-ware jars encased

a similar manner.

The two hours which

I

spent in observing the ceremony cha-

no-yu, were passed in the host making, and our sipping 'certain

kinds of as soot,

mixed

tea.

is

One

decoction, as thick as gruel, and

formed of tea-leaves reduced to the

into this batter-like condition.

This

is

finest

as bitter

powder, and

served as a loving

cup, all drinking from the same vessel in this case, politeness demands that each guest offer the cup to his neighbour in such a manner that he shall naturally drink from a different part of its ;

edge. I

learnt afterwards from

private matters

Mr. Sakata that at these meetings

are often discussed and secret plots concocted,

and that most of the revolutions of Japan have been planned

at

these secret gatherings.

In the

way

of manufactures,

I

have seen

in

Kioto the making

of much pottery, bronze-work, lacquer, and cloisonne

have also seen the weaving of

fabrics, the

ov\

porcelain.

I

printing of crapes, the

working of embroidery, and many other industries

;

and

I

am now

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

i6o

insight

getting a considerable

Japanese achieve spare for

one town, we pack up and

Our road

we

is

over the

hills at

see several small potteries in

In half an hour

made.

good road

the

into

Having spent

results.

we

means by which the as

start for

much time

as

can

I

Otsu on Lake Biwa.

the back of the hotel, and here

which a kind of Awata ware

is

reach a point at which an already

being improved, and here we have to walk while our

is

we could

jinrikishas are carried, for although

and

ride with ease,

although horses and oxen are passing with their burdens, a notice " carriages

saying that

are not allowed to pass here

must be

"

obeyed.

We

are soon, however, on a normal road which, at the end of

and then commands a view of

four miles crosses an elevation

Lake Biwa Lake of Geneva. At

beautiful

all

—

a sheet of water which reminds

this season the

me

of the

mountains surrounding

it

are

snow-clad.

After a journey of seven and a half miles,

town of Otsu, the only manufacture of which

From

teapots.

this

place

we is,

reach the I

little

am

told, silver

of

some two

we make an excursion

miles to a temple, from where a charming view of the lake

obtained, and here

Lake Biwa

From

I

may mention

are counted

this temple,

by Japanese, of which

perched high on a

appears to be about three miles sphere

I

is

that eight celebrated views of

in width,

hill,

and

this this

is

one.

end of the lake the clear atmo-

in

can just see the snow-clad mountains at the other end.

Although we had intended at Otsu, the

weather

is

to take

up our abode

for the night

so fine and the air so bracing that

we

continue our journey to the town of Ishib, twenty-two miles from Kioto.

Soon

after

we resume our journey we reach

which every one seems to be occupied silk

cords as they attach to fans,

About

three miles farther on

where scarcely anything

A

bottle gourd

is

is

is

tie

in the

a village in

manufacture of such

around lacquer boxes,

etc.

named Kusatsu,

a small town

sold but bottle gourds.

simply the indurated skin of a

fruit allied to

our cucumber and melon, but having an hour-glass shape. vessels are generally called

pilgrims' bottles.

The

Such

usual colour

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, of these gourds

a dark rich brown, but here are

is

with black

are yellow mottled

same manner, while some

Of

some which

mottled

others orange

;

are almost red.

i6i

the

in

these gourds

got

I

samples.

We

now

the evening

most pleasant

I

am

a crash, and is

broken

to

my

cause of

Our

re-enter our vehicles.

is

One

on the roadside.

A

pieces.

mishap

little

coolies

but suddenly there

;

run well, and is

my

side of

come out of the

the linch-pin has

:

whose

coolie

jinrikisha

is

broken heartily joins

make

I

;

Occupying

difficulties.

wish to write

I

paper on the chair when

is

and

upon a Japanese table (which

floor,

rice. it

pos-

seat,

while the

or putting the

upon,

sit

overcome the

I

one

this

on the

have nothing to

I

however,

at last,

;

little

but this unexpected furniture rather increases

my

paper on which

comfortable

not

a hearty meal of

furnished in European style, for

in part

is

one chair

than removes

a pretty

at

Liebig's extract of meat, boiled eggs, bread, jam,

This hotel

am

Having brought a few European luxuries from

hotel.

Kioto, and being as hungry as a hunter,

sesses

I

the poor

in the laugh.

Arrived at Ishib, we take up our abode

Japanese

As

only causes amusement, and

incident

little

jinrikisha

moment's investigation reveals the

wheel, and the w^heel has rolled yards in front of us.

hurt this

a jerk and

is

difficulty

far

by

from

sitting

a small tray on legs of about

is

four inches in length)

and writing on the wooden seat of the

European

I

which he

chair. tells

While

me

is

one of a hundred that he bought

He

fourpence farthing.

good

write Mr. Sakata indulges in a cigarette,

also informs

but not being a smoker

;

I

me

in

Kioto

for

that these cigarettes are

can form no opinion of their

merits.

March

—We

Kamiji-yama,

for

and is

7.

rise

at

in Ise, a

6.40, and

town

universities are situated

in

;

by 8.15 are on our road

in ^^•hich

indeed,

the great Shinto shrines

much

some way connected with Shinto

express

it,

of the province of Ise or,

as

we Europeans

Shintoism.

The morning

is fine,

beautiful, snow-clad

and

for

some distance

mountains being

M

visible

the road

on either

is

very

side.

In

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

i62

about "

we reach

miles

five

"

vine baskets

the

These are

are made.

about them.

objects as in

I

in

nothing of special

is

should rather have expected to find such

I

here see

where

baskets formed of the

little

shoots of the westeria creeper, but there interest

Minakuchi,

of

village

Ramsgate than

the shops of Margate and

those of a Japanese town.

Crossing a ridge of mountains, and descending by

we

zigzags into a beautiful valley,

many

steep

main road

soon leave the

(the

great Tokaido), and turn to the right to run along the promontory

The scenery now becomes

of Ise.

less

and

interesting

less

and across the bay of Owari, are high

in the distance before us,

ranges of mountains, while behind us are also snow-clad

By

1.30 P.M.

we have reached

Hundreds

direction of Kioto,

the road, hence a

hour

lose

an hour

changing

in

of soldiers are passing along the road in the

and the

are found, but the

hills.

the small town of Saka-no-shita,

where we have luncheon, and here we jinrikishas.

but

;

men little

oflficers all drive.

At

last fresh vehicles

only agree to take us four miles on

will

delay occurs, and another

later a further

is lost.

By 6

P.M.

we have reached Tsu or Anotsu, the come forty-four miles

of the province of Ise, having

During the

latter

part of our journey nothing

chief

town

in the day.

very particular

has happened save the coming out of a linch-pin of Mr. Ishida's

when he broke the

carriage,

jinrikisha

and

rolled

out,

— an

ex-

perience precisely similar to mine of yesterday.

A

cook was engaged

when

his

services

were

first

When

could not cook.

Kioto

at

for this

wanted

it

is

the very genius that

be found ready made here sisted of five boiled

the

best

journey meals.

;

eggs,

of food which yet the

As

for

I

we want, in

the sad news he

rice

and make beefsteaks."

for beefsteaks are

My

rarely to

luncheon to-day con-

and jam, and

this

is

about

expect to have during most of

glorious air

wine and

Japan.

some

me

one of the jinrikisha-men (an

intelligent-looking person) " could boil eggs

This

but last night

was discovered that he

Mr. Sakita gave

also brought the glad tidings that

tour,

makes me thoroughly enjoy

spirits, I

my my

have neither seen nor tasted

I

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, them

engaged

is

of two

who

pushing up

The jinrikisha-man who can make

month.

for over a

steaks

pulled

go with us

to

me

beef-

To-day he was one

to Tokio.

twenty miles, then he ran twenty-four miles,

and looking

hills

163

and here he

after everything,

is

as

fresh as a daisy,

me

In the evening Sakata presented relic, in

The

metal handle and a curved blade.

in warfare,

rise

at seven

In the morning

town of

little

of Japan the best paper-leather ^ ^

—

oil)

so closely resembles

—

morocco and

as

F'g.

formed

is

of a thick fibrous paper and an oxidisable

52.~crestof a Japanese Prince.

As

made.

here manufactured this material (which

kinds of leather

In

where

Inaki,

is

•'

'^

certain

still

and are soon on our way.

two hours we reach the all

ladies

being thrown at the victim while

attached to the owner by a chain.

damascened

52, consists of

crest. Fig.

by

This was used

four of these knives.

we

with a most interesting

the shape of a large curious knife, with bent

calf

as to deceive a

European expert, while other specimens bear but a

faint

resem-

blance to a tanned skin. In Japan leather

sparingly used

is

;

but this paper-leather

most extensively employed where we should use the

The

made

stout solid quality

into the

our market

is

made

chiefly in

to that district to live

leather- like on leather-like

at Inaki rarely, if ever, finds its

The

European market.

one

on both

is

thin

and

is

is is

and only stout and

generally

generally plain.

At Matsusaka, which we next burned down by insurrectionary

many houses have been farmers, who object to the

reach,

taxation with which they are burdened, and

may

fibrous

That of Tokio, however,

sides.

it

is

feared that the)-

continue their work of destruction, for they have declared

that unless their taxes are lowered they will destroy every in

way

Tokio by Ise men who have gone

whereas that here made

stamped, while that of Inaki

is

hide.

paper-leather which comes into

but this

;

side,

real

town

the country.

In another hour

manufacture of which

we is

pass through a that of

common

large village, the

sole

Here we

rest

flutes.

1

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

64

for a

few minutes

hot water

and

;

been sprinkled, but so

added that

By

of the flavouring material has been

little

we have got

2.30

charming

to a

little

Futamigaura, where we have

most lovely houses that

beyond the

have ever

I

conception

even

of

a

one of the

in

Our room is clean Dutchman, has perforated seen.

of an exquisitely beautiful bay window.

have never before seen

I

on the sea-

village

tiffin

panels of great beauty over the sliding partitions, and

of which

are offered

cannot distinguish any special flavour.

I

called

coast,

we

here, as a substitute for tea,

which pulverised red cabbage and salted plum have

in

I

am

in a

is

possessed

room the

like

and the balconies, gardens,

;

and entire belongings of the hotel are as lovely as the room which we

While is

in

sit.

tiffin is

being prepared we walk to the sea-shore, which

Here

about three hundred yards distant.

the sea are two

in

rocks about two or three hundred yards from the coast, the one rising to the height of about fifty feet, the other about

twenty

These rocks are connected together by large straw

ropes, from

which Shinto have been

At

ones.

pendent

tufts are

so joined, certain

— new

and

;

ropes

for

hundreds of years they times

at

replacing the

seasons of the year the sun

two

exactly between these

rocks,

feet.

is

old

seen to rise

and under the Shinto bands

of straw.

When it,

the sun thus rises pilgrims

and even now, although

age,

I

see one

standing

in

or

this

is

come

in

numbers

not the proper time for pilgrim-

two Japanese, with hands pressed together,

devout adoration of the orb of day.

just opposite the rocks

which are hundreds of

a

is

little

coins (the coins are nearly frogs are purchased from offered to the rising sun.

of the sacred

to worship

rocks,

torii,

the shore

number of small a half-penny). The

earthen frogs and a all

tenth parts of

a priest I

On

or gateway, and a small dais on

get

who

lives

near at hand, and are

some of these

such as pilgrims buy

frogs, in

and drawings

remembrance

of

their journey to this sacred spot.

Here, under the Shinto symbol, sun, while in

we have

Kioto and Kobe pans of

fire

the worship of the

were being burned at

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, Shinto churches

among

tenets

its

On

;

our

way

165

thus the fact that Shinto embraces

fire

worship

apparent.

is

we passed many booths

to the hotel

the sale of shells, shell necklets, etc.

erected for

These booths are situated

amidst pine-trees which reach from the near mountains almost to the sea.

we reached

After luncheon,

in

one hour the

But

seen in Japan.

all

I

and

this

have yet

I

the towns in Ise are very superior to any

have hitherto noticed,

that

and best

prettiest

town, as regards the style and size of the houses, that

— even

to those of

Tokio or Kioto,

appears to have more towns, and a greater

province

population, than most of the provinces of Japan.

This town, called (yet

it

Furuichi

(old

market), w^e

pass

through

has temples and shrines of great moment), and go on to

Kamiji-yama, a town

which the Holy of Holies of the Shinto

in

church, and the great Shinto university are situated.

Although as a town Kamiji-yama as Furuichi,

My

it is

escort

dissatisfied, as

But

houses.

is

not quite so interesting

a prosperous and flourishing place.

now select an hotel with which I am somewhat we have passed many much more beautiful tea-

my guide

tells

me

that those houses which

as hotels are really places set apart for the

dances peculiar to the town,

recompense

We

the

regarded

performance of certain

amusement seems

to

be a

for the fatigues of pilgrimage.

soon reach the entrance of a sacred grove where we are

met by a to the

—

I

priest

and two laymen who are

holy places

;

but

we

to be our conductors

are at once told that no one can

go

within the temple enclosure unless sent as a messenger from the

Mikado of

to

trees,

pray for his people. or rather

We

enter the magnificent grove

the broad well-kept

pathway which leads

through a small dense forest of immense cryptomerias. a tree which actually measures twelve feet six feet in circumference) right

is

six feet

this river a

way

is

at the other side

Thames

reminds

made, broad and with

Here

is

diameter (thirty-

from the ground.

a river two-thirds the width of the

and with a bank which

To

at

in

steps.

at

me

On

our

Cookham,

of Cliefden.

Here we are

1

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

66

by the

told

to wash,

priest

no one can approach the sacred

as

shrines unless he has here performed

We

his ablutions.

go to

the water, and after rinsing our hands are ordered to wash the

To do

mouth.

hand

is

to lade water from the river

five o'clock

the rays of the sun pass brightly through

;

The

the trees, and tip the distant hills with glory.

and

soft,

way

;

on two steps

closed

On

and the sky

is

We

blue and bright.

air

is

balmy

soon reach a gate-

simple yet beautiful, formed of pure clean pine-wood and

raised is

by the

This done, we go up the lovely avenue.

as a ladle.

It

we have

this,

by a

but while the gates are open, the opening

;

manner of

large white curtain cut in the

Shinto.

the steps are hundreds of small coins and papers in which

money

is

We

wrapped.

make our offering to made by most

larger than that

the temple, and as

we may look

the curtain aside in order that

behind, but

it

is

a

little

of the Japanese, the priest draws into the enclosure

see only closed pine-wood gates with strong brass

I

bindings.

We

now standing

are

greatest possible interest

in front of a ;

series of buildings of the

and few shrines

the world have en-

in

joyed an unbroken celebrity equal with that of the temple before

Every building

ground every twenty-one years Built eighteen

us.

has been absolutely razed to the

in this enclosure

more than eighteen

for

hundred and eighty-one years

since,

centuries.

they have been

completely destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed and rebuilt during this

period, but

building

is

every block

and every

in

pillar

the

present

the exact counterpart of those in the building erected

eighteen hundred and eighty-one years since

—

this destroying

and

rebuilding securing a perpetual youth to the shrine (Fig. 53).

The reflects

great symbol of Shinto

our image,

so,

is

a mirror

symbolically, Shinto

;

is

for,

just as a mirror

considered to reveal

our innermost actions, or to reveal our innermost heart.

I

am

told

that in the central buildings within the enclosure, at the entrance

of which in

we

stand,

order that

worshipped

is

preserved a mirror sent

man might

at this

down from heaven

therein see himself, and that the

great shrine

is

the

first

man

—

god

the Japanese

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

167

Adam. But the educated classes now think that this so-called man " was either a Chinese or a Mongolian. We now walk to the side of the temple enclosure and from

" first

Fig.

53.— The Sacred Shinto Shrine of Kamiji-ya.ma in

buildings,

and of the

The temple by

enclosed

the

within

being

height,

and

horizontal

(Fig, 54), but

to see from

Yonder,

mound

or shrines are

four

courts,

other,

the

bounded

fence, or wall,

of

ground get some idea of the nature of the railings, or walls, b}- which they are enclosed.

elevated

slightly

one outer

by a wooden

about ten

feet in

consisting

chiefl}-

planks of wood the others

my present

however,

is

fail

I

position.

a

high

of earth, and for this

immediately make. that the second fence alternate

Ise.

Here is

I

I

see

of a very open construction, consisting of

short and long circular uprights, with

members connecting them our ordinary wooden fence,

two horizontal

more

like

consisting of square uprights, with

two

(Fig. 55)

;

that the third

is

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

t68

horizontal

members

(Fig. 5 6)

while the fourth, and last consists of uprights and staves

;

to

which square -topped

55.— Second Fen'Ce at the Great Shinto Shrine.

slightly separated (Fig. 57).

are

nailed

somewhat narrowed, and thus

closely juxtaposed, the tops being

Fig.

staves

Third Fence at the Great Shinto Shrine.

Fig. 56.

These fences are

all

formed of clean

pine-wood, having neither paint nor lacquer upon them.

From our vantage ground we of which the centre one

is

largest,

can see

five

buildings

being arranged

in

;

three,

a row at the

back of the inner court, while the other two stand in front of the

and larger building, and

central

are connected

way.

,v

are

by a

The two entirely

sort of covered

latter buildings

separate

from

the

other three, the innermost of the

two being situated ary of the alike Fig. 57.— Fourth

or Inner Fence at the

Great Shinto Shrine.

This encloses the central court, at the end of which stands the huilding containing the mirror sent down from

the

inner

bound-

at the court.

All

have thatched roofs with chief

continued

manner

;

supporting

through

members

in a curious

while on the ridge rests

heaven.

a series of spindle -like

These

I

am

told indicate the rank of a Shinto temple.

bodies. It is in

the central building at the back of the court that the mirror sent

down from heaven

is

preserved.

This building, at a height of

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, about

from

feet

five

ground,

the

169

surrounded by a covered

is

balcony, approached by a central staircase.

To

a large portion of the Japanese these buildings are the

and

most sacred

Shinto was the religion

most interesting of any

the

religion of old Japan,

and

the

in

world.

has always been the

it

now it is once again the declared of the country. To this shrine for nearly two millions have made pilgrimages and in this un-

of the Mikado, while

national religion

thousand years

;

interrupted succession of

glory there

its

something singularly

is

impressive.

Having

left

grove we walk through a bazaar

the sacred

consisting of booths arranged under overhanging trees, where sorts of trifles

to

my

Babel, where eloquence

in

their

lavishly

is

press their wares

all

manner.

Amongst

carving of the god

upon

us,

is

with sale.

none are rude or offensive purchases

small

other

visitor,

here offered for

Daikoku, so small that

husk of one grain of

it is

In another husk

rice.

gods Daikoku and Yebisu

are in a very

expended on every

buy what

to

sitting side

by

carried on

is

We

Japanese experience.

him

the view of inducing

But while

Here touting

are offered for sale.

new

to an extent

all

I

I

bought the two

When

side.

bought a

enclosed in the

seen through

a magnifying glass they are almost as perfect as a pair of the

gods an inch and a half After dinner

we

which Kamiji-yama

We

house. three of

its

height which

is

celebrated,

sides there for

is

here

also procured.

I

one of the dances

forth to see

here enter a large

from the room, centre,

in

sallied

and soon reached the dancing-

room almost square

the roof

from the centre of the room. strips of white, red, light blue,

is

it

The

much

calico frieze of the crest of the

crosses that end of the

and upon

this

we

lower than in the

divide this part, walls are

hung with

same width

it is

room where sit,

there

is

less,

vertical cloth,

margined above

as the coloured strips,

form of a cart-wheel.

are asked to

more or

dark blue, and green cotton

each strip being about ten inches wide, while

by a white

but around

;

a sort of passage, although not cut off

and columns which support

and bearing a

for

A

long carpet

no passage-like space,

while running throughout the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE.

I70

length of the central portion of the room at the right and

two long carpets, on each of which

and

instruments

are

left

who

three girls

play

Lanterns hang from the ceiling of the

sing.

passage-like space, and candles on

commence

tall

As

there in the middle of the room.

the lanterns around

rest

candlesticks stand here and

the music and singing begin

to ascend, while the floor of this

passage-like part also rises to the height of about one foot above

former

its

the room,

This raised

level.

how

railing got there, or I

dais,

instantly bordered

is

do not know,

for

it

got

which surrounds three sides of

by a low

how

but

railing,

that

away when the dance was

over,

appeared both to come and to disappear

it

instantaneously.

we

Before each of us as

sit,

and placed on a

which symbolises that in

it is

is

cord of a particular sort and coloured and of the

slice gift

"

intended as a

The packet placed

ear fish."

;

and a

device,

in

tied with

is

piece of

little

a small

dried

front of us as a

but on each tray there

is

cakes shaped like the wheel-like crest which

little

The

decorates the frieze around the room.

same

gift

attached

is

is

device

little

here remark that

furnished with a

paper, to which

folded

contains the words of the song

also a pile of

We may

a present.

Japan, every object which

stand,

little

a packet tied round with red string and bearing the

little

bridge over which

bear

lanterns

we had

the

to pass to

reach this dancing-room has a large half-wheel as the balcony.

The

lanterns

the platform with

having been raised nearly to the its

marginal

rail

being

enter almost behind us to the right and to the

slowly and solemnly facing us.

till

The dancing

they meet consists

in

ceiling,

in position, the

the

left,

and

dancers

and march

centre of the aisle

almost exclusively of graceful

motions of the hands, the body only assuming a slight swing, while the feet origin,

and

is

move but

little if

at

all.

This dance

is

of ancient

not to be seen in any other town in the country.

After the dance has been continued for about

five

or seven

minutes, the dancing girls slowly march out as they entered, the

music is

over.

girls

leave,

the dais sinks, the lanterns descend

and

all

ART,

AND ART MANVFA CTURES.

CHAPTER Tidings of rebellion of wealth and

We

now

1

7

VII.

— Ise — Yokkaichi — Manufactures of Nagoya— Comparative estimates — Castle of Seto — Sidsuoka— Fujiyama— Return Yokohama. to

skill

that the province of

learn

Satsuma

in

is

open revolt

against the Government, while the neighbouring county of Hiego

has taken up arms with the view of expelling the hateful foreigner

from the country, and that hard fighting from Hiego said

with

perfectly

my

Both the gentlemen who form

districts.

;

and

I

remember

much warmth,

happy

"

"

the other, and no one

This opinion

is

is

in it

both

seems,

came we were

pe^'fccily), "

striving to get an

and

all

were

advantage over

happy."

that of one who, while

with but small pay, would of considerable

escort are,

foreigner

before the

is

going on

that a few days since Mr. Sakata

(emphasizing the word

now each

contented, while

is

now

a

Government

officer

have been a samurai or fighting

and whose

been

has

man

a

great

sufferer

through the destruction of the baronial system.

The

feelings

of

my we

issued since classes

position,

have just been embittered by an

escort left

father

have protested against the excessive taxation imposed

upon them, the Government have resolved the land,

of

all

edict,

Tokio, which states that as the agricultural

to reduce the taxes

and have consequently determined

Government

officials

by

on

to lower the salaries

one-third, so

as

to

render this

reduction of taxes possible.

While

I

am

sure

I

can trust both Ishida and Sakata, one

cannot help wondering what

may happen

the country seems ripe for rebellion

is

next.

certain

;

and

That much of I

confess that

1

I

JAPAN

72

ITS

:

AR CHITE CTURE, my

have some sympathy with

Japanese companions

their

in

we have gained

dishke to the intrusion of the foreigner, for while

in the way of art knowledge by the opening of Japan to and although we have given telegraphs and a hundred other

much us,

things in return,

useful

we have done much

make

to

a

happy

people unhappy, a satisfied people dissatisfied, and a contented people avaricious

;

while

the

monuments which

beautiful

are

everywhere going to decay would have been preserved and cared for

had not European ideas been spread throughout the country.

At

moment Japan

present

the

in

is

a trying position.

has overthrown a system which has worked while

time

It

well for centuries,

has not yet had time to reap the advantages which

it

accrue from the

will

people, unfortunately

for

new

state of things.

Besides

this,

in

the

themselves, have taken to luxuries of

which they knew nothing before the opening of the country to foreign visitors,

and that to such an extent that

some years past have been greatly

Thus the country

As an

is

being positively drained of

illustration of the

come before my own notice. Government service tells me that

has

it

its

wealth.

change which many have experienced

through the altered state of things,

what

their imports for

excess of their exports.

in

may mention

I

A

a case that

gentleman who

his salary

is

now

is

the

in

one-eighth of

would have been under the old feudal system, while

things have increased amazingly in price since the opening of the

country to the foreigner.

my

When

descending Mount Koya-zan

boots,

and adopt the Japanese straw shoes.

the value of these sandals which use,

I

I

This led

abandon

me

had constantly seen the

pair.

When

I

to ask coolies

— they

are very dear

sold for a halfpenny,"

;

evening

"

No

!

they are not cheap

can remember when eighty pairs were

and then the matter was put

These poor men as they

I

half-

expressed astonishment at the lowness

of the price one of the party exclaimed,

and

to

and the answer was that they cost eight-tenths of a

penny per

way.

was compelled

to

me

in this

get but threepence a day for dragging

us,

wear out two pairs of sandals between morning and

in so doing,

one-fourth of their entire income

is

expended

ART, in

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

purchasing the necessary protection for their

should regard

our income

it

as very serious

We

boots.

in

and nobles,

old samurai

Assuredly we

feet.

we had to spend a quarter of now understand the enormous the circumstances of some of the

if

can

change which has taken place

173

in

not only have their incomes been

for

money is so much lessened, money one-eighth of what it

materially reduced, but the value of that

men whose income

is

now

in

formerly was are practically not a twentieth part as rich as they

would have been under the old

morning we

In, the

at the opposite

state of things.

set out to see

end of the town.

another great Shinto shrine

It is in

many

respects like the one

which we saw yesterday. of enclosures and the

Both appear to have the same number same form of palings bounding the courts,

but the arrangement of the buildings this

to the outer court,

and from

sacred enclosures beyond.

But

trees.

we can

this

I

Like the other,

different.

is

surrounded by beautiful

also

is

We

admitted

are

see through to the

more

see nothing calling for special

notice.

Leaving Kamiji-yama, we retrace our steps along the great

promontory of

many

Ise,

and

in

houses have been

After a time are made,

we

two hours reach the town where so

by

destroyed

agricultural

insurgents.

pass through the village where flutes and whistles

and then another about a mile long, devoted entirely to

the manufacture of paper leathers.

My

request for permission to

was met by the rejoinder that

see the process of manufacture

it

would take fourteen months to see any one sheet of leather-paper made.

The

fact

is

that in these Japanese villages everything

is

on so

small a scale that the consecutive processes can rarely be seen at

the same time.

who

the potter glazes

it,

Division of labour "

throws

"

the

is

but

little

understood, and

clay generally turns

and not unfrequently decorates

it

;

it,

bakes

it,

and other manufac-

tures are conducted in a like way.

While

this

method of working renders the study of Japanese

industries difficult,

who makes

his

it

yet secures

many

advantages, for the potter

wares entirely with his own hands has a pride and

JAPAN

174

an

interest in them,

who

which no one who simply

through

"

threw

produced

stages

all its

I

he has watched

;

he has nursed

;

that he could to give to

character.

by the one man

entirely

of child that he loves

sort

"

little

There

development

and he has done

interest, the satisfaction

much

as

is

manifested by the maker in completing a

little

kind when

this

pride in Japan

cup, a lacquer box, if

the work

artists

contem-

a sheet of leather-paper, or even a pair of chop-sticks,

be but excellent, as there plating an

in

painting

historical

craftsman in Japan

is

may

;

one of our great

and by perfect work any handi-

attain to the celebrity enjoyed here

Landseer, a Turner, or an

Owen

place which

waterproof paper

and

still

more

excellent.

a small village in which

is

made, such as the peasants use

rain coats,

In the street

man

while a

reach

"

and such as furnish the

for wrappers,

aprons

"

of the jin-

Here also are made the mushroom-like hats of the coolies

rikisha.

one

is

we

by a

Jones, and the fame supplies a

stimulus for the production of work

The next

Each him a

beauty of form and perfection of

it

have viewed, wnth no

signing the completed work.

to

is

its

tenderly,

it

depicted on the countenance of a manufacturer of

capes,

the clay,

the biscuit, or decorated the ware, could have.

fired

piece of ware

all

ITS ARCHITECTURE.

:

we

carried

see some mounted travellers, two women and by one horse, the man squatting on its back,

—

woman was suspended

in

a sort of scale at each side.

Travellers here generally ride, while in

all

other parts that

I

have

visited they almost invariably walk.

Here than

in

in

seem prosperous.

Ise things

times three, stories in height.

having the gables I

The houses

They

are also differently constructed,

in all cases directed

have noticed

in

this

province

towards the

broadest parts,

two cases the

may

so express myself (Fig.

effect of the

5

street-lamps,

across at their

made 8)

;

but

of in

small

one or

lamps has been marred by a second

rough roof being placed over the weather.

feet

and with roofs most carefully

tiles, if I

street.

some grand

formed wholly of wood, with lanterns three

wooden

are larger

any other part of Japan, and are usually of two, and some-

first

to

protect

it

from the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

We

see nothing

the town for which

way has been

more

we

to interest us

we reached Yokkaichi,

till

Our road

are making.

at

now paddy

some recent

left

owing

the

to

day we can only

have

On

sea.

mountains,

are snow-clad

but

fields,

time

been reclaimed from the our

the

for nearly all

over a sandy plain which, though

must

•75

dulness of the just

make

out

Fig. 59.— Banko Teapot.

the hills over the bay of Owari at the right.

We

arrive

at

Yokkaichi,

the

Banko potteries, at Fig. 58.— Lamp-post. P.M., having come rather over 6.35 " Our coolie who can make beefsteaks " forty miles in the day. has run with us the whole distance that we have travelled from seat

Kioto, and yet he appears in no

Yokkaichi

of

way

exhausted.

province

of

features of the country are lost, for

we

is

another province. special

in

the

The

Ise,

but here the special

are close on the borders of

factories here are

characteristic of the wares

made by

the

as usual small.

of this town

the pinching of the clay between the

and not by any process of

Banko wares

"

is

thumb and

throwing" on the wheel

The

that they are finger,

(Fig. 59).

are generally unglazed, and the earth of which

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

176

made

they are

most commonly of a

is

soft Portland-stone colour

;

yet objects of dull salmon-red, of white, and of dark brown, are occasionally produced.

After a long round of the potteries, with which

was much

I

we started for Owari. When three miles on the road we came to a pottery owned by a man whose father re-invented Banko ware, and in about three miles more we enter the rather large Here we see a town of Kuwana through a large bronze torii. Banko wares common but one make of potters who number interested,

;

This pumice stone

from Idsu.

sometimes

is

sometimes

Kuwana

perhaps

to

add

that

all

the

no way be comparable

in

slabs,

and in.

there are one or two leading potters

and a great many small ones, but probably

form of

in the

form of pots, such as the Japanese grow flowers

in the

In this town of

ought

pumice stone brought

specialty of vitreous painting on

makes a

make

pottery

largest size

in

same

the

wares.

here

I

would

with the smallest

in

Great Britain.

We

left

Kuwana by

boat, being

some delay

a river, and then after

rowed about

five

miles along

set off in jinrikishas for

Nagoya,

distant about seventeen miles from our landing-place.

Nagoya

in

Owari

important manufacturing

one of the

is

towns of Japan, and besides

its

manufactures

Here are made the low-toned

shops.

pilgrims carry their

has

many

prints

in

it

calico

luggage, and here also

little

is

of the cloisonne (or shippo) manufacture, both on porcelain with the interstices cabinets, iron -like

much bronze surface

the chief seat

metal, and on

with lacquer.

Earthenware

ware, that curious porcelain which has an

and a gold

metal -work, and that

filled

curio

which

soft

Damascened

resembling

pattern

-baked crackle-ware which

externally with chequered lacquer, are

made

here.

is

covered

Nagoya

also

stands in the centre of the great Owari pottery districts.

Near the thing

I

curio shops

is

a temple with a gate richer than any-

have hitherto seen (Figs. 60, 61).

Its

uprights and cross-

beams, as well as the panels, are carved with elaborate ornament

and even on the two varies.

sides of each structural

member

;

the pattern

ART, Before

had

I

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

risen

177

the next morning the curio dealers had

invaded the hotel, and spread their wares over the floors of each

unoccupied room. that

This

is

a

common

practice here

and

;

made, when

a percentage to

the

Panel Temple Details of Gateway to Temple

Enlarged view of ornament on central upright c,

of horizontal

;

b,

of lattice

;

member.

I

Nagoya.

men had been

I

found but

little

to

of interest,

received visits from the governor of Nagoya,

to dine with

in

of Carved

Gateway of

could not well help inspecting their things, yet

amidst their collections I

in

for

After these

forded.

poor such trouble,

given

the accommodation af-

Nagoya.

in

is

landlord

Fig. 61. ^Portion

Fig. 60.

believe

paid for the privilege of thus displaying goods, unless

little is

sales are

a.

I

him

in

the evening, and

who asked me

from Dr. Roretz,

whom

I

recognised as one of our party at the luncheon in Tokio given to the Austrian is

Princes

by the

secretaries of legation.

Dr, Roretz

physician to a large hospital established here for the cure of

He is the nephew of Austrian minister at Tokio. During my stay in Nagoya joined me in my excursions, and gave me much valuable aid. diseases

by European

treatment.

N

the

he

JAPAN: TTS ARCHITECTURE.

178

Having

Shippo company's works, and a

great

the

visited

some

pottery of

we went

interest,

to see bronze-makers, various

metal-workers, and one calico printer. In

Roritz

evening Dr.

the

takes

us

to

enormous

an

see

earthenware head of a Dai-butz, which stands on a waste piece of

made

ground near a temple.

This

join underneath the hair,

and another underneath the

is

There

in three parts.

is

a

chin, but the

central part measures five feet in height.

The

governor's dinner was given in a suburban hotel where

the

garden was illuminated by lanterns, and

the

dinner was.

the

latter, like

There

Besides

the

is

Roman

my

two Japanese

others

are

present

four

umbra, simply listening to what

Japan a

in

governor and

and

vice-governor

the

friends,

much

too

little

that

all

I

have been sent ostensibly simply recorded

my

my

for

doings

officer

said.

officers

I

who

some cases

protection have in

and when no Government

;

the

being present to

Those Government

say and do.

is

—

of the spy system, for

can scarcely go anywhere without some report

most sumptuous

officer

is

present Ishida's pocket-book does good service in their stead.

we

In the morning

Seto ture

— one

— where

we

mentioned

to the

some one

to

agreeable district lost

;

start

on an excursion to the

little

town of

of the chief seats of the Owari porcelain manufac-

met by

are

the

Last

night

I

governor of Nagoya that the system of having

record

all

my

acts

and movements was scarcely

so he promised that no

should accompany

no time

governor.

in letting us

me

Government

officer

from

his

to Seto, yet the governor of Seto

know

that he had been informed of our

coming by the governor of Nagoya.

This communication could

have been made only by a messenger being despatched before our leaving Nagoya

;

the governor of

Nagoya keeps

to the letter

of his promise, as he does not send any one with us to the pottery district,

but he takes care that some one shall do the spying.

Here we

are in the very midst of the blue-and-white porcelain

manufactures of Japan

;

but

in

Seto

many wares

besides those which especially characterise the district.

are

made

Among

these are Celadon on white porcelain ground, dark rich purple-blue,

ART, the

royal

Satsuma

earth.

like

The

AND ART MANUFACTURES. of

blue

and

Worcester,

undecorated

makes me

inspection of these potteries

difficulties

attend at the opening of every fresh kiln.

man produces To-day

I

who

Thus

all

are invited to

the wares which

are generally sold as soon as they are made.

found that some of the best potters

few pieces, and

those

difficulty, for

Nagoya

to be painted.

It

a

is

district

common

" wasters."

chiefly

much

another

one

of

more the

feel still

of the best

Seto had

in

many had

not even one specimen of their work to .show, while

but

vases

which beset the path of a student of Japanese manu-

factures, for the potters sell chiefly to dealers

a

179

There

Seto ware

is

practice to have wares which are

decorated

in

The

another.

made

then

question

also

is

taken to

in

arises

:

Are we to regard an elaborately painted vase which has been made in Seto and painted in Tokio as of Seto or Tokio manufacture ? Such questions as these constantly perplex the student of Japanese Keramics

;

and

wares from the potter and

we

in

as

the

sells

decorator

them

generally buys

as of his

England frequently mistake the

the

own manufacture,

locality in wliich the

wares

are made.

But men who are merely makers, and decorators who are merely decorators,

must

rather

be regarded as

money-makers, than as potters such I

may

here remark, that

whatever, though

no

A

position.

skilled

in

as the

merchants, or

Japanese esteem

:

and

Japan the merchant has no status

he be rich as

Money

Croesus.

alone buys

prince will spend hours in conversation with a

workman, and

will

receive

him

respectfully at his yashiki,

but the richest merchant would be beneath his notice.

Who

shall

say that the Japanese are imperfectly civilised

when they thus pay homage to wealth?

Is

to learning

and

skill,

not their civilisation, rather, higher than

Surely they here set an example to us which to follow

!

and prefer these ours?

we should do

well

Here we worship wealth, while we pass unnoticed the

handicraftsman, however great his knowledge or subtle his work yet too often the merchant employing the

;

handicraftsman has

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

i8o

secured

by

gains

his

acts of

which he ought to be ashamed,

and which can only result in the degradation of his nature. cannot help thinking that the Japanese are right

man who can make

the

charming

a

beautiful

of goods

seller

for while the

;

regarding

in

a lovely

a

cabinet,

as a being superior to the

fabric, or a perfect netsuki

mere buyer and

pot,

I

one devotes

his

mere money-making, the other ennobles matter

best energies to

by the impress of his mind, love, intelligence, and skill for unless the work results from intelligence, skill, and love, it cannot be ;

regarded as a noble production.

There

a vast difference between toil undergone for the sake

is

of mere money-making, and the production of the most perfect

works of which man the

great

No

capable.

is

mitid

of

Much

of the work done

while he

artist

thought of gain enters the

engaged upon

is

workman only thought has been how

despicable, because his

by the

British

mind

work.

his

is

positively

to

make

or body.

the

But the

most mone}' with the

least exertion of

loving, painstaking toil

which the Japanese bestow upon so many

of their productions

the

actually ennobling

is

workman

rises necessarily far

Here,

Seto are

in

made

and by such labour

;

above the mere moneyed man. the shapes for the doiso7ini on

all

porcelain manufacture, certain imitations of lustre

wares,

large

number

and many

other things

of goods for

for the export trade.

I

home consumption,

have to-day bought

sachi bottle, such as the peasantry

four rin and eight mo.

half,

its

quarter,

and

would

at

use,

its

;

new coinage

part of the old

is

Seto a

and

for

it

I

paid

thus they have the dollar with

hundredth

part, or cent

being worth about a half-penny of our money. this

many common

as well as

For some time past the Japanese have

adopted the American coinage its

;

Satsuma ware, buff

indeed, Seto produces a

;

— each

cent

But mixed with

thus elliptical 'coins worth

eight-tenths of a half-penny, and circular coins worth one-tenth of a half-penny, are this

country.

still

as

common

in

Japan as half-pence are

Formerly iron coins were

in

in

use of the value of

one-hundredth of the cent, although these are now withdrawn from circulation.

I

succeeded

in getting a

few pennysworth during

AR T, A AW ART MANUFA CTURES. my

journey

and

;

day quotations are given

to this

in these coins, just as

1

for

8

some goods

our Manchester manufacturers quote eighths

and sixteenths of a penny. In this old rin

;

much to

money

make one mo, and :

in

mo make

cent, ten

one

use during the baronial age coins of

smaller value than even these, but such coins seem entirely

There were coins called

have disappeared.

shi

make one

ten rin

but there were also

shi,

of which ten

there were also kotsu, of which ten

made one

thus there was a coin worth a half-penny, another worth the

tenth part of a half-penny, another worth the hundredth of a half-

The

penny, and another worth the thousandth of a half-penny. sachi bottle which

I

purchased to-day

will

be seen to have cost

something under a farthing.

On

we had nothing but

the following morning

delays.

It

was half-past nine before Mr. Ishida got back from the Govern-

ment House, and

I

then learn that there was some difficulty about

our getting to see the military

castle,

as

is

it

under the control of a

commander, and not of the governor of the town, who

had invited us to see

it.

Mr. Ishida has brought the bad tidings that an insurrection has

now broken

out in the north of Japan, and that the Imperial

troops, Vvhile gaining the

mastery

we have

province of Suruga

to pass through

Satsuma, have to face new

me most

But what concerns

troubles in other quarters. fact that the

in

it

is

in a

most unsettled

is

the

state, as

order to continue our projected

in

To-morrow we are to have exact news from the governor, but should we not be able to proceed, we shall have to return to Kioto (from which we are ninety miles distant by the nearest road), going thence to Kobe by railway, and on to Yokohama by sea. We may, however, catch a steamer which occasionally land journey.

calls at

a town only ten miles distant from here

that things are not so

On

bad as they are reported

our return to the hotel,

waiting

to

reached

its

we found

conduct us to the castle

;

a

but

;

I

can only hope

to be.

Government

officer

although we soon

massive gates, we had to put up with most tedious

delays before

we were allowed

to pass them.

1

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

82

At

we

last

are inside the walls,

rooms which have Uyeno,

when we

similar

to

the

are

shown

beautiful

into

two

temple of

Tokio, and which are said to be of Corean design.

in

There are here partitions

ceilings

above the movable

also,

slides

which form the

between the rooms, some magnificent wood carvings

Fig. 62.

— WooD-CAKViNG bv

Hidari Zingokd.

Preserved

in the Castle at

Nagoya.

of flowers and birds, which arc coloured in a subdued and delicate

manner

While these screens are pierced and carved

(Fig. 62).

on both

both faces are yet essentially different

sides,

parts are arranged with such side help, instead

consummate

skill,

and the

;

that those on one

These

of mar, the general effect of the other.

works are by one of the most celebrated wood-carvers that Japan ever had.

hundred

His name

\\as Hidari Zingoro,

years

since.

governor of the

castle,

and he

Through the kindness I

lived about three

of

the

military

have since been able to procure photo-

graphs of these magnificent works.

The immense towers castles that

I

have seen

than a Japanese look. palace

in

Dresden

;

of this in

reminds

It

perhaps

castle, like

Japan, have to

it

is

me

those of the other

me

also

a Chinese

of the

rather

Japanese

only the green roof that does

so,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

immense towers

for here the coverings of the

size of the

towers

Of

are copper.

the

could have formed no idea from a distance

I

and they seem as strong as they could

183

be accommodated

Hundreds of

are great.

on each

floor,

openings the entire surrounding country

;

soldiers

and from the window is

Curious

surveyed.

wooden

charts, fixed at the various openings, are so

arranged that

the eye

may

any place

follow lines indicating the position of

for

miles round.

From what

have seen

I

in tlie last

that there are hindrances to an

countries

which Japan

remove.

It is

have paid

for

now

will,

few days

increased

for

its

own

sake, have

pretty clear that out of the

certain

objects four parties

begin to think

I

commerce with

foreign to

shortl}'

money which

have had

1

be feed.

to

The Japanese servant must have his percentage the Government the officer who accompanies us demands his share of the spoil gentleman who packs and forwards the goods, although paid for ;

;

must have something

his work,

things safely

;

and

be a

profit

fair

gards the English

them most

to a guild of

merchants such a sum as would

on the transaction.

Japan cannot hope

to I

Until

this

all

become a great mercantile

is

removed

As

nation.

can positively say that such a method

objectionable, and

ment of business. Another great

encourage him to pack the

the goods have been bought direct from the

if

maker he must pay

to

likely to cause

is

difficulty lies

to

a serious curtail-

the fact that

in

re-

is

all

things here

are on a small scale, and the time needed for visiting the numer-

ous

little

factories

country that

I

am

is

greater than any exporter can give.

No

aware of has ever become a great mercantile

nation until the manufacturer and the exporter have been brought together.

When

our broad-cloth and

towns, and here

sum.

To

in

stuff,

little

trifling

manufacturers brought their

and thus the merchant could by one

certain days (market days), see the

in

the larger

each cottager could hire a room for a

these piece halls the

few lengths of

made

our dress stuffs were

cottages, what were called Piece Halls were built

whole produce of the

visit,

on

district.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

84

1

while the manufacturers ascertained the prices which goods were

Japanese would but establish,

If the

fetching.

positions, such

markets

the produce of

for

central

in certain

commerce

districts, their

would be largely extended. was 3.15

It

Mino

to the

P.M. before

we could

on our excursion

start to-day

Potteries, a five hours' journey.

was dark before

It

we reached our resting-place at Tazimi. The next morning we were off by 7.30 to the potteries, taking Ichi-no-kura, where the better class of Mino wares are made, first This village

in order.

Tazimi by foot-road jinrikisha road to

it,

is

about two and a half miles distant from

mountains

over the

which

said to be but

is

but as

;

little

there

is

we

longer,

a

settle

we have a hard day before us. It turns out that a mountain spur has to be rounded before we can reach Ichi-no-

to drive, for

kura, is

and an hour and a half

situated on

two

The

spent in reaching

sides of a valley

just as the potteries of Seto

Japan seem

is

to be situated

do

a

;

pottery district

mud

exteriors which rise

their

wares

first

its

public kilns.

of

inspected the potteries on the side of the

Mino alone hill

dividing

Here we found potters making blue

kinds, Japanese tea-cups

and nicely decorated.

connected with any pottery,

like those

of Banko, sachi cups

and other things, some being well

Here we

who

also found decorators, not

are paid for

any work that they

may do, and who often purchase plain wares to decorate and

On make

the other side of the valley are

some

excellent potters

sell.

who

blue and white wares of great delicacy, and dishes in the

form of bent Nelumbium leaves. tricity in its

In

estimated

fifty kilns.

and white wares, earthen teapots

many

The province

is

and

up the

the one kiln.

in

the extent of the manufactures

Ichi-no-kura from Tazimi.

finished

hills,

the potteries of

on sloping ground.

and many potters burn

by the number of has a hundred and

of

all

kilns in these pottery districts are of strange form,

;

We

extends up the

it

and indeed,

consist of a series of arches with hillside

where

This village

it.

shape

perforations

;

One man's

specialty

is

eccen-

but he produces a perforated ware which has

filled

with transparent glaze.

This potter

is

known

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

185

by the name of Hechibei, which being interpreted funny fellow." Another manufactures wares that look

in the district

means

"

rather like our

"

mingled together

mottled soap," being brown, gray, and white in a tortuous

and

striated manner.

After completing our inspection of the Ichi-no-kura potteries

we walked over the hill The day was gloriously

to

Tazimi

mile and a forest of

Ascending

half,

The

Tazimi.

little

interest

one of the dealers a man of great importance

and so

;

but we found

;

in

times gone by,

in

the Baronial system had acquired from the Daimio of

the province the sole right of selling

Mino

wares.

we reached Nagoya

Starting at 4. 15 on our return journey,

in

than four hours after having had a glorious drive.

less

The is

sides

all

potteries here produce nothing but

blue-and-white wares of

who under

and then

to the ridge

we followed the crest of the hill for about a looking down on a most charming view, as a very

left,

mountains extends to the horizon on

we reached

common

and a delightful walk we had.

yet there was a cool bracing air as

fine,

the frost last night was keen.

turning to the

;

report that Suruga, the province where

much woodwork

which we are now going,

a disturbed state

made, and

to

in

is

turns out to be untrue.

Next morning,

therefore,

we bade adieu

Nagoya, and follow-

to

ing the great Tokaido (or main road) for about ten miles, to

two small towns almost joined together, the

first

of these being

Here are made the crape

Narumi, the second Arimatsu.

and other fabrics, which have a texture resulting from the

up

"

of parts of the surface into

This manufacture produces time

this

effects

is

of

was a

flourishing for a

and most objectionable of

interesting in

if

It

"

tying

industry.

article to stuffs.

still

character,

any other way.

and

At one

But the European and cheaper

article

caused a

degenerate into the coarsest

Recently an

to revive the original manufacture, and,

success.

world

most

cheaper and

most delicate and delicious

scarves,

tufts.

which cannot be got

American demand

made

a

came

would be a calamity not only

such a manufacture as this were

I

to

effort

has been

believe, with

some

Japan but to the

lost.

Fabrics of this

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

86

1

Narumi-shibori, the word Narumi being the

character are called

town, and Shibori tied or knotted. In these two villages

A

Japanese towel, as

common

I

common Japanese

have already mentioned,

printed

is

fabrics here are only ten inches in width.

indeed

;

of

in width, all

In Japan there

nothing equivalent to our ironing and mangling processes, and

method of

the only is

a piece

is

and ten inches

calico about three feet in length

on which a pattern of quaint character

washing is

towels are also made.

flattening a

fabric

after

it

that of sticking the cloth to a board while yet

there allowing

it

to dry

;

and as the poor

in

has been washed full

of water and

England each possess

a clothes-line, so do the poor of Japan each possess drying boards.

woman's

If a

narrow

may

dress has to be

strips of

which

it

washed

is

one potter who has come here from Kioto, and

whose wares are remarkable more has

left his

We

left

had been

Okazaki

As

run.

my

if

for eccentricity than for beauty.

former business to his son. at 3.15,

and by 4.30 seven and a half miles

there remained yet twelve and a half between

and our destination

of reward

and

ripped into the

order that these strips

run of twent}'-five miles brought us to the town of Okazaki,

where there

us

in

be flattened on the drying boards.

A He

first

is

it

has been made,

I

offered the

men something

in

the wa}-

To

they would run well for the rest of the distance.

surprise the twelve and a half miles were completed thirty-five minutes,

in

one hour

although we had stopped on the road at

a village called H5z6ji-mura to see the gourds, to the preparation At Hozoji-mura we were of which the whole village is devoted.

asked as much as eight dollars (thirty-two

gourd holding about three half pints strength.

Two

such gourds

may

:

but

shillings) for a bottle its

value

lies

in

its

be knocked together with a vehe-

One of them is half an inch in thickness, and we are informed that when very old the rind of a bottle-gourd becomes thick, but that when the gourd is mence

that

young

its

is

skin

astonishing without breaking.

is

thin.

Mr. Sakata has a bottle-gourd which cost

thirty dollars, being large as well

as thick.

I

do not

like the

appearance of those sold here nearly so well as those which wc

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, saw on our road

187

the Japanese "colour" their gourds

to Ise, but

smokers here "colour" pipes: and the young Japanese

as

proud of a richly coloured gourd as an English youth

is

is

as

of a well-

coloured "meerschaum."

We

have now reached Toyohashi,

or Sanshiw, forty-five miles from to Tokio.

It

and Tokio the

Nagoya, on the great highroad

the largest town, save Nagoya, between

is

Okazaki being the next

;

Mikawa

the province of

in

Kioto

largest.

Our road has been across a vallc)- most of the way, but for last five miles we have been near mountains. All the day

snow-clad peaks and long alpine ranges have been visible both on the right and the

but especially on the

left,

left

;

and owing

to the

we saw Fujiyama again for the on our wa}' from Yokohama to Kobe b)'

clearness of the atmosphere

time since we passed Since

we

it

started on our journey, neither

have ever worn their national costumes they wear

European

national dress, with the

dress,

Both, as

revolt,

and as

I

it.

said, are

Samurai wear

all

In the day

in the street.

the

evening put

on

their

have just disco\-cred the reason of

have before

I

in

sea.

Ishida nor Sakata

dressing-gown (borrowed generally from

a

hotelkeeper) over

this.

and

first

from a province now

their crests

in

on their robes, their

dress would reveal the fact of their being from a revolting province,

and they would be constantl)is

over

them

;

liable to arrest

for while their position in the

immunity from

imprisonment,

till

the

Government

much

insurrection service gives

would

trouble

be

involved in securing their freedom.

Having had

a

were on the road.

we rose The morning was chill.

good

night's rest,

at six,

At

and by seven

nine o'clock the

sun was struggling with a thin layer of cloud, but later in the day the heat became actually scorching.

bay nearly four miles eighteen inches.

in

At 9.30 we reached

a shallow

width, with a uniform depth of about

This we crossed

in a fliat-bottomed boat.

Over

more than a square mile of this bay bushes arranged in regular rows jut out from the water

which entangles article of diet.

itself

:

these are to catch a kind of seaweed

amongst them, and which

is

a valuable

1

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

88

Having crossed the bay, we

employment

the sole

drying

They spread

weed.

this

which we place

"

upon straws, like those on Along the streets, and on the propped, easel-fashion, a number of large it

cream-cheese."

edge of the bay are

square straw pads, not unlike our targets

target-like slabs

seaweed partly

At

this

on

by wooden skewers, and

exfoliates,

village

much

each,

the sun

the

till

for packing.

only two jinrikishas and two

get

As

this

all

the houses have

Orange-trees laden with

At

many

the next village

order a jinrikisha to be in

and

In the village

slow.

in

by Avell-trimmed hedges, some of which

seen everywhere, and beside shrines.

is

passing nearly

as thirty feet in height.

little

Along

little

on these

therefore go on, while Ishida follows

I

now

front gardens enclosed

may be

in

left

removed

is

it

of loose sand our progress

is

through which we are

lovely

The

make.

with the baggage on a kind of hand cart or truck.

foot,

the road

are as

when

we can

Mr. Sakata and

coolies.

in

being covered with seaweed, are pinned

straw mats

where

arrive at a little village,

of the inhabitants consists in collecting and

road the scenery

more

is

we

fruit

of the houses stand get an extra coolie

readiness for Mr. Ishida.

any that

tropical than

I

have

before seen in Japan, and strikingly resembles that of Java, while the houses are also very similar to those in that island.

Soon we come

to a

town of considerable importance, which

has a look of prosperity about in

it

that

construction the houses differ from I

I

Here the gable ends do not

Ise.

notice in the architecture during

all

my

have seen hitherto only front the

street,

others that

in

T6t5mi

;

before

This town

is

we have nothing but bother with our intervals we have to change

but although at very short

jinrikishas,

by 6.30 we have got over

mountain ahead, and

ever, a

in

or Yenshiw.

After leaving this town coolies

and

have seen.

travels varieties correspond-

ing to those seen in the different Swiss Cantons.

Hamamatsu

I

we

five

reach our resting-place.

There is, howmore must be traversed

fifty miles.

miles

Mr. Sakata and

I

set out to

walk, leaving Mr. Ishida to follow with the baggage by kago.

The

ascent

is

steeper than

any road that

I

remember

in

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Darkness comes on,

Switzerland.

begins to

rain

189 fall,

and

we reach Kanaya

nine o'clock when, tired and hungry,

it

is

the

in

province of Totomi or Yenshiw.

Morning

men

rikisha

It

!

promise of a

rained hard

night, yet the

all

But delay

fine day.

and, finally, Sakata and

;

morning gave with the

after delay arose I

jin-

out on our journey,

set

leaving Ishida and the servant to do as well as they could.

The day

turns out gloriously

and we seem

to

Here the plum blossoms

into thorough spring weather.

Some

fine,

have got

are fully out.

of these are, strange to say,

We

pink and double.

are in the

midst of the mountains, and lovely indeed they appear on this glorious

Fujiyama

day.

is

before us

—

for

a time cloudcapped, and then clear

again

— but

cone

rises

its

and peerless

vast

high above

surround-

all

Fig.

ings.

By of

twelve

Okabe

in

chop-sticks,

we reached

63.— Portion of Table-mat, formkd OF Steims of the Brake Fern.

the town

Suruga, where mats (Fig.

63),

trays, fan -holders,

and other things are made from stems of the brake

fern.

Although the

were refractory

coolies

the

in

morning, they

by 1.30 we have reached the town of Here much woodwork is Sidsuoka, which is also in Suruga. made but only a few weeks since nearly one-third of the town

have certainly run

well, for

;

was destroyed by incendiary

agriculturists

;

now

is

it

largely

rebuilt.

Setting out to see the industries of the town,

man who makes inlaid.

I

;

Bethnal Green can beat

work, a

polish,

yet, the it

hinges, lock, or velvet, for

expenses of transit are such that

out of the English market.

next saw a manufacturer of bent bamboo

performed

his

visited a

portable folding-desks of English pattern, partly

bought one without

eightpence halfpenny

We

we

work with great

man who

skill,

trays,

who

then a maker of inlaid wood-

forms bird-cages of vegetable wires, a

man

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

I90

who

covers lacquer bread-baskets, and porcelain sachi-cups, with

basketwork

but

;

productions are covered with coarse work,

all his

and not with that

The

found on the thin porcelain. is

now produced was soon

English commercial

mon

things

in

He

character.

we

exquisitely fine plaiting which

This

and found

spirit,

large

reason

given.

it

imbibed the

to

make com-

few of more delicate

whether any one now living

common

could cover cups with the fine work

work

this coarser

has

pay better

numbers, than the

also doubts

why man

formerly-

Suruga

in

ten

years back.

Here we have another instance of the corrupting

influence of

European trade on the Japanese

Since

work has again been produced

ever, the fine old

The

industries.

made

bird-cages

in

;

visit,

how-

in this district.

Sidsuoka are noteworthy as works of

great beauty and tenderness. of vegetable origin

my

What we may term

yet, for rigidity

the wires are

and truth of form, they

vie

with any metal thread ever produced.

wooden

Plain

for offerings

made

Sidsuoka of

facture

Between

it

trays,

both circular and square, are here made

These the Japanese use

abundantly.

is

for domestic

purposes, and

to the gods.

an important town, engaged largely

inlaid

woodwork,

and Yokohama

no vehicle can pass

;

lies

but

it

is

in

the

unfortunately

manu-

situated.

a high mountain range, over which

and, as nearly

all

Japanese exports leave the

men Hakone mountains, or must be sent back at least as far if not all the way to Kobe, before they can be as Nagoya, shipped to Yokohama. The next morning we were astart early. A little frost was on port of Yedo, the manufactures must either be carried by

over the

—

—

the ground, but the sun soon gained power, and the heat

almost oppressive.

It is

that of a July day in England.

As we

left

across

We

in the

near distance on

above a horizontal layer of white clouds which stretched

it,

range of

is

passed under the shade of

richly-wooded mountains Fujiyama rose our

became

only the 19th of March, but the heat

while on the right lay a lovely bay, bounded by a low hills,

separating us from the great and sacred peak.

stop a short time at an hotel, the back of which hangs

AK r, AND AR T MANUFA CTURES. over the bay, and

commands

1

9

a lovely view of the great mountain.

As seen from the pretty little room in which we now are, Fujiyama can be surveyed only with feelings of inexpressible delight. Resuming our journey, we made our way round the mountain spur which separated us

immaculate cone burst of

mountain, when the

giant

Here we

which

are

and from which the vast mountain

and then increasing the

the

on our view.

strange, broad river-beds,

those

this country,

as

from

fully

summit

in its slope

common

rises, first

in

gentle

becoming more and more steep

;

But of the vastness of the

neared.

is

so

one

cross

slope,

even to the bottom of the snow -line, no accurate idea can formed, unless comparisons are carefully made.

appear as specks, extensive plantations as

Large

be

trees here

patches, cloud-

little

shadows no bigger than one's hand.

The

height of Fujiyama

sixteen thousand

have their bases

far

is

variously given as fourteen and as

Unlike the Swiss mountains, which

feet.

above the sea

level,

many

while

all

are seen only

from ground much elevated, the great Japanese mountain stretches its

base to the very ocean.

Monte Rosa

is

about

the sea level

hundred it

is

feet

;

is

seen, nestles in

above the

its I

in

its

know

but

is

it

above

feet

thousand seven

Chamouni, from which

a valley nearly three thousand five hundred

Thus, as seen from

sea.

height, but also to

snow -line, which

rises fifteen

level of the ocean,

higher than any European mountain. not only to

feet high,

about seven thousand

and while Mont Blanc above the

feet

thousand

fifteen

best seen from Zermat, which

invest

its

with a

it

its

But

base,

its

Fujiyama

sublimity

is

due

is

form, and the regularity of

beauty peculiarly

own.

its

of no other mountain so perfect in shape, so immaculate

appearance, and so majestic

Our road

in its

leads us under another high bank, and here

violets, dandelions, potentillas, the

bloom, for

in this low,

By 12.20 we have poor coolies fatigue, but

faints. is

grandeur.

warm

ground

ivy,

district spring

I

notice

and other plants

has thoroughly set

in

in.

run thirty-five miles, and here one of our

He

is,

I

am

subject to fainting

assured, in fits

no way overcome by

which might

seize

him

at

any

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

192

This Httle trouble over and a new coohe

period of the journey.

we

secured,

us

we have

appear ready to

We can

tiffin

1.30

we reach

a

little

and some of the men who have pulled

;

which we have

the forty miles

for

At

are soon on our road again.

town, where

this

morning

travelled,

start again.

soon reach the great Hakone pass, over which no vehicle

travel,

and

for

twenty miles we must either walk or be carried

Coolies are engaged to bear our luggage, and two kagos

in kagos.

are hired, so that

we may

ride

alternately

we

if

please.

path now rapidly ascends, and we get lovely peeps of

The

sea, bay,

Now the and mountain, with Fujiyama high above all. patches of snow are seen in the shad}' begins to get cooler

forest,

air

;

we have snow

hollows, then till,

as

we near

the top,

snow and

summit of the pass we descend and picturesqe

village

in

quantities, but partially melted, ice

abound.

Having gained the where a strange

into a little hollow,

borders a lake of two or three miles

in

bounded by mountains. The scene reminds me Loch Lomond, partly of Killarney, and partly of some but, as the lake of the lakes in Westmoreland and Cumberland at its distant end by Japan's greatest mountain, is bounded nothing in Great Britain, and nothing even on Lake Lucerne, is length, entirely

partly of

;

nearly so grand.

We

are soon at the hotel, which stands back from the road.

Here we have another evidence of the change which has come over this strange country during the last few years, for the gateway

through which we have entered the courtyard was opened only

Daimios and

hundred and sixty -eight, but now Japanese of ordinary rank, but

Our

hotel

declivity, its

is

is

it

evening

opened, not simply for

for foreigners.

situated on the left of the road,

and

in

a slight

back rooms commanding the view of the lake and

surrounding mountains, and of a lovely hotel.

for

their retainers until after the revolution of eighteen

From light,

little

its

garden adjoining the

we watch the lake glimmering in the The dark mountains stand out and still.

our rooms placid

against the glowing sky

high above the nearer

;

and almost

hills, rises

in the centre of the picture,

the vast white peak of Fujiyama.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

We gaze

on the changing

hght as the reflected

effects of the fading

mountains disappear from the water darkness.

everything

till

193

lost in the

is

hard to tear ourselves from this enchanted scene,

It is

but the window-slides are returned to their places, and the outer

world

shut out from sight.

is

MarcJi 20.

beyond

beautiful

is

description.

me

blue of Italian skies, but to daily surpasses anything that

knew what

never I

find

fine

this could not pos-

and of snow-clad Fuji-

lake,

We talk about the

the sky which

have ever seen

I

weather really was

matchless

here see almost

I

in Italy

indeed,

;

I visited Japan.

till

I

Here

an atmosphere of the greatest purity, with a crispness so

and bracing, that

refreshing

enough

and never did

;

in constitution,

By the

morning than

lovely

and the view of the lovely

sibly be,

yama,

— A more

than

I

I feel

now

feel

I

as

if

better health, or

in

descend

is

inhale

more vigorous

do.

7.10 kagos are at the door, and

snow on the

never could

I

thick and sludgy

I

am

told to ride, as

mountain which we are about to

side of the

make an

I

:

effort

and succeed

in

partly packing myself in the horrible contrivance.

For six miles the

I

am

snow with a steady and

that the

even

Hakone

is

it,

trudge through

though they were carry-

firm step, as

ing a cage with a jackdaw in

Unalloyed enjoyment

men who

slowly carried by

rather than a burly Englishman.

out of question in a kago

Pass, for beauty

;

but

and grandeur, has few

Four miles on the road, we come people are almost of special kinds

rivals

to

a

little

town

;

in

the

The

woodwork and making baskets but a few of the fern-stem trays, such as we saw all

employed

in

Okabe, are also to be found here, as well as much inlaid

camphor-wood bottles,

in

the form of cabinets and boxes,

paper knives, and other things

in the hats

and baskets

large pinnate fern, in

feel

in Switzerland.

province of Sacami or Soshiw, called Yumoto-Kawabata.

in

I

(Fig. 64)

;

made

but

I

wooden

am most

sachi-

interested

of the plaited fronds of a

which are both ingenious

in

make and

beautiful

appearance.

Having passed another

village called

O

Yumoto, where exactly

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

194

same manufactures

the

and

are carried on

we

two or three hundred yards come

in

leave the great Tokaido,

Hakone

to the

springs.

we have a fashionable inland watering-place A new hotel of considerable size has a

Here, as at Arima,

with natural hot wells. series of

On

bath-rooms

us with a gift,

;

—

our leaving this little

the whole being clean and beautiful.

new

presents each of

hotel the landlord

packet tied with the folded paper which denotes a

and containing a thin wooden box, within which

sachi-cup bearing the

name

_

mon

in

houses is

seems,

it

to

in

Japan

the

com-

is

fashionable

vogue also

in

little

of giving

present

small

a

guests,

a

is

The custom

of the hotel.

tea-

and

;

at

it

Wies-

baden and other German watering-places, where a fan

is

the

name

upon Fig.

64.— Basket formed of the Fronds of a Fern.

I

often

given

with

the

hotel

of

it.

now

find that a

new

a being a Midrib.

road has just been completed from these hot springs, along which a jinrikisha can travel,

and that one of these comfortable carriages can be got Seated

in this vehicle,

I

feel as

though

I

at the hotel.

had been transferred from

purgatory to paradise.

From the village to which the kagos had been engaged Yokohama is distant about forty miles but the coolie who has brought me from the wells agrees to run the rest of the distance, and by 2.30 we are all in jinrikishas and ready to start. In the evening we reach Yokohama, and I take up my old ;

quarters at the

Grand Hotel.

For the next few days arranging

my

I

remained at Yokohama, writing

purchases, looking over

my

myself more thoroughly acquainted with certain

On

the morning after

my

arrival

I

letters,

note-book, and making

had a welcome

manufactures. visit

Saumarez, who had been the genial companion of the

from Mr.

first

part of

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

my

On

journey.

195

one of the days spent at Yokohama we had a

steady downpour of rain

from morning to night, and part of

another day was also wet

but

wet season

On March I

by the

left

days, calling

25, having

done

train for Tokio,

my

upon

matters which

The day

;

we must now look all

Yokohama,

that was needed in

where

remained

I

for

and inquiring

old friends

two or three one or two

into

do not yet understand.

I

following

my

arrival

I

spend

Dining with Mr. Saumarez

of Shiba.

for rain, for the

approaching.

is

in

studying the

the evening,

in

I

.shrines

met Mr.

who has got back safely from holiday when the rebellion broke out.

Sato, the great Japanese scholar,

Satsuma, where he was on a

The next day I spent in arranging in the glass-cases of the museum the objects which I brought out from England. Mr. Mounsey introduced me to Mr. Ninagawa Noritane, an antiquarian of great learning, who is publishing an archaeological work on the

He

pottery of Japan,

first

shows us some rude pottery from the

early tombs, which he regards as old,

two thousand

hundred years

five

then a piece of green ware nine hundred years old, which he

says was the

brown

jars,

first

that these were

"

first

fifteenth century.

made seven hundred

A

a pattern scratched

He

which has

pot,

The

years since. us, in

tells

Japan

first

in

the

rough, black Corean earthenware, which has

upon

it,

he pronounced to be

fifteen

hundred

also tells us that a portion of a large, rude its

little

tea ceremony," he told us

blue- and -white ware was made, so he

years old.

Bringing out some

glazed ware of Japan.

such as are used at the

Corean

border covered with lacquer-work, was

one thousand one hundred and

fifty

years since

;

made

that an orange-

red lacquer tea -cup, which looks almost new, and a piece of avanturine lacquer, have been in existence nine hundred years ;

and that a piece of plain gold lacquer, which has flowers drawn

upon

it

in fine

black outline,

He now shows feathers,

in

us a

oxidised silver

is

twelfth century work.

cabinet bearing

and gold

the South Kensington Museum). whose favourite pastime was hawking

(like

:

pattern

formed of

a box which

may

be

was made

for a prince

a fashionable

amusement

It

.seen in

a

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

196

with Japanese nobles and courtiers about three hundred years since.

All the Japanese wares which are decorated with hawks'

feathers were

made

for this

The

prince or his friends.

crests of

this family consist of hawk's feathers variously arranged

;

some

bearing a very close resemblance to the three feathers of the Prince of Wales.

In the evening

I

was introduced

to Mr. Matsugata, the vice-

minister of finance and the president of the agricultural board, a

pleasant gentleman, shrewd and intelligent.

renewed the acquaintance now formed

in

Two Paris, as

years later

I

Mr. Matsu-

gata was sent by the Japanese as their commissioner at the International Exhibition of 1878, where this I

also

I

was acting

as a juror.

After

had the pleasure of showing him some of the most

important manufactures of England.

I

AND ART AIANUFACTURES.

ART,

CHAPTER A

Shinto festival

197

VIII.

— Nikko—The great Sanctuary—Arrival

Tokio

at

—

Japanese reports and police supervision.

March

28.

— At

we started for Nikko with Mr, Saumwhen some distance on the road, to see a

7 A.M.

arez, turning aside,

shrine which throws considerable Hght on the nature of Shinto.

About noon we crossed their singular robes,

enclosed

This,

bier.

a river,

came upon some

and bearing on

we were

copy of the one preserved

told,

their shoulders

with

a kind of

contained a sacred mirror

the great shrine

in

priests

:

a

Kamiji-yama

at

in Ise,

At

we reached

the next village which

was being

and following an immense in India.

On

Shinto festival

a great

Thousands of people were laughing and shouting

held.

this car

car,

something

like that of

Jaghanath

a platform surrounded by a low railing,

is

while in the centre rises a mast about thirty or forty feet in height,

from the top of which

fly

the cut papers which

Shinto religion, while around white cloth

is

its

On

suspended from a hoop.

musicians making rude music with gongs and actor,

whose gestures would not be tolerated

staff of this actor

He

is

unmistakably

dress in the tent of which

numerous ropes attached to

We

the fifes,

in

platform

are

and a masked

England.

The

phallic.

—

man and

a woman, changing his we have spoken and the car is dragged men and boys, who delight in pulling at the

appears alternately as a

by hundreds of

symbolise the

lower portion a tent of red and

;

it.

are here brought face

to face with

what has long since

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

198

disappeared from the greater portion of the civiHsed earth the dragging of the car and the lewd religious service

which

is

symboHsm

moment

here regarded as of great

yet

;

are part of a

and

;

before the car the priests solemnly bear the sacred ark, which

—

emblem of Shinto made by the people to

contains that strange itself is

an offering

now taking

it

seems

It

that, since

the gods, and they are

foreigners have been permitted to enter

:

symbols have been reduced

processions themselves are

To

car

to the temple.

many

the country, such ceremonies have been shorn of characteristics

The

the mirror.

now

interest, for

number, while the

of but rare occurrence.

me, the accidental meeting with

matter of great

in

of their

it

this procession

me

enables

has been a

to understand

many

Proceeding on

things that have hitherto been incomprehensible.

our journey, we spent the night at Koganai.

By

8.30 A,M.

we

are again on our way, and at 3 P.M. arrive

emblem flies. diminutive temple supported on a pedestal. Around it

at a small phallic shrine, over which the Shinto is

a

many in

stones varying in height from ten inches to two

diameter from two inches to

cut, the

newer are more simple

five

:

feet,

It

are

and

the older stones are well

At

in character.

5.30

we reach

Nikko, having run for forty miles through an avenue of coniferous trees.

For the

last

ten miles the avenue has

magnificent cryptomerias a hundred and

with overhanging branches locked together

Nikko

is

in

down

a rocky

river,

on the sides of a tree-covered

hill,

shrines as glorious in colour as the

all

and

It

dell.

and a stream of

street.

Across the

are the great shrines

most important and the most beautiful of

—

height,

wooded

defile,

delicious water flowing through the central

in

a vast vault.

a small town situated in a richly

has a mountain river leaping

been formed of

fifty feet

—

the

the shrines of Japan

Alhambra

in

the days of

its

splendour, and yet with a thousand times the interest of that beautiful

building.

Here we have

birds,

flowers, water,

clouds,

carved in a manner that could not be surpassed.

Following the road beyond the hotel, we soon reached the

mountain

river,

over which are two bridges, the lower open and

ART,

The

the upper closed.

locked gates at

Fig.

in a

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

its

closed bridge

entrance.

is

painted red,

199

and has

These gates are opened only once

65.— Pl.\n of the Shrines of Nikko, after a Native Chart bought on the spot.

year

(in

August,

age to Nikko.

I

believe) at the time of the great pilgrim-

Turning to the

the river for a quarter of a mile,

left,

and following the bend of

we come

to a phallic

shrine of

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

200

But the Government has now passed an edict ordering the destruction of these emblenms which for centuries have and throughout the country all such shrines here found a home Continuing our course by the river for half are being dismantled.

vast proportions.

;

a mile, and re-crossing the water,

we came of

figures

life

some

to

in

size,

scores of stone

sitting postures,

which are said to be the disciples of

'if

m wt

we

behind

hill

see a Buddhist grave-

yard, and near the water's edge a stone,

over which rises a canopy supported on

In a small

columns.

stone

four

.,H3lH

Ascending the

Buddha.

these figures,

dentation incense

at times burnt

is

in-

for

;

on the face of an overhanging rock at the opposite side of the stream a Saninscription

scrit

is

of these characters

lSmP^^

a glorious walk closed

the

we

;

After

returned, as night

early to

start

and temples so all

Japan.

cele-

To do

but, instead of continuing our course

turn to the right and ascend the

hill

temples of Nikko are built (Fig. 65).

left

as

we

did last

by the water, we soon

on which the shrines and

An

opening

at our right

soon displayed a short flight of steps, on the top of which square there

stone

flat is

;

simple

enclosure, surrounded

a gate.

Both the

by

railing

but they are mere copies

wood

construction.

so,

follow the main street, cross the river,

and then turn to the night

worshipped.

morning we

shrines

brated throughout Bronze Column or SoRiN-TO AT Nikko.

Fig. 66.

is

we

to our hotel.

in,

In the see

and the author

cut,

Within

is

a

a strong stone railing, in which

and the gate are of massive in

the

harder material

this enclosure

is

of a

a large bronze

column supported by four buttress-like members (Fig. 66).

In

the central column are stored copies of the Buddhist scriptures;

and while the four supporting posts and the central column are here fixed, the whole structure

is

but a modification of the rotary

i

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES,

contrivance which holds copies of the scriptures, and the pious

cause to revolve as a religious duty,

= tower).

wheel, to

The

titles

—

the sorin-to (so

= all,

rin

=

of the sacred books contained in

structure are written on the

this

upper parts

column

the

of

in

gold characters.

Continuing our walk up the soon reach a beautiful

w^e

hill,

pagoda

(Fig.

the

stitute

and various

6'j')

which

buildings,

together

con-

sanctuary

great

of

Nikko.

These stand

in

an en-

closure

surrounded

by

walls,

which

are

as

many

beautiful

These

buildings.

like

Japan, are roofed, and

in

their lower portion

while

the

as

walls,

of stone,

is

between

intervening

the

stone and the roof are uprights

connected

by

tie

-

beauty of the walls carved

the

lies in

which

panels,

The

beams.

the

fill

spaces between the uprights and the

Birds,

tie -pieces.

clouds, water,

flowers,

and animals are

here cut with a boldness which the

finest

of

European carvers

could scarcely equal.

I

doubt,

Fig. 67.—

Pagoda at Nikko.

we have in Europe any artists who could arrange such compositions with

indeed,

whether

half the vigour exhibited in these panels (Fig. 69).

The temple

enclosure

side of a

hill,

which

it

divided into a series of courts, one

is

within, or beyond the other

;

and

as the shrine

is

situated on the

gradually ascends, each succeeding court

higher than the one preceding

it

;

and the main building, being

the last and most sacred enclosure,

is

on the highest ground.

is

in

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

202

Here, on our

the stable in which a sacred horse was

left, is

formerly kept, a building which is

strikes

me

as of great interest,

chiefly of plain unvarnished timber.

formed

carved and coloured with consummate tion of these enrichments

door of the

finest

on our

left,

and the

coloured carving and a bold lattice

black lacquer contrast with the plain wooden In this enclosure, and

structure in the most delicious manner. still

has a few panels

while the distribu-

skill,

as judicious as the carving

is

The

colouring are clever.

It

and

are a series of buildings,

object to boast of; and,

if

situated in

any one of which

is

an

any part of Europe, thousands

would make long journeys to see it. There is the water tank The standing under a canopy, which is a mass of beautiful work. roof over

it

rests

on twelve monolith columns, the tops of which,

as well as parts of the horizontal tie-members, are encased in bronze

sockets, diapered with fine patterns,

Here and little

bits

Above

there,

and bearing the Shogun's arms.

extending beyond the bronze encasements, are

of polychromatic

most

ornament

carefully

disposed.

the horizontal member, and supported by a series of curious,

yet characteristic brackets,

is

a wonderful, massive, sweeping roof,

with rounded gables, borne on beams half enveloped

in

gilt

metal

figured with rich repoitsse ornament.

Above roof,

is

member and below the glorious sweeping hammered metal-work, building can boast. Here we have English which no the horizontal

a mass of carving, painting, and

the like of

water, almost lashed into

tempest, with water-fowl riding on the

waves, and flowers treated with exquisite tenderness, while

all is

subordinated to a true architectural position.

But

in

dealing with a shrine like that of Nikko, words are

altogether inadequate

:

even the best photographs give but an

imperfect idea of buildings which

and half to form.

Without the

owe

half their beauty to colour,

aid of either,

myself with a few woodcuts, which are as

photographs of Nikko now before fully-coloured drawings,

the reader any result in failure.

fit

I

feel that

me

my

and having far

to satisfy

behind the great

as photographs are behind

attempt at conveying to

conception of the beauty of these shrines must

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, Next

the water- tank, and a

to

building of great beauty

;

but were

beyond

little I

it,

another

is

attempt descriptions of

to

my

the various buildings here congregated

203

book would swell

to

unwieldy bulk.

now

In the court

entered are several other buildings, and a

Most of these latter are about six feet in height and of the usual pagoda form, while all around are vast coniferous trees crowded together, so as to form an almost impenetrable mass of green. On the right, however, of

series of lanterns,

the court

in

portion

portion

we must not

pass without notice.

formed of triangular logs arranged

is

and resembling

zontally,

Nara

stone and in bronze.

in

a building which

is

The lower

both

in

hori-

construction the old building at

its

Above

the

thus formed and below the great overhanging roof

we

which the Mikado's treasures are preserved.

have an amount of work

in the

highest degree beautiful.

Dealing with the gable end, which faces us as we walk up outer court,

we have above

on which runs a

"

the V-shaped logs a horizontal member,

Greek key pattern

rise five circular uprights, crossed

on which again occurs the thus formed are

filled

this

"

From

" in all its purity.

this

by another horizontal member,

Greek key," while two of the panels

with lattice -work

and two with painted

decoration.

we have

Passing upwards,

tween the columns, and a

and projecting beam. ridge

of the

roof,

elephants at play.

be described,

—

while nearly

series of brackets supporting a horizontal

Here

which

rises a king-post,

and beside which stand,

in

carries

the

relief,

two

full

There are other members here w^hich cannot

carved pendants, metal

all

richest colour

a diaper pattern in the spaces be-

ties,

grand-headed

nails,

the parts are covered with diaper -work of the

and cleverest construction.

Following the pathway, we now pass through a magnificent torii,

the uprights

members

of which are

are of bronze, on which

of stone, while the is

horizontal

repeated ten times the crest of

the Shogun.

This

which

torii

rest

has

on a

its

vertical

plinth

or

columns encased base,

and are

in

bronze sockets,

perfectly

Greek

in

2

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

04

Greek

character, the usual

which spreads from the

which we

ornament enriching the moulding

column

the

we ascend twenty

torii,

At one

leaf

the

to

and enter the second

steps

court, in

some magnificent

have a series of buildings and

side

Passing under

base.

trees.

the belfry, at the other the music-house, together

is

with other small buildings, while distributed over the court are brackets, a

huge candelabrum, and a monster bronze lantern, these all of European (probably Dutch) manufacture.

being

latter

of the buildings which bound this court, and face us

On some as

we

enter

of these panels on the bird, or

with the

hon

—which

consists of the paeony

left

may

consists of a grand treatment of

another of the kiku flower, the plant of which the

fir-tree,

Mikado's domestic crest

supposed to

and

feed,

treated with masterly

Leaving

on which the hon

formed, and

is

others of various flowers

and

birds,

is

all

skill.

this court,

which

extending to the right and

is

left

a long transverse strip of ground

of the central path,

we ascend

a

of thirteen steps to a gateway in which are two colossal

flight

figures, the

one at the right and the other at the

gatehouse

This

of

is

considerable

while a large gallery surrounds

roof,

first

and the sacred

be regarded as the Japanese phoenix

Another

three young.

its

The

are carved panels of great magnificence.

it,

the roof are supported on a

elaboration

gallery

the

roof

;

but both the gallery and

complex system of brackets, such

as

of detail

this

in

gatehouse

is

absolutely

There must be thousands of brackets supporting

indescribable.

the

it

68).

and has a massive

to be understood.

must be seen

The

height,

left (Fig.

alone,

while as

many

are

Here we have dragons

in

employed relief

full

in

sustaining

by the

score,

kylins in almost every attitude, carved flowers, groups of figures, clouds,

diaper

water,

wrought by the metal

;

-

chisel,

patterns,

and

ornamental

compositions

drawn by the brush, or hammered up

while the whole constitutes a mass, beautiful in

tions, pleasant

in

its

" quantities," correct

very world of colour- harmony. architectural

work that

I

This

is

in

its

the

its

in

propor-

structure,

and a

most marvellous

have ever seen, and days might well

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, be spent

in

considering

The

it.

illustration (Fig.

attempt at expressing the contour and detail of seen from the court which

we

are

now about

205

69)

this

is

a rude

gateway as

to enter.

Passing through this gateway \ve come upon a large court

which surrounds, on three

This enclosure

itself is situated.

court, in is

is

a gateway (Fig. 69),

adjoining

it

at

feet

is

horizontal

beautiful than the

The base

of the wall rise

by horizontal members thicker than the

uprights,

of about

twelve

feet

The

pass.

first

about sixteen inches above the wall, and

this,

which

These

distance

member

the next horizontal

;

and of about the same width

member

at a distance of

a regular roof-structure covered with It will

more

have just passed.

which

apart.

the

inches broad

above

wall, in the centre of

possible, almost

if

w^e

and through which the uprights

fifteen

separated from the innermost

consists of massive blocks of stone, from

are connected

member

enclosure in which the temple

which the temple stands, by a

one through which

uprights

sides, that

;

horizontal

some

is itself is

about

five

then comes another

about sixteen inches

then

;

tiles.

be seen that we have immediately above the stone base

of this wall a series of elongated panels about sixteen

inches in

depth, then above these a series of panels of about five feet in

depth, then another series of the

same depth

as those below, all

of which are covered by a substantial tiled roof

The lower range

of narrow panels consists entirely of carved

representations of water and of water-fowl

;

thus on the

left

of the

entrance to the innermost court the panel consists of three ducks flying over water.

The next

passing flight of small birds

;

consists of water

next of ducks and water, and so with the of the gateway

we have

small birds and water on.

Above

these

come

rest

;

storks standing in w^ater

;

and cloud, with a

the next of geese and water

;

the

while to the right ;

next a

flight

of

then a flight of ducks over water, and so

the horizontal connecting beams, which are

diapered with an hexagonal pattern, then the large panels inter-

vening between the two horizontal beams.

These are framed with

black lacquer margins, having rich metal corner plates, and these

framed panels

fill

the large spaces left between the uprights and

Fig. 6g.

Gateway at the Entranxe of the Inner Court of the Shrine

of Nikko.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2o8

The

the horizontal members.

panels themselves consist of pierced-

work and richly-painted floral compositions. Now we come to the second horizontal members, which are again diapered with a hexagonal pattern

but

;

should be noticed that this pattern laps

it

over on to the upper and the lower surface of this horizontal beam.

Above filled

this

comes the second

series of

narrow panels, which are

with flowers and land-birds.

In the whole of these panels the subjects are treated with great tenderness

carving which

yet there

;

a crispness and decision about the

is

most masterly, while both carving and diaper-

is

work are aglow with colours mingled

in

the most harmonious

manner. This court

surrounded by

is

the

yet there are

;

work

"

used as a

in a

The Greek key

not Athenian.

is

and these are decorated

manner that reminds me of Greek decorative details which at once show that

with great simplicity, and

work

cloisters,

string-course

"

pattern

is,

however,

on the walls as the Greeks used

I

it.

Five steps lead to the gateway which forms an opening through this beautiful wall is

in aspect

live

its

its

;

we have

—

plants

possibly describe a

work that

brackets are tufts of chrysanthemum flowers, while above

the

;

first

members superposed one above

giving us a very procession of gods filled

the

the next a

;

with charming arrangements of water-

the next (a tie-beam) profusely decorated with ornament,

and bound

roof,

I

outer columns entwine dragons which seem

a series of horizontal

number of panels

above

how can

of detail, rich in colour, and most beautiful

architraves are covered with carved peach-trees

its

;

but full

blossom, the branches extending from the uprights over the

in full

other,

Round

?

almost to

lintel

;

same time

at the

all

at

its

ends

in

elaborately treated metal sockets, and

the other decorations, yet underneath the curious arched

are figures

and animals and

trees

and water

all

grouped

together with a perfect understanding of the laws which govern the distribution of ornament.

Ascending the

we reach

five steps,

and passing through

the innermost court

pointing up

the

hill

—

this

a parallelogram with

where stands the temple

itself:

gateway, its

—

length a

long

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

building of simple construction, but with carved

209

panels of the

richest character.

The temple

is

entered from a balcony surrounding

sides consist largely of well-formed,

its

and massive,

Above

hinged at the top, and opening outwards.

we

panels divided

squares,

like

;

and

lattice panels

these window-

Internally, the temple has a ceiling-

find rich carving.

into

it

that

of Uyeno, with a deeply coved cornice lines

consisting

of

vertical

but the panels are

;

filled

with ornamental devices of appropriate

character

resembling

those of Shiba. I

am getting weary of beauty,

and can understand what Shake-

when he said, "Sweet music makes me sad;" meant

speare

surely

for

there

is

an

affinity

between beauty of form, beauty Small Gateway at Nikko.

Fig. 70.

of colour, and beauty of sound. I

now

feel that

of colour are beautiful, for

sweet forms and sweet colours and sweet harmonies

making me I

feel

that

sad.

am

I

also

weary of writing of the

any words that

I

can use must

fail

to

convey any adequate idea of the conscientiousness of the work, the harmoniousness of the colours,

loveliness of the compositions, the

and the beauty of the surroundings here before adjectives which

I

have

tried to

of conveying to the reader what

—

feel

am

me

and yet the

;

heap one upon another, I

—an

architect

when contemplating these matchless

in

the hope

and ornamentist

shrines

must appear,

I

afraid, altogether unreasonable.

We

now

leave the temple, and,

making our

quaint white gate (Fig. 70) proceed up the not less beautiful, shrine.

Here we

exit through a

hill to

find a strange

a smaller, but

anomaly, for

the cut paper of Shinto dangles in a building radiant with colour

and

rich in ornaments.

Shinto enjoins the most perfect work, but employs neither P

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2IO

Buddhism symbolises by carving and colour the power of the Buddhists' god over all created

colour nor carving in

its

temples

;

while

and the loving protection which

things,

The very Buddhism the tender perception of

essence

hands.

is

—

Buddhist, and

it

But the

fact

this shrine in

all

Shintoism of,

that lives enjoys at his is

simplicity,

and care

of

that lives.

for, all

which the Shinto emblem waves was

only since the revolution that

is

and

it

has been set

apart for Shinto worship.

Connected with

temple are two rooms the columns of

this

which are covered with gold with coloured decoration,

in the

form

of folded drapery, at the top of each shaft (very similar to that in

The golden columns, together with horizontal 82 and 87). members, divide the wall into panels, which have a margin of dark On this diaper-work falls a black green diapered with gold. Figs.

lacquer frame pencilled with gold scrolls, while within the frame

carving in unpolished

When

wood

of a vulture with a rabbit in

looked at this carving

I first

I

thought that

is

grasp.

its

consisted

it

of one piece of wood, in colour resembling American walnut

but

now

I

see that the carved parts are of one wood,

ground of another

;

but the two are so similar

in

simply present two shades of one general hue. panels

these

then smaller panels,

The

ornaments. has

in

its

are

members

horizontal

colour that they

The

wall consists

ceiling

is

For a dining-room or library

Nikko

;

and

I

room

in effect

me

can

who can

an opportunity of producing

in this country.

for the

purposes of Bud-

dhist worship, have been ceded to Shinto since the

Mikado

I

than this beautiful

only hope that some millionaire

This entire group of buildings, built

the

;

centre a carved group of flowers or ornaments in the

appreciate the beautiful will give a similar

diapered

divided into coffers, and every coffer

imagine nothing more quiet or richer at

richly

differs.

which are coloured carvings or painted

in

natural colour of the wood.

room

;

and the

of a series of such panels, only in each one the subject

Above

a

restoration of

They contrast strangely, I need simple wood structures which constitute the

to temporal power.

scarcely say, with the

shrines of that strange faith.

There

is,

however, a smaller group

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

by which

remains

211

of temples

close

Buddhists

and the buildings here congregated are as beautiful

in

;

and as

their decoration,

still

rich in

the hands

in

of

the

their details, as those of the

larger series already described, while their situation

is

the better

of the two.

With much

regret

day and return to our

The manufactures

I

leave these beautiful shrines in the fading

hotel.

Nikk6 are

of

are here hollowed out as trays

;

few.

Sections of tree stems

and are lacquered internally with

a mottled lacquer, while the outside remains in

its

natural state.

Trays are also made of a pliable bark, and sections of strange stems are prepared as kettle stands, very highly finished.

We

resolved, although

was

it

late,

our road towards Tokio before night.

get a few miles

to

But no sooner had we

our journey than snow began to

started on

The snow soon gave

bitterly cold.

we were compelled

to

The next

fall

and

little

night at ten o'clock

it

became

place to drenching rain, and

spend the night at the

Utsunomiya, having made very

on

little

town of

distance.

we reached Tokio, having run The w^eather has been fine

eighty-three miles in the one day.

but bitterly cold

and the wind has blown a hurricane, overthrow-

;

ing even large trees.

One

thing only that

special note,

and that

is

This sign was hung out old inns

;

but

its

I

saw on the return journey

an apothecary's sign in the

roadway

character was most

member

were carved sign

in a

at the top,

worthy of

town of

Satte.

like those in front of

marked and

was of the form of the old gallows, but the horizontal

in the

is

tall

interesting.

our It

upright shaft, the

and the bracket connecting the two

most perfect manner

:

indeed the carving on this

was almost as elaborate and as clever as some of the work

we had seen in Nikko. The next day was spent at Yokohama in making my homeward journey, and on the day following

that

for

preparations I

was enter-

tained at a banquet which the ministers kindly prepared for at

the

Hama

Shdgun).

me

Goten (strand palace, or summer palace of the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE, Going the next day I

took out

all

to the

museum,

found the things which

I

nicely arranged in glass cases, similar to those at

the South Kensington

Museum, and here

I

ministers,

General

(who

met a number of the Sano,

Mr. Sameshima

became

afterwards

Japanese minister

many

Mr.

including Saigo,

in

Paris),

the

and

others.

After inspecting the objects the

in

museum, we drove

summer old

(fishing)

Shogun

palace

(Fig. 71),

to the

of the

where an

elaborate luncheon was prepared in

the purest French style.

Nay,

not only was the cooking purely

French, but on the table were

costume-crackers and other bonbons, including those

contrivances

which

enormous contain

a

full-sized dress.

End of Palace in the Hamagoten Gardens, Tokio. This Palace was formerly residence of a Daimio, then it became the the summer Palace of the Empress, and now

Fig. 71.

it

is

used

for the entertainment of illustrious

straneers.

Having bidden adieu to my friends, I started by the five o'clock train for Yokohama; Mr. Saumarez and one or two At others accompanying me. seven

o'clock

Mr.

Sano,

Mr.

Ishida, and Mr. Sakata came to At 9.30 Mr. Sano, Mr. Shoida, and Mr. Ishida while Mr. Saumarez and Mr. Sakata came on board to see me

Shoida

(of the

Tokio Museum), Mr.

dine with me. left,

off;

my

and to

away from

astonishment General Saigo found time to

the war

office,

slip

although the Satsuma rebellion was at

come and wish me a safe journey and again to bid I am now on the steamship Malacca, and before morning dawns I shall be on my way to China. Thus ends my

its

height, to

me

farewell.

journeyings in Japan, during which

one thousand seven hundred

miles.

I

have travelled a

little

over

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, The Japan.

following

is

But

let

first

a

list

English (the Japanese foot

and not twelve,

into ten,

of the distances that

me mention is

the

6 Shiakus

.

....

o

o o

in Settsu .

to

back

18

7

18

Koya-zan

.

to

23 13 12 17

.

.

Hashimoto-mura

Kobe Kobe

to

to

to

Kobe

24

to

Osaka

o

Hiogo and back Tenno-ji in Osaka

Tenno-ji to Kioto

Carry foriuard

13

.

Yokkaichi

YokkaichitoNagoya

.

Owari

in

to Seto

.

.

Tazimi to Nagoya

Nagoya to Mikawa Totomi

Toyohashi

to

Kanaya

in

Shidsuoka

in

to

Shidsuoka to Hakone

in

34 Hakone to Yokohama 20 Yokohama to Kamakara o

Yokohama

o

Tokio

o

Nikko

to

12

Tokio

to

Yokohama

366

16

to

in

.... ....

13

1

.

Nai-ku

Yamada

to

to Tokio Nikko Tokio

10

.

Yamada

Suruga

.

to

(interior temple)

Kanaya

16

Koya-zan to Hashimoto-mura

Osaka

o

Okunoin and

.

.

in Ise

Futami-ga-ura

Toyohashi I

.

Koya-zan

to

Tsu

and back to Tazimi in Mino 14 TazimitoIchi-no-kurainMino and back 12

24

.

....

back

Kioto to Ishibe

Nagoya o Nagoya

Ota-mura and

.

Wakayama back

I

and back

Wakayama

divided

Ri

Nai-ku to o

Arima to Kobe Kobe to Nara in Yamato Nara to Kioto in Yamashiro Kioto to Osaka in Settsu Osaka to Wakayama in Kii Wakayama to Kuroye-mura

foot

i

Ri.

o Tsu to Futami-ga-ura 14

and back

in Kii

I

Ishib to

Santa to Shibe-yamain Settsu Santa to Arima

Ken. Chio.

Kioto to Uji in Yamato and

o

-

Sumoto to K5be Kobe to Santa in Settsu

it is

Brought forward

hama Yokohama to Kobe in Settsu 145 Kobe to Sumoto in Awaji 14 Sumoto to Iga mura and back

i

I

Yoko-

to

as ours, only

Chio

....

Musashi

in

travelled in

about two and a half miles.)

is

Ri

Tokio

= ^ =

36 Chio Ri

same

I

shiaku equals

i

parts).

60 Kens (i

that

213

.

.

.

.

Idsu

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

214

A Japanese

blue

CHAPTER IX. book — Object my — Exportation of

I

HAVE now

my

described

of ginger-

visit

Manufacture of carpets,

etc.

experiences while passing through

a strange and interesting country

but while

;

place to place

I little thought that all that be published to the world but so it is.

I

travelled

said or did

I

from

was

to

After the lapse of

:

some months I received in London, a copy of a sort of blue book which had been printed and circulated throughout the manufacturing

districts

throw

my

on

light

portions

of Japan

journey

think

I

it

of this curious document.

same time a

letter

record seems to

as this

well to give translations of

received about the

also

I

English from poor Mr. Okubo,

in

brutally assassinated after

This

and

:

my

letter runs as follows "

who was

so

return to England. :

Interior Department, Tokio, Japan, " ibst of id month i \th year Meiji.

" Dr. Dresser. " Sir sent to

— In January

our

of last

Museum, and

I

loth year Meiji, you have brought the articles

am much

obliged

trouble to arrange them.

After your returning

have been

all

exhibited

to

the people,

and

I

you have taken the

that

home

last April, the

have notified

all

articles

through

the country your valuable informations, regarding to the important points of industry, which you have given to the officer visit to several industrial

could

make

all

industrial

establishments.

men

to

It

who attended you during your

must be

for

your kindness that

and I can assure you that in the future time they will progress and bring great interest upon the commerce. heretofore,

"

During your

visit

I

understand the points which were obscure

you have requested our

Museum

to

make

make

a

the models

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

215

now they have been

of ornamental ceiling of several temples at Tokio, and finished.

"Although they are very last service,

of

my

present

I

them

trifling

to you,

you

and not enough

to

compensate your

accept them as the token

will please

highest regard.

" With compliment, "

Okubo Toshimichi,

" Minister of Interior Departnie7itP

thus appears that Mr, Ishida and

It

structed to note

all I

Mr. Sakata were

in-

did and said, and to furnish a report of

my

doings to the Government

exact

sum expended

:

and so minute

this report that the

is

the purchase of various objects

in

and the amount of certain subscriptions which

I

is

noted,

gave to temples

named.

The

report

first

"

The purpose

explains

Thus

ing the country. for

it

is

who said

am and my

I

motives for

visit-

:

which Dr. Dresser came

to the

East was

to inspect the

productions of Japan and China, and to find out their prime cost

;

moreover,

he wishes to collect paintings and drawings, patterns on woven and dyed goods, and pictures of decorative colourings and sculptures on the temples

and other interior,

fine buildings in the interior of

Japan.

Hence,

he collected porcelain and Japanned wares

old patterns,

in

in his travels in the

which were preserved

woven goods both old and new, decorations of temples and other

fine buildings.

" In his

task

of collecting old

and new patterns and colourings. Dr.

Dresser gave special attention to the ancient works of Greece and

Europe, and

in

Rome

in

Asia he did not even omit the interior of India, sending agents

He has now accomplished, after much labour where he could not go himself. and great perseverance, the design of many years, setting apart a sum of 1

80,000 yen of

satisfied with

his

own money

for this

arduous undertaking.

Japan, where he obtained

many

old and

new

He was

especially

patterns and articles

of the highest interest.

" Having an extensive knowledge and fine taste in matters relating to the fine arts. Dr.

Dresser was extensively consulted as a very good authority by

various companies engaged in manufacturing porcelain wares, bronze articles,

The sums which he etc., about their patterns and colourings. way of remuneration from these companies suffice to pay his The costs of his Oriental travels were also borne by various com-

woven goods, received by expenses.

panies, so that he

felt

himself bound to find out something important by

which these companies might be benefited

in their various industry."

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2i6

This East

the Japanese notion of the object of

is

and while there

:

many

as "

position

a good deal of truth in

is

new

altogether

facts

is

the various statements and

my

am

I

laughable, but

need not go through

I

and which are

say which are true

represented

Among

seventy different subjects. "

in

my

which

in

not,

readers can almost judge as to this themselves.

In this report

"

to the

Art adviser" to some of our leading manufacturers

has been misunderstood

as

visit

also contains

it, it

The manner

me.

to

my

The

as

giving

these are

on

information

:

Exportation of Ginger.

quantity of ginger used in

London

is

very great indeed, being used

bread of higher quaHty, sponge-cakes, sweetmeats,

etc.,

and

also as medicine.

The people of the city are very fond of it, and it has now, like tea and coffee, become almost indispensable. Now ginger does not grow in England, but is imported every year from the West Indies. As the quantity of ginger grown in

Japan

very large,

is

important staple. tight,

and not

This

if its

liable to

be

founded arose

explained that

and that

it

in

manner.

fresh from the ground,

Japan, and was informed that

was a valuable

article of

it

commerce

I

in

beef,

asked

did.

if

then

I

Europe,

might probably be advantageously included

it

and

Japanese meal, with one course of which

at a

grew abundantly

well

slices,

shredded ginger was served as we serve horse-radish with

and noticing that the ginger was it

would soon form an

conversation on which this paragraph

in the following

Being present (fish)

it

ought to be cut into thin

illustration of the general character

The

nature of this report. is

it

spoilt."

an admirable

is

exportation were begun

For exportation

in

the

exports of the country.

Being asked the uses to which ginger I

said that

it

was used

is

put in Great Britain,

in medicine, as a flavouring in confectionery,

and that a certain kind of cake,

called ginger-bread, in the

making

of which this article was employed, was enjoyed by our children.

Now we come

can quite understand

to be

"

bread

made

have been selected as rhizome, or

why

how

our term

of ginger;" but

illustrations

the city of

"

ginger-bread

why sponge-cakes

"

has

should

of the use of this pungent

London should have

preference over

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

other places as the seat of

The

special consumption,

its

been suggested by a knowledge of the

!

the Americans

fact that

apples in order to dry them.

Now

for

my "

"

description of the

Manufacture of Carpets

The manufacture

of carpets generally

London, England manufactured

is

each manufactory makes

;

"

The

London.

like

that of velvet, only the in

one kind, and the quantity

the warp

treble in velvet, so

is

in

from treble to quintuple, according to the fineness of

is

The

the pattern and texture. is

As

very large indeed.

carpet weaving warp

the stuff

is

in

There are four kinds now manufactured

threads and wires are longer.

all

cannot say

notion of the cutting of ginger into thin slices must have

slice

is

I

217

quintuple warp

is

used for very

and

fine pattern,

very thick. finest style is called the

'

Walton.'

In this

method the wire put

provided with a sharp knife-edge at one end, so that

taking

in

it

up

it

in

cuts

the threads put lengthwise, being like the velvet.

"

The

next

is

the

'

True Axminster,' and the method

manufacture of the highest quality

in the

in

Sakai Ken.

is

pursued

like that

In this method each

thread of the warp consists of threads of proper length of various colours tied to each other, so as to

form the figure required, woofs being put

in gradually.

But as the process takes a long time, only those of best quality and high price are manufactured. "

The

third style

is

the Templeton Patent Axminster, so called from the

In this the patterns are, like that of the wall paper, repeated over

inventor.

and over

Several breadths

again.

may

be put together so as to form a

continuous figure, according to the size of the room.

The

simple and good.

price

is

about

five

This method

is

very

dollars (twenty shillings) for a

square yard. "

The

differs

fourth

is

the Tapestry carpet.

The method

from the above three.

speedy.

This method

is

very simple, and

of dying the warp and woof

is

very

Before they are put on the weaving machine the threads are placed

in the order in

which they are

which colours are put threads on the

first

in

to

be woven, and put round a large cylinder on

proper pattern.

As

the cylinders roll in contact the

cylinder are dyed in proper colours.

which the method, which

is

This

is

the point in

very quick and convenient, differs from the

first

three."

This

is

put forward as

factures of England.^ 1

my

First, the

description of the carpet seat of this industry

is

manusaid to

For a description of the carpet manufactures of England, see the section on by the author.

subject in British Manufacturing Industries,

this

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2i8

be London, where, until Mr. Morris erected his few handlooms

on Chiswick Mall a short time

The

years existed.

and the kinds of carpets produced jumble indeed

no carpet loom has

since,

many

for

description of the processes of manufacture, in

Great Britain,

is

a strange

!

Next comes a paragraph

entitled

The Carpets and Furnitures of European Manufactures

"

ARE unfit for A JAPANESE HOUSE.

my

" During

sojourn in Japan I observed the carpets, porcelain, and other European manufacture, in every house everywhere. All these articles are made for the use of the people of the lower class in England, and Moreover, European are never used in the houses of the middle class.

articles all of

merchants, finding that they can get the largest profit on these cheap

send inferior goods

Japan.

to

many

very sorry to see

made

in

own

their

many

articles,

perfect houses

excellent characteristics

Moreover, Japan

inferior articles.

Carpets are

country.

am

and deprived of

of the Japanese style spoilt

by the presence of these

I

is

a very productive

Osaka, Sakai, and some other places

and

:

and noted porcelain wares and furnitures are manufactured here. Therefore, if the houses are furnished and decorated with their home-manufactured articles, the admiration and wonder of Europeans who may enter these fine

houses

be

will

much more

deeply excited.

The people

unreasonably prejudiced in favour of the foreign

of

all

nations are

and care

articles,

home productions. This feeling seems ingrained in the brain it may be justly said that the foreign merchants get profits

little

of people.

for

And

only by availing

themselves of this feeling."

This

made

last

paragraph has arisen out of certain remarks which

I

respecting the furniture seen in the houses of one or two

Japanese

ministers,

for,

worthy gentlemen

undoubtedly, these

had been considerably imposed upon by foreign

European description,

articles

in

and such

their

make

dences of the lower middle classes in

other articles of

Next we

" I

for, I

are favoured with

way

their

into the resi-

England.

But how a

observe the carpets, porcelains, and

European manufacture

where," can be accounted

most

houses are of the very commonest

as scarcely

statement to the effect that

traders, as

am my

in

every house, every-

at a loss to

know.

opinion on the

AR T, AND AR T MANUFA CTURES. "

Manufacture of Hardware

" Very good hardwares are

London such machine-made

made

2

Osaka and Sakai Ken.

in

Osaka and Sakai Ken,

in

1

Now, in manu-

pieces of domestic furniture as have been

and polished, are not regarded with favour. At present handmade wares, not highly finished, with hammer marks shown, are becoming generally popular. This is one reason why it is important that factured in Europe, and are smooth

Osaka and Sakai should export

many

wants of the London

articles likely to suit the

But the wares which can answer

people.

to these

wants are of course not of

kinds and as every house in that city has fireplaces, stove, with the accompanying tongs and pokers, these tools should be made by hands without ;

using machinery, by the Japanese method

show hammer marks

as to in

London.

Again,

if

;

it

is

—

the hardwares fixed on the doors in the temples of

Osaka, Kioto, and Nara, be imitated, with

same

the

may

furniture sent from Japan, yet, as they will

of Japanese manufacture

The composition It

I

will

apparent, and in

There

London.

is

no doubt

attempt for a time to imitate the

work

at a

be sure to be more

of this paragraph

in

is

much

greater cost, articles

demand."

more

easily accounted

arose out of a conversation respecting hardware, in which

mentioned that persons of

black

hammer marks

colour, they will be greatly in request in

that although manufacturers in that city

for.

simply, without ornaments, and so

certain that they will be generally esteemed

hammered

fire-irons

taste in

artistic

to the

England preferred

highly polished productions of

Sheffield.

The next paragraph the report, as

it

that

we

sets forth, in a

select

way,

the most important in

is

my

appeal on behalf of the

temples and ancient monuments of Japan.

It is

"About the old Temples of Kasuga and Todaiji "

Yamoto

is

headed in Nara, Yamoto.

the most noted province of Kinai (five provinces about Kioto).

In Nara, especially, as being the seat of the ancient capitals, there are

many may be

still

to

and works of art from which the splendour of ancient European antiquarians in treating of long imagined.

be seen

buildings

times

clearly

past ages always proceed on evidence furnished

by what remains

in

ancient

towns, such as temples and other buildings, and are very careful to preserve the ruins as long as possible. relics

Now, Nara,

over one thousand years old,

the conditions of ancient times.

is

It is

as a place

full

of old ruins and

all who study Government should

of highest importance to desirable that the

and preserve carefully an ancient place like Nara. The dance of Mikanks (a sort of priestess) at Kasuga Temple is worthy of praise as preserv-

protect

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

220 ing

much

and

Among

of the old simplicity.

of Shozo-in not a single article interest,

is

to

the old articles in the treasure-store

be seen that

and which may not help us

is

not of the highest value

to realise the conditions of old

times

How happy I was and the splendour and excellence of ancient workmanship. In all to have the opportunity of seeing all these old and valuable articles !

my

shall

life I

never have another such joy."

Now we come

knowledge respecting the manner

may

shows some

to a paragraph that

want of

little

which custom-house duties

in

be altered.

That the Import Duty on the Saki (Japanese Spirituous

"

Liquor) ought to be Diminished. " Since the opening of Japan a certain

London

into

quantities.

England.

;

but as the price there

is

amount of

saki has been imported

very high

it

not sold in large

is

The high price is due to the heavy import duty charged in Now, the rule of the custom-house in England is to impose a very

heavy tax on the

only light duties on the others.

distilled spirit of alcohol, but

the custom-house officers look upon the saki as obtained by distillation

Now,

it but I have now examined personally method of brewing Japanese saki, and found out the mistake of the English Having some influence at the custom-house, I will custom-house officers. speak to the officers about it but the quickest and the best way of having this altered is for the Home Department to write to the English ambassador explaining this matter, and have it countersigned by him and sent to the The Government will then give proper orders to the English Government. custom-house officers to alter their present course and then the export of saki

and therefore impose a heavy duty on

;

the

;

;

will easily

"

be increased.

The author

says

part of the United

:

'

The middle and lower

quality in a high degree, as that

America.'

classes of

States like "volatile Hquors." it

sure to meet with

is

Dr. Dresser, struck by this

Americans

fact,

it

to Tiffany Store in

Tiffany Store has advertised already that

my

long before it

is

is

in

commercial

I

knew

Japan) a colourless beer, and not a

spirit,

certainly choice in

visit to

its

way.

Saki

produced by fermentation only, and not by

a fermented duty.

New York

cannot be too highly admired."

This extract

as

in

has received

it

Japanese saki from Dr. Dresser, whose sharpness and judgment affairs

this

much demand

has entered into contracts for the

export of the Japanese saki, intending to send City, to try its sale.

in every

Japanese saki has

As

the quality

fluid.

for

It is therefore

Americans

" in

liking

(as

distillation of

not chargeable with the spirit

" volatile liquors,"

a high degree," and

is

my making

and saki having

a contract for the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

export of this exhilarating

York, I

fluid

this

report did

learn that

I

important business arrangement.

this

New

to the great silversmith of

can only say that only from

I

had achieved

221

certainly

I

had the honour of being intrusted by Messrs. Tiffany and Co. with the choice of any objects that

might think calculated to

I

aid in the development of their silversmith business interesting to

me

to

know

and most

that, after a careful

and

;

is

it

intelligent

consideration of these objects, Messrs. Tiffany and Co. produced

new works which secured to the firm the " grand Paris exhibition. Whether amongst the things one or two bottles

omega of my

the alpha and the

is

with saki or not

filled

I

prix

" at

the last

sent there were

cannot say

dealings in

;

but this alcoholic

this

beverage.

The

business astuteness with which

I

am

borne out by a small section of the report, sented as expressing "

That

my

profitable not to gain

it is

"

"

opinion on

credited

which

in

is,

I

perhaps,

am

repre-

Perseverance of Mind," and

much

interest

on

articles of sale."

Perseverance of Mind.

" Innumerable are the persons in every country who, either as individuals or in companies, undertake to produce any articles in a large scale for extensive

and who

sale,

fail at

the outset of their career owing to the deficiency of profit

to balance the expenditure.

The cause may be explained

as follows

:

— Such

persons stop short too soon through fear of losing not only the capital but also of incurring fresh losses from the deficiency of profit to balance the outlay

needed

to

keep up the business.

never stop so soon.

They if it

They look

Intelligent persons, however, in

management

after the

are careful to see whether unnecessary hands are employed at work, and,

be

so, to

have these extra hands got rid

production of articles required

may be

succeed

producing good

in

Again, the materials for the

of.

too expensive, and in this case they

have them bought cheaper by some means.

may

such case

of their undertakings.

articles

After

many

years' experience they

and gradually enlarging

their sale.

This success entirely depends on the endurance and energy of the persons concerned.

The

interests of all the traders in English

manufactures suffered

from these causes when the methods of modern manufactures were duced.

When

low price of

cheese was

five cents

first

manufactured

per pound.

expenses of production.

But

sold at twenty cents per pound.

its

It is

in

America

it

first

was sold

introat the

evident that this will not pay for the

is now so much improved that The cheese manufactured in Europe is

quality

it

is

sold

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

222

at sixty-two cents per

England increases year

of

many "

to

That

what

amount of American cheese imported

This success

what they

is

the result of the efforts

I

have heard of

and

it

call

commission of Toi-ya (an establishment

the

it,

the commission

is

ten per cent on the value of the

At present

exacted by toi-ya.

is

being too costly,

price

its

is

in

profit lies in

largely increasing the

China

this

commission

amount

The

is

a

on national

secret of carrying

producing cheap

of exportation.

is

The Japanese production

increased in proportion, and the consequence

diminution in the amount of exports.

manufactures at a

According

kinds for sale are deposited and distributed).

only one-sixteenth part on the value of the articles.

in

is

profitable not to gain much Interest on Articles of Sale.

it is

articles of all

articles,

the

after year.

years in America."

" There

where

Hence

pound.

to

articles at small profits,

and

in

There was one trading company

dealt in carpets, but few were purchased on account of the

England which

The high price was charged to balance the expenses of the The company was going to dissolve when one member urged

dearness of price. establishment.

He

another course. without any

profit,

reformed the rules of the company, and sold carpets

but lessened the size of carpet by only three longitudinal

With the profit thus The lowering of the price brought an and the company not only exists still, but prospers. increase of customers The postage of England also differed proportionally with the distances. The

lines

when compared with the company worked

arising the

carpets hitherto made. on.

;

postage for the most remote parts of the country was fixed at one the people

felt it

inconvenient to pay so much.

shilling,

and

Thereupon the Government

changed the established regulations of postage, and determined that the postage within the English dominion, distant or near, should be a penny. that occasion there this

change, would find

change the people doubled.

On

was one who protested that the Government, by making itself

felt its

involved in unexpected expenses

;

but after the

convenience, and the number of postage stamps was

The revenue of the post-office increased manyfold. From these clearly that cheapness insures an increase of it may be seen Nor can it be doubted in trade generally that the interest of the

two instances profits.

trader lies in selling his commodities cheap and in large quantities."

These wonderfully erudite disquisitions on the principles that govern the success of companies will fully account for the flattering remark contained

Now we

my

have

at the

end of the preceding paragraph.

a series of

paragraphs which profess to set forth

opinion of the various potters' wares and manufactures seen

during our journeyings.

One

finishes with this passage

:

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

223

" In London ladies and old ladies take great fancy to tea-cups and such

Those above the middle

things.

therefore, such trays

manufactured

class indulge in purchasing silver trays

;

Japan as having gold and silver inlaid, and which are not easily defaced, might become the rage of old patronesses. Beside this, iron frame of fan, inlaid with gold and silver, might suit the

demand

of genteel class."

I will

my

trouble

curious document. in

it

concerns us

readers with only one

This

all,

I

On the Happiness "

I

more extract from

this

give because the information contained

inasmuch as

happiness can be secured. "

in

reveals the

it

means by

w^hich

It is entitled

of the People of the Interior Parts of Japan.

for many months, and and everywhere they seem to be humble vocation, and show no signs of poverty. Accord-

have travelled about the interior parts of Japan

observed that the people's disposition contented with their ing to what

I

have heard they

is

quiet,

own

live in their

houses, and

it

is

very rare to

men and women beyond the age of twenty unmarried. This deserves much praise, for marriage is the most important affair of one's life and one who succeeds in perfecting the union is sure to derive happiness. Therefore, I find

;

should say that when the Japanese people are compared with Europeans, their

happiness far exceeds that of the

latter.

middle class have no houses of their own cannot marry, even when they attain to

;

In England, the people below the and more than the half of this class old age. They work hard, yet they

cannot escape poverty, or even meet their daily wants.

In the eyes of such

people a country like Japan might well seem a land of happiness.

But

for

and making them a vast resource, the English are well But for encouraging so happy a people as the Japanese to improve adapted. their industries, some special modes of direction must be devised." developing

It

all

arts,

must always be borne

in

mind,

from one language to another, that

in

dealing with translations

difficulties

may

arise

through

the idiomatic form that expression takes in the different languages,

and that the translation of technical terms impossible.

is

sometimes almost

This would be especially the case where our manu-

factures were described, as a country like Japan,

without machinery, would not have our technical terms.

ceeded is

in

in its

which

is

almost

language equivalents of

But supposing the Japanese translator suc-

conveying to his countrymen the meaning intended,

it

almost certain that the translation re-translated into English

would be so changed as

to

be almost unintelligible.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

224

must say that

I

found

I

my

good

could judge, an excellent interpreter

;

Sakata, so far as

friend

and when

make

nature of our manufacturing processes he always seemed to the person to is

whom

I

I

explained the

I

talked understand what was meant.

But

it

one thing to explain a new process of weaving to a weaver, or a

new process of printing to a printer, and a very different thing make a person who knows nothing of a process understand

to its

nature.

Sakata had but

little

knowledge of manufacturing processes,

and both he and Ishida laboured under they could but seldom have recorded

some time

till

so.

But as

this

report

it

after

my

remarks and explanations

was evidently not intended that occurred

I

difficulty of

should

my

know

that

making an exact

was greatly increased.

Sakata, sometime after he had heard

them

disadvantage that

they were given, even had they wished to do

was being prepared, the

of what

record

this great

Besides

this,

explanations, translated

to Ishida, who, in the absence of the

drawings that

little

generally accompanied such explanations, would probably

fail

to

understand what was meant.

This

will

account for some of the eccentricities of this report.

Such a mistake as

as that

which describes

"

bread of high quality

made from ginger we can understand,

for our

bread" would be most misleading to a foreigner.

term

"

;

but

rendering should fairly represent the Japanese document, that

its

and to

publication

injure

my

is

likely to

reputation

;

Ginger-

We must

every excuse for a document such as the present

"

make

if

this

I

fear

mislead the Japanese seriously,

for in

such explanations as that of

the carpet manufactures, any one having the most rudimentary

knowledge of the processes by which carpets are made, could only think that

I

to instruct them.

was trying

to deceive the

Japanese rather than

PART

II.

CHAPTER It has been said that "architecture

I.

is

the material expression of

the wants, faculties, and the sentiments of the age in which

and that

created,"

" style

architecture

in

is

it

is

the peculiar form that

expression takes under the influence of climate and materials at

command."

It

has also been asserted that

causes which act most the climate,

after

which a nation

is

is

powerfully on

"

the influence of the

genius of the Arts,

the

the manners, religion, and the changes

subject in

its

political state

to

during the course of

ages."

All

must out

who have

feel

in

studied the architecture of various

the truth of these statements.

a most striking manner

architecture

marked by great

for

;

countries

In Japan they are borne

here

we have

a

form of

individuality of expression, manifest-

ing to a striking degree the nature of the material of which structures are built, tions

under which

and owing

it

exists,

its

special

and the

its

features to the condi-

religions with

which

it

is

associated.

Before tecture,

we can understand

and of the

arts

the true nature of Japanese archi-

which have sprung from

be said of the religion of the country

from a study of the religion nature of

many

will

;

it,

something must

and the knowledge gained

enable us to comprehend the

ornaments, as well as the reason of

architectural features.

Q

many

striking

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2 26

—

Japan two religions ^the Buddhist and the The former was the rehgion of the now dethroned Shinto. As the Shogun was the Shogun, and the latter of the Mikado. temporal ruler, and appeared in public, the religion which he There are

in

professed had magnificent shrines and temples of great beauty.

But as the Mikado up to the year 1868 was kept the religion of which he was chief was

Shinto temples were few

when

in seclusion,

to pass outside the walls of his simple palace,

and never allowed

somewhat

number and small

in

The

neglected.

in their proportions

compared with the magnificent shrines devoted to the service

of the

Shogun 's

faith.

The Shinto worship, and

much

is

religion

undoubtedly a very early form of

is

Europeans have been

of most primitive character.

puzzled with

its

misunderstood them

;

some

tenets,

and have

yet

cannot help thinking that

I

the mystery with which they surround

in

it

is

cases altogether

entirely of

much of their own

creating.

This religion was called by the Japanese

which means,

— way,

or doctrine of the

Chinese form of the same generally adopted

in

has

Shinto

centuries

is

gods

Kami-no-michi,

—

The

theology.

Shinto, and this expression has been

Japan

But

the national religion.

for

become modified

through

contact

for

with

Buddhism, and but few temples now exist which have preserved its

ancient purity.

In

his

excellent

work on Japan,^

Japanese mythology the universe

is

Grififis

the descendant and representative of the gods

and earth (Japan) to

hence

;

us

tells

that

Japan, while the Mikado

who

in is

created heaven

it is

the imperative duty of

all

tell

us of the nature

Shinto,

Japanese

obey him.

He says "

then goes on to

.

of

and

:

The

chief characteristics of Shinto are worship of ancestors

deification of emperors, heroes,

forces of Nature.

It

and

employs no

idols,

symbols are the mirror and the gohei, ^

The Mikado's Empire, by

W.

and the

scholars, also adoration of the personified

images, or effigies in

—

strips of

E. Griffis.

its

worship.

Its

notched white paper depend-

Harper Bros.,

New

York,

ART, wand

ing from a

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

of wood.

It

227

teaches no doctrine of the immortahty of the

soul. ''

The

native term for

man

the INIikado's heir-apparent was

hito (hght-bearer)

is

—

'light inheritor.'

;

and the ancient

title

of

Fire and light (the sun)

have, from the earliest times, been objects of worship.

'•The leading principles of Shinto

and

ancestors, It

life.

He must

priest

bind a

by

rites

and ceremonies

and the ground dedicated

for

the water being ladled from the trough and poured over the hands,

washing

may

to a religious festival

Outside every Shinto temple are large troughs

salt.

officiating.

paper over his mouth so that his breath

strip of ;

deeds of

for bodily purifica-

must bathe and put on clean garments before

pollute the offering purified

are, imitation of the illustrious

prove themselves worthy of such descent by purity of

abhors uncleanness, and has

The

tion.

effort to

not

is first

washing,

and

this

enjoined before the offering of prayer.

is

" In olden times the emperors and priests performed ablutions for the people.

Later on, twice a year, at the festivals of purification, paper figures

symbolising the people were thrown into the river as an allegorical representation of the cleansing of the nation

Mikado deputed

" Later the

from the sins of the past year. the minister of religion at Kioto to perform

the symbolical form for the people of the whole country. " Thanksgiving, supplication,

penance and

praise,

are

all

represented

in

the prayers to the gods.

" Usually in prayer the hands are clapped twice, the head or the knees

bowed, and the petition made over a gong, so as to " is

in

The kami, silence.

people.

call

The worshipper

silence.

in

enter the temple, but stands before

it,

first

often does not

pulling a rope, which dangles

down

the attention of the Deity.

or gods, hear the prayers before they are uttered, and prayer

The Mikado

daily offers

prayers of special efficacy for his

Offerings are laid with great ceremony, by priests in white robes,

—

and vegetables, fish and venison at night they become Game and fowl are offered as an act of worship, but their lives are not sacrificed. They are hung up by the legs before the temple for some time and are then set free. Being now sacred they are exempt from harm. This practice of offering fowls now appears to have before the gods

as fruit

;

the property of the priests.

ceased.

"Before each temple stood a

torii

or bird rest" (Fig. 39).

" This

was formed

of two upright tree-trunks, on the top of which rested horizontally another tree

with projecting ends this

;

underneath

this

was another smaller horizontal beam

daybreak.

on

In later times, as the practice of offering fowls has been discontinued,

the use of the torii has

painted or coppered torii is

its

As a Shinto erection, it was The Buddhists, however, piece, made it of stone or bronze.

been almost forgotten.

always of plain wood and consisted of right

The

;

perched the fowls offered up to the gods as chanticleers to give notice of

posts, curved

a purely Japanese work.

its

top

lines.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

228

" All the miyas, or Shinto temples, were rigidly simple

pure wood

— thatched

and no

were allowed to adorn

(defile)

— constructed

metal, nor

paint, lacquer, gilding,

of

ornament

them.

" Within the temple, only the Gohei

— or

of notched white paper,

strips

In a closet of purest wood is a case of and the daily offerings are visible. wood containing the 'august spirit substance' or 'god seed.' This spirit substance is usually a mirror, which in some temples is exposed to view. " The priests are of various ranks, some receiving titles from the emperor, They dress the higher are court nobles and are strictly government officials. as other people do, some wearing white robes, however, when officiating, or court They marry, rear families, and do not shave the head. dress when at court. " Virgin priestesses also minister at the shrines.

Many

"

regarding

scholars doubt whether Shinto

is

a genuine product of Japan,

as closely allied to the ancient religion of

it

Many

before Confucius.

China which existed

of the Japanese myths are almost exactly like those

of China. " Motoori

—the

great

modern

revivalist of Shinto, teaches that

morals were

invented by the Chinese because they were an immoral people, but in Japan there was no necessity for any system of morals, as every Japanese acted

own

rightly if he only consulted his to

obey the Mikado

The duty

heart.

in all things without question

Chinese, who presume to With the Japanese, government and

like the

of a good Japanese

is

only immoral people,

is

it

;

discuss the character of their sovereigns. religion are the

This explanation of Shinto and

its

same

thing."

usages throws but Httle

light on the true character of the religion, and there are one or two little

particulars in

and even

Even

which

wrong, for we frequently find metal

it is

metal, used

gilt

in

connexion with Shinto buildings.

the great temples in Ise have certain of their parts encased

in gilt

metal sockets.

Satow says

—

"

There

is

good evidence that Shinto resembles

the ancient religion of China very closely.

.

.

The sword and

.

the dragon, the thyrsus staff and ivy, the staff of Esculapius, and

snakes most probably had the same religious significance as the

Japanese gohei, and as Siebold has remarked, union of the two elements

The Rev. of the

S. R.

term a

it

symbolised the

— male and female."

Brown says

religion, but

—

"

Shinto

is

in

no proper sense

has rather the look of an original

Japanese invention," while Sir Harry Parkes agrees with Satow in

thinking that

it

reached Japan from the continent of Asia.

Sir

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, Harry says

—"The

229

practice of putting sticks with shavings or paper

attached in order to attract the attention of the spirits

among Yezo

certain hill tribes of India, as well as

(the northern island of

Japan)

observable

is

among

the Ainos of

the Hindoos, Burmese, and

:

Chinese, have converted these sticks into flags or streamers." I

had many conversations with Japanese of the Shinto

me

respecting their religion, and they invariably told for help

were never offered to their gods

;

and that

it

that prayers

was a

religion

At

intended, primarily, to keep alive the sense of gratitude.

—whether god waste ground — they

who was

maker

of war, or the

deified as the

of a harbour, or the reclaimer

of

thanks to the deified individual

who had

the

a warrior as

shrines dedicated to their great benefactors

Ojin the emperor,

faith

offered

benefited the country.

But upon being told that the immortality of the soul was not admitted by the believers

time in thanking an individual extinct,

and who could

homage

offered.

was nice

alive

whom

my

Summed

up,

'

I

I

was informed that

the sense of gratitude, and that

who

Shinto consists of

—

they wasted

they regarded as altogether

question,

pleasant to offer thanks even to one

and phallic worship,

why

no way understand the nature of the

In reply to

keep

to

in

inquired

in Shinto, I

three of

fire

on the I2th of January, the village near Forres.

called the 'Douro.

'

— On

festival of

On a headland On the evening

was

it

could not hear. worship,^ hero worship,

mankind.

the early worships of

cut the following paragraph from a recent issue of one of our daily papers

" Relics of Fire Worship.

:

the last day of the year, old style, which

'The Clavie

'

it

falls

takes place at Burghead, a fishing

in that village stands

an old

Roman

of January 12th a large tar-barrel

altar, locally

is set

on

fire

and

by one of the fishermen round the town, while the assembled folks shout an holloa. The man with the If the man who carries the barrel falls, it is an evil omen. lighted barrel having gone with it round the town, carries it up to the top of the hill, and places it on the Douro. More fuel is immediately added. The sparks as they fly carried

upwards are supposed

be witches and

to

evil

spirits

leaving the

town

;

the people,

and curse them as they disappear in vacancy. When the burning tarbarrel falls in pieces, the fishwives rush in and endeavour to get a lighted bit of wood from its remains with this light the fire on the cottage hearth is at once kindled, and it is therefore, shout at

;

considered lucky to keep in this flame all the rest of the year. Clavie spirits

is

collected

and put

in bits

coming into the house.

up the chimney,

The Douro

{i.e.

the

Roman

thick layer of tar from the fires that are annually lighted is

a very ancient

Roman

The

charcoal of the

to prevent the witches

upon

altar) it.

is

and

Close to the Douro

well, and, close to the well, several rude but curious

sculptures can be seen let into a garden wall."

evil

covered with a

Roman

2

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

30

On

nights Shinto temples are

feast

seem

to constitute an

surrounded by

important element

in

which

fires

the festival

;

and

Futamigaura we found pilgrims assembled to worship the sun,

between

seen

as

two

by a straw band

rocks connected

from which the Shinto symbols are pendent. have the worship of

fire

and of the sun

—

the latter being the

Hero

everywhere manifest, and temples are erected to the

is

great of

The

time.

all

mystery of the origin of few years will

manifestation of phallic worship life,

very conspicuous.

is

outward symbols of

all

—

But

element of Shinto

this

Government have ordered

We

the

faith are,

their demolition.

have seen that the great emblem of the Shinto religion

At

a mirror.

Ise a mirror

is

the principal Shinto temples at Kamiji-yama in

preserved in the most sacred of the buildings

is

the mirror having been brought

Amaterasii to Ninigi

;

the road to

;

down from heaven and given by

while imitations of this mirror occur in

the different Shinto churches.

we saw on

a

in

be destroyed, striking and marvellous though they yet

for the

we

Here, then,

great source of heat, and the giver of heat to the world.

worship

at

rising

Nikko

It will

also be

remembered that

priests carrying to a great festival an

ark containing the mirror.

The mirror

is

said to symbolise the

and thoughts should be open and

visible

manner ;

in

which actions

for as the mirror reveals

our image, so our acts and thoughts ought to be capable of being revealed without our being ashamed.

This

principle

is

rigidly carried

out

in

the construction of

every Shinto temple.

Every part of the

edifice,

whether seen or unseen, manifests

an amount of honest workmanship which perfect

;

and

in

in its finish

no part of the building can we

is

simply

find slovenly work,

however small or perfectly concealed the part may

be. Here we embodiment in spirit of Whatsoever thy hand findeth

have the very essence of Shinto, and an that passage in our to do, all life.

do

it

society,

with

and

own

all is

Scriptures

thy might." carried out

:

"

In Japan the principle permeates

by the work performed

in

daily

AR T, AND ART MANUFA CTURES. In Japan Shinto

brought home to the people, be they of

is

For centuries the Mikado has

or be they Buddhists.

faith

this

23

been regarded as the god incarnate of the Shinto Church, and as a

human eye

being altogether too sacred for

house there

is

a

Mikado would sit come to be associated

with their gods. ;

from the principal

less cut off

niche has

this

made

more or

On

and the end almost enclosed.

floor,

this

should he ever visit the house

dais the

raised

and

space,

little

room, with a raised

In every

to rest upon.

New

and on

Year's

Day

found a mass of dough,

I

a vase, containing a flower which

is

in the

Usually

each of these sacred enclosures.

in

;

Japanese mind

niche that household offerings are

It is in this

form of a cake, offered

in the

offered to the gods,

and a

censer, stand on the dais.

Were

the

Mikado

to visit the house, the person

serving his

food would not see him, but would pass the viands through the

opening at the bottom of the side

There

is

this

partition.

strange mingling of Shinto with the

Japanese people, whatever be their

faith

;

life

of the

and even the Mikado,

although the head of the Shinto church, offers prayers for the nation on certain occasions at a Buddhist shrine.

This

little altar-like

constructed according to

which characterises

all

we

enclosure which rule,

and

in

Shinto altars

that finish

it

;

find in every is

house

is

demanded

thus this royal enclosure

gives a sort of keynote with which the whole house

must be

in

harmony.

To

me,

productions. it

in

appears that we have here the cause, to a great

the

of

extent,

it

which

excellence

This

little altar

The

seasons of prosperit}-.

arranged

in this sacred niche.

Offerings are

flowers so

have learnt from their early childhood to

No

one can have

as well as

most which are

a

box which

is

carved

made on

cherished are

this

sample they

revere.

failed to notice that all

good Japanese works,

inferior, are as well finished in the parts

that are unseen as in the parts that are seen.

me

much

Japanese

Thus the Japanese have constantly

them a sample of excellent work, and

before

most

characterises

gets loved.

all

over, yet the

I

have here before

best

work

is

on the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

232

Here

bottom.

as carefully

is

drawn

a tray, on the under surface of which as the figures

on the upper surface

a pot which has a pattern on the bottom parts usually seen,

not more

if

exceptional instances

;

it is

are,

however, somewhat

not usual to find ornament

on the bottom of a Japanese work, we yet observe that the of the parts hidden

The

finish

equal to that of the parts exposed.

is

decoration on the bottom of an object would seem to

origin to the fact that

its

is

as beautiful as that on the

These

so.

but while

a spray

is

and here

;

agreeable surprise, and to the feeling,

gentlemen, that whatever

common

worn or whatever

is

owe

persons receive pleasure from an

all

is

to

Japanese

all

used shall look

simple and unpretending, and yet be worthy of most minute ex-

A

amination. minister to

—

kindly gave

a mere rude hedge-stick to

Yeno

walking-stick which Mr.

England

;

me

—

the late Japanese

appears at

first

sight to be

but upon close examination

being half buried

in the bark,

and some running along the

some crawling out of the

Wooden

surface.

seen

is

it

have most exquisitely cut metal insects creeping over

it,

—some holes,

little

netsukies, or large

button-like ornaments, hanging from the girdle are preferred to

those of ivory, because they are more quiet in colour and less obtrusive.

the

But as gentlemen prefer the more

wooden carvings

subdued

effects

are generally better than those in ivory.

writing-boxes on the same principle

more lovely decoration

we

generally find a

inside the lid than on the top.

In

much

But

it is

the excellence of the work, whether seen or unseen, that springs

from the principles of Shinto, and not the surprises of which we "

now

speak. Shinto, so far as

I

could learn, has but

causes adoration of the sun

love for nature.

It

the sun that the

warmth

growth and

life.

be sustained

in

little effect in

is

and

it is

from

derived which stimulates plants

Also, without

the world.

;

producing

its

But

genial rays

it is

for that strange love of all created

to

no animal

life

to

could

Buddhism we must look

things which characterises the

in such a marked manner Through the labours of Professor Max Miiller and others we have become more or less acquainted with the nature of Buddhism.

Japanese

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, I

will

233

content myself, therefore, with remarking that Buddhism

Japan consists of a number of

some of which

sects (about a

hundred and

in

fifty),

arc almost wholly spiritual, while others are utterly

idolatrous.

A

Buddhist

The

of created things.

not harm

it

and

;

not destroy an insect or injure the smallest

will

I

child will play with the butterfly, but will

have seen

on children's hands.

butterflies alight

Birds are not afraid of man, for they have long since learnt to confide in a people that never hurt safe

them

and wild-fowl are as

;

on the moat of Tokio Castle, although they are

of a large

city, as

they could be

if

in the centre

removed altogether from the

abodes of man.

To me insects,

the love which the Japanese seem to have for birds,

and

flowers,

Japan a harmony between man I

There seems

most charming.

is

had never before seen

to

they love

all

flowers, the

—

in

yet there are peculiarities respecting

;

While

Japanese affections which we ought not to pass unnoticed.

to look up,

be

and the lower creatures such as

Japanese prefer those to which they have

as the flowers

of trees

;

and

uncommon

not

it is

to

find in their illustrations poets kneeling under trees and looking

up adoringly favourite,

and

at for

The almond -tree

blossoms.

the

them

it

especial beauty

has

pliment ladies by speaking of their is

also a favourite tree

with pleasant picnics

;

;

but this

for,

as

is

"

almond

;

we have make

seen,

The cherry

eyes."

associated in the

excursions which the Japanese

mind of many

some of the happiest

are to cherry-covered hills

where families congregate to enjoy a pleasant da}\ is

the flower of spring.

The

a special

is

thus they com-

sacred bean

The almond

(Nelumbium)

is

the

The chrysanthemum is the flower of autumn. We have just seen that the almond typifies beauty, and we may Buddha sits upon the flower, add that the Nelumbium is sacred. flower of summer.

and the Buddhist prays that he may have a come. tion to

The chrysanthemum

is

imperial,

lily in

the world to

and bears the same

Japan that the rose does to England.

It is also

rela-

the chief

of the seven favourite flowers of the country.

Such associations are common

to

man

in all parts of

the world,

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

234

and they must not be confounded with that love of nature which

owes

origin to the rehgion of

its

The two

great facts

of Japanese art are these,

now

—

Buddha.

before us which concern our study

home

Shinto, which has influenced the

of every Japanese for a long series of centuries, has stimulated the people to the most conscientious work created a love for

many

account for

we begin

Before

at

and Buddhism has will

of those qualities which characterise Japanese

works, be they temples, objects of

must look

;

These two influences

natural objects.

all

utility,

or ornaments.

Japanese architecture

to consider

itself

we

one or two of those circumstances which have always

modified the architecture of a nation, as the climate, the materials at

command

for the

erection of edifices, and the wants which

have consequently to be met by the production of a building.

Although Japan has a considerable

rainfall,

the rain

is

almost

exclusively confined to one season of the year (about six weeks,

between the end of April and the early part of June), and

wet period This

is

is

this

followed by a continuance of hot weather.

a general statement, but the climate

the same throughout the whole of Japan.

is

by no means

In the central portion

some winter days, while the heat is great in summer but the long and severe frosts of the north are unknown at the Satsuma end of the country. cold

is

intense on ;

The Japanese

seek shelter from the rain, and they desire houses

They

which give shade from the sun. which allow of the

freest

circulation of

people, and can stand cold, and in the is

practically an

outdoor

life.

At

also air.

buildings

require

They

are a hardy

warmer season

lead

what

period of the year, and

this

indeed through most of the winter days, the window-like surroundings of their houses are removed,

when

all

that remains

is

a roof

supported on uprights.

But although a Japanese house shelter from rain

by other

is

a building intended to afford

and sun, the nature of the building

is

influenced

causes.

Japan

is

a land of earthquakes.

And

this brings us to

one of

the most singular facts connected with the structure of Japanese

ART, buildings

;

—

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

235

a method adopted with the special view of insuring

safety during these periods of the earth's vibration.

Japanese houses and temples are put together simple manner, each work being complete in

it

upon foundations, or fixed

built

on round-topped stones of such a height as

rest

in

is

ground on which

to the

stands upon a series of legs, and these legs usually

It

rests.

and

in a solid

and having an

Thus a Japanese house

altogether independent existence.

no way

itself,

during the

will,

rainy season, support the timber uprights above any water that

may

upon the ground.

lie

obvious that while an object fixed to the earth might,

It is

become

rocked, be broken off from the ground or

destroyed, that that which

would simply

loose

is

down again after the cause of its stance, we may cause a chair or a very short time

in a

jured

of pressure on the upper part (especially

would be

am

likely to injure or destroy

but

be unin-

if

the top was it

it.

aware that much damage has occurred through some of

the severe earthquakes

Yedo

across

it,

in-

any upheaving of a portion of the ground on which

heavy), or

I

For

jolting will

settle

whereas, were the legs fixed, the application of a small

;

amount rests,

and

vibration had ceased.

table to rock by become stationary and

will

it

and

strained

oscillate

if

struction of property

Japanese

felt in

within the

memory

and

cities

loss of

life.

I

;

and one that passed

men caused

of living

am

great de-

confident that such

calamities as these are due simply to the fact that the Japanese

place

roofs

tile

shaken

loose,

upon

their houses, for these

sparks led to the use of

dred years since. Japan.

can readily be

and are heavy and dangerous.

The Japanese, as I have suffer much from fire, and it

in

tiles

Thatch

said is

in

an early part of

this

book,

probable that the dread of falling instead of thatch about five hun-

tiles

Yet thatched buildings are even now common in

Japan

formed of straw, certain fibrous

is

materials, or layers of the inner bark of a kind of cone-bearing tree.

Some

looks well, but in

It

warm weather

of the prettiest roofs that

of what

1

misfht describe as

I

little

is

have seen

wooden

highly combustible. in

tiles.

Japan are formed

Now

there are

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2 36

many

substances

will render

bustible

;

known

to chemists, as

have already

I

which

said,

wood almost wholly incom-

both vegetable fibres and

hence wooden roofs treated with such substances might

be advantageously used, and thus the one objection which at present exists to a Japanese building, as a thing intended to resist the

shock of an earthquake, would be removed. ing to

know

It

would be

whether injury resulted to the inmates of

interest-

any thatched

buildings during recent earthquakes.

In an account of the destruction of Chios by earthquake given in the

Standard of April

i

2th

the correspondent says

last,

" Climbing over the hills which surrounded the town, one looks

:

down upon

a confused heap of ruins, where httle more than a week ago stood one of the

most prosperous

cities

Out of three thousand houses which

of Asiatic Turkey.

were standing there, not a hundred are now habitable. "

I

descended a long, narrow

street leading to

most populous quarters of the

city.

heaps of debris from ten

fifteen

to

In doing so

I

Marina, through the once

had

to

climb over successive

high, lying between tottering walls

feet

rent into most fantastic shapes.

" Some of the houses had been lifted bodily off their foundations. Others were crushed into shapeless heaps, with here and there a single wall or minaret left

standing above the chaos. " Right and left of the direction

I

took were narrow streets, which are

now

Here and there I caught sight of a row of houses with window panes, doors, and balconies comparatively uninjured, whilst behind this deceptive framework the roof and every story had

so entirely blocked as to be undistinguishable.

been torn from the front * "

The

walls.

*

*

bazaar, which

is

*^

wooden, suffered

gradually being reopened.

They

little,

-X

and the markets are now

are comparatively well stocked, owing to

provisions constantly pouring in from other parts of the island."

Here we have an instance of the value of wooden buildings a land subject to earthquakes

;

and certainly there

danger of being injured from a shock

and the roof in its place.

is

of a material which

is

Yet the Europeans

if

light

in

is

the building

is

little

of

wood

and can be held securely

Tokio are encouraging the

Japanese to build European houses with stones and bricks the

Government

that the

offices are

new Mikado's

of these materials, while

palace be

in

but

also

it

is

of European

;

and

proposed character.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

To me nothing architectural

237

could be more absurd than this departure from

custom which has had the sanction of ages

;

and the

probably be a return to

result of this incongruous innovation will

the native style of building after the occurrence

some

of

dire

calamity. It

but

may

be argued that Japanese castles are built of stone

;

must be remembered that these are formed of vast blocks

it

so arranged, one on the other, that each wall

is

of pyramidal

shape, slanting from the base to the apex in the old

tied together with timbers of great size fair to

Egyptian

These walls are also supported from within, and are

manner.

;

indeed

it

would almost be

say that the castle towers are wooden buildings of immense

strength faced with slanting walls which consist of stones,

stone being in It

some cases more than twenty

would obviously be impossible

—each

feet in length.

to build ordinary houses of

vast masses of stone, or to give to their walls that thickness and

them to any degree safe against shocks But the new buildings erected in Tokio have

slope which would render

of earthquake.

neither of these safeguards against injury in their erection a risk is

A

notable

;

hence

to

many have

appears that

instance of the Japanese understanding of the

manner of giving

conditions under which they exist occurs in the security

it

run which seems most unwise.

Pagodas are often of great height, yet

pagodas.

existed for seven hundred years, and have withstood

successfully the

many

vibrations of the ground, which

must have

had they been erections of

inevitably achieved their overthrow

stone or brick.

When

I first

ascended a pagoda

of timber employed in

its

I

was struck with the amount

construction

;

and

I

could not help

feeling that the material here wasted was even absurdly excessive.

But

what offended

enormous

log of

ascended from

its

my

wood,

feelings in

base to

timber was nearly two feet

most was the presence of an

the centre of the structure, which its

in

apex.

At

the top this mass of

diameter, and lower

down

a log

equally large was bolted to each of the four sides of this central

mass.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

238

was so surprised with

I

attention of

my

this

waste of timber that

good friend Sakata to the matter

To my

denounced the use of the centre block.

me

told

central

must be strong

that the structure

my

In

mass.

ignorance

I

;

I

called the

and especially

astonishment he

to support the vast

replied that the centre part

was not supported by the sides, but upon reaching the top I found this monstrous central mass suspended, like the clapper of a bell

;

and when

could, by lying on the ground, see

had descended I was an inch of space intervening between

I

that there

earth which formed

The pagoda

is

Christian church retain

its

;

to

for

:

centre of gravity

is

it

and the

pagoda.

a Buddhist temple what a spire

and by

its

clever construction

it

is

is

to a

enabled to

even during the continuance of earth-

vertical position

quake shocks

I

the floor of the

by the swinging of

this

vast

pendulum the

kept within the base.

now understood

the reason for that lavish use of timber which

and I see that there I had so rashly pronounced to be useless is a method in Japanese construction which is worthy of high ;

appreciation.

In the absence of any other instance the employment

of this scientific

method

of keeping the

pagoda upright shows how

carefully the Japanese have thought out the requirements to be met.

In a work like the present, which treats of architecture some-

what incidentally and with the view of throwing light rather upon the decorative arts which have arisen out of it than of examining the structural methods employed, I cannot afford to enter minutely into Japanese construction.

All

I

can do in the present work

is

to offer a few illustrations of the principles which govern their methods of construction and of certain effects produced.

The drawing which

is

Nishi-hongwan-ji at Kioto

given (Fig. 41)

may

be taken as an example.

end consists of three pillars or uprights square, tied together

carved panels. tie

the

The

cornice,

—one

circular

central of the three horizontal

Above

is flat,

is

Each

and two

Between these are

by horizontal members.

the uprights together uprights.

of the east gate of

members

that

and protrudes considerably beyond

a system of

brackets which act as a

and by which a heavy thatched roof

is

sustained.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART.

A

glance at

beautiful

our sketch (Fig. 41) will

manner

which

in

this

work

stones which

form the bases of

the columns,

and on which the

shafts

loosely rest,

The

apparent. will

with

once show the

at

The

framed together.

once

at

gate as a whole as a

work con-

due

regard

be noticed

structed

are

is

:39

to

strength as well as beauty.

In this

amount

gateway there

of complication

upper

bracketwork

render

it

somewhat

is

in

which

an the

may

Fig. 72.

A

Compound Bracket.

A, Sections of horizontal members carried by the brackets.

indistinct to

those not conversant with this method of building to illustrations

72,

73,

and 74, the principle

;

but by reference

\\hich guided

the

architect will be better understood.

In speaking of structure reference ought to be

Fig. 73.

bridges of Japan.

made

to the

Entrance-gate of the Uemple of Dai-butz, Kioto.

These, some have said, prove that the Japanese

have no true understanding of the principles of construction.

To me

it

seems

that

we might

as

well

deny the existence

of structural knowledge in England, because in certain parts of

240

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE, ETC.

the country

we

find planks

spanning

rivers,

and other

ill

contrived

arrangements for the crossing of brooks, as deny to the Japanese a knowledge which they possess to a remarkable degree, because

we

find in their bridges instances of false construction.

Japanese bridges are of in character, others are of a

Fig. 74.— Bracketing

many

kinds:

— some are most primitive

complex nature

;

some show an

while

supporting Roof of Temple-gate, Chionijin, Kioto.

understanding of true structural

qualities.

Figs. 75, y6, "jy, 78,

and 79 give native drawings of some common bridges of the country.

The most simple for the

bridge

—

if

bridge

passage of rivers where there

is

it

but

may be little

called

traffic

—used

consists

of two trunks of trees placed side by side, and having one ex-

tremity fixed at one side of the

river,

while the other, which reaches

within jumping distance of the opposite side,

is

held in

its

position

by a rope fastened to a peg at some little distance up the stream. But from this they advance through every conceivable (Fig. 80). degree of complexity.

There are bridges formed of are bridges

made

piles of fagots (Fig. 75).

There

of straight bamboos, resting on supports in the

river so that the bridge

is flat

(Fig. yG).

There are others similarly

Native Bridges, from Blocks drawn and engraved

in

Japan

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

242

formed, only with the centre raised so that the bridge somewhat

There

resembles an inverted V. of stout planks, which

rest

while

;

in

water

—

;

Bridge.

there are others consisting of semicircular

a bridge with

flows.

— Simple

Kioto we find what

Fig.

bridge,"

Japan formed

There are bridges supported by a complicated

trees.

system of bracketing arches

also a bridge in

on the decapitated branching tops of

Fig. 8o.

two large

is

8i.

two

— Arched

is

called

the " spectacle

Bridge.

circular openings through

which the

But what has caused Europeans to regard the

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Japanese as devoid of a knowledge of structure

some of the bridges which have the arch form

is

243 the fact that

are yet propped

by

supports (Figs. JJ, 'jZ, 79, and 81). As these supports come in contact with the under surface of the arch, such bridges reveal no

understanding of structural

qualities.

So

far as I

have seen, these

curved, and yet supported, bridges are invariably formed of

hence they

differ

wood

;

widely from arched structures formed of stone.

Yet if Japan contains many illustrations of false structure, these do not prove that Japan does not possess men who have perfect understanding of true structural principles.

The Japanese have never been

engineers, but

great

have, undoubtedly, been great architects.

they

Architecture involves

a knowledge of structure, but engineering does not necessarily involve any knowledge of the beautiful, as

our dismay so that

it

in

will

A man

England.

we

so often discover to

may be able to construct an edifice may be altogether unable to

stand securely, but he

No

erect a beautiful building.

one could look upon either the great

temples of Shiba or of Nikko without feeling that the architect of these glorious buildings understood perfectly the principles both

of construction and of beauty.

One of

great peculiarity of Japanese construction

bracketing which

carries to a

it

so

often

remarkable extent

in

employs —

some

cases;

is

the system

a system which

and which

it

it

almost

invariably uses for the support of the overhanging roofs of richly

decorated temples.

An

elaborate

system

of

bracketing

frequently

between the roof and the uprights, and acts as a (see Figs.

41 and 70).

In some cases this system

extent which seems altogether extravagant.

(In

sort is

intervenes of cornice

carried to an Figs.

68 and

74 we have the most complicated arrangements of brackets that In many cases we have brackets emI saw while in Japan.) bedded in the wall where plaster intervenes between the timbers, as in Figs. 46 and 73, and in internal work they are almost as

common some

as on the exterior of buildings.

difficulty in

As

the reader

may have

understanding the nature of these brackets, we

have given a separate view of one, in which two of the horizontal

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

244

members

shown

carried are

while others would rest

section,

in

on the uppermost supports (Fig. 72). This bracketing

some

while in

cases

carried to an extent that

Early English architecture

construction

is

Westminster

more

qualities,

relation to

in

than any building that

false

we

excessive

is

Henry the Seventh's chapel

:

when considered

is,

others

But while our

almost absurd.

the Later Florid or Decorated work much that

find in

and

;

in

simple and constructively correct,

is

and worthy only of condemnation at

of

both useful and ornamental,

is

it

and charac-

distinctive

feature of the Japanese systems

teristic

it is

most

certainly the

is

I

structural

its

saw during

my

travels in Japan.

Internally the construction of buildings varies much. cases

we have

structure

is

employed. "

resembling our upright

from

we

in

When

the

King-post

"

structure

often used

is

more

a

is

In

or less

they

as

rise,

as

single,

is

Fig.

in

Fig. J},,

in

In

47.

open

but instead of one

;

while in

some

open, something

generally find two standing on the horizontal

which

member

others

while

ceilings,

other

some

cases

instances

beam this it

is

almost invariably arranged, as

in

dispensed with altogether.

When we

find a ceiling

it is

Uyeno

the temples of Shiba,

(Figs.

7 and

1

i

8),

and Nikko, into

squares of from eighteen to twenty inches in diameter, and has a

somewhat decorated of which these

In this case each coffer

coffered character. ;

is

cases

or

may

be divided into a series of small

not more than one inch square (Fig,

we

by perforated

hammered metal

In those instances in

casings

which each coffer

small squares the ceiling

is

coving, traversed vertically

is

coffers,

(Figs.

each

In both of

8).

the crossings of the framed

find

or

i

may be

structure tied

17

and

18).

divided into a series of

connected with the walls by a large

by

raised bars similar to those which

divide the coffers into squares (Fig. 18).

The Japanese we have tioned

just

are

inventions.

of

affirm that

spoken, and

Corean

Thus

we

all

have

such covings as that just men-

all

origin

such ceilings as those of which

;

and

another

that

they are not native

instance

of

the

strange

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

influence which Corea appears to have exercised

245

upon the

arts of

Japan.

To me

it

ings should

seemed strange that these simple and beautiful

owe

Fig. 82.—

for

I

their origin to

Column and Tie-Beams from the

saw nothing

in

is

any way resembling them

referring

almost led to believe

many

that the

;

Chion-in, Kioto.

of China or any other part of Asia that

one

ceil-

any portion of Continental Asia

I

in

have

the temples visited.

Japanese are

right

Yet in

of both their arts and those of the Chinese to the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

246

Coreans,

and that

manufactures

of

a

many

doubted that

this

has at some time had arts and

nation

most

character.

artistic

employed by the Japanese, owe such temples as that of

their origin

H5wo-do

in Uji

art.

82 gives a portion of internal structure, where a decorated

which strength

is

given by a vertically placed timber.

-Plan of part of the Open Roof

Fir.

to Central Asia, for

column bears a horizontal beam placed

circular

cannot be

it

could only have been

decorated by one having experience of Indian Fig.

But

of the arts of Japan, as well as the ornaments

in

flat-wise,

and

Over the top of

the Gatehouse of the Temple Tofuku-zi.

the column rises a system of brackets supporting horizontal bers

;

to

mem-

but a timber which would rest on the advancing bracket A,

Fig. 82, has tration,

been removed, as

it

would hide that shown

and by which the uppermost horizontal member

Fig-

'^3

in

is

our

illus-

supported.

gives us a plan (as seen from below) of a portion of

open-roof structure where the brackets spreading from the tops of the columns

may

be observed, as well as the timbers which rest

upon them.

When we

consider Japanese buildings as structures adapted to

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

247

withstand the earthquake, the character of the windows, which are

hght wooden frames covered only with paper, should not be overlooked (Figs. 37 and 84). It will be apparent to all that the use of glass

would be accompanied

IDDDDDDDDDDDDD

DnnnnnnnnnDDnnnn

DnnnnnnnnnnDDnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn "^

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

248 In Fig.

44

it

will

be noticed, as

I

have already pointed out, that

the bases of the columns are of stone, and that

upon these stone

bases rest loosely the vertical

columns which form the main supports of the gateway. will

be seen

also

It

the

that

portions of the columns rest-

ing on these bases are incased

bronze sockets, on which

in

ornaments are raised by hammering. horizontal

The ends members

the

of

are also

incased in a similar manner,

same

as will be seen in the Fig.

illustration. Fig. 85.—

Indian Lattice Window formed of PIERCED Stone.

the

gives

43

same horizontal members

as the cut last referred to, as

well as the whole of the pierced

but

and carved panel which we see

in part in Fig. 44.

In some few instances metal-work effect,

added

is

and not with the view of serving any

for the

useful

sake of mere

On

purpose.

the corners of the frame in which the carving occurs (Fig. 43)

have metal bindings which are useful

;

whereas

in

we

the centre of

each side an ornamental metallic plac occurs which only serves a decorative purpose.

As

a

rule,

however, the metal bindings are

used with the view of protecting the cross-grain ends of wood from

decay through contact with water.

Another method employed throughout the whole of Japan with the view of saving

wood from decay

roofs in order to protect the

that of using

is

end grain from moisture.

I

little

have

seen individual posts roofed, as well as palings around enclosed

Indeed, everything

land.

is

roofed in Japan

;

and

in

some

the complicated roofing of boardings, railings, posts, lamps, as curious as

A

it is

interesting.

word may now be

liarities

cases etc., is

said

on the methods of building.

occur most frequently in their walls

;

Pecu-

for these, unlike their

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

houses, are often formed in

hewn

of

part

or

249

rag -stone,

while

the upper portion consists of a kind of lath and plaster-work, of tiles

placed horizontally with mortar between, or of various other

materials

but

;

cases the wall

in all

from the weather.

protected

carefully roofed,

is

Figs.

and thus

35,

45, and 86 give typical wall formations.

One

has a boulder-stone base and stone

whereas

corners,

bases formed of of

rectangular

" rag."

two

the

other

hewn

stone,

corners

(and

teristic

arrangement),

this

the

is

one of

wooden

have

latter

have

the

other

the

blocks,

These

—

most charac-

and

have

five

horizontal lines running throughout their entire

Whenever

length.

occur the wall

these

lines

of dull yellow colour

is

(yellow -ochre) and

the lines are white.

This arrangement of lines indicates, as

have before the

temple

I

said, that the high priest of

near

a

is

of the

relation

Mikado. It

are

will

more

be

noticed that these walls

Fig.

—End Uji,

of Wall at Kiku NEAR Kioto.

or less conical in shape, being

broader at the base than already pointed struction of a

out that

building, or

system of building

is

at

the upper portion

wherever

stone

is

;

used

but we have in

the

con-

any material other than wood, this and that by it alone the disas-

employed

;

trous effects of earthquake shocks can

covering the water-tank at Shiba

is

be averted.

The canopy

supported on monolith granite

columns, but these slant inwards at the top (see Fig. 16). In the case of large temples and elaborate shrines, as those of

Nikko and Shiba, we

often find wall within wall, each enclosing a

The innermost

of these walls surrounds the central and most

court.

important of the temple buildings.

These inner walls are generally

differently constructed from those

which form the outermost enclo-

sure of the temple buildings, and are in

some

cases very beautiful.

2

JAPAN

so

ITS ARCHITECTURE,

:

I

Here we generally find a solid stone base, from which rise wooden members held together by horizontal ties. These

vertical

latter are so disposed, that

panel, while in the centre

above and below we get a long narrow

we have

a space of

much

In

larger size.

such a wall as this the horizontal tie-pieces are frequently decorated and the panels

filled in

with carved-work, the whole being

A

coloured and roofed over (Fig. 69).

which

here speak

I

particular carving

panel similar to those of

figured on page

is

182

between two rooms, from both of which carved on

somewhat

both

this occurs

exists

it

it is

this

situated

can be seen.

though on each surface the

sides,

cases the bases of walls are

we have no mere

It is

pattern

is

"

pointed

;"

but whenever

facing of the line of mortar which

between the stones with a harder and more durable material,

but the formation

mortar of some kind of semicircular, or semi-

in

and protruding to a consider-

eliptic ridge three inches in diameter,

able distance from the surface of the stone. "

62); but

difYerent.

some

In

(Fig.

from the castle of Nagoya, where

is

pointing

"

the effect produced

We

now come

to

is,

my

eye,

This curious method of

many Japanese

gives a strange aspect to

more strange than

walls

but

;

beautiful.

to the consideration of Japanese architecture,

or beautiful building

;

for architecture

is

not mere building, but

the art of raising edifices which are beautiful as well as useful.

But before going into origin

and history

ment of Japanese said concerning

;

its

aesthetic qualities

we should glance

at its

yet the data necessary for tracing the developarchitecture are so imperfect that

little

can be

it.

Although the temples of

Ise have been rebuilt at the end of

every third term of seven years, every plank and every post to be found in their construction

and of the same

size,

the time of

temple

I

of precisely the

We

was

have here, then, evidence

method of building was known

Rome's ancient greatness

may

now

same shape,

as those of the original structure which

erected nineteen centuries since. that the present

is

to the Japanese at

and while speaking of

this

say that the circular pieces of wood, which rest

in a

;

horizontal series on the cresting of each roof, can be demonstrated

ART, to

owe

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

their origin

to

251

bundles of thatch, which were

circular

strapped over longitudinally placed reeds to form with them the cresting of the roof (Fig.

The next

5 3).

which

building, as to date, with

am

I

acquainted

that used for the reception of the Mikado's treasures at Nara,

was

more than

built

a thousand years since

upon

the buildings of Ise, stands

;

and while

legs resting loosely

is

It

this, like

on stones,

its

formed of horizontally-placed triangular blocks of wood,

sides are

with their points outwards, arranged like the timbers of the log buildings in Russia (Fig. 30). I

am

unable to trace the history of Japanese building during

next three centuries

the

Buddhist shrines from

advance

;

seven

seems

in architecture

until

for,

to to

the

hundred

five

years

have taken place

great

of the

erection

no

since,

in the country.

But the development of Buddhism, and the patronage which

it

received from the Shogun, gave a marvellous impetus to archi-

and

tecture,

it

now

entered upon a florid and highly decorated

period.

Chinese buildings appear to owe their origin to a tent or a

The

junk.

tent obviously consisted

of a horizontal pole, over

which a fabric was thrown, supported at

The temples ner

;

ends by crossed

sticks.

of Ise show the crossed supports in a marked

but there

is

here none of that swaying

which would indicate the tent acterises

its

Chinese edifices

horizontal pole

is

;

origin,

yet in

down

of the

manroof

and which especially char-

many Japanese

buildings the

most marked, while the crossed supports have

entirely disappeared.

In the water-tank of Shiba (Fig. 16)

over of the roof as represent the

fall

that gatehouse of

In

some

we have an

illustration

and here we have that curious bendingwe approach the gable end which would

of this state of things

;

of drapery,

—

a peculiarity equally noticeable on

Nikko which we

figure

on page 209.

cases the architecture of a nation has been derived

from primitive buildings which are not of the tent character. This

is

the case with those edifices which the Egyptians raised

from two to three thousand years back at Dendera, Edfou, Thebes,

2

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

52

and other

places,

of papirii, withes,

and

where we

find the

columns consisting of bundles

and other plants bound together with cords or

lotii,

some

in

cases partially enveloped in a cloth wrapper

on which hieroglyphs are painted.

Although these columns are formed of apparent as

we had

if

stone, their origin

as

is

the original bundles of plants before us

;

thus the bundles of reeds or of flowers which were used to form the walls of the primitive Egyptian dwelling

became the prototype of

those massive columns which exist to this day on the banks of the Nile.

While the

origin of

Egyptian architecture

is

thus apparent,

it

must not be supposed that the stone columns of Egyptian temples were mere copies

permanent material of the objects which

in

formed their prototype have

been

all

members, and

for

;

subordinated in

they are works to

either

positions

their

on

many

members

some

were, in

;

makes

it

clear that

edifices at least,

adorned

one

as

case,

columns are

for the capitals of their

cases decorated with

In

architectural

days or generally with drapery, decorated papers,

feast

and the skins of animals them.

as

structural part of a building.

consideration of Japanese architecture

certain structural

which the parts

which the plants have been so idealised as to

become consistent ornaments of a

A

in

imitations of

that

in

the

these

in

draped around

temple of Chion-in

at

Kioto, a knotted cord, terminating in pendent tassels, appears to

show

that

drapery was originally tied around the column

this

(see Fig. 82).

Immediately above rests

upon

folding

it,

is

this

column, and enveloping the beam which

paper folded

in

an angular manner,

day

in

Japan

common

to this

which the paper-bound beam either represented as

which water (Fig. 87) the

decoration

;

flows.

swimming

;

a method of

while on the tie-piece on

we have

the head of a monster,

in the water, or as the source

In another column

from

from the same temple

head of a monster forms the upper portion of

and

in

in a curious

its

both instances the columns themselves are

entirely decorated with

breaking

rests

—

water, the crested

waves of which are

and conventional manner.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, It is difficult to

members

understand

why

we connect be

;

for a

idea, unless

with the water-spout, which may-

it

common

this

the columns and horizontal

of a building should be decorated with waves

column of water seems an absurd be

253

by typhoons.

in a district visited

such columns

its origin,

If

may have some

^f^^

mythical association, in the minds of the Japanese, with a strange natural phenomenon which they

While

dread.

such

I

the case,

is

Buddhistic

art

have no reason for saying that

must be remembered that all tends to remind the worshipper it

of the power of the Buddhist's god created things

;

and that

works as man should

it

over

all

images forth such adore,

love,

Fig. %'^ gives us the base of a

or

dread.

column decorated

with water ornamentally treated.

Strange as

it

is

that a

decorated with water, scroll "

used

column should be

we yet

the " wave-

find

by the Egyptians, and then by

the Greeks, on various parts of their buildings.

Certain

zigzag

arrangements

of

lines,

which

symbolised water, were also used on the walls Column from THE Chion-in, Ki-

Fig. 87.

and on the

tombs

ceilings

of Egyptian temples and

oto. ;

thus the use of water in strange and

unexpected positions

is

With the

not peculiar to the Japanese.

Japanese the ventional,

rendering

however,

is

than

less

con-

with

the

Egyptians and Grecians.

The

edifice

which covers the water-

tank of the temple of Shiba (Fig. 16) has monolith columns, the upper parts of which are decorated with coloured

conventional

drapery, in

of those of Chion-in at the differ

temples of Shiba

the

manner Yet

Kioto.

and

Chion-in

widely from each other, and are separated geographically

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2 54

by a distance of more than three hundred miles. In the days when they were erected, it must have been very difficult to get from place to place

by imitation drapery in

neither case do

building

for at

;

we

yet

;

And, strange

both buildings.

in

we

of the columns

find this decoration

columns thus treated

find

Shiba the decoration

to say,

the main

in

seen on the columns of

is

the water-tank, and at Chion-in on the pillars in the gatehouse.

At

we have

Kioto, as

with water

in

:

column are decorated

seen, the shafts of the

Tokio the

shafts are bare stone.

Here, as in the case of the Egyptian columns, vulgar imitation of drapery

subordinated

to

but idealised work,

;

architectural

fitness,

On

While there

is little

tent, there

is

in

is

imitative renderings

much which

in

any way derived

is

there-

directly

tends to show that the Japanese

Yet these Japanese

art works, inexpressibly superior to the

are, as

detail

structural

Japanese buildings, whether ancient or

temples were suggested by Chinese buildings. temples

which

in this peculiar decoration.

modern, to convince us that they were

from the

which

in

the score of conventionality there

nothing incongruous

fore

in

by any mere

qualities are not interfered with

of folded tissues.

and

we have no

Chinese

models from which they were derived.

We

have seen that Chinese buildings owe

particular form of tent or to the junk.

the nature of Arabian architecture,

of an Arabian house are plaster,

geous their

and

little

colour, of square

tissues.

we should

to

fabrics,

more than representations

their prototype in the reed

houses of the country

Japanese architecture

;

in

rooms

in stone,

and flat-topped tents formed of gor-

such

of their primitive dwellings.

a

to

inquire into

find that the

While yet nomads, the Arabs used

looms rich

If,

their origin

Were we

as they used

The temples

in

to

produce

in

the construction

of ancient

Egypt had

dwellings which were the primitive

hence,

we should

look for the origin of

the early abodes of the Japanese people.

with the view of discovering the nature of the original

we consider the structures still raised by the Aino inhabitants of the northern island (called Yesso), we see that the Aino temples are of the rudest character. A few slender up-

dwellings of Japan,

I

ART, on which

rights,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

rest horizontal

timbers of but small dimensions,

There are no

give support to a simple thatched roof.

The

building.

from the works of uncivilised

it

sides to the

In short, nothing which

timbers are unplaned.

would distinguish

^55

man

can be

seen in any part of an Aino structure (Fig. 89).

Such reason

an Aino temple of the present day

is

and there

;

is

every

believe that the Ainos were the original inhabitants

to

The temples which

of Japan.

these half-civilised yet kindly

now

people

raise

are surely

mere copies of those which for

many

been

centuries they have

in the habit of erecting.

But

temple has

Aino

simple

the

all

leading

the

characteristics of a Japanese

building of the present day. of

consists

It

which

uprights,

on

somewhat mass-

rests a

Fig. 89.

An Aino

Temi'le.

ive roof.

We

have already noticed that the sides of a Japanese house

and that the building

are generally removable,

a

floor,

and a roof

as his floor

;

Primitive

among

Europe, makes no floor for

Aino buildings are

advancing

civilisation

necessary adjunct

from

damp

We

to

its

race, the gipsies,

which

the various civilised peoples of

primitive dwelling.

floorless

would

consists of uprights,

has always used the ground

and that strange nomadic

has so long been found

ner, the

man

lead

In like man-

but the mere needs of an

;

to

the

construction

any building designed

to

of this

give protection

as well as rain.

have, then, the prototype of the whole Japanese system

of building, in the rude temples of the Ainos.

But as time has

gone on, advances have been made, and influences have been brought to bear upon the primitive methods of building. the in

Roman Britain,

invasion and the

Norman conquest

so the Chinese, the

Coreans, and

Just as

influenced building certain

Buddhist

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

256 missionaries

from Central Asia carried to Japan new styles of

architecture

which

we

architecture which is

that

to

rise

though

florid

find in the great shrines of

Normans came and

the

influenced later works

whereas

;

in

beautiful

There

Nikko.

however, between the two cases.

this difference,

Romans and

gave

In Britain the

noble edifices which

built

Japan the influence could

in

most cases only have been derived from drawings received from the Asiatic continent and from the teachings of missionaries. -

A

must not be overlooked

feature which

of Japanese architecture

and the manner

in

turesque

effects.

"

of the roof

It

the value of the gable in producing pic-

was found

England and

period, both in

pitch

which gables are dealt with.

know

All architects

the nature and

is

the consideration

in "

in in

most houses during the mediaeval most countries of Europe

doubt whether any nation has used better effect, than the Japanese.

it

with more

Indeed,

I

skill,

;

but

I

or with

have some sketches of

Japan which are peculiarly picturesque through

their wealth

of

gables (Fig. 48).

The

pitch of the roof in Japan, though not high, suffices to

give perfect protection from the weather.

which we

still

While the high

roofs

Nuremberg, Troyes, many of the Rhenish

see in

towns, and

on some of our own old buildings, are eminently

picturesque,

I

lower pitch

;

doubt whether they are as beautiful as those of

and certainly they occupy much space

in

which only

poor rooms can be arranged.

The

gable of

Nishi-hongwan-ji

idea of the pitch of a Japanese roof;

gables somewhat higher, in

which

is

here shown.

detail of roof

Japanese reference

to

which those

relation

Figs. 91

will

gables

will

90)

give a fair

but some buildings have to their

width, than

that

and 92 give another gable and

be of interest to the student.

are

of

(Fig.

generally

broken

Nishi-hongwan-ji

by ornaments,

(Fig.

90)

will

Kanaman

show the

scroll

at

of the shrine at Nikko (Fig. 68),

of the water-tank at Shiba (Fig. (Fig. 58), will

as

show.

That of the entrance gate of the great temple of Dai-butz Kioto, of the gate

I

1

6),

and that of the

street

lamp

ornaments which occur under most

I

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

of these gables, especially those which

and the similar ornaments lower down

Fig. 90.

these ornaments

are

fit

(see

257

the

upper angle,

Figs.

90 and 93);

in

Gable end of Nishi-hongwan-ji.

purely of Chinese origin.

Before passing

from a consideration of architecture to ornament, we should notice

Fig. gi.— Roof.

the forms of the tombs found in the cemeteries, for these have a character which renders

them worthy of S

special notice.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

258

38 gives the tombstone most commonly met with

Pig.

40

Fig.

monument

represents the

Corean conquest.

Each

is

both

in

form and

)-efer

to India, China,

the

in character.

In order to understand the nature of this structure

Fig. 92.

while

commemorate

erected to

similar,

;

we must

Portion of Roof.

and Tibet, where we commonly

find objects

similar to this in connection with ecclesiastical edifices.

The form used on

the continent of Asia

we

where the lower square stone represents the

give in Fig. 40,

earth, the circular

stone water, the triangle fire,

the crescent air or

wind, and the spear-head ether or heaven. tells

Inman

us that in Egyptian

mythology the pyramid, Fig. 93.

—a

Ornament from Gable end of temple recently destroyed.

It

Bio-do-in

was carved

at Uji

in the

year

a Phallic sign, plays an

important

part.

1046 A.U.

longs to Siva

It

= the

be-

sun

= fire =

life. By one complex symbol, very common on ancient Hindoo monuments, the universe was thus represented. Notice the upward gradation first we have the earth, then water and :

these two constitute this globe.

;

Then comes

the creator

=

God,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, whose emblem

—

representative of

flame all

— mounts upwards.

life

upon the

He

globe,

is

259

the author and

and he

connected

is

by the crescent moon with heaven. The spear-head is an emblem life and of the doctrine that perfect wisdom is to be found only in the combination of the male and of the divine source of

female principles in nature.

The manner

which the Japanese monument has become apparent from our illustrations but its origin is

modified

is

obvious.

It is

in

;

given here simply to illustrate the fact that certain

forms of an architectural character have a significance not to be

The

overlooked.

crescent

moon

introduced as a symbol

is

but

;

the symbol has reached Japan from the continent of Asia. it

is

well

to

remember, when speaking of

this

monument,

Yet that

was inscribed with both the sun and the crescent moon, and that this symbol was thus used by the originally, the

Japanese

flag

The more

Japanese at an early time. gun's

tomb

is

ent from that of any other

With the view

of

tion of a building

We temples

and

ornament

now

it

1

to

the

with

deal

At

to buildings.

Japan.

in

to

see

members

em-

decorations of Japanese which govern the application of

necessary shall

we

ornament should always be used

fact that

its

;

and that

position, that each part shall

of prominence

degree

and

that

all

the

combine to form a harmonious whole.

Enrichment of an architectural ;

the

the

enrichment of members structurally necessary

the

how

the outset of these considerations

should be so subordinated to

extent

saw

readers

gives the tools which the carpenter

principles

must recognise the for the

have

I

our

craft.

have ;

that

perform their work, we give illustrations (Figs.

Fig. 10

95 to 100).

tomb

enabling

and other workmen engaged on the erec-

plasterers, carpenters,

ploys in his

general form of a Sho-

given in Fig. 94, the form being altogether differ-

edifice

may

be carried to any

provided that the constructive members are always duly

emphasised, and the whole of the parts combine to produce a

grand and complete concord

unduly conspicuous

it

is

;

but

illegitimate

if

ornament renders any part

and can only be condemned.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

26o

While some of the great temples of Japan are elaborately I do not remember one instance in which structure is

decorated,

by enrichment and in all cases the leading structural members are rendered prominent by colour or treatment. If we take either the gateway (Fig. 41) on page 143 or that figured on page 207 we shall see that the structural members have falsified

;

Fig. 94.

—A

ShOgun's Tomb.

and that due importance, while the parts are richly ornamented the members structurally necessary are those which ornament has ;

must not be forgotten that these works are as and that gold, elaborately coloured as the Alhambra at Grenada

enriched.

But

it

;

white, red, blue,

and many other

emphasise their different colour,

colours,

How

parts.

in

can

I,

their intensity,

all

without the aid of

convey to the reader any adequate idea of the nature of

such works, and of the manner in which dinated to their true positions

?

As

well

all

the parts are subor-

might

I

try to explain

I

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

who was born deaf

to one

the nature and beauty of

261

the richness of musical harmonies, as

Nikko without the

aid of colour.

should be noticed that

much of the ornament on the and more exposed members of a Japanese building is It

work, while

painted

which is

leading flat

or

that

more protected

is

carved as well as col-

Sometimes, how-

oured.

ever, the carved

work

re-

mains uncoloured, while

in

other cases, as on certain

columns

at

Nikko, we have

wood

dark

basso-relievo

ornaments protruding from

wood of

lighter colour.

It

not unfrequently happens that

this

work, which

is

carved and uncoloured, associated

with

is

coloured

In some parts Nikko buildings we

members. of the

have most welcome

produced

Of

in this

effects

manner.

the nature of those

carvings

which

form

the

Fig. 95.

Plasterers at Work.

After a native drawing.

panels in the various walls,

gateways, and buildings, both at Nikko and Shiba,

when writing of

my

visit to

these shrines.

I

have spoken,

For the most

part,

they consist of groups of plants, birds, water, clouds, animals, and, in

a few cases, of figures.

skill,

the

All are wrought with consummate

and are generally actually pierced, the

entire substance of

wood out of which they are formed being cut through. The manner of the cutting is both bold and crisp. In

cases

it

all

manifests a perfect understanding of grouping, of the laws

of composition, and

of the distribution

every panel has some poetic significance.

of parts

;

while nearly

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

262

One

of the special features of Japanese decoration

use of diaper patterns on horizontal

the

courses."

We

is

seen in

members and

" string

never enrich beams and joists by small, repeating,

I

Fig. 96.

Plasterer and Sto.\e-I\Iason at Wukk.

geometrical patterns, but the Japanese do. I

seen a diaper pattern so placed on a

by the

angle, or so that one, two, or

did not exactly

The and

fit

Afier a native drawing.

Yet

beam

no case have

in

that

was broken

it

more repeats of the pattern

on each side of the timber

figured.

diaper patterns thus employed are both varied in design

beautiful in character

as their form,

I

;

and, considering their colour as well

should have been strangely puzzled to say what

country had produced them prior to guessed their origin

I

my

should have said

visit

to Japan.

— they must

Had

I

be our own

Middle Age work. I

remember on one occasion the late Mr. Owen Jones assertnumber of gentlemen that the Japanese had no

ing before a

ornament,

strictly so called,

and that

their decorations consisted

wholly of conventional representations of natural forms

;

while the

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

:63

Chinese had ornament which was both national and good statement to which said

then took exception.

I

What would

—

he have

could he have seen the numerous specimens of pure and

Fig. 97.

characteristic

Carpenters at Work.

ornament which

should be

;

and

known

it

is

now show

strange that while this

respecting

ornament

a system of

could

Few

?

countries

or more carefully considered ornament

have more characteristic than Japan

I

After a native drawing.

it

in

is

Europe even to

the case so this hour.

little

It is

carefully considered, with parts well distri-

buted, points duly emphasised,

full

It includes

of careful thought.

diaper patterns, powderings, scroll-work, and symmetrical composi-

102 and 103).

It

of form and refinement of

line,

tions (Figs.

of classic

work

;

art.

In power

it

may yet

be behind the Greek

it

has

many

in purity

of the best qualities

equals the best of our

own

mediaeval

while in tenderness of expression, beauty of composition,

and careful thought,

it

is

even superior.

The

colour

is

equal to

that of the finest illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

264

In treating of Japanese architecture, sider the very important question of

Figs. 98, 99.— Carpenters

relation to Japanese building

at Work.

is

I

should have liked to con-

PROPORTION.

Everything

in

After native drawings.

determined by rule

but the ex-

;

planation of these rules would require more space than can be afforded

present

To

:

of the

work

a

in

which

on

Japanese work,

the

some idea

give

plan

like

the

may men-

I

tion that all mats, such as are

used for floor coverings, are in size six feet I

by three

;

and

have before mentioned that

although

the floors

rooms appear

to

of their

be covered

by matting, the Japanese use only thick padded mats of this

size

as their floor cover-

ings. Fig. 100.

HIS

— CARPENTER,

WHO IS FATIGUED WITH Work, resting on the Top of his

Shed.

After a native drawing.

This being the case, obvious that are,

some multiple of a yard

;

but

as

all

both

in

all

their

it

is

rooms

length and width,

rooms appear

to

be of

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

one height, the relation

between

265

and the height

the area

is

variable.

In the

Fig. ioi.

building of important Japanese houses there

— Carpenters' Tools,

with a brush cotton-wool;

Saws;

16, 17,

in

one arm

7, 8,

Files;

;

9,

i,

3, 4,

its

Chisels

;

5,

Plane

;

;

6,

T-Square and Plummet;

Forms of Axe;

etiquette regulating

Square and Measure

18,

Hammer.

2,

Compass formed

of

bamboo

an

is

stems,

Line, which runs out over blackened 10, 11, 12,

Mallets;

13,

Awl;

14, 15,

After a native drawing.

construction

;

and the teacher of manners

determines the plan of the mansion.

As

I

have named the teacher of etiquette,

under the old feudal system he was an for after a

youth had

fessor for general

etiquette of the

left

college he

instruction

in

officer of

I

may

say that

some importance

was apprenticed to

this

manners, and especially

ceremony of tea-drinking

—

in

;

pro-

the

the Cha-no-yu (see

The etiquette of Japan is most elaborate, and the page 157). volume setting forth the rules to be followed by a man of position

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

266

There

contains more than a thousand pages.

is

an etiquette

re-

specting the building of the house, respecting the reception of both friends

and strangers, and respecting everything pertaining to one's

Fig. I02.— Diaper

conduct under

all

kiri rules are laid

Patterns and Powderings.

circumstances.

Even

to the

committing of hara-

down, and the principles of etiquette determine,

to a great extent, the character of a

Japanese house.

Figs.

104

and 105 give the manner in which an ornament and a torii are showing that all architectural objects are constructed

" set out,"

according to I failed

rule.

to discover that the

governed by rule

in

columns of Japanese temples are

the relation of diameter

always found their proportions pleasant tion

;

I

to height

;

yet

I

also found the propor-

which one part of a temple bore to another almost invariably

agreeable.

It

has been said that the proportion of one to two

is

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

not so beautiful as that of one to three, and that this again so pleasant as three to this

:

the

more

difficult

five.

it is

to detect the relation

not is

of part to part

is.

Fig. 103.— Patterns of

I

is

Indeed, the law of proportion

the more beautiful the proportion

Tn Japanese temples

267

Japanese Fabrics.

always observed

this subtle relation ot

part to part, and the consequent beauty of the temples as regards their quantities

;

and

I

think that any fixed proportion between

the diameter and the height of the column could not be invari-

ably maintained, Japanese temples being seen under such different

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

268

conditions as to

make

a hard

and

rule of this kind imprac-

fast

ticable.

Many

of the temples are situated on eminences, and are seen

Fig. 104.

Showing the manner

chiefly

on

from below

level

;

ground are

Diagram of Ornament in

which the proportion of

in its

Gable.

parts

is

determined.

while the columns of those which are placed in part

hidden by overhanging

roofs.

Some,

W

Fig. 105.

—ToRii.

which are enclosed

Showing the manner

in

which

it is

" set out."

by a series of courts (as the temple at Nikko) must be so closely viewed, owing to the proximity of

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

269

the surrounding walls, that the proportion of part to part can scarcely be perceived.

In Japanese buildings together by a system of

being used

the parts of the structure are held

dovetailing,"

nor screws

neither nails for

ornament.

A

grand

with a

nail,

head three inches

in

ameter

36),

(see

all

production, except

their

in

ornamental

"

Fig.

diis

a hori-

often placed in

zontal timber, immediately over the

window

slides

of a house, but here

it

serves no structural purpose.

Some

of the

for

dove-

most com-

tail" joints are

plicated

"

and remarkable,

they have to bind the

parts,

coming

Fig. 106.— Japanese

in three or

four directions, together.

Fig. 107.

simple

way

Details.

Cupboard or Cabinet.

With the view of showing

Showing the manner

the construction

in

in

a very

which the parts are dovetailed together.

of Japanese houses,

I

copy some

working drawings from a native book (Figs. 108, 109, and iio). While there is no furniture in a Japanese room, there is generally a

little

which objects

arrangement of fixed shelves

may be

placed.

The manner

in

in

a corner, on

which the parts

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

'.yo

of such a structure are put together, will be understood from the

accompanying

We

now

io6 and 107). Japan has produced a system of architecture

illustrations (Figs.

see that

eminently suited to the wants

who have

of those

to withstand

C!

We

in

the

is

has

so subject. this

sprung

archi-

from

a

Gatepost and

manner

in

its Support. Show! which parts are put together.

by the introduction of and that

religion

special

has played

part in determining

We

Showing the which tie-beams are held together.

also see that

tecture Fig. 108.

the earthquakes

which Japan

to

it

Top of a Bracket.

Fig. 109.

manner

called

and peculiarly adapted

forth,

primitive

dwelling

character

has been modified

features from

;

that

its

Continental Asia

;

its

character.

its

further notice that out of the

architecture has

grown a system

of ornamentation, developed under the influence of Buddhism, while the perfect finish of

work

is

all

Japanese

due to the influence of

Shinto upon the Japanese mind.

The ornament which has in

association

with

arisen

architecture

been applied to objects of

—

Top view of Circular Pillar. Showing the manner in which cross-beams

Fig. iio.

has

are inserted into

domestic use, as works earthenware, fabrics,

it.

in lacquer,

etc.

But

liberties are

taken

in

dealing with

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

common

wares which would

be permitted

not

in

271

the case of

Yet I have seen a monkey, carved in a architectural edifices. humorous manner, resting upon a temple roof, as though it were sitting there

and a cat modelled on the

;

we have quaintness

here

tiles

of a house.

similar to that of the grotesque

But

European

gurgoyles of the Middle Ages. In the case of fabrics

we have

Thus, before me, as

kinds.

brooms,

and

rakes,

are

that

leaves

up

Here

another

is

write,

I

is

a dress-cloth figured with

the

be

to

gathered

patterns of most extraordinary

iii).

(Fig.

formed

only of long-legged waterflies

;

only

another of

consisting

children

in

all

conceivable attitudes (Fig. 2).

Milestones, rabbits,

birds,

cobwebs, hats, and

1 1

all

the patterns

in

of their fabrics

a

lady's

posts

may

objects

sorts of

be found

;

and on telegraph

scarf

and wires

may

be

seen conspicuously figured

Fig. III.— Pattekn of a

printed Dress Fabric, con.

THE LEAVES OF THE FIR-TREE, RAKES, BROOMS, AND DIAPER PATTERNS.

SISTING OF

(Fig. 188).

We

shall scarcely un-

we remember that the Japanese are They enjoy a joke as much as a simple and humorous people.

derstand Japanese art unless a

child,

and there

is

a simplicity about their manners which has

all

here the charm

of

the frankness of infancy.

childhood preserved

in

Indeed,

grown man.

we have

This being the case,

we must

humour in their art, whenever opporand humour and grotesqueness are closely allied.

look for the expression of tunity occurs

;

During the year 1880, tration of a

TJie

Fitrniture

Gazette gave an

illus-

Japanese dish on which were figured octopii perform-

ing as acrobats.

On

a

ladder was one which stood out at right

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

2/2

by

angles, holding on

his tentacles, while

two were performing

on musical instruments, and a fourth watched the performance The whole was as comic and grotesque as it could fan in hand. possibly frogS;

be (Fig.

and

fruits,

1

owe

Fig. 112.— Pattern of

Teapots

3).

1

made

the form of birds,

in

humour

their origin to this sense of

;

and a

printed Fabric, consisting wholly of children at plav.

thousand things might be named as illustrating this love of the comic.

The

in

Japanese art

battle of the frogs, the grasshoppers'

procession, and such subjects, are so well

known

that

we need

not

here enumerate them.

Many

Japanese patterns have a significance to those

they are intended which is

the type of beauty, as

is

not apparent to

we have before

us.

said,

for

whom

Thus the almond

and the stork (which

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, is

said to live a

stork

is

thousand years) of long

as rare as a

dead donkey

emblem

of longevity, for

anotlier

is

it is

The

It is

lived for nine

saw but one

living

representations of to

in

The Japanese

Dish made

specimen of this

;

;

every conceivable

in

I

never

in Tokio.

bird.

them which we

England

another

hundred years ate

sojourn in Japan

Owing

to the numberless

see on Japanese works, I used

think that storks must be almost as

sparrows are

hen

my

during the whole time of

Fig. 113.

is

strange that, though they are so

fond of portraying storks and drawing them attitude,

tortoise

said to have a thousand lives, and

man who

the peach, for a

this fruit as his chief food.

In Japan a dead

life.

here.

is

273

common

in

Japan as

but this proved to be a great mistake.

are also fond of portraying the domestic cock

and

but these, like the mandarin duck and drake, symbolise

connubial

felicity.

catacombs

at

On

Rome, two

an early Christian

tombstone

birds are represented

T

in

the

looking at one

JAPAN

274

ITS ARCHITECTURE,

:

To me

another, which are said to be cocks fighting.

most unHkely, and

two male

beheve them to be cock and hen, and not

I

birds, as

seems

this

generally supposed

is

and inspection

;

show

will

that the one bird only has hackles on the neck.

Another form which should be noticed which

The gods

a divine symbol.

is

two-edged swords

and from the

;

tail

of the dragon was born the

sword which the sun-goddess gave to the

In

the two-edged sword,

is

of Japan wore and wielded

first

Emperor of Japan.

Here we have a symbol with which we ourselves are familiar. " These things Apocalypse we have the expression saith he which hath the sharp sword with two

the

:

"And

edges;" and again the words:

out of his

mouth goeth a sharp sword, and with should smite the nations."

Japanese myth, the sword a serpent-like creature

Curiously,

in

associated

is

who gave

the

with while

birth,

it

he

it

the sword in the Apocalypse proceeds from the

mouth of

the

King of kings and Lord of

Some Japanese

On

satire.

a temple roof;

subtle

a curious

is

while in front of

large pendent rope.

When

dangles a

it

the Japanese goes

temple to pray he takes the rope

to the

hands, and by giving to causes Fig. 114.

exhibit

gong dropping from the eaves of

bell-like

split

patterns

a figured towel there

it

lords.

it

in his

a sharp waved motion

to strike against the gong.

The sound

thus made, he believes, calls the attention of the

Pattern

OF A Japanese

Towel.

is

his

loose,

its

On

to the supplication about to be offered.

the

pattern

for the devotee,

prayer, has

from

god

support

hit ;

the

thus

an old Kioto

holding a long

in

rod,

in

life,

my

as to detach

force

ground

(Fig.

possession

is

on the end of which

while an almond-tree, the symbol of long

anxiety to secure attention to

falling to the

bottle

bamboo

his

gong with such

it is

In

of the towel before us the gong

1

14).

a skeleton is

a bird

of spring, of youth, of beauty,

occurs behind the rod to which the bird

is

it

;

and

attached,

ART, The

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

bamboo

understood when

be

design will

of this

satire

remembered that the Japanese catch

275

birds

by darting

is

it

them

at

on the end of which bird-lime has been placed. Those so-called fishing-rods, the joints of which blow out, and

a

rod,

now so much sold in England, are made by the Japanese as bird-catchers. To be caught is

which are

death to the bird, hence the skeleton holds bird

is

the time of

The

its

youth, and

reference to long

Fig.

by which the

rod

the

may

caught, although this

1

1

life is

spring.

its

mockery

a netsuki in

represents

5

be

which the thought of summer, or

abundant

life, is

given

—both animal

^"«^-

"s-

and vegetable.

A

great

number of the

good Japanese objects are

little " set "

we

devices which

it is

impossible for

me

do more than

to

upon

heraldic insignia, and these

crests, or

have a significance similar to our armorial bearings

But

see

A

nature of Japanese ornament generally.

(Fig.

1 1

6).

attention to the

call

detailed examination

would need a volume. If

we

painting,

consider Japanese

and decoration, we

broadly, and

art

due to the expression of poetical as a pattern, a panel in which

sprays of grass in front of large

autumn

full

a vase

we have

which represents cracked

ice,

have been pinched off by a

Many Japanese the

"

(Fig.

moon, with

feeling.

1

On

man

its

carving,

interest

we

a towel

7).

And

grass-sprays

speak of the in

the moon."

see,

on a cabinet the with

laden

autumn evening

is

silver

brought

this tall grass

the well-known hawthorn pattern,

with the plum blossoms upon

it

that

late frost.

Japanese designs are of a legendary character. "

is

harvest moon, with a few

full 1

of

and the softly-flowing stream beside which

On

grows.

a

In both cases the pleasant

dewdrops. to mind,

it

is

include

much

shall see that

The

moon " as we speak of They regard the dragon as " the

hare in the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

276

demon

of the storm," and picture the tempest both in air and in

water as the elements agitated by this monster.

/

h

s

a thunderstorm

is

In Fig.

i

j

i

represented, with the

1

god of Thunder and

his

Japanese Crests. Those lettered from a to / are all formed from the leaf of the Maidenhair tree from the Go-he, or cut papers, used as the symbol of the Shinto religion >«, from /, from a kind of gong the heads of a kind of arrow, used in warfare for cutting ropes n, from five hammers, such as the god Daikoku bears o, from three hawk's feathers /, from a cart-wheel q, from three of the folded papers which indicate that an object is a gift t, from the wood-framing around s, from five anchors r, from three rabbits a well and 7t, from two sails of a junk.

Fig. 116.

;

k,

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

circular

drums

in

the

forked lightning and

air,

rain.

while from

the

Surely the

"

cloud

descends both

key pattern

"

did not

ART, originally signify

depict a

fish

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

tlie

lightning which the people feared

leaping the

Fig. 117.— Pattern

of A Japanese Towel.

Fig. 118.— The

ascending

before

waterfall

Thunder God.

bamboo

everlasting youth, the

The one

is

legs.

The

deep water, where the

man

The

is

pine signi;

no end.

tale

goes that

man

the other has long arms

:

fish

can only be caught

with short legs could not stand.

in

The

with long legs can get into the deep water, but, owing to

short arms, he cannot reach to the bottom and

his

the

an ivory carving of two men quarrelling.

has long legs and short arms

and short

They

uprightness and usefulness

but to the significance of their patterns there

Here before me

!

into

After a native drawing.

clouds as typifying ambition and perseverance. fies

277

difficulty

is

fish.

The

overcome by the long-legged man carrying the man

The two together can thus catch fish, but neither can do so alone. Hence the absurdity of these men quarrelling. The same idea is conveyed in our with

the

long arms on his back.

expression, "

He

is

quarrelling with his bread."

Japanese carving varies it

is

intended to serve.

in character

Those

little

according to the purpose button-like objects which

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

278

worn pendent from the

are

and are called netsukies, are

girdle,

Some

frequently delicious specimens of minute work.

examples

as

equalled) others

of

have

cutting,

never been

surpassed

by any other people, being almost of

are

of marvellous

excellence

but

;

be

between

imitat-

conventional work must

not

The

may

sight

lost

;

imitative works

the distinction

and

ive

even

(if

classic refinement

some are

hugely grotesque, while

of these,

of.

imitative

^m.

be influenced by the position

which

in

placed, and by is momentary expression which has

the object imitated the

been

seized

perpetuation

for

works

sider in such

in

What we have

carved work.

the

to con-

the excellence of

is

the imitation, the nature of the surfaces,

and those

bodied by the carver

Here snail, in

is

shell,

top of

in his

work.

a netsuki in the form of a

which the fleshy mollusc, having

stretched itself its

been em-

imitated which have

object

of the

fleeting characteristics

as

far

as

it

can from

seems trying to climb to the

it.

The

horn-like pedicels, which

carry the eyes on their extremities, are fully Fig. 119.

Origin of the

to

Haw-

thorn Pattern. The late frost nips the Plum blossoms, and causes them to thin and cracked ice.

fall

protruded and rest upon the

shell,

body of the

snail

which the

plastic

appears to cling tion

on the

is

;

while the hinder por-

slightly twisted so that its

and mucous under surface from above. the

little

carefully

In this work the texture of the shell

striae

indicating

marked

;

orifice of the shell

its

is

is

smooth exposed

perfectly given

;

successive stages of growth being

while the voluted form and slightly recurved are rendered with a fidelity and feeling which

could not be surpassed.

But perhaps the most wonderful quality of

this carving lies in the expression of plasticity

the artist has embodied in his work.

The

and mobility which

creature clings to the

AND AR T MANUFA C TURKS.

AJ^ T, shell,

over which

almost seems to

it

279

while

slide,

manner so life-like readily be mistaken for members of a living texture of the body is as good as that of the bodies are protruded in a

the

horn-like

that they might

The

creature.

while the

shell,

under portion of the "foot" has that strange glabrous surface

which makes

As

appear

it

real.

a naturalistic carving this

netsuki

little

is

almost perfect

member

yet the parts of the creature are so disposed that no

danger of being broken

in

On

off.

the contrary,

it is all

;

is

compact,

and forms but one mass without excrescences. This one illustration of naturalistic work must

though

it

would be easy

al-

suffice,

multiply illustrations

to

indefinitely.

But to take an instance of a somewhat different character, we

may large

consider a

netsuki which

who wears

represents a child,

mask from which depends drapery, and who

a

sitting in a

is

crouching position, beating a small drum.

On

certain days

of the year children go about the streets of

From

Japanese towns with hideous masks on. almost envelop the head) drapery

body

they beat while perambulating the

The

the masks (which

pendent, and

this

in

the

These children generally have drums, which

enveloped.

is

is

netsuki before us

is

streets.

about one inch

diameter

in

;

and

in

mask the artist has had room for his fancy. clutched by the feet of the sitting child, and on it

the hideous beast-like

The drum

is

two drum-sticks which are held

rest the

peculiarity of this

work

is

seen

mouth of the grotesque mask face,

the

with

little

;

you

jewelled eyes inlaid

wood can be discovered in The two illustrations given

finish

:

the hands.

;

yet no trace of any join

the work.

from those objects of which

cut.

flat

I

is

celebrated

have just spoken.

facets,

each resulting

These works would almost represent what

going to be a finished carving

One

in

of detailed carving are of exquisite

These consist of a number of small from one clean

But the

see a charmingly cut child's

but another class of work for which Nara

differs essentially

is

in

on looking through the open

in its "

such netsuki of a humorous

blocked out

" stage.

character represents on one

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

28o

side the face of a Court lady, while

who

the face of a gentleman,

small tusks, and who,

probably have a

The

and cloven

tail

although

this case

in

that

is

in the other she

it

is

a very

in

——

is

furnished with large ears and

body were represented, would

hoofs. little

severe on the Court ladies

is

when seen

Between these two

one view she

for the

:

a lady, but

is

joke,

when

we have an intermediate

classes of carving

which we have great crispness of treatment and precision

of work, together with high is

turned round there

Japanese, like other people, will have their

inference

stage, in

is

entire

his

if

if it is

finish.

But

this

intermediate method

not so general as the other two.

Purely ideal productions, judged, not

by

As an

decorative works.

which

the

represents

Here we have an

it

imitative

their

needs scarcely be qualities,

illustration

spotted

ideal beast

lion,

—a grotesque.

in

which they terminate

;

must be

said,

their

merits, as

netsuki,

Fauna.

This work we have

We

mere decorative composition.

to regard as a

spots

by

we may take a or King of the

the various curls of hair constituting the

the

but

mane

have to view

of the beast, and

we have

arrangement of the limbs, the treatment of the

to

consider the

tail,

the expres-

and the decorative distribution of the

sion given to the creature,

parts in their relation to ornamental effect only.

This

little

netsuki

as a naturalistic

work

The queer

on

grin

is

as interesting in

for

;

it is

its face,

its

way

as the snail

decorative, ferocious,

was

and grotesque.

the eyes which peep from under over-

hanging eyebrows, the curious arrangement of the mane, which surrounds the head almost like a grandmother's nightcap, and the beautiful hair-like texture of the body, give to

stamp

it

an excellent work.

should here be

made

As mere

it

characters which

achievements,

mention

of microscopic carvings, which are

common.

Thus, as we have already seen, you

may meet

with two gods

carved in wood, and yet so small that both are contained

husk of one grain of found If

rice,

in the shell of a

we now

while an entire celestial family

common

in

the

may

be

hazel nut.

pass to the larger carvings, such as are used in the

AR r, ANB ART MANUFA CTURES.

28

decoration of temples and in positions which compel the observer to

view them from a distance, we shall find that they are treated

One

with masterly boldness and simplicity. given in Fig. 62

show the often

amount when it is in

are

is

too small to

we

so fine that

its

The Japanese rarely make such a misupon the happy method of introducing just

hit

work which can be

of detail into the its

work

is

is lost.

have

take, for they

that

is

In modern furniture

into the error of producing carved

fall

which

but the scale of our illustration

;

true character of the work.

decorative value

of these carvings

They

proper position.

"

perfectly seen

generalise " with a skill

almost wonderful.

The temples of Shiba and Nikko, as we have already seen, adorned by many carvings of birds, flowers, and animals and ;

while these representations of objects are more or less natural, there

is

yet a simplicity and conventionality in their treatment

which shows how perfectly the Japanese can seize the salient qualities of

an object and can discard

The tendency of plants

is

to

all

in

most cases leaves with symmetrical

halves and flowers with radiating parts

—

is

The

detail.

of those natural forces which result in the growth

produce

outward influences acting upon plants heat

unnecessary

to cause a departure pictorial artist avails

;

but the tendency of

—

as wind, rain, light,

all

and

from the normal type. himself of the utmost variety, but

the decorative artist has often to seek simple and symmetrical forms.

The Japanese well know the value of simplicity and even symmetry in decorative objects; and the flowers which seem to be pictorially

grouped

in their best carvings will

almost invariably be

found to have symmetrical halves or to consist of regular radiating The same remark will apply to the leaves, while in both parts. cases the simplest expression of the object copied

From Japanese

architecture, ornament,

turn to their drawing,

work

;

for there

results achieved

which the end

is

is

and seek

much worthy

by Japanese gained.

to

is

always given.

and carving, we must

understand their methods of

of our best consideration in the

artists, as

To me

it

well as in

the

means by

appears that Japanese child-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE, ren

drawing

learn

al-

most without being aware that they are doing

While children

so.

are

learning

form

to

the letters of the alpha-

and the numerals

bet

they are also learning to draw. After a few weeks of school

life

they have

acquired

the

power of

making

shapes

certain

(called

and

letters

Here

figures).

their edu-

cation in drawing ceases

with

should

they

unless

us,

at

some

future

time be taught to draw

accomp-

as a separate

lishment.

The Japanese

not only employ a native alphabet, but they also

use a large

Chinese

number of

characters

—a

number so great that Mr. Sato (the wellknown Japanesescholar), though acquainted with six thousand such characters,

had

that

said

seen

never

he a

native newspaper with-

finding

out

some

that he did not understand.

When we Fig. I20

that writing

is

consider

only a

ART, means

communication of

for the

consumed

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

in acquiring

has a great advantage

day of

his school

;

life,

ideas, the vast

283

amount of time

such a power can only be deplored. for in imitating

new

the Japanese child

upon a desk or

table, but holds

it

in the

works and not the hand only.

Motion

Another feature

is

got from the shoulder,

is

become an

is

in the

artist, is

and not with a pen or

paper on which he writes

writes

education

calculated to influence the character

of his work, should he ultimately his writing with a brush,

it

Thus the whole arm

hand.

the elbow, and the wrist alike. of the Japanese child which

it

constantly learning to

is

Again, the child never rests the paper on which

draw.

Yet

characters during every

more or

less

the fact of

Then

point.

the

bibulous, so that the

instant he touches the paper with his brush the ink (always Indian ink)

is

absorbed.

This writing with the brush, and

this unrestrained

use of the

arm, gives a freeness to Japanese drawing which can never be got by practice with the point

while the absorbent quality of the

;

paper induces a precision of touch which our method

And

secure.

power of drawing,

this

this precision of touch, are all

that he

is

this freeness

fails

to

of motion, and

got without the child even knowing

acquiring the most valuable aids to a high drawing

power.

To me wrong.

our method

We

first

of teaching drawing seems altogether

give to a youth a hard point and teach

by the agency of

imitate forms

way

has got into the

of using this hard point

which he naturally uses as though unyielding.

acquired

its

the pencil.

He

should

free use

By

and the brush

;

this

first

use

it

we

give

him

to

After he

this unpliable pencil.

him a brush,

were something hard and

the brush, and

when he has

he might then be trusted with the crayon or

means he would gain the

whereas by our method the

free use of the point free

use of both

is

impaired.

Their method of writing leads the Japanese altogether with the maulstick

;

artists to

and however minute

his

dispense

work

and no people can draw more minutely or with greater tenderness than the Japanese

—

the lines are

drawn with a brush, and the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

284

hand has nothing

to

upon.

rest

Fig/'

2

1

i

gives a copy used for

teaching the drawing of the bamboo.

The absorbent precision

chosen

character of the Japanese paper not only gives

of touch, but

for

the

also

expression

leads

of

the simplest form being

to

an object.

The Japanese

thus

acquires knowledge of the value of touches, such as no other people possess.

But, in order to

to certain illustrations

make myself

understood,

I

must

which have been drawn by Japanese

and engraved by Japanese engravers

:

for I felt that

no European

copy of their works would adequately represent the true their productions.

Through the indulgence of

have got a number of for these I late

am much

my

illustrations

my

spirit

They

:

and

indebted to the kindness of Mr. Yeno, the

Japanese minister

case.

of

publishers, I

prepared in Tokio

in

London.

must

It

not,

however, be

supposed that these are altogether original works, for this the

refer

artists

are

copies,

by excellent

artists,

is

not

of illustrations

To insure their being some of the best Japanese books. sharp, it was thought better to have them redrawn and re-engraved in

rather than have cliches from old blocks.

As an

illustration

of free drawing,

I

may

refer to Fig. 133,

ART, which, in artist

my

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

285

judgment, could never have been produced by an

who had

learnt to

draw with a

point.

And

here

we have

a

feature which has never been admitted in our academic system,

namely, the admixture of solid black with outline drawing

;

yet

Fig. 122.

it

must be admitted that the contrast between the

outline

is

very pleasant.

As

illustrations

treatment which the Japanese conditions induce, 120, 122, 123, and 124, where in one example

touched

in

the

Another

with solid black.

and other two coltsfoot

in outline only.

(Fig. 122)

and

Of the

is

and the

solid

of the simplicity of I

may

give Figs.

we have

shown partly

a plant

in

black,

these the most successful are

pink

(Fig.

124);

for

the

'.86

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE, of both are

characters

the

means

the

effect

most

is

while

given,

perfectly

by which achieved

is

The

simple.

rendering of the withering cotton plant

also

is

worthy of special commendation.

Another

merit

Japanese drawing

is its

crispness of touch

or

;

Rounded

angularity. lines, if

of

used

in a sketch,

generally produce feebleness of effect

angularity

whereas

:

drawing

in

gives vigour and

have this

in

126 I

a high degree of

crispness

acter,

and

will

illustrate

The

grandly

cision of touch,

make

The and the render-

its

charming

it

to the artist

is

the pre-

line,

crispness of

what

lily

drawn.

sweep of

:

and the

of grass, which

little bits

mingle with destroy

char-

125 and

Figs.

mean.

ing,

life.

drawings

Japanese

that

leafage,

its

hardness

which the sketch,

in their

absence, would have.

Clever as the sketch of the I'lG. 123.

lily

is,

that of the

I

ART,

Fig. 124.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Fig. 125.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

Fig. 126.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Fig. 127.

U

289

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES,

293

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

V.^JV^^

Fig. 130,

293

294

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ART AND ART MANUFACTURES.

296

/AFAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE.

V\c,. \yi.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Fro. 13J

297

298

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

299

300

lAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ART AND ART MANUFACTURES.

301

302

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

r

Fig. 136.

Fig. 137.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Fig. 13S.

303

304

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

305

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE.

ART AND ART MANUFACTURES.

r^;r,';^':r^^Tr^;/A^il

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

3IO

JAPAN: ITS ARCHTTECTURE,

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

312

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

FrG. 143.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Fig. 14^.

.14

JAPAN: TTS ARCHITECTURE,

Fig. 145.

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Fig.

\i,

315

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

3i6

wisteria creeper

scarcely less meritorious

is

winding of

leaves, the free

its

its

angularity of

for the

;

stems, and

the firmness with

which the buds jut out from the parent stem, gives an impression of

which no other treatment could achieve.

life

My

illustrations have, so far,

vegetable kingdom

and human

but birds,

;

figures

might be

illustrate those art qualities of

how

the view of showing illustrations

is

which would equally well

which we are now

these

apply,

principles

With

treating.

have had

I

from other kingdoms of nature than the vegetable

147 we have a

crisp

drawing of drapery

No

one who has seen a

In Fig.

Japanese

girl, full

of pride in her best clothes, going along the

of Tokio, could

streets

animals,

fishes, crustaceans, insects,

selected,

both characteristic and good.

prepared.

which

been drawn exclusively from the

fail

be struck with the excellence of

to

this slightly caricatured rendering of so important a personage

we

but

give

it

as an illustration of a

Although the

great merit.

would not be allowed that is

it

in

solid black

our schools of

which art, I

is

here used as hair

cannot help thinking

tends to separate the head from the drapery

of value to the drawing.

Fig.

:

method of drawing which has

;

and that

it

146 gives a drawing of the god

of wisdom.

Various

crabs,

which we also

figure,

simple manner in which natural objects Fig.

show charmingly the

may

be expressed (see

131); and on pages 292 and 296 we give drawings of the

same simple character of In

art,

birds.

nations are characterised by peculiarities of grouping

and of treatment.

The peacock on page 289

is

treated in a

so characteristic of Japan that no one need look at

order to say what people produced

it

and 306,

is

birds on pages 290, 302,

;

it

manner

twice in

and the grouping of the

equally characteristic.

But

there are other peculiarities of treatment, in which the Japanese indulge, which are well illustrated

black

is

by

Figs. 134, 135,

illustrations are so full of interesting ful

and 138, where

introduced in a strange and abnormal manner.

study, even

There

is

if

we do not approve

Yet these

work that they demand

care-

of the treatment here adopted.

yet another feature about some Japanese drawings

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, which

should

unnoticed —

passed

mean Fig-

which

of

us

gives

143

be observed that

will

of the

front part

picture

the

a

Here

good example. it

I

the treatment of

foreground

the

be

not

formed

is

of

primrose,

violet,

dandelion,

equisetum,

and other

plants, ren-

with

dered

tionality

conven-

a

which reminds

us of our early stained

many

and

glass,

Whoever

tapestries.

method

originated this of treatment, that

tain

it

does

our

own

We

as

much works

the

as

of

have seen that

the drawings

crisp

cer-

is

country.

Japanese simple

it

character-

it

Japan

ises

old

in

of good

artists arc expression,

and

character,

in

conventional in nature.

But there

is

a quality

which their works possess that transcends all

other though is

life

the

merits, they be

great this

;

expression

with

which

of

they Fig. 147.

317

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

3i8

endow

their delineations of plants, birds, insects,

no other people can make drawings

When we draw a

bird,

we

live as

and

are content to imitate

either to produce the general

fishes

and

;

can the Japanese. its

form

and

;

of the object copied, or to

effect

The Japanese

portray laboriously every detail of the creature.

on the contrary, by a few simple strokes, produces a bird

artist,

which appears to live; dignified repose, or

is

it

pecks (Fig. 137), it flies, eyeing its prey. There is

it

it

rests in

life

in

his

rendering of birds, while ours are inanimate objects bearing but little

more

human

to

relation

the

living

thing than waxworks do to

beings.

Their drawings of

fish,

crustaceans, and insects have equal

They can make an

with their representations of birds.

appear pleased, a crab look as though its tail

insect

smiled, a herring

ways of

their

short, they

in

;

and to be able to

;

feel as these creatures do.

of plants there

representations

that keen perception of individual qualities

which we notice

appear to know the

and other things

birds, insects, fishes,

make themselves

in

their delineations

is

and

also

manifested

subtleties of

many

vigour which characterises so

my

Those who judge objects which are

shops

may

now

form

Intense

of other things.

love of both nature and their art can alone account for the like

wag

with delight, or an octopus perform on a musical instru-

ment, and yet seem natural

In

it

life

life-

of their works.

common many of our

remarks by reference to the

windows of

to be seen in the

be disposed to question the accuracy of

respecting the merits of Japanese art

goods (produced by the thousand

;

my

statements

but while some of these

patterns in advance of any that

European market) bear Birmingham or Wolverhampton

can produce at a similar price,

would be almost

it

for the

of English art by the landscapes seen on our or papier-mache blotting-books, as art

tea-trays,

would be to judge Japanese

by such specimens.

So much importance do drawings upon English

my

it

as fair to judge

common

book with native

art,

I

attach to the influence of Japanese

that

I

am

illustrations, (see

led

to

crowd

this

part of

Figs. 130, 137, 138, 141,

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

some may seem superfluous. But our young ornamentists to

142, 144, and 145), although I

cannot too strongly

recommemd

consider these drawings, and to

and acquire the Japanese

try

power of delineating natural forms with simplicity

commend

strongly

to

3iy

him the use of the brush

;

nor can

I

too

in preference to

that of the pencil.

But

must not be misunderstood

I

our national

and substitute

art,

do not wish

I

:

for

to destroy

the Japanese style.

it

I

merely wish that we should avail ourselves of those methods which are in advance of our Art, to

own

not minding where they originated.

;

be of value, must be national.

sentiments of the people

who

create

it

be adopted by a country without the

make

it

A

noble.

peoples, as the Greeks

art

sacrifice of qualities

may borrow

nation

;

must embody the

It

hence no foreign

art suggestions

can

which

from other

borrowed from the Egyptians, and as the

Japanese have borrowed from the Chinese even with advantage.

But the suggestions adopted must be of the country that adopts as to

They must be

them.

so modified

harmonise with the new conditions under which they

Broadly stated,

from

through the mind

filtered

my

peoples

all

;

position

but

is

this

we must

— we may borrow what

distil all

that

exist.

is

good

we borrow through

our own minds.

Thus white,

we have only spoken

far

of sketching in

and have made no mention of painting

in

its

black and

truer sense

;

we produce our The Japanese have no method of "working up"

but Japan knows no art similar to that by which great pictures.

an

effect

:

they cannot heap up labour upon a subject, and cover

a canvas with colour as consists

Indeed the best Japanese

do.

of perfect sketches, and not of works which we

" finished."

are

we

beyond

As all

sketches praise.

while the colour

understanding harmonies,

is

some of the Japanese coloured drawings They are vigorous, simple, and life-like ;

distributed with the greatest possible care

— understanding

understanding

of

own

quantities,

value

of the

drawings are at best but sketches lover of our

art call

school of pictorial

;

of

understanding shades.

but though art, I

I

am

and of

Japanese a sincere

have yet seen works by

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

320

Japanese

artists

which

I

would prefer to many an English picture

which has cost hundreds of pounds.

As

in

the narrative part of

of Japanese artists and their

more about them or in colour,

we

;

my

work

book (see

I

have already spoken

page

whether the works are

for

58J, in

I

need say no

black and white,

find that simplicity of treatment, that angularity

of drawing, that quaintness of rendering, that exquisite grace (see Figs. 125, 139, 144),

makes

all

their better

and that

life-like

character (Fig. 130) which

works so charming

ciate high art qualities.

for those

who can

appre-

AND ART MANUFA CTURES.

ART,

CHAPTER

32

II.

ANALOGIES AND SYMBOLS.

By the agency of language something has been done in the way of tracing the wanderings of mankind and the affinities of races to

;

but

am

I

not aware that decorative forms have been used,

any material extent,

me

although to

as a

means of

arriving at similar knowledge,

they seem capable of yielding valuable aid

in

such inquiries.

That there have been national characteristic

by

of the peoples

almost a truism

:

and

it

is

my

styles of

whom

ornament decisively

they were produced

is

ornamental forms

belief that the

and the decorative system employed by a people are of greater and value, as ethnological tests, than peculiarities of architecture ;

they afford

that

means

a

of determining the

relationship

and

the migrations of races, at least as satisfactory as do the words

or construction of a language.

As an Persia

illustration of

On many

examples.

bear Chinese

amongst

mean

I

may

take one or two

"

marks," has been a cause of

is

;

and as the

evidently not

Chinese potters had

"

paste

Chinese, exercised

it

"

a

purely

these dishes

much

controversy

of which these vessels

could

ths'r

in

all

This, together with the fact that

collectors

made

that

I

we have pure Chinese ornament arranged

Chinese fashion.

are

what

earthen plates which have reached us from

art

only be inferred in

some

foreign

country.

When made

in

evidence reached us of the fact that these vessels were Persia,

there

was no longer any room

Y

for

doubt that

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

322

Chinese potters had settled

country and revived the art of

in that

potting in the land of the Shah.

Further inquiry has shown this

and we can now trace much of the history of Persian ceramics from the period when the art was reintroduced into the

to be a fact,

country. I have in my possession a blue-and-white jar decorated on the sides with the purest of Arabian ornament, while the ends are treated in a Chinese manner, but the

work

is

stamped with a

Chinese mark. This

piece

was

probably

generation of the Chinese potters its

author had been instructed

fathers,

made by the second or who settled in Persia and ;

third

while

the traditional ornament of his

in

he had acquired a knowledge of the style of ornament

belonging to his adopted home. But in later works we find the ornament becoming more and more Arabian in character, and the potter's

mark changed

Another rugs,

to a Persian signature.

what

illustration of

I

mean

Yarkand

afforded by

is

which bear patterns of a curious Semi-Tartar character, and

resemble the works of Persia and India on the one hand, and of

China on the

So marked

other.

are the characters of these rugs

any one well acquainted with ornament could say from what

that

district

they must have come.

Just as the later Persian pottery owes potters, so are the

and the particular

to colonies of Persian potters

;

found on ceramic works

Syria,

in

bears conclusive testimony to this

The forms

ornament

fact.

;

but

in

assist us in building

up the

such an investigation we must be

not to confound similarity of form resulting from

copying of natural objects similarity in

class of

of domestic vessels are also characteristic of nations,

history of past ages careful

Chinese

and the Grecian Archipelago,

and the study of such would likewise most

origin to

its

wares of both Damascus and of Rhodes due

common

to

various

shapes of wholly ideal origin.

common

countries, with

Thus, because the

the earthenware of Japan, China, and

gourd form

is

Morocco,

does not necessarily follow that there was any inter-

it

in

communication between these countries dried skin of the bottle-gourd

is

in

for in

each country the

common use as

a domestic utensil.

;

ART, If

of

its

we now

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

turn to Japan

in

323

m

order to ascertain the origi

decorative forms, and consider the

grations, the contact of races, their

way

which past mi-

in

commercial intercourse, the

Fig.

Unit of Orna149. ment FORMING Cresting AROUND A HANGING LANTERN IN TOFUKUJI, NEAR Kioto. ball

(the

It

consists

sun)

of a

resting

on

clouds.

Fig.

148.

Old Sceptre or

Baton, with

the

head

Fig.

in

the form of a cloud.

150.— Persian Ornament, derived from cloud forms.

visits

of missionaries, or other incidents, have

ence on

the

world,

we should note

those

had

their

ornaments

influ-

which

have been derived from clouds, and probably owe their origin to Central Asia.

The head

of the sceptre or baton

which has been

of antiquities

tion

character, the

(Fig.

148)

has a form

in use from an early period, for in the collec-

at

Nara we

find

two objects of a similar

one being twelve and the other thirteen hundred

years old.

This particular shape staff,

is

not only

common

as the

head of a

but may be found as an ornament surrounding many Chinese

TAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

324

Yarkand

vases, as the border of certain

form,

on much

This

Persian work.

But to trace

derived from cloud.

its

a modified

rugs, and, in

is

one

ornaments

of the

origin

we should have

to

study

many examples

in

which cloud ornament oc(^/J^ curs (see Figs. 149, 150, 151, 152, I5 Persian

3>

and 154),

ornament

in

its

various modifications furnishes

many examples

of

shapes, arising out of an

extreme in

the

conventionality representation

Ornament, which owes

Fig. 151.— Persian

its

of

origin

this

of

Ornaments

cloud-forms. kind,

I

believe,

to cloud forms.

spread from Central Asia the one direction through China to Japan, and in the other

in

through India to Spain and Europe.

to

are

to

be

Cloud found

Italy,

and through these countries

ornaments

in

all

parts

of the Continent of Europe, as well as in the early

own

work of our

country.

An

ornament of considerable

antiquity preserved in the collection

and

on

found

Nara

Ornament representing the Sun (the ball) resting on Cloud. From over the doorway of a tomb in the

Fig. 152.

the

burial-ground outside the wall of Canton.

crupper of a saddle belonging to a sacred horse (which for centuries was hidden in a temple so sacred that even a high priest could not enter

it^)

is

of special interest.

Here we have forms derived from cloud and others from '

I

was got I

am

Nara

have seen the temple in which the horse out, or at

what time

it

was added

under the impression that

I

to the

is

said to exist, but

Mikado's collection,

how I

was told by one of the Government

this

flames.

ornament

cannot say officers

;

but

when

in

was removed from the horse when the present roof was placed upon the building. The roof of this temple in which the sacred horse is preserved is the finest specimen of thatch in Japan, and consists of thin layers of an inner bark of a cone-bearing tree.

that

it

ART, while in

the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

centre

of

the

we

latter

shaped object so generally found

get that singular onionthe

in

325

grasp of the dragon,

forming the terminal ornament of certain forms of pagoda, and

Fig. 153.

—Clouds and Moon.

By

a native artist.

occurring also in the monstrance, and in the great majority of

monumental stones found

in

Buddhist cemeteries (see Figs. 38,

40, 50, 51.

This brings us to an important

which the world has known owes

fact. its

Much

of the ornament

origin to fire-worship.

the case of the monstrance (Fig. 50, see portion A), and the ornament from the sacred horse,

in that

In of

we have both cloud and flame

rendered in a decorative manner, and while the ornament of the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

326

generally consists of

latter

pieces of brass, the

flat

"

jewel

is

"

emphasized by being formed of white metal. In a work like the present discuss fully the facts which

I

is

it

shall

impossible to illustrate or

have to state

;

but the con-

clusions arrived at have resulted from the most careful study of

During

decorative art for nearly thirty years. visited

nearly

all

museums

the

of

this

time

I

Europe, as well as

have

some

—

Fig. 154. Carved Box, formed of a rootjoint of the bamboo, decorated with orna-

ment having the form of clouds. Fig. 155.

Branch and Leaves.

countries of the East which are most likely to throw light on the

Yet

origin of early ornament.

inquiry will

visit

the Indian

if

those

Museum

who

at

are interested in the

South Kensington and

observe the Indian gods with their flamboyant nimbi, and

first

then study Siamese ornament (which owes to flames the very forms of

its

which seem to

forms almost wholly

flicker),

and

will

then

pass downwards to the more modern examples of Indian work

metal and fabrics, they will see that the forms which were

both

in

first

flamboyant became gradually foliaceous, and that flowers

were introduced

at a

had been forgotten.

owe it

its

late

The

period,

when

the origin of ornament

cloud ornament

origin to the vegetable formation to

certainly

does not

which some attribute

(Fig. 155).

Having argued

this

matter with that astute observer Dr.

Lauder Brunton, whose knowledge of ethnology seems only passed by his acquaintance with medicine, and who opposed

J.

sur-

my

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

theory with vehemence,

went with him

I

327

After two

to Kensington.

hours spent in the observation of examples, Dr. Brunton pulled out

an old-fashioned gold watch with a richly-chased margin, and, after

my

remarking that

ment around for

this

deductions were right, said

watch owes

one moment say that

that

all

my

"

And

the orna-

origin to fire-worship."

its

I

do not

conventional ornamental forms have

all

sprung from fire-worship,

—

for this

is

me

researches have led

not the case

but

;

do assert

I

most

to the conclusion that

Indian and some forms of European ornament, as well as forms

which are

common

in

use in Persia, Arabia, and Japan, are due

to the influence of this early religion.

Perhaps the

earliest religion

of

man

consisted in the worship

of those things which he feared and yet could not avert

—

as the

wind, which, as a tornado, overthrew his dwelling, uprooted the trees

which gave him

and destroyed

shelter,

his

crops

;

the rain,

when it fell in excessive quantities, produced floods and fire, which, when it got the mastery, became a veritable destroyer. With this we may compare the serpent worship of India and, to which,

;

;

this day, Professor in

Owen

tells us,

Western Africa pay a

which they

so

all

we

In Japan

much

Gaboon

the people of the

homage

sort of

district

to the ferocious gorilla

dread.

find a religion

and the sun

still

and

worship of

fire

civilisation

and the most perfect of

;

existing which involves the

this

is

arts.

accompanied by a high Thus,

in

this strange

country we are brought into contact with ornamental forms of a

most

finished character,

which

ligion to

There

is

which are found associated with the

their origin

is

no doubt about certain decorative forms having been

derived from flame and cloud (or cloud-like smoke) the flamboyant form a nimbus

is

re-

due.

encircled the head of a

first

by no means

clear.

;

human

It is said that the

but

when

effigy as

ancient Greeks

placed a sort of platter, or dish, over the heads of their figures in

order to protect them from the weather, and that this of the nimbus tive

;

but Mrs. Jameson referred

its

is

the origin

origin to the primi-

idea that luminous nebula emanate from, and surround, the

Divine

Essence (Homer,

II.

xxiii.

205), and gilded rays were

328

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

placed by the

Romans round

nimbus

still

century

B.C.

A

the heads of those

in existence

received

this

form of

which have come to us from the fourth

number of those Japanese

large

who

There are one or two examples of

divine honours.

which we

figures

find in

the Buddhist temples have a nimbus, that of the great Daibutz

of Kioto (the

Buddha

largest

of Japan)

being seventy-eight feet in diameter this is a circular

and

number of

a large

but

;

linear nimbus, while

figures

have the flam-

boyant form, either behind the head or behind the entire body, Piscis " (Fig.

the "Vesica

My enable

to

throw no

light

of the circular nimbus oldest temples of

One had

a

China

on the origin I

find in the

Nara some curious and

modifications

interesting

and

but

;

of

156).

Japan

researches in

me

the form

in

wheel -like

of

this

character,

form. as

it

consisted of a peripherical margin, a central

boss,

and eight spokes connecting the

rim with the centre

;

but on the margin

were three tongues of flame, one occupying an upper and central position, while the Fig. 156.

Figure with "Vesica

From

Piscis."

temple butsu, Osaka. of

the

the

graveyard - kana-

Sennichi

other two terminated the horizontal spokes.

The

position of a fourth (should such exist)

would be hidden by the

figure.

Another nimbus consisted of a ring enclosing a flower with eight petals, the tips of which touched an enclosing hoop, and from a central boss proceeded a number of stamens, and eight sets-of-three wires

—the

wires being about three times the radius

of the circle in length.

When flower,

I first

and

blossom.

it

saw

this

nimbus

was wonderfully

The arrangement

I

like

mistook

its

centre for a passion

some of our treatments of

that

of the rays so perfectly corresponds

with a form of nimbus with which

we

are familiar that one

is

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

forced to the conclusion that those

and those which are so general

art

employed in

in

329

our ecclesiastical

Japan have had a common

origin.

Buddhism and

by

older

is

diffusion

its

six

centuries than the Christian Era,

wider than that of Christianity, being pro-

is

by nearly one-third of the entire human race. According to Griffis, fessed

it

has a

literature

per-

haps larger than that of all

com-

other religions

bined. I

to

mention these

facts

show the extent of

Nimbus of a Buddhist Saint in one of THE OLD Temples of Nara. The flower is formed of hammered metal, and the rays of rigid wires.

Fig. 157.

the influence exercised by the religion which has so

powerfully acted upon the arts of Japan

my

belief that

;

and here

I

may

state

most of the Christian symbols were derived from

older religions, and that at some early time there has been a somewhat intimate association between countries now widely separated,

and that

West

has resulted

this association

in

the use, through East and

alike, of identical forms.

My

reasons for thinking that Buddhists used the nimbus and

the flamboyant

"

Vesica Piscis

symbolism are these

:

—

I

find

"

before they entered into Christian

them on the images in temples and travel and some of these images

by the roadside wherever I Buddhism was introduced are very old. ;

ability

soon after

the

beginning

into

of the

Japan

Christian

in

prob-

all

era,

but

it

when it spread How old the idols in some of the rapidly throughout the land. temples are it is impossible to say, but a number of Buddhist

made

little

headway

until the thirteenth

missionaries arrived, together with

and

others,

from the Corea

century,

mathematicians, astronomers,

A.D. 552, to live at the

Japanese Court,

and tradition says that with them they brought some of the now preserved at Nara and Kioto. But whether these or missionaries brought the oldest of the idols

idols

(many of which

later

are

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

330

obviously of Indian workmanship), and whether the idols were old or

new when brought

to the country, this

Dai-butz at Nara was the

work was destroyed through

original

In

recast in the twelfth century.

nimbus, and there

Buddha

is

Jesuits,

ended

is

every reason

was introduced

The nimbus ;

in

that

this

latter

the sixteenth century

;

thousand then perished.

could not, then, have been

yet there

first

introduced with

the bare possibility that works of the

is

may have

early Christians

most

believe

was

certainly has a

it

at Satsuma but their work was abruptly 1637 by the massacre of every Christian in the land.

It is said that thirty-seven

Christianity

Japan

into

who landed

in A.D,

to China,

to

wars, and

civil

form

its latter

a mere copy of that which formerly existed.^

Christianity

by

certain, that the great

is

erected in the eighth century, although

first

found their way through Central Asia

and from China by Corea

to Japan.

Yet

this

seems

had such been the case we should surely

unlikely, for

find

other traces besides the nimbus and flamboyant " Vesica Piscis," while the nimbus and Vesica Piscis alone, of

appear to have reached

There remains the everything that to be found in

the words of

fact, in

Roman

distinctive in the

is

all

Christian symbols,

this country.

Buddhism

—

Grififis,

that

"

almost

form of Christianity

images, pictures,

is

lights, altars, incense,

vestments, masses, beads, wayside shrines, monasteries, nunneries, celibacy,

fastings,

vigils,

pilgrimages,

retreats,

mendicant vows,

shorn heads, orders, habits, uniforms, purgatory, saintly and priestly intercession, indulgences,

bishops."

It is

two, inherited

1

Grififis,

and

who

works of supererogation, pope and arch-

Buddhism, the older

belief that

pageantry, usages,

its

and the "Vesica

bell, or

my

Piscis,"

from a

still

spent some time in Japan, says

ritual,

earlier :

religion of the

the rosary, the nimbus,

form of worship.

I

can

— " In medieval times the casting of a

image, a lantern, or any great sacred object, was the occasion of a public holiday

festival,

and, for the purpose, the priests asked offerings of gold or

adornments, mirrors, copper and other metals. finest results of these sacred offerings.

great Dai-butz at Nara]

was the seventh

.

.

.

silver,

personal

At Nara and Kamakura there are the The casting of the idol [referring to the

having been made, and three thousand tons of charcoal were used in the operation. The metal, said to weigh 450 tons, is a bronze composed of gold, 500 pounds; mercuiy, 1954 pounds; tin, 16,827

pounds; and copper, 986,080 pounds."

effort, six failures

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, bring but

evidence to support such a theory

little

fident that research will ultimately

show

has grown out of fire-worship, and that

than the sun

;

for in certain

but

;

331

it is

nimbus

nothing more nor

ball,

which

is

my own and

"

is

a red

nothing but a representation of the sun and an This

fire-worship.

opinion

is

also the view of Mr. French, but

derived only from the study of Eastern religions

is

art.

In at

less

Eastern drawings we find the nimbus

represented as the sun, and the Imperial ensign of Japan

outcome of

con-

I feel

that the circular

ornament obtained

the

Nara we have

crupper of the horse

the centre of the flamboyant

in

and Mrs. Jameson

jewel,"

from the

members a

calls attention to the fact that

luminous

Now

nebulae were supposed to emanate from the Divine Essence.

the Japanese speak of the "jewel" as the pearl of great price

symbol of Divine Essence

—

by Mrs. Jameson

the idea set forth

as that of ancients

is

—

Hence

a type of the soul of man.

certainly

that of the Japanese. It

not difficult to conceive an ignorant and superstitious

is

people picturing to themselves a centre or nucleus as the source

from which

fire

emanates, for they might easily think there was a

which gave to

sort of spirit in flame

however of

this

many

may

we

be,

5

consuming

i

represent objects associated with the

hist worship which closely resemble the monstrance of the

The one

Catholic Church.

a Chinese prince, in

temple prince

in

But

qualities.

flamboyant ornaments.

ecclesiastical

Figures 50 and

it

find this nucleus or "jewel " in the centre

Budd-

Roman

was brought by Mamayado,

(Fig. 50)

the early part of the sixth century from a

The

China called Koriu as a present to the Japanese.

who brought

this

was born

in a stable, as his

name

implies

;

while the other (Fig. 51), which belonged to the temple Ishin in Kioto,

was brought by a famous

as a present

upon the occasion of

priest called

These objects are now preserved

Mikado

at Kioto,

and

it

Yenko-Daishi^ also

his visit to Japan.

was there

I

in

the old

palace of the

had the privilege of

ing them, and to Mr. Kawase, the Minister of Commerce, '

Daishi

is

a

name given

after

death to priests of great celebrity.

I

see-

am

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

332

indebted for photographs of these and other objects of the highest interest.

These works were objects were

similar "

"

jewel

Kioto collections many-

in the

In

was formed of a hollow ball of glass.

contained the tooth of a high

found

and

in gold,

of this precious metal.

in the

priest,

and

is

great

for

;

ornament, together with clouds, surrounding

But whatever

we

find

in later

a

work

But, besides the

works before us show

object, the

that in the seventh and the thirteenth centuries

anything produced

flamboyant

this jewel in

dating from the early part of the seventh century. interest thus attaching to this

it

another metallic lumps

in

ashes after the cremation of a priest.

they contain their interest to us

the

cases

all

In one instance

work equalling

times could be done.

In the collections at Kioto there was one of those monstrances their jewels in the centre arranged as a flat triangular

which had pile,

this

here

we have

the thought of a Trinity

arrangement does not seem

do not know the date of

it,

I

to

—

the three sides

have been general

;

but

;

and as

must not comment further upon

In the heraldry of Japan, however,

we

I it.

a crest consisting of

find

three "jewels" with three tongues of flame surmounting them, and

another formed of one

On

all

"

jewel

"

with the three flames.

Buddhist altars we find three

bells.

One

of them has a

handle terminating dent

a

in

tri-

another has the handle

;

ending

in five prongs, the

lateral

being repeated

two

in

a

cruciform manner, while the other has but one (the central)

Instruments held in the Hand by A Buddhist Priest when he prays in front OF A Censer.

prong.

There are also

on such

altars

three curious

objects,

each

of which

Fig. 158.

about six inches

One trident, the

end

—

prongs being at both ends

the central prong

each end.

These the

;

;

of these

is

is

in

length.

a

double

one has a spike

at

each

while the other has the five prongs at

priest

holds in his

hands while praying

AND AR T MANUFA CTURES.

ART,

33

near a censer, and they seem to typify the destructive power of the Deity (Fig.

we

If

8).

we

trace the history of these forms

remote ages, (Fig. 5 i)

i 5

for

not only have

we such

are carried back to

objects on the monstrance

from the thirteenth century, where the trident occurs on

the lower portion of the stand, and the unident (or spear) on the

superposed base, but we have the trident also on the lower portion of the similar object from the seventh century (Fig

Nara

we

collection

find

straight prongs, the lateral

an actual object of

central of

in

kind, only with

which has two barbs, while the

we

In the Kioto antiquities

have but one barb each.

an old sword

this

In the

50).

find

the shape of this double trident, only with one of

the central prongs elongated into a blade.

The

authorities

originally

at a later date

instead

some

it

Nara

at

employed by

me

told

that this instrument

priests for the catching of

I

find

it

in

;

was

while

for fighting

purposes

the clenched

hand of

seems to have been used

of knuckle dusters.

madmen

of those diabolical figures which so often guard the gates of

Buddhist temples.

When the

considering this double trident

similarity

between

it

we cannot help

noticing

and the form by which the Romans

represented Jupiter's thunderbolt

;

and there

is

probably some

connexion between them which we cannot explain. In the Kioto collection there were one or two examples of tridents arranged in the form of a cross.

I

was told that these

were formerly associated with the worship of Buddha, but that On a piece of embroidered their use was long since abandoned. silk

which formed part of a dress brought from China by a Budand which

dhist priest in the early part of the fourteenth century,

he

left

the temple

to

arrangement

Nanzen

in

Kioto,

we

get this cruciform

(Fig. 159).

In looking at this piece of embroidery and comparing other objects at this Kioto

mounted

Museum, and

at Nara,

with a similar object, notably a bell

years old,

we

this trident

could not

fail

it

which are

with sur-

more than a thousand

to see a resemblance in form between

and the British crown.

In the specimen at Nara,

we

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

334

not only have the

prongs meet.

we have

do

I

prongs (four of which appear as the bands

five

of our crown), but

a ball or orb resting where the five that the form of the

not, of course, affirm

^_--^^:i—^---—— —^

_:_

_

:-_

^=^^_i=s=-

;

crown and

British

dhistic trident

mon may

origin,

be so

such

is

;

as

although

this

but the likeness

my

justify

to

calling attention to

form

Bud-

this

have a com-

may have

The

it.

originally

typified a monarch's

power

to destroy.

With after ^ Embroidery which formed part of a Fig. 159.— r, Prif.st's Dress.

It

was brought from China

in the

The

called

early part of the 14th century.

figure

is

common

to this

two Byzantine third

the

lilies

in

or

awav /

a

wooden

loHO" Dast

which

'

I

mav J

spoon

Turkey, the handle of which consists of

surmounted by a hand.

This hand has the

approximated to the thumb, as though

finger

Fig. 160.

day

persist,

influences

have called them into being &

have

mention

Tokko.

the view of show-

how forms may

ing

it

were the

Turkish Spoon, decorated with Byzantine Lilies, Glory Rays, the Hand of the Deity in the act of blessing.

.\nd

hand of the Deity in the act of blessing the food to be partaken At the point where the two lilies of by the agency of the spoon. meet we have a It

is

many ated

is

60).

Byzantine

old

common

use in

the symbols are Christian, and the character of the

centuries. in

1

curious to find a spoon of this kind in

Turkey, for

work

disc of glory-rays (Fig.

;

yet Constantinople has been

Mahometan

for

This form of spoon must, however, have origin-

Byzantium or some

earlier

form of worship, and

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

335

significance being lost, the form has yet survived to the present

its

day.

Another instance which

show the

will

survival of an ornament,

strangely altered during the lapse of time, occurs in the embattled

The form

tops of certain Arabian buildings.

cences of the wall would in no origin

Not

flames.

to

traced back to signifies fire or

shape to trace

to a

it

however,

only,

of these

excres-

suggest that they owe their

original shape, but

its

flame

embattled form,

this

way

can

ornament be

this

the Moorish

name

for

it

had not the name suggested the origin of

;

I

should scarcely have been led by

symbol of

its

mere

fire-worship.

in

show that forms which have special significance to a people who create them may survive a most unexpected manner, and be even characteristic objects

in

a country where

I

a

give these illustrations simply to

We

;

expect to find them.

hence reference should be made to another In

interest.

Saviour,

least

have been speaking of the trident as an instrument of

destruction

some

we should

when

in

is

represented with a hand

where there were many the

idols, I

but the two

;

In the old city of Nara,

churches arrange the fingers differently.

in

of

both the Greek and the Latin churches the

the act of blessing,

upraised and the fingers in a particular position

arranged

fact

observed two with their fingers

manner of the two

Christian

others with their fingers differently disposed.

and

churches,

When

I

asked the

meaning of the arrangement of the digits, a priest informed me that if the fist was clenched tightly with the thumb inside, we have an indication of the wrath which closed

will

destroy the transgressor

and the thumb extended, great

utterly.

If the

anger

indicated, but not utter destruction.

not

is

fist

is

remember the exact

fingers

;

significance

but he said that they

displeasure.

all

of

The

priest could

each position

the

of

symbolised different degrees of

In the case of the clenched

fist

with the enclosed

thumb, reference was made to punishment with the sword here we have an idea similar to that presented

in

the

;

Book

so of

Genesis by the flaming sword guarding the gate of Eden.

The

question of the origin of forms found in Japanese art

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

336

connected

is

with

upon

especially

and

These are

of their works,

we

find certain

easily be mistaken for

mere orna-

fine pieces of lacquer,

decorative devices which might

ments.

On many

heraldry.

their

fabrics

or badges granted to families for

really crests

heroic deeds or benefits conferred upon the country, as heraldic

bearings have been awarded to certain families in England.

know

I

no book which contains a greater number of

of

beautiful ornaments than the illustrated

peerage of Japan

little

volume which constitutes the

for the

;

although simple

crests,

in

and many of them furnish us

character, are beautifully designed,

with a variety of simple devices derived from an elementary form

which we should scarcely think capable of such various treatments. Fig.

\\6 a

some of the

give

j

X.O

which have been

crests

derived from the leaf of the Maidenhair-tree, yet these are by no

means

owe

that

all

we

besides these

to

this

1 1

6

is

t

boat

Fig.

;

sails

;

a form of

1 1

6

Fig.

j-

1 1

gong

;

is

6

Fig.

116^

>^

is

Fig.

the Gohei or Shinto 2

5

their

at

hammer

of Daikoku

emblem

6

i 1

Fig.

;

?^

enemies

1 1

Hawking,

as

6

/ is

were

times

ancient

in

two

is

we have

Japan (having been introduced

favourite pastime in

by a Corean Ambassador in the as also was fishing by cormorants of the

a Japanese

of

Fig.

;

consists of four knives, such as

represents three hawk's feathers.

was a

orifice

derived from five anchors

thrown by female warriors

seen,

but

;

a crest representing the wood-work

which stands upon the earth around the well

form

foliaceous

give a few with the view of pointing out their

Fig.

significance.

origin

their

early part of the third century), ;

Fig.

i\6 n gives

— the god of

riches

;

five repetitions

Fig.

16 r gives

i

the back view of three sitting hares reduced to a most simple form

with their heads and ears showing over their backs gives us three of those

little

folded papers which

1 1

6/

is

a cart wheel

;

and

Fig.

116

;/i

Fig.

1

16 q

we always find the Nosu

attached to anything intended as a present in Japan Fig.

;

—

;

represents the heads of

three arrows used for the cutting of ropes in ancient warfare

;^

A curtain or Baku supported on cords surrounded the headquarters of a commanding general during battle. These arrows were especially intended to cut these cords and expose the commander. '

but besides

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

these

we have

the form

in

crests

337

of mile -stones,

mallets, fir-branches, pine-cones, ships, tops, fans of all kinds,

including that which the umpire at a wrestling match holds in his

hand,

—

birds, flowers,

drums, roots, helmets,

shells, hats,

umbrellas,

the rudders of vessels, butterflies, horns, water, clouds, centipedes,

and a hundred other (the

the

Tokugawa

of the

crest

Awoi

(a species of

j we

family)

a

in

Crests are

circle.

Thus

are merely variations of one object.

crest

of three leaves of

consists

mallow) arranged

from a multiplicity of objects, but

not only derived

them

The well-known Shogun's

things.

in Fig.

many i

1

we

get ten crests from the leaf of the Maidenhair-tree, as

have just said

of

6 ^ to

and the number might be largely increased.

;

Nothing astonished

me more

during

my

stay in Japan than

many of the old works had a strong Egyptian feeling. So striking were these Egyptian characteristics, that I was in some cases almost tempted to think that the specimens before

to find that

me were works by old Egyptian artists. On certain Buddhist altars we find ending

in

scales, a

to I

a branch of the lotus,

a flower and a leaf; while attached to the stem are

young

leaf,

and a bud

(Fig.

Such an object

19).

have been held out by Buddha, when he prayed

need scarcely point out the strange likeness which

There

bears to ancient Egyptian work.

is

is

said

for his mother. this

object

that rigidity about

parts, that simplicity, yet dignity, in its treatment,

its

and that stern

conventionality in the drawing of the flower, which would almost lead us to believe that

it

was produced under the Pharaohs.

the two forms of monstrance which

we have

figured on pages

and 156 we have also conventional representations of the

In i

5 5

lotus,

many of the Buddhas of same conventional manner.

equally rigid in their treatment, while

Japan

rest

on a flower treated

in

the

In their temples they use as ornaments on the altars groups of lily-buds

bound together

character.

which are not

less

must, however, be noticed that the

It

with Buddhism the former a

(Fig. 161),

is

five

Egyptian

lily

in

associated

not that of Egypt, the latter being a Nymphaea,

Nelumbium

flower growing in

the

;

but each country has simply used the

land.

In both Z

cases the particular lily

338

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

which was familiar to the people was treated with the same conventionalism.

In

some Japanese forms

of the lotus

rigid

we have

two longitudinal convex ridges on the

Fig.

i62.^Lotus in cast Bronze, preserved THE Mikado's Treasury at Nara.

such as we find on Egyptian

petals,

and Greek leaf-mouldings

(Fig. 162).

While speaking of the

may

in

lotus

we

that a conventional

also notice

ornament, having to the scroll-work of

China a "

the

to the its

similar to that which

relation

Anthemion

"

of the Greeks bore

ornament of that country, owes

origin to this flower (see Fig. 163)

but the work of tracing

and

the

Anthemion, must be

who may wish

;

the modifica-

between the natural

tions, intei-vening

representation

all

conventional

left to

the student

go farther

into the

Again, we have as the

insignia

to

subject. Fig. 161.

Group of Lotus Buds used ON Buddhist Altars.

of

ground, or a red

ball

Japan

a golden

on a white ground,

representation of the sun.

By

—

in

ball

on

a

red

other words, a

the ancient Egyptians a similiar

and on Plate V. of Owen Jones' Grammar of Ornament we have examples of Egyptian work in which this red Thus, it rests on a lotus in the bow of a boat, it ball occurs. device was used

;

I

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

surmounts a stern-post,

and

occasions,

it

placed

;

while

in

that

over every doorway and window-

Egypt we have the sun

in

Fig. 163.

occurs on a feather used on ceremonial

crowns the head of the asp

ornament which was opening

it

339

as

the central

figure,

and

Chinese Anthemion.

This ornament was derived from the flower of the Buddhist Lotus (Nelumbium), and the leafage surrounding it from Clouds.

wings and asps placed

On

laterally.

an old lantern, pendent

in

the Tofuku-ji near Kioto, for permission to photograph which

I

am much

I

indebted to the priests connected with the temple,

found as a cresting a series of (Fig.

ment

1

49)

;

balls,

or suns, resting on cloud

and while the Egyptians never used the cloud as orna-

so far as

I

know, the manner

in

which the

poised on the rounded masses of vapour cannot us of the

way

in

ball

fail

to

is

here

remind

which the ancient Egyptians both drew and

used their ornaments.

I

also found a similar

ornament crowning

the entrances to tombs in China (Fig. 152). Further, w^e find in old Japanese works water rendered as the "

wave -scroll," and drawn precisely

we

see the key-pattern in

many

as

it

was by the Egyptians;

varieties,

but especially

in

the

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

340

more simple ways

We

which

in

it

found

is

Egyptian work.

have birds as a favourite ceiling ornament

also

countries, while in each instance a rigid terises the is

old

in

drawing

and

;

some

in

both

in

conventionality charac-

of the renderings of birds there

a striking similarity between the works of the two countries.

There

is

also the simple, yet dignified, portrayal of the figure, as

Buddhas of Japan, and the sculptured gods and kings of There is the use of lotus -leaves on mouldings, and we have the slanting walls of the buildings (see Figs. 70 and While, again, the Nile god was supposed to dwell in the 45). in

the

the Egyptians.

lotus-flower, all

this

we

Buddha

on that blossom as a throne.

sits

Nara, while performing

that the priestesses at

find

their sacred dance, used the sistrum or rattle in

the priestesses of

Isis,

and

in

Besides

manner of

the

both countries the sistrum

the

(like

yoni of the Hindus) symbolises the celestial virgin.

Then of ancient

the Japanese pillows bear a close resemblance to those

Egypt

both nations, and

the use of the metallic mirror

;

Egyptians had the

ibis

countries the bird

common

is

the Japanese have the stork

;

A

sacred.

is

Thebes

lion at

and

;

both

in

drawn with

is

a circular ornament on the shoulder, similar to that which find

on many of the old mythical animals of Japan.

formed of

birds'

heads arranged

in either country.

In both

we

in linear series are

find

made by

resemblance to writing-desk.

common form

little

And

Many

both cases the

in

man's arm as the handle. for carrying burdens,

and

Egypt we

little

boxes

are adjuncts to the

swings on a pivot.

lid

A

a similar bowl with a

find

Both countries have used the in

both have used the palanquin ;

of the

of spoon in Japan has a shell-shaped bowl with a

stick-like handle, while

ages

Patterns

uncommon

the Egyptians for toilet purposes bear a

cases which in Japan

in

not

we

a sort of capital on granite

columns, formed by painted ornament.

such as were

to

The

each the circular form has prevailed.

in

each case for the

it

was similar

"

in

both have had the folding camp-stool

managed

in

form

"

;

carrying of august person;

and

in

each country

large gates were set in pivoted sockets of similar character.

the hinging of doors was

yoke

the

same way

in

Thus

both coun-

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

and the people of both nations are characterised by that

tries,

we regard

peculiar obliquity of the eye which

as characteristic

Both peoples

of the Japanese and Chinese races. in

341

also believed

astrology (the Japanese will never go to war unless the stars

which constitute the

of Ursa

tail

major point down upon the

enemy), and both acknowledge the mystic character of the numbers three and seven.

Then, again, the Japanese employ that system of carving "

which the

ground

"

around the bas-relief

is left

the surface of the sculptured figure does not protrude surface in which

ducing what

I

it is

may

cut

call

;

yet, so far as I

know,

in

standing, so that

this

beyond the

system of pro-

sunk basso-relievo works has not been prac-

by any other peoples than the Egyptians and the Japanese. in Egypt are of this character

tised

But while the carvings of the temples

the examples in Japan are found only on small objects.

should also be noticed that the religion of ancient Egypt

It

some analogy

bears

both countries

we

to the

in

the sun as an object of worship, and in

find

both the Phallic idea

Thus,

Shinto worship of Japan.

is

apparent.

In Egypt also the sovereign

same relation to the church that the Mikado does to Shinto. Thus we find a group of two figures on one of the ancient Egyptian monuments (the one being that of the god

bore

much

the

Amun-Ra, and

the other the

Emperor Amunmai-Anemneb), while

on the throne of these deified beings

and

titles

Lord of

:

"

The

Battles,

Giver of Life."

Nor stress

is

this

is

written the King's

name

Priest, the Lord of the World, the

Son of the Sun,

Amunmai-Anemneb

Amun-Ra,

beloved by

In both nations there were all.

There

than on any other.

is

many

one coincidence on which

lay

I

more

Certain drawings of papyri found,

remember

have

rightly, on the temple of pending from the upper portions of the inflorescence Philse,

the

gods.

little ;

if

I

drops

and on

Grammar of Ornament, Fig. 9, we find the same peculiarity, while it occurs also on the capital of a column marked Plate V. of The

Fig.

7

of Plate VI. of the same work.

The

nature of these

drops has never been satisfactorily explained. In a

little

work

entitled

The Egyptian Court, described by

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

342

Owen

Jones and Samuel Sharpe, and published by the Crystal

Palace Company,

amidst other sketches an illustration of

{Fig.

—

:

formed of several rows of

flowers, all full-blown, each flower

peculiarity, it is

find

50) and a wall decoration {Fig. J2) with this " Fig. jo is yet more complicated and the remarks

column

a

we

:

smaller as

it

approaches the bottom of the

capital.

The drops

hanging from the edge of the flowers are not easily explained." •

•

^2

''Fig.

•

which edges

is

a part of another view of a papyrus-field, in

the flowers are full-blown and have drops from the

all

" (Fig.

1

64).

Petal of a Lotus Flower ON WHICH Buddha sits, with a Jewel pendent from near its

Fig. 165.

Egyptian Drawing of PART OF A Papyrus-field.

Apex.

Fig. 164.

This Lotus

is

preserved in one

of the ancient temples of Nara, and this

jewel hangs from

each of the

outer petals of the flower.

While

Buddhas

sitting

pendent a

the old temples of

visiting

little

preserved there

Nara

I

observed several

on lotus-flowers, from every petal of which hung jewel, or drop I

;

and

in the collection of antiquities

found a lotus of great age with green petals

having recurved apices, while from the

tip of

every petal hung a

drop set in a brass socket (Fig. 165). There can be no doubt that whether these jewels are intended to represent little

crystal

dewdrops, or to typify the water from which the flower

rises,

whether they are offerings of jewels to the lily, or whether they have a significance of which we now know nothing, they are the

same thing represented by the Egyptian interesting that

artists

;

and

it is

strangely

Japan should open to us a means of understanding

the nature of forms

drawn by the Egyptians some thousands of

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

From some

years since.

ornament depend

The

may

stated

course with

Egypt

but there

;

is

show

to

suffice

Japanese have, at an early period, had in the " feeling "

also observed a curious

I

(see Fig. i66).

already

facts

lotus petals

343

that

the

inter-

something

with which certain works have

been executed that cannot be described, and

which yet proves more certainly than any mere similarity of form

how

the origin from which the

work has been

inspiration of the

between countries so

this intercourse

mote came about

I

But

derived.

cannot say.

re-

In the early

centuries of the Christian era constant inter-

course was kept up between China and Japan

and many Buddhist

;

from Siam and

priests

Fig. i66.

— Ornament

pen-

eighth to the twelfth century this intercourse

dent FROM EACH PETAL OF A Lotus Flower in AN OLD Temple at Nara.

Cammade Egypt

a Persian province

India also visited the latter country.

was frequent

nor must

;

we

the year 523 B.C.

the

forget that

byses, the son of the great Cyrus, in

From

Whether communication with Egypt was

conducted through continental Asia or not is

There as

I

cannot say

but

;

it

probable that this was the case.

it

is

occurs

a form of cross to which reference ought to be made,

By some it is termed the Germans know it as the crux ganunata ;

frequently in

Buddhist cross

;

but the

Japan.

we, however, have christened

Ceramic Arts

Syracuse

in

and gives

countries, ;

it

illustrations

Greek urn

;

and as

form

traces this

from Asia Minor

from the dress of a figure

from an old

In the

the fylfot or sivastika.

Remote Ages Waring

in the

found

;

in various

from a coin of

catacombs at in

India,

Rome

;

Denmark,

North Germany, and on old works from the American continent. Dr. Inman regards this as an archaic symbol derived from an early

form of worship,^ and Waring

pattern as derived from this cross. 1

Ancient, Pagan, and

Inman, M.D.

Modern

regards

Inman

the

Greek key-

tells us, further,

Christian Symbols exposed and explained by

that a

Thomas

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

344 particular kind

of key -pattern symbolised the tortoise both in

Assyria and Greece.

As

the history of this form has been so carefully traced,

only

need

I

the prevalence of the

call attention to

swastika in Japan, where

it

occurs on

many

objects connected with Buddhist worship

and as the I

crest of a noble family.

may add

that

I

found on an

sword -handle of native work formed dark 167). nails

by the inlaying of

alloy,

a

old

pattern

silver

in

a

seemingly of Celtic origin (Fig.

Many

of the grand large-headed

which are found on the old temple-

gates of Japan are identical with those of

Moorish manufacture

still

to

be seen

in

Spain, and a form of pendent lamp, with

two or three trays superposed one above the other, and used by the Jews in Morocco, is Fig. 167.— Sword-handlk of

OLD Jatanese Work. The ornament is Damascened work, and

is

also a form

In this chapter

of Celtic char-

acter.

much employed

in

the Bud-

dhist temples of Japan.

a few facts with

I

have brought forward

the

simple

purpose

of

showing the probable origin of some of the features which characterise early

Japanese

art,

and of pointing out

to

the student

that research into the affinities and migrations of races

aided by a consideration of ornament not of a language.

less

may

be

than by the study

ART,

AND ART MANUFA CTURES.

CHAPTER

34

III.

THE LACQUER MANUFACTURES.

The

art of

working with lacquer

is

and, like most processes practised

introduced from Corea or China

of great antiquity in Japan,

in

the country, was probably

but the Japanese attribute the

;

invention of most of their manufacturing processes to the former.

The

assertion that

"

while the Japanese have invented nothing,

they have improved upon everything that has come before their notice

borne out by the lacquer-work of the country.

" is fully

Chinese certainly

make

The

lacquered wares, but in Japan the art has

been brought to a degree of perfection unknown elsewhere; indeed,

some of

work

their low-relief

is

modelled with a tenderness and

delicacy quite equal to that of the best work of the great medalist,

Wyon. It is

that

assert

we know

a pity that the

so

little

Chinese as well as

of Corea, for the Japanese

themselves learned

many

my

know-

of their industries from the Coreans.

ledge

of the

what

little

know I

century

who

in

full

the

of

re -conquered

— from

certain

curio dealers of Kioto

very small, and

Mikado's palace at Kioto, where

treasures

Corea

articles

at

brought the

offered

by Japan's great

end of the sixteenth for

sale

by the

best

and Tokio, and from some few pieces of

pottery which have found their country.

is

been gathered from the collection of

has

saw

was a room

warrior

confess that

Coreans and their industries

I

objects which there

I

way

into

Europe from

this strange

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

346

As

far as

have seen, most of the objects brought from Corea

I

appear to be Chinese works which have been imported to that country, although this idea

is

quite inconsistent with the Japanese

many

behef that the Chinese have derived

of their methods of

work

and certain styles of ornament from the people of this peninsula.

However

may

this

be, the

inaccessibility of

Corea prevents our

tracing back the manufactures of Japan to this country

want a Commodore Perry This, however,

is

open to us Corea as he did Japan.^ one time Japan enjoyed consider-

certain, that at

with

intercourse

able

to

Corea, and

carried on between the

two

and we

;

that

joyed for some hundreds of years

civilisation

but

;

commerce was

Indeed, Japan received

countries.

either from or through Corea the

large

a

which

has en-

it

have never seen even

I

one piece of lacquer which could be regarded with certainty as of

Corean

origin.

In the Mikado's collection of antiquities at Nara there are certain pieces of lacquer-work

thousand years

works

old,

and

hundred years back the in

a crude

state.

At

Kioto are

in the palace in

character with

of this

which are known to be more than a

known

dates

art could only this period

many

ancient

but until about six

;

be regarded as having been

able artists were

employed

to

paint the patterns upon lacquered objects, and low -toned colours

were somewhat freely used upon such productions.

The

actual

workmanship was

at this time less meritorious than

but there was an it became at a later date work which has scarcely been equalled

art quality

;

since.

about the

About

three

hundred years back the lacquer- workers themselves undertook the decoration of the objects formed, and then the highest manipulative excellence

was attained

the best lacquer wares

terised

— an

down

excellence which

to about one

charac-

hundred years

back.

During in

this period of

the lacquer-work, but

kinds of work in which

two centuries

much "

clouded

"

colour was employed

little

gold was used

gold

;

and those particular

effects, avanturines,

and

tesselated gold are introduced, as well as low-relief modelling of a '

While

this

work has been

in the press

Corea has been opened to

us.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

most perfect kind, were invented and brought

347

to a high state of

perfection.

While the best work, as regards the

treatment of lacquer

skilful

was made during the seventeenth and eighteenth must not be supposed that a sudden decline in the

as a material, centuries,

it

lacquer-worker's art took place at about the year 1800.

Men

have since lived who must be regarded as great masters of their art

;

and

I believe that

works are now produced equal to the

finest

productions of the two great centuries of lacquer-working, although there was a decline in the art for a few years.

In

the

last

Paris

Exhibition a large folding

International

by a Yokohama dealer named Chogoro, which was in every sense a work of the greatest excellence. Besides the bold, magnificently-treated, foliage, which was of the screen was

exhibited

most tenderly-worked

lacquer, lotus flowers

were formed of pearl

and wisteria flowers of small polished mussel

shells,

conjunction with the lacquer-work vastly heightened

which its

in

effect.

This work was one of the most marvellous that lacquer-workers

have ever made; and while was, as a work of

much I

art,

it

sold for

some hundreds of pounds,

it

a thing to be loved and treasured quite as

by a master-hand. cannot help thinking that we in England over-estimate the as a painting

Many who

decorative value of pictures.

cover their walls with

costly paintings have scarcely an object in their houses besides

these which has

any

The

art merit.

vases on the chimney-piece,

the epergne on the table, the nick-nacks in the cabinets, and the service for the afternoon

all

alike incongruous

Surely persons whose houses are thus furnished

and meretricious. have but

tea-drinking, are

little real love of the beautiful

;

he

who admires what

is

pleasant in form and lovely in colour would regard the beauty of

each object around him and the tout ensemble.

Choice objects

in

drawing-room ornaments, and the

bric-a-brac

now

about the most recherche of

lacquer are in art

collected.

merit exceed almost any of

Indeed, some specimens are so

perfectly worked, so rich in decoration, so minute in detail, and so tender in execution as to be

fit

for a place

in

any boudoir

in

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

348

the land

and the

;

smoothness of their surface

soft

perfect than that of the

most

to their

money

I

speak were not made with

Like most of the beautiful objects

value.

which Japan formerly produced they were created

some Daimio or

almost more

fragile porcelain.

But the choice works of which

any view

is

for the use of

as presents for his friends.

In the great Yashiki (spread-out house) of the Daimio were

number of retainers and and clothed by the prince whom

lodged, beside the owner and his family, a

who were fed The handicraftsman thus provided for had no cares His or anxieties, and sought no money in return for his work. wants were fully met by the provisions made for him in his master's

handicraftsmen,

they served.

abode.

knew

was

It

that

his care

and aim

by the production of excellent work the end of

No

ambition would be gained.

mind

his

thought of haste entered into his

no hurrying to make a showy day's work was thought of:

;

his only desire

was that of producing the best work that man can

Works

achieve.

A

and he well

to please his master,

thus

made have an

inexpressible charm.

few years since, lacquer objects of the highest excellence

could be purchased at a

trifling

cost

now

but

;

these old works

much sought after by the Japanese themselves, as well as by those of advanced taste in England, France, and America, Indeed, so valuable that they are becoming both rare and costly. has old lacquer now become in Japan, that pieces have been bought are so

in

London, and returned

in order to

In

to the country in

be sold again.

Yokohama,

box about

for a

me in

one hundred pounds

that a friend of hers had gold.

The Japanese

I

was asked a sum equal

English money, and

in

and dating

six inches square,

from the end of the seventeenth century, to

which they were made

given for a

fine

Lady Parkes

specimen

appreciate not only those

its

told

weight

elaborately-

decorated wares, but also certain objects which exhibit a peculiar quality of lacquer

;

of this they judge chiefly

the wonderful mountain

Koya-zan the

which we stayed presented quer.

To me

this

me

with a

by

its

hardness.

priest of the

little

temple

tray of old

was a somewhat imperfect work

;

its

red

On in

lac-

surface

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

was not very smooth were visible on

was rubbed

surface, while in parts the red

its

Upon

and black showed through.

who was an

wood and brush marks

the grain of the

;

349

off,

seeing this tray, Mr. Ishida,

excellent judge of lacquer, tapped

it

with the points

of his finger nails, and then spoke of the excellence of the lacquer.

Upon my was

asking what constituted

He

hardness.

its

with

common

also said that 'while

that

it

lacquer would

be indented only

quality could

easily scratch, that of superior

me

merit, he told

its

difficulty.

Soon

after this Mr. Ishida's statement was verified in a manner for which I was scarcely prepared. After purchasing, amongst other things, a lacquer " spill " of great beauty, and made eighty years since by a most excellent man, whose ancestors

had made similar work,

for eight generations

when

rough iron its

stormed and blustered

I

!

tail

many

it

tenderly, felt for

how my

and disgust

and

state of

and

as

should for a dog

I

I

British

lion

in the habit of displaying,

of abuse which

my

to

my

I

voice and gestures

To my with

filled

and with

;

than

hurled at the poor packer an see

it

the packing was

wrath knew no bounds

in

wrap

to itself

all

pot again

favourite

should not like to

I

box

a

injunctions had been obeyed.

saw

My

scrap-iron.

more of the

it

how

returned to see

I

mind

bits of

emptied the vessel of

;

had been crushed, and ordered the packer

proceeding, and

nails

it

thicknesses of soft paper, and give

In an hour after this

surprise

my

beautiful " spill " filled with old nails

contents, wiped

whose in

my

saw

I

a packer to

told

I

Fancy

rare object with great care.

treat this

I

am

amount

When my whom I had so have me put them

print.

in

wrath was somewhat exhausted, the poor man, lavishly censured, said calmly, "

into the

commoner

but this

is

my

I

not

did they would be scratched

the best lacquer and cannot scratch."

to say that he

on

You would

articles, for if

was

right,

and that

I

cannot

now

I

find

;

am bound any mark

lovely spill which tells of the rough usage to which

it

was

subjected.

As

I

write

I

have before

me two

the ages of which are accurately

or three pieces of lacquer,

known

;

so

with the view of

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

3 5°

my

enabling

such works, a

readers to judge, as far as possible, of the age of I

them somewhat minutely. Here is hundred years since, and therefore before

describe

will

box made about

five

became his own decorator. " entirely with a " touchy " or " broken

the period at which the lacquer-worker

drawn

bears a pattern

It

gold outline, and consisting of circular ornaments (one of which is

a conventionally-treated bird with a cloven tongue of

fire

upon

its

head), clouds, leaves with five leaflets, conventional pomegranates,

and

coral-like

ornaments, some of which are

scroll

The ground

small diaper patterns. in "

are " filled

colours

;

but the outline has been drawn

Here

is

inferior,

while this tray

and

circle,

but there

of the sixteenth

like

ornaments on

tillate

of the period

It

and a half

is

in

It is of

lid.

its side,

with pearl dust.

is

covered

much the appearance of now being considered are

On

and execution

to perceive.

fail

century.

with an overhanging

is

But

the painted ornament

while the marginal portion

will notice a writing-box,

length, eight inches

off,

a merit in both design

is

cannot

artist

Now we

but the work in this instance

This modelled work gives to the outer

Works

leather. ;

;

texture and character,

portion, both in

imperfect

filling-in

it.

square with corners cut

is

figures in low-relief.

which the

dark olive-green

and the

evidently that of a different hand.

is

only occupies a central

stamped

first,

a tray belonging to the same period, and decorated

with the same class of ornament

somewhat

with

and the enrichments

with dull red, raw sienna, and

colours do not quite meet

by

black,

is

filled

which dates from the end

nine inches and a quarter in width, and two inches in depth,

black lacquer, with a few cloud-

while the bevelled edges of the the top of the

lid is

lid scin-

a device represent-

ing six strips of paper, strung on two threads knotted together; but

both the front and the back strip are represented as obliquely folded in the centre.

by about seven

in

yet formed of metal. clouds, while

On

its

Each

length

back

;

The

strip

is

one and a half inch

in width,

but while they represent paper, they are first

(as seen

has a silver surface, decorated with

where

this gold surface clouds are also

it

is

turned over)

drawn.

is

of gold.

The second and

the

-

ART, third

each of pearl

are

strips

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

—

the one being

351

decorated with

representations of water, and crests having the form of a cartwheel, while the other

is

On

we have

the inside of the

here one

lid

figured with broken

It is curious that

formed of

while

we have

here the elements of gaudieffect, as well as

which few Europeans' works possess. generally get a meretricious effect

If

invariably secure vulgarity is

work

last

is

This object

which

it

over

dispersed

is

exquisitely made, and

diaper-work

the

constitute the Shogun's arms.

of gold, while in others

it

is

in

is

and

extremely is

perfect.

a

Here and there devices,

cases the crest

is

which wholly

part silver, for colour plays no

and certain portions of

crests,

the diaper, have a raised gold outline

old,

we do on

covered with a

is

heraldic

some

In

These

part in Japanese heraldry.

whole

decorates.

a beautifully-finished box, such as Japanese

small diaper pattern in gold on a black ground. are

we

but with the Japanese the

;

of high rank support their heads on during sleep, as pillow.

a finish,

use gold freely

so skilfully used as to produce

repose, rather than garishness, in the object

The

we

and by the inlaying of pearl

;

lustrous surface of mother-o'-pearl

the

pearl.

work presents a refinement of

we almost

patterns.

of avanturine lacquer, while on two gold strips

is

figure consists of flowers

ness, this

diaper

a similar bunch of papers, only

This box

;

while the finish of the

is

about one hundred years

a fair specimen of the late

work of the eighteenth

century.

On some

of the examples from this particular period, and also

from a somewhat earlier date, we find sprays of flowers

in

low

relief modelled with the tenderness of the image on a shilling; but I

must not attempt

to describe such works, for

no description

will

convey an accurate idea of modelled ornament.

A

kind of lacquer formerly

made

in

Japan

(at

Wajima

province of Noto) under the powerful prince of Kaga, valued.

It

the fact that

is it

generally black is

which gold

is

made under

this

in colour;

but

its

is

in the

much

peculiarity lies in

ornamented by scratched, or

scraffito,

work, into

have here before

me two

old boxes

rubbed.

I

Daimio, and decorated

in

this

manner.

They

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

352

are very beautiful, and are figured with a most careful drawing of

a

grass

graceful

called

siisitki,

a

much admired by

plant

educated Japanese, and one of the

seven

celebrated

the

autumn

flowers of the country.

Of

this particular lacquer

Indeed,

the country.

I

besides the two which

ware

are,

gold

in

however,

am

ware there are but few specimens

myself possess.

I

still

made

Inferior imitations of this

Japan, both with and without

in

the scratched work, one of the

seats

of this

made

made

at

is

altogether

modern

Wakayama but the ware Some similar ware is also

manufacture being Kuroye-Mura, near here

in

not sure of having seen any specimens

inartistic.

;

Osaka.

There was another kind of lacquer made by a man called Ritsuo,

whose work became most celebrated, and who

two hundred years ago. raised ornaments, the

of old Chinese lac-work. in the

lived about

lacquer boxes with

whole being black and bearing a striking

resemblance to objects carved

work made

man made

This

This ware was an imitation

in jet.

Before

me

a specimen of the Chinese

is

year 1573, A.D.

Ritsuo also placed raised figures on fan-holders, and

which he gave an appearance of

shell-like vessels, to

also incrusted cups

produced at a period

I

am

earlier

not aware that

than

this,

inventor of this particular ware or not

Some works

He

iron.

and vases with lacquer, and gave to these also

an iron-like surface.

country.

made

" iron

lacquer

"

was

but whether Ritsuo was the I

cannot say.

of this great manufacturer have

come

into this

But the majority of the pieces which reach England are

made by Ikede

Zeshin, a

man who

lives,

still

and who has not

only adopted the style of his predecessor, but makes deceptive imitations of the older

work

even the cracks and chips of the

;

old specimens being counterfeited.

Another ware, much prized

in

Japan,

is

characterised

by heavy

pieces of lead so inlaid that they protrude from the surface of the lacquer.

Generally such works have a

certain

amount of gold

decoration as well as this raised lead-work, while in a few pieces

some portions of the lead

are

covered with a thick layer of

K

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

To

burnished gold.

the English eye this lead-work appears crude

but the Japanese admire the contrast of the the beautiful surface with which

When

it is

common

metal with

usually associated.

Mr. Kawase, the Japanese Minister of Commerce, visited

England a short time this particular

since,

he sent

me

a magnificent specimen of

work, with the following kind

" The accompanying

which

trifle,

letter

:

have brought with me,

I

of respect to you, whose intelligent suggestions have done so the arts

353

is

simply a mark

much

to

promote

and manufactures of Japan."

Another kind of lacquer which has great

marked

characteristics

may

excellence

be described as more or

less

and

resembling

the carved red lac boxes, which are amongst the most interesting

of Chinese manufactures after

but this Japanese ware

;

lacquer has been

the

applied to

is

not carved

Yet many existing

it.

specimens made by a great master of the art who lived

in

Tokio

are very charming, for while the ground of his works

is

either

covered with a minute geometrical diaper or a morocco-leather the

texture,

little

clouds,

medallions placed upon

and

conventional

birds,

work

all

is

specimens of

slightly

dusted with

however

"

this

ware that

fine,

lac of China.

have seen the ground

I

dead," and has the appearance of being carefully

Vandyke -brown powder,

while

;

we now speak has a diapered or " tooled surfaces of powdery character, whereas bears raised ornaments, so

much more

far

as

I

all

the raised parts,

This ware to some extent

are black and polished.

resembles that by the celebrated Ritsuo

ground, and

and

some of the medallions being exquisitely rendered

feeling,

and with parts almost as sharp as the cut In

scroll-work,

wrought with great care

are generally

it

but the work of which "

ground with the sunk

that

of Ritsuo

which

know, always has a smooth

nearly resembles simple jet-work

than

any other form of lacquer ware.

How

this old

ware was made

manufacture, as carried on

in

I

am

it)

in carving wood with wood (however minute the

Tokio, consists

great accuracy, and then giving to this pattern cut upon

not certain, but the present

one or more coatings of lacquer. 2

A

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

354 I

have also found

inferior

work of

this

made by

description

cutting devices in a thick, leather-like paper, and sticking these on

wood, and by affixing impressed ornaments to the surfaces of

to

boxes and

and then giving to them a coat of lacquer.

trays,

such works have without

or no art value, and are

little

But

comparatively

interest.

many kinds of lacquer-work besides those already mentioned, and many men have lived who have produced characteristic kinds of work. It is impossible for me There are

enumerate

to

Japan

in

all

of these, for

there

scarcely a

is

celebrated

maker whose works have not been imitated by others the untrained eye cannot distinguish original

works

certainly without the opportunity of

:

originals with imitations,

and

;

these imitations from the

no one can learn

comparing

to separate

one from

the other.

much lacquer-work of varying merit made throughout whole of Japan. A man named Shunsai, of Kioto, is now

There the

is

celebrated for the manufacture of black lacquer sachi kettles and

such things as are used for the

"

tea

ceremony

"

black lacquer-ware with bold vermilion ornaments Kioto, while a kind of

work

in

is

also

which consecutive layers of

made

in

different-

superposed one on the other, while the

coloured

lacquers are

whole

incised with convoluted

is

A

(Cha-no-yu).

but deeply-cut V-sinkings by

is made at Osaka. wood covered with fine basket-

which the various-coloured layers are exposed, Interesting boxes, formed of

work

(like that

which encloses many of the eggshell sachi cups)

and decorated with good raised lacquer-work, are sometimes made in

Suruga

the

but the fine specimens appear to owe their origin to

;

Loochoo

Islands.

careful modelling

grounds.

I

is

It is surprising

what

beautiful drawing

and

produced by the agency of lacquer on rough

have seen specimens of

wrought upon them but

little

this

inferior to

ware with ornaments

any work that

I

have

ever met with. Little trays,

formed of a wood dug from bogs and closely

resembling the bog-yew of Ireland, are everywhere to be seen.

These have

little

flowers in gold lacquer

upon them.

All such

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, works

are, I

believe, comparatively

mens have

merit, but those

market are

common and

While works the finest were

produced

made

in

which are now found

earlier

in the

speci-

English

uninteresting.

in lacquer

were produced

Kioto

in

many

parts of Japan,

but excellent specimens were also

;

Since the removal of the Court from Kioto

Tokio.

in

The

modern.

355

the manufacture of artistic works in this beautiful material has

been chiefly centred

present capital.

in the

we must not overlook the fact that lacquer is applied to many purposes of which we in this country know absolutely nothing. Thus the floors of the In speaking of Japanese lacquer-work

great temples are covered with lacquer, and have a surface as bright as that of any tea-tray

;

and while these great temples are

Alhambra

as highly coloured as the

at

Grenada, their polychro-

matic effects are due to the admixture of lacquer with pigments.

Some

of the lacquered panels in the temples are of vast

size,

and the carvings which are so frequently seen on the temple enclosures are large and bold

As

yet every portion

is

lacquered with

These large masses of lacquer-work are quite

the utmost care.

unknown

;

to us in England.

regards the places in which lacquer wares are made,

have already said that the best are produced

in

we

Tokio and Kioto,

but the districts of Aidzu and Yechizen are almost given up to this

manufacture, while

in

the province of

Dewa

yellow lacquer

goods are made.

The manufacture houses, and not in

of lacquer wares

any

special

is

made

is

is

floors, just as

;

while,

if

the work

is

is

ordinary

The

though they were in

any

good, the room in which

exquisitely clean and perfectly free

Lacquer paper, as

in

the living apartment and were not engaged

industry

special

carried on

building or manufactory.

lacquer-workers kneel upon matted resting in

is

it

from dust.

almost invariably placed upon wood, and not upon

often supposed.

Indeed, lacquered papier-mache work

known in Japan, and is made in but one small district. Trays thus made are usually decorated with figures, and are invariably common in quality. I know of but one consignment of such is

but

little

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

356

goods having reached England from Japan,

I

;

and out of some scores despatched

believe only three or four reached this country-

whole, the material of which they are formed being of a brittle

There are a few very small and delicate

character.

of but a few inches in diameter,

pasted together

;

made

in

but broadly speaking,

"

waiters,"

Tokio of sheets of paper

all

good Japanese lacquer-

work has a wood foundation. If

may

we

be,

take the formation of a cup or bowl, however thin

it is first

rudely formed from a piece of perfectly dry, soft

Fig. i6

wood.

It is

-Lathe.

then placed in the lathe and turned

has not a continuous rotary motion, as

its

one direction and then

the

drill " (Fig.

When

1

it

in the other, in

;

but the lathe

spindle revolves

manner of our

first in

"

bow-

68).

the object has been formed in the lathe, the lacquer-

worker carefully examines

which he now uses as a

it

;

glue,

and,

by the

sticks over

aid of

his lacquer,

each faulty or weak

place, should there be any, a piece of thin fibrous paper, or entirely

covers the object with this material. in

The next

process consists

giving the vessel a coat of raw lacquer, but into this

coating clay-dust or some earthy powder

with the view of giving but between the

it

several

hardness.

is

Another coat

coats the article

first

generally introduced

is

is

now added

carefully

"

;

rubbed

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, down

"

"

with a

worked up

much

in

"

cutting

357

The surface of lacquer goods is same manner as our carriage bodies,

stone.

the

clay-dust or stone powder being used with the lacquer whenever

the surface

to be

is

excellent quality,

before all

the

much ground down.

it

If the object

is

be of

to

have received eleven coats of lacquer

will

placed upon

any decoration

is

same

two or three layers of lacquer containing

for after

;

But the coats are not

it.

earthy matter have been applied, other coatings are given with an

which colour

inferior quality of lacquer, in

may

may

or

not be

which has none of the earthy matter used in the

present, but earlier coats.

After the application

the latter coatings the surface

of

ground with hard charcoal.

This charcoal

are constantly dipped in water

duced

to be a fine work)

(if it is

used in lumps which

is

and, after several coats of lacquer

;

been applied, and rubbed down, the

have

final

surface

by three or four smooth

producing the

lumps of

final surface

is

now

For

surface.

which,

soft charcoal are used,

The work

kept wet.

pro-

is

layers of the

best lacquer each being carefully ground to a

like the hard, are

is

polished with ash

of deer's horns.

The

pattern

which

drawn upon a sheet of

made This drawing is now

the drawing

is

is

fibrous,

in fine

be

to

formed

upon

and somewhat

the

paper

is

so

transferred to the object to be decorated

arranged that

it

fits

simple pressure of the hand suffices to

paper

is

now

paper

it

to

the

make

by

When

it.

curved

surface,

the transfer.

gently separated from the bowl, or whatever

to be decorated.

;

is

and

outline with lacquer used as a paint.

bringing the surface of the drawing in contact with the

object

paper

elastic,

is

The about

But to insure that the lacquer thus leaves the

must have been previously warmed.

This process of transferring closely resembles the method by

which we

" print "

patterns upon earthenware

of patterns for our manufactures

designs from one paper to another.

;

and

all

designers

know some method of Thus far there is no

getting

novelty

to us in the process.

The

transfer being

made,

if

the pattern

is

to

have a gold

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

358

outline, the transfer line

followed by a fine hair pencil contain-

is

When

ing lacquer, which acts as a gold-size.

has become sufficiently dry,

Some

a spoon.

but what gold it

gold dust

shaken on

is

it

from

of this powder adheres to the tackey surface,

not thus fixed

is

is

returned to a saucer in which the

This gold powder has a gray hue, but by burnishing

kept.

is

fine

lacquer line

this

assumes the yellow colour. be noticed that on most

It will

there

is

Sometimes we have masses

of great solidity and brilliancy, while more little tesserae

The

lacquer-work

fine pieces of

gold of two or three kinds.

we

frequently

see

glinting from gold of a less brilliant character. brilliant gold

less

always results from the adhesion of

gold powder to the surface of half-dry lacquer

and the solid masses of which

but the

;

we have spoken,

tesserae,

by

are produced

the use of gold leaf of the thickness of writing paper.

Upon my work

is

workman

asking a

show me how

to

this tesselated

produced, he took a small sheet of gold about an inch c

^

j^

in

length and a third of an inch

width (Fig. 169,

in

This

A.)

he placed horizontally upon a curved piece of bamboo, which

had been previously blacked (Fig. in

it

over

He bound

170, a). its it

position

by placing

a piece of semi-trans-

parent paper which he tied to the curved

bamboo with

(Fig.

C,

I

70,

a string (Fig.

shows part of

and with the sides sharpened as well leaf of gold

into

strips

;

1

70,

b).

With a

but as

as the end, he cut the little

the extreme end

was folded over the edge of the bamboo, these attached at one end (Fig,

1

69,

b).

the paper was also cut through.

now

cut in strips,

strapped.

thumb and

It

is

is

now

finger in

curious knife

blade) having the shape of a chisel,

its

liberated

of the leaf

strips

were

still

In order to cut the sheet of gold

This

little

sheet of gold, being

from the bamboo to which

held on the curved piece of

any convenient

position,

it

bamboo by

and

was the

strips are cut

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

359

by the same knife (Fig. 1 69, c). As each row of tesserai thus formed, the Httle bits of metal are carefully shaken into a

across is

These

black saucer.

tesserae

are

now

applied to the lacquer sur-

face in the following manner.

A

few are shaken into a small black tray with a slightly rim, over which

raised

they are spread as

much

as possible (Fig. 170, d).

With stick,

small

a

held in the

hand, the

170,

the

held

is

our

like

cushion),

in

little

gilder's

and are applied

adhesive lacquer

surface. ally be little

time

from the

hand by a

left

to an

are

a

at

E),

tray (which

strap

right

tesserae

one

picked, (Fig.

pointed

gener-

It will

found that these

squares of bright

Fig. 170.

gold are dispersed in a surface formed of gold

powder

;

but

in

some I

is

cases silver

is

used

in a similar

have here before me, as

I

some

in

formed of exceedingly minute portions of

cases flowers are

this thick

gold

leaf,

and

manner.

write, a little

medicine case which

decorated with certain sprays of the Susuki grass and certain

umbelliferous plants

;

but

its

peculiarity consists in the fact that

each head of blossoms (of which there are many) consists of

hundreds of these together that at

little

first

gold

So

tesserse.

sight each

close are the tesserae

umbel of the umbelliferous plant

might seem to consist of but one piece of slightly rough gold.

On

this

inches in

little

medicine case, which

is

length, two and a quarter inches

eighths of an inch in thickness in

nine heads of flowers, each

its

three and in

a quarter

width, and seven

widest part, there are

being half an

inch in length

fifty-

and

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

36o

On

three -sixteenths of an inch in width.

each eighth of an inch

of these flower-heads, there are about one hundred and twenty distinct pieces of gold ficial

head as having a super-

thus, taking each

;

area of five square eighths of an inch (not five-eighths of an

inch square), there are about six hundred tesserae in each of these heads, or over thirty-five thousand on the box.

But

this is not all

with these

cubes

little

the

;

:

little

heads of Susuki grass are tipped

hence the number of these small tesserae

(which have been applied one by one to the medicine case) must

For

be very large.

this

interesting

little

work

Mr. Wakai, a gentleman whose acquaintance

have had the opportunity of renewing visited

some

When I

little

I

am

made

I

indebted to Japan, and

in

in this country,

watching the process of lacquer manufacture

observed an old

which he

time back.

man producing

in

Japan,

cloud-like effects on a cabinet

that promised to be of great beauty

when

finished.

By

his side

was a sheet of paper about eighteen inches square, on which were a

number of small saucers

— perhaps

There was gold of

these saucers was a gold or pearl powder.

different colours

e

In each of

twelve or more.

degrees

of

and

different

Across

fineness.

each saucer rested a reed, hav-

Fig.

an

ing

internal

diameter

of

Each of these reeds was cut the bottom, and over the diagonal orifice was glued

about three-sixteenths of an inch. diagonally at

a small piece of fabric.

To me

this

appeared to be

silk (Fig,

171).

This

fabric

dust, pearl

so the

acted as a

and

sieve,

powder, or colour.

As

powder that came through

in the

tubes were

it

was

fine or coarse.

the fabrics were so fine that only atoms, which imperceptible,

gold

the fabric was finer or coarser,

Some

of

when alone were

came through them.

any part of an object was to be clouded, a reed was taken This with a fabric, both thick and fine, fastened over its end. If

was held

A

in

the hand of the

vibrating motion was

now

workman much given to

it

as

we hold

a pen.

by a tapping with the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, fourth finger

;

thus the finest of dust

was used from another reed

—

the colour being used

Over the lacquer

The

sort.

ticles

a tint were required with the gold.

work

unless the

coatings

latter

a slightly coarser powder

then perhaps a sprinkle of colour,

;

however applied, one coating, at

gold,

spread,

is

if

on the sticky lacquer and

fell

Now

formed the edge of the cloud.

361

fill

of the very

is

of

least,

commonest

the interstices between

the par-

of gold or pearl, or whatever has been used in the forma-

After the application of the

tion of the pattern.

lacquer the object was passed to a

with a small piece of charcoal, kept

coating of

last

woman, who rubbed it down flat by frequent grinding on

a stone.

This charcoal

is

degrees of hardness

and a

finer

made from

—

various woods, and

for each

the gold only remain

fills

—

So

consecutive surface.

rubbing down effected, when the work that such lacquer as

of varying

is

a rough kind being used for the

is

first

carefully

is

coat, this

of the finest quality,

the interstices between the particles of

all else

being most carefully removed. This

being done, the surface received one or two thin coats of lacquer, each of which was ground

was given by the ash of

down by

deer's

charcoal,

when

horn applied by

a final polish

soft leather.

Raised work results from the use of lacquer mixed with red oxide of first

iron.

If the "relief"

is

to be great, this mixture

crudely applied by the agency of a spatula and brush.

repeated painting the relief figure

something of the form desired. duced by the most

skilful

is

at

is

By

brought gradually to assume

Delicacies of form are

now

pro-

grinding with small strips of charcoal.

All good relief-work results from processes of painting and grinding,

and not from anything analogous to carving

;

by such means

the most delicate and tender of modelled ornament

When parts first

may

this

work has been brought

be coloured or covered with gold

produced.

;

or they

may be

covered with some coloured pigment, and then have gold or

silver

dusted upon them.

In the latter case the colour

through the powder and have a tinted lustrous i

is

form required, the

to the

Lacquer

is

will

show

effect.

dried by being placed in a cool cupboard, which

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

362

has been washed with water immediately before the lacquer has

been placed unless in a

in

atmosphere,

simply to prevent placed in a dry in

While some say that lacquer

it.

damp

its

cracking, which,

one of the chief factories

workroom, and was about eighteen laths,

deep

inches

and the

I

believe,

The cupboard used

air.

interior of its ceiling or top

water every morning.

do

if it

be

in the corner of the

feet high,

three

and

had shelves formed of square wooden

it

;

feet broad,

employed

drying process

for this

Tokio was

in

five

is

will

it

not dry

will

sure that moisture

I feel

The

was brushed over with

lacquer takes from eight to eleven

hours to dry in this chamber.

common

In the case of

lacquer-work the surface

is

polished

with deer's-horn charcoal and soft leather, and then the drawing is

made

coat

is

no protecting

applied, but

is

added.

The

we

lacquer to which gold

in

inlaying of pearl in lacquer

inlay

it

in details.

is

effected almost exactly as

our papier-mache work, the process differing only

in

The

pieces of pearl from which the parts to be inlaid

are cut are very thin, and can be used as tracing-paper.

work, which

Little

to contain

inlaid

pearl,

is

begun, a drawing of

made on a sheet of paper this drawing is transto the box or tray upon which the pattern is to be wrought. sheets of pearl are now placed over those parts of the

the pattern ferred

is

Before a

is

;

pattern which are to appear in this lustrous material

covered by the sheet of pearl are traced upon

it

;

the forms

then the

;

little

sheets are removed.

With a

curious chisel -like knife the pearl

necessary shapes, and

is

stuck by lacquer in

its

is

cut into the

respective posi-

the whole surface

is

covered with repeated coats of lacquer, by which the pearl

is

tions.

After

all

the pearl

By

entirely hidden.

having been right places

The

fitted to ;

in

is

pattern

is

now

place,

level

is

secured,

and

with the general surface

again transferred to the surface,

the bits of pearl, so that they

and the decoration

already described.

its

grinding a smooth surface

the pearl again appears, but

of the object.

is

in

may

take their

gold or colour proceeds as

ART, Lacquer

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

times

and

lacquer

like these substances

and sometimes dark

pale

hurt

Hence

it.

some-

respects

and similar substances.

unhurt by hot water or ordinary vinegar and boiling ascetic acid

is

it

many

In

colour.

in

to gutta-percha

allied

is

much resembles

a substance which in appearance

is

treacle or dissolved shellac,

363

acids. ;

It resists

It is

the action of

and caustic potash does not

cannot be injured by any ingredients used

it

in

cookery.

When

in a fluid state

it

highly corrosive

is

comes

in contact

to the

bone and produces a serious wound.

with the skin

There are many which little

it

is

generally eats

it

some persons take

a lacquer factory

mixed with

the

while

lacquer,

used to

is

way through

its

make

of the work and the degree of

its

visiting

;

manufactures

and celebrated men have will

For the production of coloured surfaces colouring-matter

one drop

a kind of fever.

own which they

of their

if

Even from

details respecting the lacquer

impossible here to notice

secrets

and

;

very

not readily divulge.

certain

pigments are

frequently

a desired

tint.

excellence

is

a

vegetable

But the character due largely to the

nature of the lacquer used, and to the manner in which

it

is

treated.

Raw " skins "

lacquer

is

a tenacious fluid of a gray-brown colour which

over like our

collected from the tree

better quality

now

than decanting

paint upon exposure to the

oil

rises

it

is

allowed to stand and

and the impurities

sink, so

But straining through cotton or a porous paper means of refining the lacquer, Superior lacquer it

settle.

becomes more or

is

stirred

less

in

the open

air,

is

The

nothing more

needed to separate the good from the

is

When

air.

inferior.

resorted to as a

by which process

oxydised, at the same time

it

loses

its

excess of water and assumes a brilliant dark colour.

Usually lacquer grinding and

is

brought to a surface

final polishing, as

use of a kind of

"

dryers

we have

" called

ye-no-abura (an

a labiate plant called Perilla ocimoides)

by processes of

already seen

it is

oil

;

but by the

derived from

changed into a varnish

which acquires brilliancy by mere hardening.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

364

Used yellow

thus,

colour

its

is

a

transparent, and

lustrous,

warm

but by the use of gamboge, the sap of unripe persimmons,

;

or other vegetable

the richness of

stains,

Richness of effect in a finished work the object to be varnished, instead of

its

hue

increased.

is

is also secured by staining by modifying the character

of the varnish itself

Black lacquer (called roiro-urushi)

is

produced by

stirring

crude lacquer in the open air for two or three days, and by adding to

it

a

water impregnated with

little

In this

acid.

way

tion of the water

the richest black is

iron, or is

with iron and tannic

produced

and the addi-

;

absolutely necessary for the attainment of

great brilliancy.

"

some of our their work with

as

Just

"

ground

when painting

artists

some Japanese lacquer-workers introduce "

with the view of giving is

too thick for use

it is

black dress

a

red, so as to give richness to the black,

quality

"

into black certain stains

to the colour.

thinned by rubbing into

it

If the lacquer

amount

a small

of camphor.

For

all

purposes in which the adhesion of gold,

is

desired, lacquer, converted into a varnish

is

used.

by which

Plasticity,

impressions, or

is

it

;

and many

due to the quality which

stamping and

filling

are produced.

A

in this

rendered

by the addition of

susceptible

it

effects

There

are not is

to

oil,

stamped

thus

produced by lacquer are

By

acquires.

of the depressions

all

a

process

form of marbled lacquer called tsugaru-nuri

way, but the stamped surface

common

in

of

kinds of marble effects

is

covered with

before the later coats of lacquer are applied.

work

or colour

given to lacquer by the addition of powdered beans

albumen from eggs

made

is

silver,

tin-foil

Specimens of

England, although they are so

in

is

this

Japan.

another variety of lacquer called wakasa-nuri produced

in a similar

manner.

made by varnishing with lacquer, to which a volatile oil has been added, wood or flattened bamboo, previously The best coated with size to which a little alum has been added. Akita lacquer

is

is

produced on junks lying out at

sea, so as to

avoid dust.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

works are formed

Inferior

ways

various

in

365

by

:

sizing the

may

be

work

is

object to be lacquered two or three coatings of lacquer

saved

by

but

;

Common

sacrificed.

treatment the

this

work

raised

paste formed of rice-flour

also produced cheaply by a

is

but as this

;

not even impervious to

is

In every country

water, objects so decorated are almost useless.

we have

and

the genuine article

works are to be produced qualities of superior work,

the

of

durability

If decorative

imitations.

its

cheap rate with the apparent

at a

must be employed

artifices

in

their

production which can only be condemned.

The

abounds both

Japan

Rhus

tree (the

from which lacquer

is

obtained

Japan and China, but the lacquer produced

in

better

is

verniciferd)

than

grown

that

on

in

continent.

Asiatic

the

Curiously, the lacquer-tree not only produces lacquer, which flows

from its

wax, which

lactiferous vessels, but also

its

is

extracted from

seeds.

There are male and female

in the lacquer-trees,

and the female

only produces seeds.

Lacquer-trees sometimes grow to the height

of thirty-five or forty

feet,

but lacquer

is

obtained when the trees

This being the case

are from five to eight years old.

it is

rare to

see a large lacquer-tree in Japan, save in those instances where is

wax -producing,

kept for seed-growing, and, consequently,

which case

The

it is

is

generally

from sections of the

it

in

allowed to reach a good old age.

lacquer -tree

reproduce

it

from seed, but some

raised

The

root.

raising from seed

is

managed

in

considered the better plan. If this

it is

way:

into

raised from the root the

—The

" sets "

is

This will

set as

we

send out a shoot and give

of these sets seeds

root of a tree

which are

pieces,

fail

reproduction

set

new method

to produce a plant, the

a

is

divided

time these

In

potatoes.

rise to

plant.

As many

of reproducing by

preferred. is

one of the few instances known

send out adventitious branches.

As

in

which a true root

a rule no plant has a

power of producing either buds or branches below "

is

which has been cut down

medial line

;"

its "

but one or two plants are known

to

collar "

or

botanists

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

366

which have

strange quaHty, and of these the lacquer-tree

this

is

one.

of the lacquer depends largely on the nature of

The quaHty

the soil in which the tree

is

grown.

ground

If the

good the

is

tree will acquire a circumference of about seven inches in four or five years.

To

obtain the lacquer the outer part of the bark

and then an

the tree-trunk,

The

kind of knife.

juice

now

scraped from the stem by a slow, for a tree

is

puncture

When the tree

lacquer

stem by a

This operation

iron tool.

but the same tree

is

then not cut

is

many

cut

is

very

is

and the

times,

near the base of the stem, while each

farther from the root.

down

cut

sliced off

is

into the

oozes out of the puncture, and

flat

the stem has been punctured from

is

is

is

;

made

is

successive cut

made

is

cut only once in the day, and

again for four days first

incision

base to

its

its

apex

but from the branches of the felled tree

;

To

also obtained.

end they are cut into lengths of

this

about two feet six inches, tied into bundles about eighteen inches in

diameter, and soaked in water for from ten to twenty days.

These are now cut is

collected

by

in October.

The

second uragaki.

the tree.

the lacquer oozes out and

The

the lacquer begins in

third

districts in

first

quality

called

is

and fourth are of but

which wax

is

value.

afraid of retarding the

growth of

In recent years they have, however, taken to doing so

incisions in the

stem are only made

is

wax

for

as

much

lacquer,

;

as the

and the

at distances of six or seven

and not almost close together as

There

little

and the

extracted the lacquer from the female

by so doing they were

male trees which are reserved exclusively

wild,

hen,

gathered from the lacquer-

but they do not cut the trees grown for their

inches,

summer and

not very good, the best being produced

The

tree they formerly never

plant, for

when

up,

lacquer obtained at the beginning of the is

the middle period.

In those

way

for obtaining

season and at the end in

the

scraping.

The season ends

all

in the

male

trees.

a plant called the mountain lacquer-tree which grows

and has flowers and leaves closely resembling those of the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, cultivated variety little

but as

;

There

quantity of wax. is

it

produces very

value as a lacquer-tree, though

its

which

derived, called the vine lacquer,

is

grown

it is

of

which lacquer

a creeper

yields even less than the mountain lacquer-plant.

lacquer

lacquer

little

seeds yield a considerable

also a third plant from

is

367

The

but this

;

cultivated

—

in the eastern part of Japan in the Yamato, Yoshino, Iwashiro, Aizi, Uzen, Yonezawa, Mogami, Yamagata, Nambo, and Fukuzu. The first is

chiefly

provinces of Yechizen,

named

provinces have produced lacquer from remote times, and

the produce of these provinces best quality

is

produced

Lacquer varies

in

in price

a rule three hundred and

make where

wood

is

very celebrated

;

but the very

Yoshino. according to fifty

me

its

age and nature, but as

(one hundred and twenty

me

a pound) cost a dollar (about four shillings and two pence) it

is

grown.

Eight thousand

of the lacquer-tree

used for

many

is

me make

very hard, and

is

of fine grain

purposes, and especially for buoys to

the nets used in the sardine fisheries have been sunk.

branches are used for fences and for

fuel.

The

a barrel. ;

it is

mark where The small

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

368

CHAPTER

IV.

THE POTTERY MANUFACTURES.

When

Japan

started for

I

thought

I

and pots tolerably perfect

potteries

;

my

knowledge of Japanese

but when

returned from

I

that country, after visiting nearly seventy potteries,

conclusion that even then

was most

my

I

came

to the

knowledge of Japanese ceramics

limited.

my

During

stay

country the unfortunate rebellion

the

in

my

already mentioned broke out, which prevented of the leading pottery districts

;

tures I can give only hearsay information.

as to the trustworthiness of

visiting

some

hence on some of the manufac-

what

I

was

Yet

have no doubt

I

inasmuch as

told,

my

informants were well acquainted with the matter of which they

spoke in I

but

;

which

am

retailing

There which

some

in this

it

is

is

cases

chapter

I

shall

be careful to specify the cases

speak from personal observation, and those

I

what

I

in

which

have learnt from others.

a complication about Japanese potters and potteries

very

instance of what

invented by a

to unravel, for nice distinctions are in

difficult

made which I

are

mean,

it

more than confusing

may be

man whose name

it

noticed that

to us.

As an

Banko ware was

bears, but that this particular

form of pottery ceased after a time to be made.

After the lapse

some years this ware was re-invented, or revived, by one Mori Yogozayemon, a man who, though old, still lives but it is his

of

;

son that

now

carries

on the pottery, and

His works are at Obuke-mura,

in the

this

son

province of

I

Ise.

have seen.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, Besides the son,

many

others learned the art of potting in the

Banko method, and these Yokkaichi, which

may

mostly settled

are

in

the town

of

be regarded as the special seat of the

Banko manufactures.

In the town of

no great distance from Yokkaichi,

at

369

Kuwana, which

situated

is

wares (such as we

inferior

should regard as Banko) are also made, and throughout Japan these

are

regarded

Banko

as

wares

made

at

Kuwana

wares, yet at

regarded as imitation Banko, while

Tokio and Kioto

all

they are

through the country similar

find little favour, being considered

spurious and not original works.

Some time ago men who had

learned the art of potting in

Yokkaichi removed to the province of Min5, and there founded

Onko

a pottery called

most Banko ware, and is

generally of a

soft,

but the ware here

;

chocolate in colour

is

warm

made ;

thicker than

is

while that of

Banko

Yet some specimens of Banko Onko ware is classed as altogether

gray.

ware are of a red-brown hue.

But the Yokkaichi potters now also make imitation Onko wares, and thus the confusion becomes separate from that of Banko.

great.

Another

difficulty in

the

way

of our understanding Japanese

wares results from a practice which

is

common

apprentice, the trade-mark of a celebrated ware.

famous as a (the

potter,

name used

potter).

Now

it

in

and

his

trade

A man

becomes

mark, or trade name, becomes known is

very seldom the real

name

of the

often happens that a celebrated potter has a

son and two or three apprentices. his

throughout the

namely, that of bequeathing to a son, or a favourite

country,

name and mark

to

the

most

In such cases he will leave skilled

among them. name of

frequently happens that an apprentice inherits the

famous

potter,

and even should he move

to another place, he will

be considered the maker of the genuine ware, while the son, carries

as the

on the manufacture at the original works,

mere imitator of

these statements

not do

so, as

I

his

father's

could adduce

some of the

productions.

many

difficulties

It

the

will

who

be regarded

In support of

illustrations,

but

I

need

of understanding the various

questions connected with certain kinds of Japanese pottery will 2 B

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

370

appear as we discuss the wares.

may at how may see and

that the reader case,

visited

I

mention them here

impossible

it

is

for

any one who has not

Japan to write a history of Japanese pottery which shall Another difficulty occurs when a celebrated

be really trustworthy.

potter removes from one part of the country to another,

which

order

in

the outset understand the nature of the

is

—

a case

not uncommon.

In the town of Okazaki able wares, and

who bore

who made

visited a potter

I

a good

name

remark--

But

as a manufacturer.

he formerly carried on his art at Kioto, and he removed to place

so

queathed "

as not to interfere with his son, to

whom

he had be-

This man, Yeiraku Zengoro,

business.

his

mark," as well as his business, to his son, and he

under a new name, and since

I left

Japan

this

left

now

his

trades

have heard that he

I

has again returned to Kioto.

Here we have a case in which a celebrated man makes wares same character as those which he formerly pro-

precisely of the

duced, and in the same town, yet the

employs would indicate that

"

mark

"

which he now works

his present productions are the

of a different potter. In treating of the keramic manufactures

what

factures of a district

we

shall

it is

difficult to

we speak

know

of the

manu-

thereby separate similar wares.

This

sort of classification to pursue, for if

some cases the various manufactures bear the name of the town or district in Yet if we take similar wares we shall which they are produced. classification

would

also lead to confusion, as in

have to travel almost from one end of Japan to the other to our specimens.

On

the whole,

kinds of wares together, for

it

we

may be shall

collect

best to arrange certain

thus have the advantage

of contrasting similar specimens which have been produced at different parts of the country.

While pottery of a rude kind was made it

was not

until

Corean artisans were brought

any important advance

in

at

an early period,

to the country that

the manufacture was made.

beginning of the sixteenth century a Corean potter named

came

to

Kioto, where he

made

a

common

black

At

the

Ameya

earthenware

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, with lead glaze.

ceremony

This

" {cha-no-yii)

is

especially valued for use at the " tea

and

;

371

generations the descend-

for eleven

man have made

same wares. So esteemed was the ceremony by Shogun Taikosama that he honoured this parants of this

manufacture with a golden

ticular "

raku

the

"

seal,

on which the character

(meaning enjoyment) was engraved.

With the view of giving some

idea of the esteem in which

the vessels used at the cha-no-yu were formerly held (the cere-

mony was most mention the

fashionable about four hundred years since),

we may

fact that the competition for objects specially valued

some of these black raku cups) was such that wars were often waged between Daimios with the sole view of possessing certain (as

coveted goods, and with the envious object of despoiling another of his possessions of this

Instances are recorded of Daimios

sort.

burning down their houses rather than

One noted

his wares.

at the

let

the spoiler rob him of

warrior gave his tea-treasures away, thus

same time saving them from destruction and defeating the

purpose of the raid upon him.

But

it

was between the years 1580 and 1590 A.D. that one, Ise, who had been to China to

Gorodayu Shonsui, a native of

manufactures, returned and

study the porcelain province of Hizen.

he succeeded

About

in

settled

in

the

Here, with the material found in the country,

making various kinds of

porcelain.

time certain Corean porcelain makers were also

this

brought to Hizen, together with certain spoils of war, and they rendered important aid in the new manufacture.

same date the Prince of Satsuma, who had home with him a certain number of makers, with their families, and placed them near

At about invaded

the

Corea,

porcelain

Kagoshima, the they succeeded

With

brought

capital of the province, in

many

after

trials

ware.

these two important manufactures at the end of the

sixteenth century, the

have

where

making the now famous Satsuma

fairly

begun

;

for

art of potting

in

Japan

may

be said to

although rude earthenware has been

from time immemorial, and

tiles

temple were produced about 660

for A.D.,

the

roof of

made

an imperial

and although the

potter's

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

372

wheel was introduced

man made

in

the year

stone -ware at

Setto

724

of our era, and a China-

the thirteenth

in

no works of importance were produced

century, yet

towards the year

till

1700. It

may be

well to begin our notice of the potter's wares

by

considering faience, stone-ware, and the different kinds of earthen-

become

have

ware which

well

known.

delights in novelty and humour.

potter will often

generally

known

make

For

his

The Japanese mind own amusement the

a few pieces of a ware different from those

but with the few specimens produced

;

we have

the beginning and the end of the ware.

Banko

is

province of

man who and who made an

name

the Ise,

of a

lived

at Yokkaichi, in

the

unglazed stone-ware of a

purple-brown, and of a light -yellowish colour.

He

used a clay

of such toughness that he could form small objects, as teapots, of

extreme thinness

;

but the great peculiarity of his ware consisted

in his ignoring the use of the wheel and the lathe, and forming

his

vessels

by pinching the clay

into shape

between the finger

and the thumb.

With the death of Banko the production of this ware appears it was Mori Yogozayemon of Obuke-mura who re-discovered the art. This man, as we have just said, still to

have ceased, and

and his son, who has succeeded to his business, works at Obuke-mura to this day. But it is at Yokkaichi that the best Banko ware is now made. Here a number of men who learned the art from Mori Yogozayemon, and from one another, now pursue this manufacture but the same class of ware is also made

lives,

;

at

Kuwana, Kioto, Tokio, and other

At Yokkaichi

the

places.

chief potters

are

Nakayama Magohichi,

Iriyama Kainosuke, Shitomi Shiohei, Yamanaka Chiwzayemon,

Hori Tomonao.

All

these

facture of similar wares

than those of others.

;

men

are

engaged upon the manu-

only the productions of some are better

But the prince of the potters

is

Yamanaka

Chiwzayemon, who makes kettles of extraordinary thinness. by this man, measuring four and a quarter inches

kettle

diameter, and two and a half inches in depth,

made

A in

of unglazed

AR7\ gray stone -ware,

is

AND ART MANUFACTURES. so thin that

it

can be seen through, and

weighs just over two ounces and a half with

made simply by

clay being pressed

somewhat

teapot,

373

its

Hd.

by the thumb and

finger.

smaller, with the usual form of handle,

length for a knob on

beast nearly an inch in

the

A

and a weighs

lid,

These are triumphs

but an ounce and three quarters.

it

has been

It

in

Banko

work, and only the one manufacturer can form wares of such delicacy.

The

first

kettle

which

I

have mentioned has a knob formed

of a double volute of clay, and the

with storks in

lid

reposing on a

river's

flight,

;

and each one

outlined,

on the

a

black

head,

in

decorated on one side and on

the storks in flight there are no

little

work, while there are forty-three

painted in enamel white with

is

a

tail,

and

is

and on the other side with storks

Of

bank.

than fifty-seven on this

less

at rest

it

its

feathers

brown shading, a touch of red

little

most cases a

line

of

on the

green

page 175). While the better pieces of Banko ware are

bill

(Fig- 59,

thumb and wooden mould the

;

knob from

the

finger,

and,

commoner goods

the case

in

so attached to the lid that

the

handle, which

will

it

all

made with

are shaped

on a

of teapots, nearly all have a will rotate, or a ring

swing.

Many

have the

pendent handle

perforated as a fine geometrical pattern.

Of Banko

wares,

it

may

be remarked that the particular forms

of handle, which are undoubtedly Japanese, are that which arches the orifice of the vessel, as the handle of our pails,

and that

which corresponds with the handle on our saucepan.

Although

the looped handle, similar to that on our teapots,

uncommon, and although

I

see before me, as

with this form of handle, there

is

is

I write, five

no longer specimens

every reason to believe that

was derived from European examples brought into the country Yet on a Chinese jug, which was, undoubtedly, by the Dutch. it

hundred and fifty years since, I see this form of and on several ewers preserved at Nara are examples This form of handle, then, may have been of a similar character. derived from Continental Asia and not from Europe.

made

four

handle,

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

374

Some specimens earth,

of

common Banko ware

from which large panels have been

are formed of a red

and the opening

cut,

thus formed replaced by a semi-transparent white clay.

teapot of brick colour, and with a " stippled

" surface,

In a

having the

texture of " morocco leather," are two panels of white earth, the one

having the form of a but this ware

is

Another

and the other a cardeoid or blunt heart

fan,

recent

form

Banko

of

has

produced

thus

effect

coarse,

is

and

marbled

a

resulting from the combination of imperfectly

the

;

modern.

mixed

surface

clays

but

;

ware has no

the

art

value.

Banko wares

are often decorated

but while a few pieces by

;

the best makers are tenderly painted, the decoration

both crude regretted,

colour and

in

the

as

good painting

ware

coarse in

itself

excellent.

is

would be much sought

it

generally is

to

be

accompanied by

If

by

after

is

This

character.

lovers of beautiful

objects.

Modern Banko wares are sometimes glazed, in other cases by an opaque colour (generally a full green or an unwelcome pink), and in some cases vessels are glazed internally only. The glazed ware, as well as the unglazed, may be entirely covered

decorated.

We rough

not unfrequently teapots

offered

see,

our large grocers' shops,

in

sale

for

imitation

Banko wares made

at

cottagers,

who perform

work

their

Small though these teapots

have

in

common

use,

be,

few

a

for

These

pence.

little

are

Kioto and Tokio by potting in

a most

simple manner.

they are such as the Japanese

while they frequently drink tea they

for

A

indulge themsqlves with a mere sip at a time.

large vessel or

a large sip are alike vulgar.

Onko

is

the

thickness, which

small group of

province of

name is

solid

and well made.

men who

left

its

name.

the town from which the

men

It

was invented by a

Yokkaichi and removed to the

Mino where they founded

which the ware derives in

of a chocolate-coloured ware of no great

a pottery called

But

this

departed.

ware

is

Onko, from

now

imitated

AR T, AND AR T MANUFA CTURES. Another ware of unglazed red earth and

made

is

Tokonabe

at

Tokonabe ware

;

shaped on the wheel, This

is

called

enjoys no great celebrity.

it

kind of stone-ware, valued

hardness, and which

known

is

Owari or Bishiw.

but although the things produced are specimens

of careful potting

A

in

37 5

in

Japan on account of

its

sometimes glazed and sometimes unglazed,

is

cases a decorative effect

much resembles that we make ginger -beer made of a dark-red colour. In some is produced by a bamboo or some other

spray being incised

the clay.

is

Bizen.

as

common form bottles

;

but

of

it

is

appearance

In

stone -ware also

in

hardest produced in Japan.

This ware

in is

vessels,

Imbe and other

said to be the

is

exposed to the action of

It is

the process of manufacture, from

made name

it

of which

fifteen

to

fire,

thirty days.

It

places in the province of Bizen, and

that of the district.

Besides

we

made

often see figures

these are of considerable age.

jars, bottles, pots,

of Bizen ware

in is

its

and other

and some of

;

Bizen ranks amongst the oldest of

existing Japanese potteries.

Another celebrated ware appears and thumb or cups.

like that of It is

I

is

—

this is

Soma

is

is

invariably

we should perhaps add importance

the only instance,

Rokubei,

the ;

the old

all

celebrated,

and

wares

to

of Tokonabe,

but to iterate

all

Kenzan, of

Takatori,

my

Sado,

the wares of this class

that are known, even tolerably well, in Japan, would be to part of

which

Kioto wares, there are others

Hikone, the old wares of

as

Toyosuke, and others

this

The

ware.

Japanese crest being an animal.

Besides these wares, which are

Kinkozan,

with the finger

the form of small jars

the crest of the Prince of Soma, and

believe, of a

of less

in

covered with a gray-brown glaze, and

decorated with a horse or with horses horse

made

to be

Banko, generally

book a mere catalogue of wares, which

absence of coloured illustrations could only be useless.

make in

the

But

I

—

may just mention that Mashimidsu Z5roku of Kioto a potter who enjoys considerable notoriety makes stone ware vases which

—

have incised

The grounds

lines,

filled

with white

slip,

covering their surface.

of these vary from a pleasant gray to a rich brown,

376

JAFAN ITS ARCJUTECTURE,

and the white

is

:

The whole

not obtrusive.

pleasant, though rough, effect.

I

glazed and has a

is

may also mention

Kiyomidsu

that

Rokubei, also of Kioto, makes an exceedingly crude ware which

he covers with an opaque white glaze, on which he gets rich granite- like

of

effects

mingled together

that

;

colour

a crude heavy ware, which treacle -like

and

glaze,

Buddhist

with

part

latter

well

from

with

a

glaze

being

black

same

city

makes

thick with white

yellow

leaves

of the

he often shapes into quaint forms

also

Miyai

crabs.

makes

kind

a

resemblance to the creature,

its

and

reds,

of the

part covered with a transparent,

modelled

-

Ota-Mura, near Wakayama, which,

greens,

curious rough

as

These

lotus.

decorates

in

is

in

opaque matter, as well and

—

Sawamura Tosa

is

Sajoro

of

of

pottery,

called

sea- slug

ware.

Besides these there

a whole series of rough crackle wares

is

somewhat imperfectly baked. The best of these is made by Oki Toyosuke of Nagoya, and is generally known as Toyosuke or Toyoske ware. This is a form of pottery made

which arc

all

of a buff- coloured

covered

earth

with

semi -opaque crackle

a

glaze which has a white or sea-green cast.

the glaze there in

a sort of

"

a

is

Sometimes below

rude sketch of a figure or a pine branch

Payne's -gray

"

and from the top of the

colour;

object a rich juicy green often flows over the paler glaze.

ware the crackles are

this

neutral

distinctl}'

marked

a

sort

of soft

tint.

Another ware of a similar description a

in

In

widow

potter of

is

made by

Inui

Chio,

Osaka but her wares are characterised by having moon, or some such device cut into the ;

a bird, a bat, a crescent surface, or b}-

having raised figures of flowers, dragon, or mountain,

upon them, while nearly

them

in

all

Japanese faience

name

faience

body,

it

drawn upon

a sort of inky coloin-.

The most important "

the pieces have flowers

is

Satsuma ware." is

\\-are

that which

which we have to notice as a is

now

But whether

so well it

known under

the

should be classed as a

doubtful, for while but to a small extent vitreous in

appears to have the composition of a porcelain.

its

ART, As we have

AND ART MANUFACTURES

already

377

Shimadzu Yoshihisa, Prince of

seen,

Satsuma, brought with him when he returned from the conquest of Corca a

number

of potters, to

whom

he assigned the task of

producing a new and acceptable ware from the materials found their

new home, and

in

the result of their efforts was the production

of the ware which took the

name

of the province, and which has

acquired well-deserved celebrity.

This pottery was established shortly before the close of the sixteenth century, and

which

its

wares are made of a porcelain clay

from the true porcelain mixture, as

differs

undergo to any considerable extent fusion by

formed chiefly of felspar and woodash, freed from has neither borax nor lead

is

commonly used Satsuma ware

burnt,

is

glaze

Its

its alkali.

much

It

higher temperature

When

for the formation of biscuit ware.

of pale vcllum-like colour, and

We

presents a fine network of cracks. different kinds of faience, but

is

composition, and the body and

in its

the glaze are simultaneously fired at a

than

does not

it

firing.

in

is

it

have classed

its it

surface

with the

character almost a semi-

porcelain.

Old Satsuma ware was generally made as bowls, saucers, flowers

used.

and conventional ornaments, the

It

is

the beauty of

tlic

latter

frequently forming

The chrysanthemum,

pheasant, and

the

the paiony, the

peacock were commonly

by the tenderness of

also distinguished its

small pieces, such

and teapots, and was decorated with birds and

bands around the objects. domestic fowl,

in

reds and greens, and

by the

its

solidity of

outline, its

dull

gold pencilling.

Old Satsuma ware has now become rare the whole of

my

travels

pieces, while six or seven

in the

country

pounds was the

I

in

Japan, and during

never saw but three

price asked for a small

teapot.

Large pieces of

this

ware appear never to have been produced

until comparatively recent times, and

the Japanese

little

must be remembered that

use for large vases in

their

own

Those huge specimens which are occasionally shown to examples of old Satsuma ware must be regarded as the

houses. us as

have but

it

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

378

products of some other pottery

have to I

think

it

"

and

district

There appears

much

but of such works

well here to reproduce an article

of the Tokio Legation on

he visited the

a

;

ruin wrought

The Corean

"

by Mr. E. Satow

Potters in Satsuma," as

He

did not.

I

be good ground

to

says Korea once enjoyed

for believing that

enjoys now, and,

it

when we consider

and the general

difficulty

experienced in countries where the

Chinese of recovering from such disasters, we shall not be sur-

civilisation is

prised to find the

modern Koreans

far

behind their neighbours

of the useful arts, though in former ages for instruction.

of pottery, and those

Korean ware,

to

it

was

to

them

which an antiquity of about

Korean

five

centuries

The Japanese, always ready

pains to obtain.

have, from a period which

may be

tells

which

in

its

it

was baked were

name.

assigned,

Avill

sacrifice of

to learn

much

from others,

and several schools of pottery are

As

the learned antiquary,

us in Part V. of his invaluable work on the history

of Japanese faience, the common sort of made by Koreans whom Hideyoshi caused

ware took

is

called prehistoric, at various times invited

artisans to settle in their country,

said to have been founded by these emigrants.

kilns in

practice

potters possessed in those days a degree of skill

which was worth imitating, and secrets which were worth the

Ninagawa Noritane,

in the

that the Japanese

One of the arts brought to Japan from Korea was that who have seen specimens of the delicate, white, translucent

readily admit that the

money and

the extent of the

peninsula by the Japanese armies in the end of the

in that

sixteenth century,

Korean

shall shortly

higher degree of material civilisation than, as we learn from recent

sources of information,

went

we

treat.

built in

The descendants

Buzeh, and later at Yatsushiro

in

pottery called raku-yaki was to

be brought to Kiyauto.

his palace of Jiuraku,

of others

who were

first

The

whence the

settled first at

Agano

Higo, after the withdrawal of the Japanese

carry on the production of Agano ware. maker of Nakanokura ware, near Hagi in the province of Nagato, and became the founder of a family which still exists there, and in the province of Satsuma there is a village entirely inhabited by potters of Korean origin, whose forefathers were transplanted from their native country about the same time. " The ancestors of these people were brought over in 1598 by Shimadzu Koshihiro, the feudal lord of Satsuma, and settled at Kagoshima, the capital of the province, and at three villages, named Kushikino, Ichiku, and Safinogaha, in the department of Heki. Some of them were afterwards removed to Chiyosa in Ohosumi, on the Kagoshima Gulf, where they continued to exercise their The larger number were art, and their descendants live there to this day.

troops from Korea in

1598,

Another Korean was the

collected together in the

still

first

end of the year 1603

at

Nahashirogaha or Tsuboya,

a village on the high road from Ichiku to Kagoshima, about twelve miles from

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

They belonged

the latter town.

and

their descendants

to seventeen families,

Haku,

Hefi, Kiyau, Tei, Jin, Riii,

Sai, Chin,

women

practice, but the

(Snow), and the fifteen

still

Boku,

Shiii, Ri,

syllables,

in use

according

among them

to

the

Korean

bear Japanese names, such as Fude (Pen), Yuki

The whole population of the village numbers about The wares made by the first generation of captives were

like.

hundred.

dark pottery with a black glaze, and

chiefly of a coarse kind of is

named

Ga, Tei, Shiya, and Sai,

The personal names

composed of two Chinese

usually

Kiii,

keep these surnames, which are pronounced as above

still

according to the Japanese fashion. are

Ro,

379

this

manufacture

carried on at Tsuboya, the principal articles produced being teapots,

and large jars for packing the dried tea-leaf Between the years 1624 and 1644 a skilful workman named Boku Teiyou made the discovery of white sand at Kaseda, and of white clay at Ibusuki, and from this period dates the manufacture of the white Satsuma cracked ware (called hibiki-de) so much But for a long time the ware appears esteemed by European connoisseurs. pipkins,

to

have been ornamented very sparingly with colour, and the oldest specimens

are altogether devoid of

named

Kiii Zenkai,

About the

it.

close of the eighteenth century a

and Kuhabara Jiuzawemon, an inhabitant of

Korean

Kajiki,

made

a journey to Kiyanto, where they learned the art of decorating earthenware with figures, landscapes,

This

is

and

set patterns in the style of colouring called Nishiki-de.

the sort by which the Satsuma ware has acquired

Most of the

fine pieces in this style

by the Prince of Satsuma ago

six or seven years

east of prince's to

is

to the

regardless of expense for the

Shiyaugun and

use, or for presents to the

which circumstances

great reputation.

at

Tanoura, a village on the bay about a mile

to

The ware was manufactured

Kagoshima.

own

at a place called

its

some potteries established Tatsuno, whence they were removed

were produced

owing the great perfection

to his fellow-daimiyau,

to

which

it

was brought.

by the richness of the gilding, the delicacy of the During the last few years the drawing, and subdued harmonious colouring. painted crackle has been made by private individuals, or by companies trading Connoisseurs distinguish

it

with funds advanced by the local administration with a view to profit, and

would perhaps not be too much

to

it

say that nothing worthy of the collector's

attention has been produced since 1868, the year of the revolution.

" In February of last year of Tsuboya, where the inhabitants, to friend.

There

is

I had an opportunity of visiting the Korean village was most hospitably lodged and entertained by one of whose care I had been specially commended by a Japanese I

nothing distinctive in the appearance of the people or

architecture of their houses

;

and wear the Japanese dress

The hill

they ;

all

in the

speak Japanese as their native tongue,

Tsuboya

principal potteries belonging to the

is

in fact just

like

any other

village.

Koreans are situated on the side of a

to the south of the highroad, together with the kilns belonging to the

Tamano-yama Kuwaishiya, a company recently started by some Kagoshima Samuraht. The Tsuboya crackle is produced at this establishment and at another on the opposite side of the road, owned by a Korean named Chin

[APAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

38o

Jinkuwan, but most of the villagers devote themselves

common brown earthenware. "The principle of the division

seems

of labour

One

understood and applied by these workmen.

manufacture of

to the

be thoroughly- well

to

will

confine himself,

instance, to the bodies of teapots, of which he can produce about a

and

a day, another makes the

fifty in

a third the spouts, a fourth the

lids,

" ears " or projecting pieces into which the handle is

assigned the joining of these parts together.

is

inserted, while to a fifth

members

Generally the

family work in concert, and form a sort of co-operative society, which

owner of a is

The

kiln with other such societies.

for

hundred

of a joint

is

clay used for the coarse ware

found at Isakuda and Kannogaha, near Ichiku, and at Terawaki, Kukino,

and Noda, near coloured, red,

Ijifu-iii, all in the neighbourhood of Tsuboya. Chocolateand green glazes are obtained from Tomura, Kanmuri-ga-take,

and Sasa-no-dan, while

Ishiki furnishes the glaze for water-jars

Three

large articles of the coarser kind of ware.

the smallest of which

sizes of

and other

wheels are

in use,

formed of two wooden disks about three inches

is

thick,

the upper one being fifteen inches, the lower eighteen inches, in diameter,

connected by four perpendicular bars somewhat over seven inches long.

It is

poised on the top of a spindle planted in a hole of sufficient depth, which passes through a hole in the lower disk, and enters a socket in the under side of the upper disk, and the potter sitting on the edge of the hole turns the

wheel round with his

Each

rows.

is

The largest w-heel is about twice the size The kilns are built up the face of a hill in parallel a number of chambers with openings in the inter-

foot.

left

every way of the smallest. divided into

vening partitions to allow of the passage of flame and hot

end of the

compartment— a

every

which the

up

kiln right

to the head,

workmen

in

by,

about

six feet square,

The

and

fuel

is

consists of

pine logs about two feet in length and a couple of inches in diameter.

split

Two hundred and firing,

fifty

which usually

or sixty bundles of

other, every second slightly

enough used

apart. pot, is

to separate for

The

is

is

are required for a single

No

stands are used for the

being baked, but the articles are piled on each they consequently adhere together

;

out of the kiln, but a gentle tap with a piece of

Between the heavier

them.

tea, small bits

packing glaze

it

one being upside down

when brought

wood

about thirty-six hours.

lasts

brown earthenware while

jars

and out

and a smaller one through which

firing,

is

the side of

in

charge can watch the progress of the baking.

placed in the lowest chamber, which

is

from the lower

larger one for the ware to be passed in

of course closed during the

is

air

and there are apertures

of dry clay are inserted to keep

put on by immersion

;

glaze flows

and then being quickly reversed,

down

pretty equally

gray opaque colour, and process of

firing.

The

it

is

all

round.

them

the article, as for instance a tea-

dipped into the liquid upside down in such a manner that very

gets inside,

wood

pieces, such as the large

is

When

set

on

its

dry the glaze

put on before the article

is

little

base, so that the is

of a yellowish-

subjected to any

material used for the finer kind of earthenware, that

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, is,

and

satshzkt-de, or painted ware,

381

nishiki-de, into the decoration of

gold enters as well as colours, consists of white clay from three

namely, Mount Kirishima, Ibusuki, and the gold mine at stone from Kaseda and Kushiki

Yamagano

supplies in addition a second kind of clay called bara^ which brittle,

and no doubt

is

;

and of white sand from Kominato.

;

is

which

localities,

of white

Ibusuki

said to be very

the ingredient which gives somewhat of the character

The Kaseda stone is used also for when powdered and mixed with the ashes of nara wood {Quercus glandiiliferd), or some other sort of hard timber. " The clay and stone are well pounded, soaked in water, and passed several times through a fine sieve placed over a receiver. The minute particles which of porcelain to certain pieces of the ware.

glazing

bottom are then taken up and dried on boards.

settle at the is

name

given the

of niidzii-bosJii, or water drying, and

is

it

To this process common to all

For the fine white earthenware four kinds of and white Kaseda sand, which have been previously subjected to midzit-boslii, are mixed in certain proportions known to the experienced workman. Lumps of this stuff are placed upon wooden blocks and pounded with hammers to the extent of about three thousand blows, by which it is brought into the state of raw material, but previously to being branches of the manufacture. clay, together with ba7-a

actually converted into clay for the potter's use,

blows more. "

The

It is

Fire

is

front of the kiln,

circulate

freely

and the hot

air

passes up this to the chamber, where in

which the biscuit

have the following dimensions

Height (Japanese measure)

.

Diameter

.

.

.

it

can

The

:

air

.

5-5 feet."

.

...

.

passage

.

.

......

Height of hot

air

passage

.

.

.

Width

4"5

,,

5-0

„

4-5

„

is left

For nishiki-de three

which the glaze

painted and gilded

3-5

,,

i"2

,,

0-9

space of four inches in width

of the kiln.

is

deposited.

is

Internally—

Height

after

kept.

is

Externally

Diameter

A

it

baked are one-celled, and

saisldki-de are

brick, with walls about six Japanese inches

round the muffle

Length of hot 2.

requires about three thousand

kindled in the mouth of a passage which projects from the

largest of these kilns 1

and

nisJiiki-de

upon a foundation of

built of clay

thick.i

which

kilns in

it

considered to improve in quality the longer

is ;

put on

and

;

between the muffle and the inner wall

firings

^

There are ten Japanese inches

2

The Japanese

is

are necessary

:

firstly,

the suyakt,

secondly, the hoiiyaki, after which the piece

thirdly, a slow

foot

„

to

and gradual

an English

the same as our own.

firing

which develops

foot. Author. Author.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

382

the colours, the duration being twenty-four, forty-eight, and ten hours respect-

During the

ively.

last

is observed from time to time employed being a piece of pottery

temperature

firing the

through an aperture near the top, the

test

marked with various pigments, which gradually assume the desired

tints

as

the heat increases.

"A memorandum drawn

up by an

Kagoshima

of the

official

prefecture, for

presentation to the commission which presided over the Industrial Exhibition,

held last autumn in Yedo, gives the composition of the pigments used for

producing the various colours of the

Satsuma wares.

fine

Dr.

Edward

Divers,

Professor of Chemistry at the Imperial College of Engineering, has kindly

examined specimens of these materials procured

me

The mixtures

with their English names.

follows

Yedo, and has furnished

in

for the various colours are as

:

" Red.

— Ground white

glass, soft or lead variety

{sMratama

lead {tau no tsuchi), colcothar or red oxide of iron {beni-gara

tio

kd), white

and a

^),

silicious

earth called Hitio-woka tsuchi.

white — Ground white copper oxychloride red {kuwaianeitan), "Yellow. — Ground white and antimony White. — Ground white and white " and smalt ground — Ground compound due a Japanese name " white and manganese. — Ground white white an earthy manganese — Ground white " Green.

shiyau),

and

lead,

glass,

lead

glass,

"

glass, silicious earth,

Blue.

glass

cobalt

to

is

and a very

cobalt (wensei),

ore con-

lead,

glass,

little

silicious

ground and elutriated malachite {shihonuki

" At the pottery belonging to Chifi Jinkuwan in

hana-kottgiyaii.

lead,

glass,

" Black.

taining a

the

;

lead.

blue glass, the colour of which

(a

Purple.

ently

silicious earth,

{taieshirome).

metallic

is

{rohi-

silicious earth.

carbonate of copper, appar-

rokusliiyaii). I

saw groups being modelled

the white clay, which, after baking and glazing, assumes a light cream

colour,

and becomes what

is

known

as

Satsuma

These

crackle.

articles

The

intended to be decorated later on with gilding and colours.

were

potters here

possessed only two old pieces of plain ware, a teuji-buro, and a figure of a

The

child playing with a diminutive puppy.

two pieces

— namely, a brasier and a

distilling oil of cloves,

Two

artists

Dharma

in

were employed

tiger sitting

in

in

in

practice

teiiji-biiro is

on the top of it

is

an utensil formed of

it,

and

is

intended for

used merely as an ornament.

modelling figures of Kuwafion

(pr.

Kannon) and

white clay, with the conventional face and robes given to Buddhist

personages, and toes

feet in

though

boiler

height

up

in

when

all

of the

same

length.

A

third

was engaged upon a

a cat-like posture, intended to be two and a half Japanese finished.

Most of

their figures are

modelled from drawings

Indian ink, but the coloured designs are laid on from memory.

^

Dr. Divers informs

me

stance was formerly obtained.

that Beni-gara

is

a corruption of Bengal,

whence

this sub-

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

" Until fourteen years

made It

A

ago a ware called betsu-kafu

at this village, the colours of

which were intended

(pr.

383

bekko) yaki was

to imitate tortoise-shell.

was a common ware, and used to be exported to Nagasaki in large quantities. piece of this, said to be old, which was exhibited to me, had green blotches,

as well as the two usual colours, yellow

company's establishment

all

sorts

At the Tamanoyama

and brown.

of ware are produced

and highly gaudy

— common

brown

pottery, inferior blue

and

workman engaged

modelling a statuette of Christ after a sentimental wood-

in

white,

crackle.

Here

found a

I

He had copied the and beard with considerable accuracy, but had draped the body and limbs Some stones of brown earthenware, imitated the robes of a Buddhist priest.

cut in a religious periodical called the Christian Observer,

face in

from American iron stones, were ready seven dollars, delivered

in

Yedo.

monstrous shape composed of hexagons, pell-mell, the result of

for the kiln

saw

I

an attempt at

their price

;

was

to be

some huge white vases of

also

squares piled up, as

circles,

originality,

unhampered by

it

were,

traditional

notions of form.

"The is,

that

account given of themselves by the Kaurai

all

jin (as

they are called)

the inhabitants of the village, peasants as well

as potters, are

descended from Koreans brought over during the period Keichiyan

by a Satsuma Samurahi named wore their hair tied up in a knot

Ijifu-In.

(i

596-161

5)

Until about three years ago they

at the top of the

head

;

but most of them

now

wear the Japanese queue, or cut their hair in the style which has been They informed me that in former days they dressed introduced from abroad. themselves

in

their

own costume on

special occasions, as, for instance,

when

they went forth to salute the Prince of Satsuma as he passed through their village

on

One

on his way up to Yedo. dress in order to give

this

me

of the potters was good enough to put

an idea of

drawing on a pair of wide trousers of dark blue differing

from the ordinary Japanese hakama

same way

the legs, but tied on in the strings

—

that

is,

its

appearance.

silk of a

in

He

began by

very delicate material,

having no division between

the front part was tied on by

which passed round the waist, and then the back piece was fastened by Next he threw over his shoulders a bow-knot in front.

strings in a double

wide-sleeved mantle or haori of like colour and texture, the sleeves of which

were not sewn up

in

pockets as those of the clothes worn by adult Japanese

usually are, and fastened

with strings on the right side of the waist.

it

he crowned himself with a long conical black cap edged with white.

produced a broad brimmed black

hat, apparently

woven of the stem

Finally,

He

also

of a kind

The knowledge of the Korean language is still kept up by some among them, whose duty it is to interpret between castaway Korean junkmen of creeper.

and the Japanese

officials.

Before the destruction of the monasteries the

inhabitants of the village belonged to the Buddhist sect, Teiidaishiu, which

was no doubt that of their ancestors in their native country. At present they are under the protection of a Japanese deity, whose shrine, called Giyoku-safiGuu, stands on a

hill

south-west of the village.

In front of the shrine stand

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

384

a couple of lanterns of white ware with a blue design, presented by the potters' belonging to sixteen out of the seventeen families, as may be seen by the names

The tombs

inscribed on the pedestals.

in the cemetery,

of the path to this temple, do not differ in any

what we should expect

tombs, which

is

monuments

Japan

in

through Korea. identity of

It

is

to

which

the side

lies at

marked manner from Japanese

find,

as the style of sepulchral

essentially Indian-Buddhist,

and most

appears that these people marry freely

likely derived

among

surname not being considered an obstacle as

it

themselves,

China, but

in

is

seldom intermarry with Japanese except they be members of the Samurahi gathered, in fact, from the conversation of the villagers, that they I class. considered themselves to

much

superior to the aboriginal natives of the country

which their ancestors had been transplanted."

There

made

in

is

^

a curious ware called sameyaki, which

Satsuma, and

is little

known

was

England.

in

Its

formerly-

ground

is

of buff or brown earth, while the glaze has shrunk into convoluted

them the ground

or ruminated heaps, so that between

This

is

a peculiar ware,

and seems

dead."

from a remarkable

to result

contraction of the glaze in the process of

is "

firing,

and from an

antipathy of nature between the body of the vessel and the glaze.

The on

aspect of the glaze

fine

masses.

is

much

dust and arranged

Most commonly

colour, but in

some

like that of

itself into

this

ruminated glaze

more

cases the

water that has fallen

globular or irregular raised

raised parts

is

of a dull white

have a bright black

aspect.

The

establishment, potteries in

in

which

clay, a class of

a it

was

the

to

the

to be imitated.

Here, with the same

ware was produced which bears a close resemblance

somewhat more yellow district in

led

suburb of Kioto called Awata, of certain

that copied, only the

to

Satsuma ware attained

popularity which

which

it

imitation

hue. is

is

of a slightly deeper

This ware

made

—was

—which

is

named

and after

originally decorated in a

manner widely different from that of Satsuma, as it had but a few colours, and those neutral, and its sketches were drawn in thin, But recently it has been figured with patterns somelight lines. what closely resembling those of Satsuma ware. As a rule, how-

for

1 In this article many words are spelt in an unusual manner Corea, Kiyauto for Kioto, Buzen for Bizen, etc.

:

thus

we have Korea

ART, ever, the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

work on the imitation

385

smaller than that on the wares

is

made under the famous prince of the South. Awata wares are now made of all kinds and qualities. Some are utterly common, and are only suited to the ignorant caprices of a European public, while others are both tenderly wrought and daintily decorated. I

have said that the ornamentation of Awata wares

on a smaller scale than those of Satsuma the case, for

I

blossom which the South

have before is

is

although the colours with which

of hues

;

I

generally

not always

have seen on works from

an exception to the

generally rather strong, yet

is

is

a pot decorated with a quince

bolder than anything

but this

;

me

yet this

;

Awata

some

pottery

pieces are

Then, again,

rule.

decorated are

is

made with

the softest

and while Awata ware has generally the leaves and the

flowers with which

it is

decorated outlined, yet some pieces have

drawings upon them of a masterly character which are touched in

with

spirit

and have none of

In the district of

make

Awata

this

laboured work.

there are

the particular ware of which

many

we

potters,

some of whom

speak, while others do not.

But there are scores of men who manufacture Awata ware

in

some

form or other, although the makers of that of superior quality are

There are also men

few.

Awata ware

;

for the

name

living outside

has

this

suburb who make

now become applied to a particular name of the locality in which

production, which simply bears the it

was

first

produced.

The names

of the three chief

Awata

potters are

Kinun Ken,

Kinkozan Sobei,

who makes excellent but most expensive wares who is the largest maker of this ware and Tanzan Seikai, who is But both also a man of considerable importance in the district. in the district of Awata and beyond it there are other men in a somewhat large way of business who make this well-known ;

;

Satsuma ware. England we commonly meet with persons who speak specimens as though this ware were common Satsuma their of but in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred these turn out to Even the Satsuma ware now being be examples of Awata ware.

imitation of

Here

in

;

2 C

JAPAN: ITS A RCII ITECrU RE,

386 IHCKluccd is

about leu times us costly as Awata ware,

is

yet

aiul

only a keen eye that can distinguish between the two.

it

Little

old or modern, reaches England.

Satsuma ware, either After Awata, the Satsuma wares and

Awaji began to produce imitation

island of

altlujugh the.se attempts belong to a

;

later

date than tho.se of Awata, this island has yet given us finer works

Satsuma type than any

of the

Awaji

about

two

are

of

Mimpe, but

in

l};an(j is

name

and is owned by .Sanpe, a nephew of old Mimpe. Sanpe who makes the imitation Satsuma ware, and

drawing, and

full

and

rich

quantity of this ware produced is

Rikita.

is

is

good Mr.

description,

tiiought that

h(!

eX(:ei)tion of a

might

gc;t

it

done

Awata and Awaji

to

and he

produce a tea

.service

two years

for a special in

but the

insignificant,

much

after

in

of the existence of a do/en specimens

resemblance to

colouring;

altogether

.Sanpe,

made

few pieces

character, precise in

in

their

in

happy who possesses a specimen. Upon asking how long it would take

of this

to

now owned by the son The other pottery now

is

wares bear patterns which are simi)le

their

its

large

(jnly

It is

his

his trade

sea,

Sumoto, but

whose desire was

Kishiu,

This pottery

imitate the Dutch delft.

is

The one was founded

number.

in

years since by lVlimi>e

fifty

Kiot(->.

of Igano.

pcjtteries are in the village

[Kjtteries

town

Its chief

lying out in front of Jliogo.

These

have come to us from

\vhi( h

an island at the nc^rthern entrance of the inland

is

;

order,

consideration,

and, with I

don't

know

h'.ngland.

work which, while bearing a

i)roduce

the

clo.se

.Satsuma wares, can scarcely be said to be

real

deceptive imitations of the more valuable pioductions of the South, ihit this in

cannot be said of .some of the works fabricated at Shiba,

Tokio, and of the

po.s.sesscd

established

for

at

Ota,

Kanagawa.

near

Here two

factories,

means of i)roducing excellent works, have been simulating

old

work's

and

producing

deceptive

copies of the most valuable i)ieces of Satsuma ware.

So

far

the work to

it

has this unworthy manufacture been carried that when

is

finished

it is

even

the appearance of age.

{lii)pe(l

in

Hut there

a dirty mixture to impart is

one

peculiarit}'

which

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

characterises most of the

387

productions of both Shiba and Ota

:

they are decorated with figures of Buddhist saints, whose heads are surrounded each

mode that

in

by a nimbus

but

;

of decoration was ever usctl in

cannot learn that

1

Satsuma

and

;

is

it

this

certain

if pieces of this character were ever made it was most seldom. Yet both Shiba and Ota make other works which, although

some

respects like the productions of the South, are altogether

distinctive in their character,

and have

qualities

which characterise

the potteries in which they are made.

No more

works have ever been produced

some of those

lovely than

in

any part of the world

fabricated during the last few years at Shiba.

of the clay (which

is

and small vases

cups, kettles,

vellum-like), the

The

tints

.soft

delicate colour

of the ornament,

the exquisite diapers with which the objects are covered, the precision

of the work, and the relation of figured surface to plain,

make these At Ota its

the land.

in

produced the celebrated Makudzu ware, which,

is

way, has

any boudoir

objects for

fit

never

been

surpassed.

some

Indeed,

pieces

Makud/Ai ware are so wonderful that they appear to be

tottrs

in

of

dc

force rather than works i)roduced for the ordinary purpo.ses of trade.

We delphia

fust

became acquainted with Ota pottery where two indented

ILxhibition,

flowers in the indentations, attracted in

much

spill

at

vases,

attention.

the Phila-

with

lotus

The esteem

which these were evidently held by those who saw them

America

led the

Makudzu

but in most of his

When some

I visited

fine

large old

trials

(!)

potter to cx})eriment for

new

in

effects

;

he used modelled flowers upon his vases.

the pottery at

works of

pean buyer.

'

Ota he was busily engaged upon

this character, as well as with the formation of

pots with which to delude the American and EuroIkit

it

was

at the last Paris Exhibition that

we saw

and he certainly showed

him.self

this great potter in his strength

;

as one of the giant ceramic workers of the world.

There are other places

at

which wares resembling those of

Satsuma have been made, but Awata, Shiba, and Ota are the three places which furnish large quantities. ''

This

is

not the real

name

Odd

of the potter.

pieces

made by

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

388

other potters arc sometimes better imitations of the original work

than most of those made

A

the three districts named.

in

made

notable example of this kind occurs in a vase

Kawamoto

Satsuma ware grayer

by-

Masukichi of Seto, which has the style of the old a marked degree, and which, although slightly

in

would be

colour,

in

not

from an

distinguished

easily

original specimen.

There deeper

is

tint

in

Matsuye recently,

also a beautiful

in

than even

ware of

soft

yellow colour, but slightly

that of Awata,

made

Unshiu, and known as Unshiu ware

was seen

town of

at the

but

;

this, until

chiefly as tall teapots, spreading at the top, with

a beautiful rich green running

down one

side,

and on the other a

tender spray of a gourd sketched in Payne's gray under the glaze,

and with an arched handle formed from a stem of the Westeria creeper.

Just

recently this ware

has, however,

markets in the form of cups, vases,

come

and other things

;

into

our

and crude

enamel painting has replaced the neutral decoration.

The

early specimens

of this ware were very

attractive, but those recently

But as these wares might possibly be mistaken

interest.

of

pleasant

Awata by persons having

and

imported are altogether without art

little

for those

opportunity of study, and as

Unyei, the owner of the Matsuye pottery, appears also to small quantity of imitation Satsuma ware,

it

make

a

has been thought

well to mention his production.s. \\^c

sometimes

see,

even here

in

England, cup-like bowls, of

a rather deep buff colour, with a crackled surface, and decorated

with groups of small figures

in

somewhat strong

colours.

These

man named Shiuhei who worked in Kioto, Some cups made by Ninsei where he but recently died. man whose real name was Nomura Seibei, and who lived in the

were

first

early part

made by

a

—

seventeenth

of the

century at Kioto

resemblance to some specimens of Satsuma ware.

— have

also

a

Yet the works

of this well-known potter can generally be at once recognised by the grayness

of the

medium depth) employed on

in

his

earth,

the

prevalence of a gray -blue (of

the decoration, and the fact that the designs

wares almost invariably consist of the emblems

ART, of long

life

—

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

the stork, the

fir,

389

the tortoise, and the bamboo,

while the works of the more recent potter are instances of Shiuhei ware, and are readily distinguishable from those of Satsuma, as

the pattern consists of figures.

Kishiu ware, which has become celebrated

Japan, owes

in

its

origin to the ambition of a prince of Kishiu, at the beginning of

the present

With

century, to

this object

rival

the

he erected a kiln

turquoise blue of China.

fine in

the garden of his palace,

Wakayama, and summoned to his aid a skilled potter, from Kioto, of the name of Yeiraku Zengoro, who ultimately succeeded

near

in

making

made

This potter also

a ware of intense cobalt blue colour.

which the two

a rich purple ware, as well as pieces in

colours are mingled.

For a time

this

manufacture appears to have been abandoned,

but some thirty years ago

who

it

was revived by one Miyai Sajoro,

lived in the village of Ota-mura, near

wares that this

man produced were this

man we

;

but the

generally bluer (had less of

the turquoise hue) than the Kishiu ware

most pieces made by

Wakayama

now produced

;

and on

see a spray of a plant, or bits

of irregular diaper patterns, painted,

in

neutral

tint,

beneath the

glaze.

Nearly twenty-five years since Mi)'ai Sajoro gave up manuand went to assist a widowed daughter to keep a shop

facturing, in

Wakayama

;

but about seven years since he returned to his

His wares are

native village, and resumed his old occupation.

characterised by a preponderance of rich purple, and by a considerable mingling of the

purple with blue

and he seems to

;

in

neutral

see in the English

market

have abandoned his early habit of placing sketches, tint,

beneath the glaze.

Most of the Kishiu ware which we is

made near Hiogo by Horinouchi Sozaburo, and more recently

by men who have learned the

Kobe

tells

me

that

it

art

The man here at to make

from him.

was he who rediscovered how

Kishiu ware, and that Miyai Sajoro copied the art from him but

this, I think,

his art at

cannot have been the case, as the

Ota-mura many years

since,

and he

is

;

latter practised

much

older than

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

390 the

Hiogo

As

potter.

be no difference of opinion

buro

undoubtedly the

is

now made who have but Another

recently acquired the secret of the manufacture.

ware of considerable importance

class of

Kutani or Kaga ware with works

made by Horinouchi SozaMuch cheap and inferior work

for that

;

better.

European and American markets by those

for the

is

two wares there can

to the merits of the

;

but whether

right in classifying

it

while some specimens have

in faience is doubtful, for

bodies which look like earthenware,

am

I

called

is

crude opaque

in reality a

is

it

porcelain.

This manufacture was formerly carried on Kutani, in the province of Kaga, but village of Yamashiro.

Kutani wares are of two kinds

—

it

is

the town

in

now made

chiefly in the

the one being decorated with

drawn

flowers, figures, or landscapes, with these decorations

wholly

by

also frequently rendered, to a considerable extent,

we

this

is

known

generally

are just about to describe

Made

chiefly

in

ware

platters, this

Kaga

is

In

dots.

ware, whereas that

generally called Kutani ware.

bowls and

form of large

the

bold in

is

is

as

either

The drawing

and gold.

in red or in red, black, silver,

England

of

treatment, and

its

is

saucer -like

decorated with

flowers, birds, diaper patterns, landscapes, and, not unfrequently,

The

with bold sprays of the bottle gourd.

Kaga

chiefly the

with

red, a

full

of

primrose yellow, a crimson pink,

purple-madder shade. In this ware object

is

it

it

are

green, ultramarine blue, and black,

sometimes

the addition

colours used in

pleasant

a

Antwerp

Vandyke brown, and

In some cases gold

is

blue, a

a sort of

added.

not unfrequently happens that part of the

covered with diaper patterns on various coloured grounds;

while birds or boldly treated flowers rest on these diapers.

another part painted.

be arranged a panel,

in

which a landscape

is

In most specimens of this ware the glaze will be found

crackled to

decorated

will

In

some

extent.

the

manner

in

upon them.

Being made

While Kutani ware described, in the

is

most commonly

many specimens have

figures

province of Kaga, the two wares

should perhaps be regarded as one

;

that which

we

distinguish

ART, England

in

as

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Kaga ware

39

.

has usually fine work upon

and

it,

is

in red alone, in red and gold, in red, gold, and black, or in red,

and

silver,

black, as

Kutani ware

is

colours than red in

We and

we have

;

that which

we know

as

and usually has other

decorations.

its

meet with the same

me

have now before

I

just said

treated in a bolder manner,

difficulties

here as in other cases

;

four pieces of ware which would be

One is a little cup painted by Nagoya on Kutani earth one is a little hibachi or made in Owari another is a bottle painted in the Kaga

calculated to mislead the student.

an

artist in

fire-pot

on a pure porcelain,

style,

old

Banko

glance

Banko would

Tazimi

in

Mino; and the fourth

Kutani

spirit.

From

is

an

a cursory

say where these specimens were

difficult to

but by the trained eye the Mino porcelain and the

;

earth would readily be detected. not,

The Owari

flower -pot

however, be so easily referred to the locality

was made,

the

at

tea-jar decorated in the

would be

it

produced

it

;

;

for

it is

Nagoya painted

in

a very close imitation of Kutani ware

cup, being decorated in the

which ;

and

manner of Kaga It was

ware, and being on Kutani earth, would defy detection.

only through the accident of I

knew where

it

my

marked with the name

"

Kutani

getting

from the painter that

it

Old Kutani wares were always

was produced. "

and never with the name of the

maker.

When

speaking of wares that

resemble the productions of

Satsuma we mentioned that made by Sanpe of Awaji, but we did the two not mention the other wares which both he and Rikita

—

—

make. These potters concern themselves chiefly with the formation of small bowls, trays, caddy-spoons, and cups, which have an expotters of Igano

cellent finish. full

or

green,

They warm

are usually plain yellow, rich brick -orange, purple,

in

colour.

former

But the three

In some cases colours especially characterise the Awaji wares. the little dishes and saucers which these men make have a dragon

stamped

into the earth, so that

the glaze,

depressions, shows as a deeper colour.

perforated

;

by sinking

into the

Other specimens are

but most of them are perfectly plain.

in part

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

392

Having enumerated the chief forms of faience, and the semiporcelains and crude forms of " china," we come to the consideration of the porcelain manufactures

But although

over the country.

(sixty-eight), the rebellion

time of

my

visited nearly seventy potteries

I

in Japan during the more than three of the

broke out

that

my

prevented

visit

which are now spread widely

seeing

great centres of this interesting manufacture.

As we have

already seen, the art of porcelain making was

from

introduced

China

Japanese who settled

at

the

close

of the sixteenth

century.

Hizen (where much porcelain

in

manu-

is

factured to this day) brought the art to the country.

As

this

is

we may begin

the oldest seat of the manufacture,

our notice of the different porcelains by speaking of those

Made chiefly name Imari or Hizen.

district.

Europe

Arita, these wares

in

are called

who

an early time through the Dutch

at

island of Decima, near Nagasaki, from which Arita forty- five miles distant

much

:

and

was

it

by the

ware which became known

this

It is

in this

to

occupied the is

only about

ware which became so

this

Some

copied on the continent of Europe and in England.

of the earlier works of Worcester are almost exact reproductions

As we

of Imari designs.

shall

have to speak of the methods of

manufacture shortly, we need only point out at present the special features of the ware.

That which

most

is

characteristic has a rich,

and gold tracery patterns, or

;

panels,

drawing of

deep blue, under

On

glaze colour, produced from oxide of cobalt.

this are flowers

bearing geometrical designs

foliage, landscape, or figures,

—

diaper

;

the whole

being illuminated by the use of from four to six colours (often five) in

which a

prevail.

Other

specimens

with shades of light blue treated pieces

in

this

that of Kaga, green, and yellow

red, similar to

;

exist

which are

while

some

manner, and

decorated

pieces

colours on

have their decorations formed of

entirely

have the centre

the

border.

A

few

light

blues,

red,

and

gold only.

This ware has been so

much

divest myself of the feeling that

copied in Europe that

it

I

cannot

lacks an Eastern aspect.

But

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, this feeling arises

from the

fact that patterns

Arita wares

have been famih'ar to

must confess

that,

They employ good

crude and garish

a

we consider the Derby,

and Worcester pottery, with

Bristol,

we do not wonder

at

collectors

Imari ware

have been given

that

prices

for

persons being found

potters

colours, yet they

There are

effect.

England who have a perfect craze

I

me

to

it is

The Imari

Japanese wares.

all

work on a good body. get

which characterise

from childhood, and

viewed from an art point of view,

the least satisfactory of

often

me

393

for

;

in

when

but

pieces of old

or no art merit,

little

who

delight in sur-

rounding themselves with numerous specimens from the potteries of Hizen.

It

is

who

pride

prefer

mere

but too true that there are people

themselves on the number of their specimens, and quantity to beautiful works.

There I

one other important ware made

is

have not yet mentioned

—

in

Arita which

the Seidji or Celadon ware.

has a pale sea-green hue; but as this particular ware

made

many

in

This is

parts of the country, and especially in Seto,

it

now can

scarcely be regarded as altogether characteristic of Hizen.

Like

all

other wares

Hizen has been in Kioto,

copied

which have become famous, that of

and some of the patterns

;

where, at the present time,

engaged upon such works, are to those of Arita.

the other. articles

At

Care

is

Hirato, also,

Kanzan Denhichi

similar,

needed

both

produced chiefly

is

colour and form,

in

to avoid mistaking

one

for

an island near the Hizen coast, small

closely resembling the delicately painted blue -and -white

wares of Imari are made.

We

might now just mention a ware of some

was made it is

in

Kioto and bears the name of

its

interest

which

inventor Eraku, as

amongst the celebrated productions of the

district.

It

is

a

pure porcelain, with a rich red surface formed of an oxide of iron,

on which gold devices (generally of a mythological character) are drawn.

Turning to the better-known Kioto wares, we may notice that in

Kioto much porcelain

is

manufactured, especially

called Kiyomidsu, not far from

in

the suburb

Awata, and here some objects of

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

394

The

great beauty and of singularly high finish arc produced.

wares arc of white porcelain tenderly decorated.

No

seem

potters in Japan

tenderness than the Kioto is

on porcelain with more

to paint

some of

In

artists.

works there

their

a beauty of drawing and delicacy of execution which

estimable

and some

;

little

cups which

purchased

1

most

is

the district

in

arc lovely specimens of work.

in

the immediate

Kiyomidsu, or

In

seventeen

The owners

the district.

Rokubei,

but the two

;

visited

I

of these manufactories are Kiyomidsu

Kanzan

Dohachi,

Takahashi

Gochio-me

neighbourhood,

amongst which were the most important

potteries,

greatest

and

Denhichi,

Kanzan

are

Seifoo

Denhichi

and

Takahashi Dohachi.

A

man

Kiokutei

called

makes

Seihichi

though

eccentric

interesting wares.

But besides the manufacture ware,

much

pottery

is

no one

district boasts

Kioto.

Were

all

in

this

Kiyomidsu

of

district

produced from earths of various kinds, and

more

the objects

made

in this

suburb collected together

one would suppose that they were the products of

many

In a district lying north of Hiogo called Sanda series of little

which

I,

potteries, in

so far as

which a Celadon ware

could learn, was the

I

Celadon wares are made of Japan, as facture.

I

have just

It is

produced only industry of the

The Sanda

made in

in

said,

number.

first

in

Sanda

made, and

is

European

is

it

find a

to

visit.

districts

the chief

manu-

Hizen, Owari, and Kioto, but here

in

small quantities, and

is

it

is

no way the staple

in

district.

potteries

(Sanda

is

the

name

of a district) are

town of Shidewara, and are

five in

Their owners are Konishi Tobai, Konishi Gohe, Kam^ii

Uchida Hisakichi, and Konishi Tsunekichi.

Konishi Tsunekichi

is

father

of Konishi

Tsunekichi and Konishi Gohe are brothers.

made

towns.

we

most of the great pottery

but

situated both in and near the

Sadajiro,

suburb of

diversified talent than this

in this district

these

The Celadon wares

are of an inferior class, and

pierced arabesque sides.

Of

Tobai, while Konishi

many

pieces have

ART,

We may of

this

mention,

in passing,

395

the fact that besides the Celadon

rude wares of several

district

Amongst

AND ART MANUFACTURES. kinds

are

here

made.

some of the roughest specimens of blue-and-

these are

white that could well be seen, as well as crude bowls bearing-

ornament

in

and other colours

greens, reds,

which the

interest save those for

The next

;

but none are of

district is celebrated.

great seats of the porcelain manufacture are Owari

and Mino, where most of the blue-and-white wares of Japan are made, and both districts produce wares similar both in character and

merit.

Seto, a small

from Nagoya, it

is

town

number of

are a

of the

The

man who is said to Kawamoto Masukichi, a

In

blue-and-white wares.

by no means characKato Mokuzayemon,

chief potters are

Government money man who has just built Kawamoto Hansuke, Kato Shige-

be assisted with

prosperous

house

himself a beautiful

make

all

varieties of porcelain

district.

a

shiro,

who

potters,

Some, however, make teristic

Owari, twelve and a half miles distant

in

wholly given up to the porcelain industry.

;

and Kato Gosuke, and each of these makes wares of great

excellence.

The Mino

potteries are situated in the villages of

Tazimi and

Ichi-no-kura, about thirty to thirty-five miles distant from

but the better class of

Mino wares

In Ichi-no-kura there are are

Kato Shinbei, who

Kato

many

made

in the latter village.

more important

potters, but the

said to be the largest in

Kat5 Kohei, Kat5 Gosuke

Jivvsuke,

potter),

is

are

(a

Nagoya;

the village

;

namesake of the Seto

and Kato Kichibei.

Some

of these

characterised

men make wares

by much

work upon them which

delicacy. is

the drawings on which are

Deep cups have blue

both minute and tender.

see grass, equisetums, dandelions, and the coranella,

pencil-

On one

drawn with

great fidelity to nature, and with almost microscopic minuteness

while on

many

of the sachi cups

we have

little

I

;

diaper patterns,

both varied and interesting.

As an example Kato Gosuke, which

of the latter is

1

may mention

a specimen by

decorated both internally and externally

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

396

The

with

little

parts

by

filled

with the same pattern.

diaper patterns.

inside

divided

is

into

eight

radiating from the centre, and no two sections are

lines

manner

into sixteen

diapers.

Thus one

parts,

The

exterior

divided in the same

is

and no two of these contain the same

section

with a simple arrangement

filled

is

manner of a chess-board, another

of blue-and-white squares in the

with a scale pattern, another with circles arranged

in

parallel

another with overlapping circles which intersect each other

lines,

one contains a key pattern, one

is

;

enriched with a mere checker,

one with a pattern founded on the hexagon, and another on diagonal

Others contain diapers based on the square, and,

lines.

to heighten the pleasant effect produced, every second division

darker

in

While blue-and-white wares, and pleasant,

fresh

passing away.

am

I

well in our

if

well manufactured, always look

rage

not sorry that the

for

Excessive repetition of anything, be

good, produces monotony.

make

In order to

our houses

by

in a similar

blue and white look ;

all to treat

is

his castle

;

hence

it

ought to express

this

the case there would be an interest in visiting each

which

now

is

lacking.

In wishing for the dethronement of blue-and-white

in

is

ever so

manner.

Englishman's house

other's houses

harm

them

decoration the mind, tastes, and knowledge of the owner.

its

Were

it

rooms the decoration must be of a certain character

and no fashion can be satisfactory which compels us

An

is

colour than the intervening one.

to those

good potters by

both Seto and Mino.

wares novel

in character

I

am

whom

I

sure that they could

and excellent

in

I

wish no

was so kindly received

make

workmanship.

coloured

At

this

moment there are many men, both in Ichi-no-kura and who devote themselves to the production of things quaint in

present

Seto

character and novel in effect. the beaten track

change

in

still

farther from

!

If the potters of

them

Let them depart

Owari are

our taste respecting

to seek to

in

any way

produce novelties with

Their present blue might

be, to

suffering from

blue-and-white soft

I

the

should advise

effects

of colour.

an extent, maintained, for the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

love for Japanese porcelain

as great as ever

is

it

397

was, and the desire

for novelties greater.

My

visit to

some of the

these seats of manufacture enables

difficulties

names, there

Thus

must encounter.

in

one Kato Genjiw making wares resembling

I find

those of Banko, and even following the to

to illustrate

which any one attempting to write an exact

history of the Japanese ceramic arts

Ichi-no-kura

me

Banko

Then, as

shapes.

here a potter called Kato Kichibei

is

who

is

known only under the cognomen of Hechibei, which means funny The

fellow.

that

fact

he makes curious wares and grotesque

objects, together with the similarity

Japanese word

hechibei, has

between

name and

the

caused him to be thus designated.

Kawamoto Masukichi

In the case of

his

of Seto there

is

a

diffi-

culty, for his wares are sometimes called by the name Hansuke, Yet this which was the name of his father, a celebrated potter.

man The

has a brother, confusion

The

is

whom

I

also visited,

now

the

Hansuke.

name of mere cognomen

sons do not of necessity take the

name

is

frequently a

assumed by the manufacturer, and that

this business

appellation

be bequeathed to an apprentice or a son at the option of the

parent, renders

it

most

difficult to

things in a manufacturing is

is

obvious.

fact that the

the parent, that the trade

may

who

district,

we should

In England

inevitable.

understand the actual state of

and without great care confusion naturally conclude that a

youth who succeeded to the business, who was called by the name

who used

of the manufacturer, and

ware

is

that this

known, was the is

the seal or stamp by which the

But in Japan it very often happens Another element of confusion is intro-

son.

not the case.

duced by the chief name (that which answers to our surname)

coming

first

;

thus,

where they would write Kat5 Kichibei we

should write Kichibei Kato, and where they would write Kato San

we should

write Mr. Kato.

In going through the porcelain districts of Seto and

Mino

I

found that some of the potters decorated their own wares, while others sent

them

in the village of

to professional artists to receive patterns.

Tazimi

I

purchased a small sachi

bottle,

Thus

decorated

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

398 in

the style of

in the village

for

ware, which had been painted by an artist

Ichi-no-kura

found several

in business

who

undertook the painting of any wares entrusted

I

In Ichi-no-kura one of the chief

to them.

men

in

;

themselves

Kaga and

"

Kato Hichibei, a namesake of the

men

thus engaged

is

funny fellow."

found that much of the better wares from both Seto sent to Nagoya to be decorated, where the two were and Mino chief artists who undertake this work are Yokoi S5suke and SuyeI

also

moto Suzukichi, the former being eminent as a painter of gold But in the Seto district where work on an iron -black ground. the manufacture itself is carried on I did not notice the same

number of men employed as professional artists as I did in the Mino towns. If the artists who live in the pottery districts, and decorate wares, have but little work on hand, they make purchases of "

shapes," which they decorate and

artists

whom

I

have named

in

Thus, while the two

sell.

Nagoya undertake work

for the

chief potters, they also decorate wares which they have purchased,

and these they

offer in the

Objects decorated

but there pottery,

is

no place

in in

market with

their

Tokio are common

Tokio that

I

am

where any good wares are made

own names

in the

aware ;

affixed.

English market

of,

save the Shiba

and most of that which

here receives pattern has been purchased in either Seto or in

an undecorated In Tokio

I

Mino

state.

have never seen any pottery decorated

than a very second-rate manner by the professional

in

more

porcelain

The Shiba pottery turns out some exquisite things, and so does that of Ota, near Yokohama, but here works are Those who are engaged as mere both made and decorated. painters.

painters in

Tokio have never, so

work of a high

The Shiba grand

far

as

I

could learn, produced

character.

pottery,

and that of Ota, have turned out some and other things and to

vases, platters, incense -burners,

;

these potteries we are indebted for most of those specimens figured with saints which have been attributed to Kioto workmen. I also

think that

all

those examples with black grounds which have been

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

by even our best

referred

produced within the

and he

is

"body;" and

it is

works which we

made

any one

class of

Kagoshima, or

England

no

making a

his

in

his

difficulty in

similar

of even the fine

South have been

attribute to the

Shiba and Ota.

in

That Kioto has long been engaged both porcelain and faience until a

is

number

certain that a large

in

were

ware has a high market

desirous of deceiving, there

getting the clay from

district,

few years at these places.

last

If a potter finds that

value,

Satsuma

to the

collectors

399

certain

is

the manufacture

in

of

but the things produced,

;

comparatively recent period, were insignificant as ceramic

For many days

works.

my

devoted

I

attention, almost wholly,

Kioto potteries and their history

to the

Osaka, and other towns, wares.

I

;

and both

I

always found that they were rather curious and quaint In Tokio

than fine examples of work.

consulted the various

I

Museum upon

leading authorities connected with the Imperial the early ceramic productions of Kioto, but

decorated

Kioto,

in

sought specimens of the old Kioto

vase

was

that

not

small,

I

never saw a highly

nor one example

decor-

ated with nimbused saints which was attributed to the district

while

not

I

potteries, but

only saw scores attributed to the two I

saw such

at the

works themselves

in

;

Northern process of

manufacture.

That important works duced

in

faience or porcelain were not pro-

Kioto, even at the end of the sixteenth century, seems

and Ksempfer's remarks on Miaco (Miaco is the old name Kioto), made in the year A.D. 1 690, would bear out my state-

clear for

in

ment

;

:

" Miaco

is

the great magazine of

all

Japanese manufactures and com-

modities, and the chief mercantile town in the empire.

house

where there

in this large capital

is

not something

There

made

they refine copper, coin money, print books, weave the richest

and sorts

silver flowers.

The

best

and scarcest dyes, the most

of musical instruments, pictures, japan'd cabinets,

wrought

in

gold and other metals, particularly in

blades and other arms are richest dresses,

and

made here

in the

steel, as

is

scarce a

or sold. stufifs

Here

with gold

artful carvings, all all

sorts of things

the best temper'd

utmost perfection, as are also the

after the best fashion, all sorts of toys, puppets,

moving

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

400

heads of themselves, and numberless other things, too many

their

mention'd.

found

In short, there

is

to

be here

nothing can be thought of but what

may be

Miaco, and nothing, tho' ever so neatly wrought, can be imported

at

from abroad but what some

artist or

other in this capital will undertake to

imitate."

Although Kaempfer

may

but what

says, " there

nothing can be thought of

is

be found at Miako," the very fact that he does not

mention the ceramic manufactures, when enumerating the industries of the

city,

would

at least lead

me

while in Japan led

were

to the conclusion that they

not of special importance in his time to conclude

;

and that

resembling the Satsuma wares were made

all

my

no

important works

investigations

in the old capital

up

to a recent date.

Besides the

regular porcelain

of Tokio there

artists

are a

number of men who paint sachi cups (which are made in Seto and Hizen), and who sell these at little stalls. Such men generally paint over the glaze with a

and they It

upon

figure their

full

ultramarine blue colour and gold,

wares and mind their

stalls at

the

same

time.

curious to watch these poor artists, at one time intent

is

and

their painting, at another serving a customer,

other

at

times calmly smoking their pipes while taking care of the

little

portable kilns in which they are firing their few wares.

When way

in use this

of the cottage.

fifteen in width, artist

a

kiln

It

about eighteen inches

is

is

and would to us appear a mere toy

watches over the

firing of his

mother over her sleeping

kiln

generally placed in the door-

little

child.

in

height by

yet the poor

;

wares with the tenderness of

While

he appears to devote himself wholly

his

wares are

and

to his fire

in the

his pipe

;

a customer should appear, he will attend to his wants at

yet

if

the

little stall

which stands

in the front of his house.

In this notice of the ceramic manufactures

I

have tried to

distinguish between the different forms of faience and those of porcelain,

and have spoken of the places

This classification districts

If

is

in

apt to be misleading, for

which each are made. in

most of the pottery

both wares are made.

we

visit

one of the chief potters of Kioto we

shall

find

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

he makes both porcelain, earthen goods, and stone -ware.

that

Thus in

401

that celebrated

man Kiyomidsu Rokubei we

find

engaged

the manufacture of exquisitely finished porcelain teapots, cups,

and

vases,

some of which

some have

are tenderly painted, while " slip "

sprays raised upon them by

—

Others have

pate-sur-pate.^

the rich blue surface which characterises the old Worcester work,

with white sprays also raised

rough objects tiles,

irregular

pavement of

in

in

But

slip.

this

man

makes

also

a coarse yellow earthenware, curious embossed

lumps of clay which he glazes and employs as the

his

garden paths

indeed, there

;

is

scarcely a form of

pottery ware that this manufacturer does not produce.

The same remark

man

applies to Ichi-no-kura, for here one

makes wares resembling those of Banko, as well as blue-and-white porcelain and dark metallic-looking pots, while others are engaged in

manufactures widely different from those which characterise

the district.

No

One man

the character of the wares themselves.

use two or three marks of his master, and the

as his

;

name

in

own

trade name, the trade

is

not aimed

been amused at the pertinacity with which

to those

infallibility

who have

of such stamps.

travelled

in the

which pieces have been made, the

must be

useless, save

have become famous. deceptive imitations

have often

in

potteries at

who made them, or even men who

the case of a few

But even these may be confused with

made

for sale in the

European and American

markets, or with the works of the favourite apprentice

succeeded to the business and imitated his master's

As an

artistic

form which has never been equalled ^

is

has

differ

widely

Greek pottery had a beauty of

from those of ancient Greece.

"

who

style.

manufacture the ceramics of Japan

" Slip

England

only too apparent

names of the

artists in

It is

at, I

many

country and visited the seats

of industry, that the attempt to fix the

their dates,

name

which trade marks are applied,

in

those cases where deception

maintain the

in

sometimes

will

of the district in which he works.

Having seen the manner even

marks than

further trust can be placed in the potters'

in

any other

clay in the form of batter.

2

D

nation.

Beauty

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

402

of line and tenderness of shape characterised the works of both

the Greeks and

But while these peoples produced

Etruscans.

forms of matchless grace, and while the Greeks painted upon their

works ornaments beautiful

simple

form,

in

and

treatment,

in

arranged with the utmost regard to quantities, neither the Greeks

knew anything of the varied and subtle proby which the Japanese give variety to their wares. The Greeks produced no porcelain and variety, even in their earthenware, was most limited, while in Japan the methods of nor the Etruscans

cesses

;

Avork are well-nigh innumerable.

As

beauty of form,

regards

Japanese are

far

must be admitted that the

it

behind the ancient Greeks, and Japanese shapes

Yet

certainly often display quaintness rather than grace.

are in Japan

many

shapes which are beautiful even

with the Greek standard, so there are also

many which

what clumsy, awkward, and what we might others are

Humorous

eccentricities account for

in the pottery of

many

are some-

podgy

call,

bounded by heavy curves instead of

as there

when compared

;

while

lines of beauty.

of the forms found

Japan, while others are explained by reference to

common in the country. As illustrations of forms resulting from the sense may mention certain objects which are before me

the natural objects

I

pot in the form of a frog teapot in

another

the

in the

—

mouth acting

the

of humour,

—

as a tea-

as the spout, another

form of the fingered orange already mentioned,

form of a duck, another

in

the form of a swallow,

while another simulates a portion of a tree stem from which a

branch with flowers protrudes as the spout.

Of

the second class

we have many examples

;

thus, cups in

the form of the lotus leaf are welcome to the Japanese, as the

Nelumbium vases (the

is

Buddha's plant

" spill "

shape)

;

and the prevalence of cylindrical

due

is

to

vessels of daily use are cut from the

necessity have this shape.

the

common

many

of the

stem of the bamboo, and of

But the most characteristic form

pottery of Japan

In glancing round the

the fact that

is

room

in

that of the gourd. in

twenty specimens derived from the

which

I

sit

I

see

more than

bottle, or pilgrim's, gourd,

but

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

403

only include such as have the contraction in the centre,

in these I

like the old hour-glass

we

neck, such as

;

yet the onion-shaped bottle with a long

so often

see

in

Kishiu ware,

undoubtedly

is

derived from another and equally characteristic form of gourd

man

while primitive

has frequently

made

cups from

his drinking

may

portions of the gourd shell, such vessels

and

;

be found

in use at

the present day in Japan, together with earthen pots having forms

Ladles formed by the longitudinal

similar to the natural object. splitting of a long-necked

gourd are also

Before me, in porcelain or earth,

broad gourds, narrow gourds distensions almost of the

and the

large

sion

bottle,

and one

the country.

in

long gourds, short gourds,

lie

gourds with the upper and lower

;

same

size,

gourds with the lower disten-

upper small, and gourds bent

One gourd

manners.

common

is

various

in

a sachi bottle, one a teapot, one a sauce

(or rather half a one) a

ladle

;

while,

if

we were

to include the long-necked bottle, with the one globular bulb,

the

common

and was a bottom portion of a gourd), derived from the gourd, the specimens met

sachi cup (for

amongst the

vessels

it

with would be simply innumerable.

While speaking of the gourd, we may mention that

common

in

:

;

for here

we

find

rude

mere imitations of the carved calabash

some cases the gourd form some vessels may be regarded In

for

is

me

is

somewhat strangely used

bought

in

the

tubular portion a

flat

It in

or hour-glass.

a teapot so shaped, and with the ends

pieces of this gourd-like shape. I

metal vessels which

shells of the district.

as formed chiefly of a

having the sectional form of the gourd before

form

is

similar thing occurs

are

its

by no means peculiar to Japan, for it is equally China and Morocco and even in Central Africa a

pottery ware

in

is

An

made

;

tube Here,

of

flat

earthenware basket which

Sanda district is of this shape. But here the and short, and stands vertically. It has

large

bottom and an arched handle. would be easy

to furnish

many

illustrations of the

which the Japanese have derived the forms of

natural objects

;

but having called attention to the

leave the reader to pursue the inquiry for himself

manner

their wares fact, I

from

must

Could we extend

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

404

our researches to

all

branches of manufacture, and to

such an investigation would have great

interest,

all

countries,

but as

we must

confine our remarks to pottery and to Japan, the inquiry loses

much

of the fascination which

Comparisons,

is

it

it

would otherwise

are odious

said,

manufactures of a country we

may

possess.

yet in considering the

;

reasonably try to estimate their

when a nation has produced such works as command the attention of the world. I must say that in form the Greeks stand pre-eminent, that the Chinese and the Moors true value, especially

perhaps come next, then the

Persians

and Indians, while the

But

in other respects I think

Japanese lack tenderness of shape. that Japanese

works take a

first

place

;

and

cannot help feeling

I

that the best productions of Ota, the finest works of Shiba, and

choicest

the

potter's art,

cups of Satsuma, are

and that some of the

things

later

unsurpassed

the

in

works of Kioto are

fit

for

a place in the best boudoir in the land.

Respecting the manufacture of porcelain and faience something must be said.

may

It

be remembered by those

who

visited

the Philadelphia Exhibition that the Japanese there showed those materials which are spread so widely over the country, and are

used the

in

the pottery manufactures, as clay, kaolin, silex,

official

are told that " in

many

we

instances very good ordinary refractory

materials and fine porcelain clay are found close together. is

In

etc.

catalogue of the Japanese section of this exhibition,

This

the case to a most remarkable degree in the neighbourhood of

the small town of Arita, province of Hizen, the head centre of the porcelain

manufacture

not half a mile at

the

in

in

different places all the

coating of the

craquele,

etc.,

Japan.

embedded

circuit,

in the

rock

materials necessary for the biscuit, for

ware before glazing,

for

the

glaze,

for the

the best being of such good quality that, after being-

powdered and decanted, the finest ware,

—

it

is

used without any further mixture for

the so called egg-shell porcelain.

part of Nippon,^ where granite

mountains,

Within a very limited

diameter, there are found

in the

is

In the central

the principal constituent of the

provinces of Owari, Yamashiro, and the island ^

Japan.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

405

much

of Awajishima, opposite Hiogo, beds of petuntse, very the

Bohemian

this material

When

material, are to be found.

mixed with

is

silicious

and

like

used for porcelain,

from

feld spathic materials

other places."

This

is

what the Japanese say respecting the materials with

which they fabricate of Awaji,

we

their ceramic wares

but the ordinary wares

;

are told, "consist of a strongly

composed of

kaolin,"

and that they are

"

baked

biscuit, chiefly

glazed with a very fusible

mixture of sand and oxide of lead, which, by an addition of copper oxide or certain naturally-coloured clays, assumes a green, yellow, or brownish-red colour."

comments of

Before making any of manufacture,

I

catalogue their

own

which "

think

as follows

is

The

of the

description

on the processes

manufactures,

porcelain

:

making presents

of porcelain

art

it

my own

well to extract from the Philadelphia

features

which,

of course,

are very similar to those of porcelain manufacturing in

principle,

however, the machinery used

"Whatever may be

is

of a

more

in

Europe

;

primitive kind.

the nature of the raw material, be

kaolin, feldspath, or the peculiar porcelain-stone of Arita,

it

it is

quartz, felsite,

always powdered

These are by means of balancing pounders of a pecuhar construction. composed of long horizontal beams, with a perpendicular cross piece at one end, giving the whole the shape of a hammer, and with a water-trough at the other end. utilised

;

This instrument

is

put up wherever a small stream of water can be

the water running into the trough raises the pounder by over-weight,

and running out

at the

end

in

consequence of the

incline, allows

it

to fall

down

again, with the iron-shod cross piece dropping into a stone mortar, in which the

materials are thus reduced to powder water,

"

;

the latter

is

then

sifted,

mixed with

and decanted.

No

other machinery, such as the quartz or glaze mills of foreign porcelain

and the consequence is that all the material which powdered by the above described pounders amounting is thrown away as waste. often from forty to fifty per cent " The fine powders produced by decanting are carefully mixed and removed manufactories,

cannot be

is

used,

—

sufificiently

—

into flat boxes,

where the water

is

partly drained off through a sand bedding

covered with matting, and partly tapped off from above the deposed clay latter is finally

Long

brought to more consistency by placing

it

;

the

on the warm furnaces.

experience, combined with the good quality of the raw material, enables

the manufacturers to prepare a clay pieces, such as

fit

even for the production of very large

\ases from six to seven feet in height.

These are

chiefly

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

4o6 manufactured

Arita

in

whereas porcelain

;

painted slabs, fireplaces,

tables,

and similar articles, are mostly made in Owari. The throwing and shaping of the clay is done upon the common potter's wheel, which, in the town of Arita (Hizen), consists of a flying wheel and a working disc, twelve or fifteen inches one above the other. These are united by a sort of hollow wooden prism, so as to

form one system of wheels, which

To

fastened in the ground.

wheels

upoh the pointed

resting

is

placed over a vertical round piece of wood

is

much

avoid friction as

By means

porcelain set underneath into the working disc.

workmen

as possible, this system of

by means of a hollow piece of

stick

of this lathe the

in Arita turn out large dishes of three feet in diameter, as well as the

For very heavy and large

so-called egg-shell porcelain, not thicker than paper.

pieces the lathe

" In

all

turned by means of a driving-cord.

is

other provinces but Hizen the lathe

of a moi'e simple and same time the working

is

imperfect construction, the flying wheel being at the disc.

" Moulds are also used, and

gypsum

Exhibition the use of

facturers of different places,

Some

made

for

and

will

Since the Vienna

of ordinary clay.

moulding

most

is

taught to the porcelain manu-

an important progress.

likely effect

made by

of the pieces exhibited at Philadelphia have been

new

the

process.

"

When

the pieces have been sufficiently dried in the open air they are

shaped with sharp iron tools on the same lathe on which the

been done, and are then coated with a very pure white finished ware a better appearance, fine blue colour of the

and

first

throwing has

clay, so as to give the

to bring out with

more

intensity the

After this coating the ware receives

cobalt painting.

the preliminary baking in small kilns built in the open yards of the manu-

The

facturing localities.

afterwards

glazed

composed of a

pieces are then painted with the oxide of cobalt,

the

in

same way

alkali

The

Europe.

in

glaze

feldspathic material, either natural or produced

of different minerals, to which

from the

as

by

is

added a

careful lixiviation.

certain quantity of

The

is

by the mixture

wood ashes

white or

made

ware.

common

For the Celadon the body

ware.

of a mineral different from that which

The

craquele,

etc.,

the

i.e.

kind of porcelain stone the meshes,

is

not

reference to certain peculiar kinds of porcelain, such as

Celadon or the craquele, the materials used are not the same as

the

is

With

freed

proportion of ashes depends on the

place which the pieces have to occupy in the kiln, the heat of which quite uniform.

and

always

;

is

is

used

body of the craquel^,

for the

the same, but the glaze

for the glaze of the white

is

made from

a peculiar

but the nature of the network of cracks, the size of

depend not only upon the thickness of the glaze and of the is baked

white coating underneath, but also on the degree to which the piece before and after glazing. so as to render the cracks "

of a

The

The ware is more distinct.

finally

kilns are of a peculiar construction,

hill, in

rubbed over with Chinese

and are always

built

ink,

on the slope

a line of from four to twenty, according to the importance of the

ART, The base

locality.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

of each kiln

the foregoing one, so that,

if all

lies

about three

The ground -plan

higher than the base of

feet

them

the kilns were uncovered, the whole of

would present the aspect of terraces formed by a feet high.

407

and wider as they extend up the

trapezoid, the kilns growing wider

each three

the form of a rectangle, or rather of a

in

is

series of platforms,

The

hill.

walls on the four sides of the ground-plan being vertical to the height of a few feet

above the base, gradually form a off in

at

This somewhat complicated shape

all.

when seven

The

feet,

be more easily understood

will

stated that one of the large kilns in Arita has a length of twenty-

is

it

corners of which have been

vault, the

such a way that the upper part of the vault presents no corners

rounded

a depth of eighteen

and a height of

feet,

feet in the centre.

fifteen

by the depth would resemble half an

section

central

with the

ellipse,

principal axis in a vertical position, while the section through the length of the

would be half of an ellipse, with its principal axis in a horizontal position, and raised three or four feet above the ground. The front wall of each kiln, i.e. kiln

the wall facing the lower end of the line of kilns,

pierced on the level of

is

its

by a series of holes eight to twelve inches high, and three to four inches wide and in the opposite wall, which, on account of the trapezoidical groundfloor

;

plan of the kiln,

is

a

longer than the front wall, there

little

is

a second series

of similar holes, but at three feet above the floor, and consequently opening exactly upon the floor of the next kiln.

through the whole line of the

kilns,

corresponding to the draught-holes of the furnaces or fireplaces, but the fuel

purpose a space o m. 70 to kiln, the air-holes of

way

In this

which ends

in

a draught

There are no separate kiln. For this

kiln.

last

thrown directly into the

is

m. wide has been reserved along that wall of the

i

which open immediately upon the

floor,

to

outside by

I

of an opening, o m. 50 high

Through

the side wall of the kiln.

throws dried wood into the that the kiln

The

is

is

separated

about

This separate narrow space communicates with the

m. high.

means

and

fire-clay slabs

from the main part of the kiln by thick perpendicular

30 m. o

established

is

a range of short chimneys,

sometimes

8

this

kiln, three pieces at

m.

and

cm

15 wide,

in length, fires

a time

with

it

all

;

into

;

and, notwithstanding

the required regularity.

current of air passing through the lower kilns reaches the

the holes in the front wall

made

opening the fireman very dexterously

wood through

the flame, deviated by the upright fire-clay slabs,

does not strike the porcelain directly, but follows the vault, and the heat spreads

more equally amongst the objects placed vault

is

purposely

made

in the kiln.

steeper than the side

quently, the latter does not take the straight

produces a sort of whirling

fire,

The opposite

whence the flame line

to

going on, into the following

produces

red-hot by the time that the firing

bricks,

and the

firing

conse-

which takes the objects also from behind. the lower kiln, where the firing

the opening through which the

;

the opposite holes, but

The flame passing through from kiln,

part of the

starts

first

is

sufficient heat to

finished in the

kiln has been

begins in the second one.

fired

first.

is

is

actually

render this latter

At

this

moment

closed up with

fire-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

4o8 "

By

modern

this

arrangement, the principle of which

is

very similar to that of the

circulating furnaces for burning bricks, the fresh air has to pass through

the kilns that have already been perature,

fired,

departing flame

and reaches the wood with a high tem-

on most favourable conditions, while the

producing combustion

used for heating the next

is

Since each kiln

kilns.

heated

is

by the fire of the foregoing ones before its own firing begins, it profits by an amount of heat which is the greater the farther up its place in the line. This explains why the manufacturers have thought it to be more advantageous to At

construct the kilns of increasing size in following the line upwards. for instance, the lowest kiln

has a length of seven

a height of six feet, whilst the last one

deep, and fifteen feet high. situated at the lowest

barked and dried

The

end of the

in the oven.

twenty-seven feet long, eighteen feet

is

single separate furnace to begin the firing

The

line. It

Arita,

a depth of six feet, and

feet,

may be remarked

is

wood, which has been

fuel is pine

that the firing, even in

more than fourteen hours but it should be borne in mind that they are already red-hot when the firing begins. " The setting of the pieces in the kiln is done with precautions similar to The only difference is those observed in Europe to prevent their distortion. that in general only a small number of pieces are protected by fire-clay boxes the larger kilns, does not generally last

;

or saggers, while the greater part are directly exposed to the

fire

but in this

;

some of the

respect improvements have been lately introduced by

principal

manufacturers. " In order to pre\-ent the dust from falling

surface of the kiln

The

is

made

pieces are arranged upon fire-clay stands,

and placed one upon another

tables,

The upper

is

happen were "

The

necessary to prevent

it

too

the shape of round

in

which a

to a height

man

can easily reach.

kilns are constructed in a

two or three

feet

from caving

it

in,

which would certainly

flat.

When

being extremely cheap.

manner which has the great advantage of is prepared and the side walls erected

the floor

above the ground, a centering

space one or more poles

made

i?

made by

placing within this

of young trees, with the branches cut in such a

The

as to give the upper end the shape of a fork.

corresponds to the height of the vault

Young

the \ault, the inner

half of the large furnaces remains entirely empty, but surplus height

of the vault

way

down from

coated with a glazing mixture before the firing begins.

length of these poles

the place where they are erected.

in

pine-trees are then fastened along the inner side of the walls

by one way

end, then bent over the uprights, and fastened with straw ropes in such a that

Long

the whole centering represents a vaulted strips of

finally,

bamboo

are then tied to the

a sort of liasket-work, leaving only such

building material cannot

broken is

now

network with wide meshes.

main centering, so

fire-bricks, with

fall

A

through.

enough water

placed on the centering.

mixture of

fire-clay,

to give the mixture

The

as to produce,

small interstices that the

powdered, and

sufficient

kiln-builders, using their

cover the centering with this mixture, taking great care to

make

it

plasticity,

hands only, as

compact

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, as possible.

When

dry, without

entirely

down and has become

the material has settled losing

plasticity, the

its

409

exterior

sufficiently

beaten with heavy

is

wooden mallets in order to harden and to smoothen it. The vault is now solid enough to stand without the centering this is thereupon taken away, and the inside smoothened and hardened with small mallets. When repairs are necessary, the damaged part of the kiln is broken away, and a centering built at the required place in the manner described above whereupon the whole is filled up, this time with fire-bricks and not with the above-mentioned mixture. Thus, after a certain number of repairs in different places, almost the whole of the vault becomes composed of fire-bricks. These kilns are said to last fifteen years, and even the largest do not cost over sixty dollars. Their shape and dimensions vary in the different provinces, the walls being more or less steeply The above description refers to those kilns of Arita which seem to vaulted. ;

;

The

be the most perfect.

kilns used for

baking the porcelain before

glazing-

smaller and always single, each manufacturer

of a similar shape, but

are

having his own kiln on his premises.

But the finishing kilns belong

to

the

community, and are situated here and there on the boundaries of the town or village

each kiln '

The

to over

used only

is

two hundred, and they are

fired in turns, so that

six or eight times a year.

greater part of the articles which are baked in these kilns belong to

the kind called

neath the glaze

'

Sometsuki,' or porcelain decorated with blue paintings under-

;

this is

done with a native cobaltiferous Almost

material imported from China. '

In the town of Arita

they are rented to the different manufacturers.

;

number amounts

their

Another part

Sometsuki.'

is left

the ware

all

ore, or with a

made

for

home

purer use

is

white in order to be decorated on the glaze

with coloured enamels, which have to be baked in peculiar furnaces at a lower

temperature.

This kind of porcelain

mostly for the foreign market.

The

of powdered glass (a sort of

glass

and

flint

is

manufactured chiefly

composed of

portions, for the purpose of giving to each

viz.

The

Hizen, and

silica,

litharge or red lead,

with an addition of white lead or of silver powder in various pro-

nitre),

"

in

chief ingredients of the enamel consist

enamel a proper

fusibility.

colouring oxides to be mixed with the flux are very few in number,

copper, manganese, antimony, red oxide of iron, impure oxide of cobalt

(for the black),

and a

mixed with powdered or borax.

None

sort of smalt

glass,

and

from China

;

finally,

gold for carmine tints

for gilding with a slight addition of white lead

of these enamels are melted beforehand in a crucible, but

the ingredients are mixed by the painter himself and used directly for painting, so that the green, the yellow, the violet, etc., only appear

baked

painters are

decoration.

done "

the

Of

in the muffle.

in

later years foreign

more and more

when

the pieces are

enamels have been used, but the

inclined to return to the original native style of

Porcelain painting, to a

much

smaller extent than in Hizen,

is

Owari, Kioto, and in Yedo, on white Owari ware.

The manner

in

which

European method.

this decoration

In the

first

is

place, the

produced

differs

whole design

is

very

much from

traced in black

4IO

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

•

and the shades, when

lines,

enamels are put on either red, the yellow,

by strokes. The coloured when they are opaque, such as the a thick layer when they are to produce,

at all, are only indicated

layer

in a thin

and the black, or

in

after melting, the effect of coloured glass,

through which the black tracing of

Sometimes relief paintings are produced by first coating the porcelain with a white opaque enamel, which contains no oxide of tin, but is merely a mixture of glass, white lead, and powdered stone, and on which the design

visible.

is

the other colours are then painted. is

finished in one baking

As

Generally speaking, the whole decoration

very seldom

;

it

requires to be baked a second time.

to the character of the Hizen porcelain decoration,

in foreign

markets that

it

is

so well

known

In Owari, Kioto,

needs no special description.

it

Mino, the great bulk of the porcelain consists of blue ware or Sometsuki is the Eraku ware (so named ;

but a remarkable article produced in Kioto

which consists of porcelain painted over with red oxide all kinds of mythological ornaments are applied in

after the inventor),

of iron, on which ground gold.

"

Kaga ware

by the very

decorated in a most characteristic way.

is

fine

It is

distinguished

gold ornamentation, generally on red, sometimes on black

grounds, leaving open

with paintings of fiowers, birds, or personages,

fields

either dressed in red or gold outlines, or painted with transparent enamels of

These

a similar composition, as those used in Hizen.

latter paintings are

characterised by the vigorous tracing of the black outlines under the enamels, and the power with which these latter have been applied. Although the ware in itself is not generally of a

and red

is

very fine quality, this sort of decoration in gold

very rich and most effective.

In later years,

or imported from

when

better white

other places

for in Kaga, specimens, excellent some produced has painters of the one decoration, presenting a happy combination of the painting in red, black, and gold outlines, with the above-mentioned peculiar style of decoration, originated by a

ware has been manufactured

celebrated porcelain-maker of Kioto, called Eraku."

This

is

own

the description which the Japanese give of their

manufactures, and

it

is

so accurate that

it

needs Httle comment.

But with the view of rendering the nature of

mode

of working, better understood,

173,

174, and

175) which

explanation, and

for

these

I

their kilns,

and

their

give illustrations (Figs 172,

may serve to throw light on the I am indebted to Dr. Roritz of

Nagoya.

To me

the description seems likely to mislead in this one

respect, that while

Japanese potteries are usually very small,

account would cause one to suppose that of considerable

size.

In

Hizen

there

are

they are potteries

this

generally

where

a

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

411

number of men are

are employed, and in Mino and Owari there works which give employment to a score or more of but the great mass of those potteries, from which the

also

potters

;

Fig. 172.

-

Fig. 173.— The

The Pottek's Wheel.

Painter at

his wokk.

celebrated works proceed, have, as workmen, the master and a son, or the master

and an apprentice,

one or two others,

I

or, at

visited sixty -eight

saw a potter's wheel of the description

most, the master and potteries, yet

named by

I

never

the Japanese in

the Philadelphia catalogue.

In a little

paper which

time since,

I

gave

I

some the manner in

read before the Society of Arts this

as a description

of

" In a lovely little which earthen vessels were usually made. was covered with mats, dwelt the potter room, the floor of which .

.

.

One mat

being removed from the

exposed to view

;

but the wheel

is

floor,

a potter's wheel

of the simplest character.

is

It

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

4i:

is

a mere circular stone, of the form of a Cheshire cheese,

level

is

wheel

is

is

uncovered

with the

which

floor,

and works

on a

is

axis

vertical

wood beneath. At one side of the lump of clay. At the other side lacquered, on which the vessels, when shaped, are placed. The operator now kneeling

fixed in a log of

a clean tray bearing a

another tray, often well

the

wheel,

more

or less

of

front

in

and

sitting

back on

his

heels, sets

the

in

motion by

disc

whipping of

it

with the tips

fingers

his

tained in

He now

its

the

till

speed

necessary

at-

is

rotations.

places a piece

upon the wheel

of clay

and gives to

it

form

in

the usual manner, stop-

ping to whip the stone

whenever

it is

that

speed

its

quickened. Fig. 174.

necessary

be

re-

In this

way

he shapes his wares."

Oven.

found

invariably

I

that where excellent work was produced things were on a very and that it was only in those cases where numbers small scale ;

of

common

country or markets)

things were

those

produced

anything

that

made

for

ordinary wares of the

the

(like

the

like a factory

European system

important to remember that a Japanese or other handicraftsman,

may become

or a Turner, and that works bearing

much sought masters

"

are

after

by

by the natives

and

American

existed.

It

is

potter, lacquer -worker,

as famous as a Landseer his

signature will be as

as those of

any of our

"

great

us.

Such men are invariably

lost

in

their art.

They

give them-

ART, up

selves

lovable

;

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

to the production

and whether

do not seem

of the excellent, the beautiful, the

their food

is

of the poorest or the best they

Their whole pride

to care.

41;

in

lies

the production of

meritorious works.

Fir,. 175.

In buying from one of these

— Kii.N.

men

a specimen of his

found that he could not count money, and that he had idea of

by

his wife

much had

in

The buying and

value.

its

and daughter

;

little

consumed

and as the money system had changed

keep pace with the day.

in his

I

or no

was done exclusively

selling

the last twenty years, this poor but skilled

failed to

work

His

life

workman

had been wholly

work.

This was by no means a solitary case

;

and

it

is

only under

we get those grand objects which much value. Whenever these men

similar conditions to these that

both we and the Japanese so part

with a work they are most particular

beautifully

finished

pine -wood box, on

in

placing

it

in

a

which they place their

JAPAN: ITS ARCn/TECTURE,

414

autograph and seal

(red

paper which they again

stamp), and

sign.

in

wrapping the box

None but ordinary works

in

are sent

out without being thus packed.

Happily

for

Japan the personal pride of a workman

great as that of any of our artists or our sculptors.

is

as

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

CHAPTER

4'

V.

THE METAL MANUFACTURES.

The to

art

of metal casting

is

of great antiquity, and

have been carried to a high state of perfection

period

;

indeed, during the Middle

Ages bronze

it

at

appears

an early

casting, chasing,

engraving, gilding, and the various processes connected with the goldsmith's excelled.

were

art,

This

is

so

perfect

have

they

that

been

never

who have had

at once apparent to those

the

opportunity of studying the old swords with their various ornaments, and the large castings of Ikiddhas and of bells which

be seen

The

may

in the country.

traveller

excellence of

is

astonished at the magnitude as well as the

some of the metal

but in contemplating these works

castings which he meets with

we should always bear

that they resulted from a national interest

in

awakened by the

In mediaeval times the casting of a large

bell,

;

mind

priests.

an image, or a

bronze lantern, was a matter of public concern, and for the work the priests collected offerings of gold ornaments, of copper, and of

other metals.

The Dai-butz at Nara and Kamakura are the largest metal that at Kamakura being now existing in the world

—

castings

forty-seven feet in height, while that at

Nara

half feet from the base to the top of

its

these enormous statues was but, being destroyed

first

during the

seven hundred years since.

is

fifty-three

head.

The

and a

latter

of

erected in the eighth century, civil

wars,

it

was

recast about

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

41

In attempting to produce this enormous casting six failures

were made, and

was only by the seventh

it

Three thousand tons of charcoal are said to have been

achieved.

We

in the operation.

used

are told that the metal used in the

production of this great Dai-butz weighs four hundred and tons,

was

effort that success

and that

it is

fifty

an alloy consisting of about one part of gold,

four parts mercury, thirty-four parts

tin,

and nineteen hundred

and seventy-two parts of copper. Here, as in Europe,

much

of the best work of the Middle

where religious enthusiasm work which was ultimately fostered through the baronial system, when the skilled workman became

Ages was achieved

in the monasteries,

zeal led to that loving

and holy

the servant of a feudal lord.

but

It

was

it

was not

(the

in the

eighth century that the

;

end of the twelfth century that Yoritoma

until the

Shogun)

first

Mikado became secluded

the dual system of government

initiated

leaving Kioto (with the officers of the internal revenue) for

b)^

Kama-

and establishing those conditions which led to the feudal Although the Mikado remained at Kioto, Kamakura system. kura,

actual seat of Government, and

became the toma's

governors of provinces civil officers

;

now made

but before this time the governors were

The people were next taxed for the provincial troops, who were subject to Yoritoma's military rulers who were appointed as co-rulers of

of the Court.

support of the relations, or to

the provinces with the Court military

was subject to Yori-

Five members of Yoritoma's family were

will.

officials.

supremacy which made him

The power

of this mighty ruler

conquest which he achieved

in

Yoritoma thus gained a

practically the ruler of Japan.

became increased through

the north of the country.

a

By way

of a reward for this service he was received in great state by the

Mikado which

I

at

Kioto

;

had valuable presents given

inspected at

Kamakura and

to him,

many

Nara, where they are

of

still

preserved, and was appointed to the important office of subjugat-

ing barbarians.

The more

military governors of the provinces gradually

became

came an

insolent

powerful, and with the increase of power

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

417

and overbearing manner, which led to the Court governors of provinces being entirely superseded by military authority.

Thus

became feudal lords, each of whom number of armed men but all were subject chief of the barons, who held a power from the

the military rulers gradually

commanded

a certain

to the Shogun, or

;

Mikado by which he could reward

acts of prowess, or

any conduct

which he personally approved.

Thus was in

the Buddhist monasteries, where the quiet

in

leisure necessary to the production of great art

alone be enjoyed.

by the military than a

to foster art

Yoritoma handicraftsmen

Prior to the time of

were found chiefly

and

much

established a system which did

the country.

works could

But no sooner was the feudal system established,

rulers of provinces

becoming Barons or Daimios,

Buddhist monks took place, when

fierce persecution of the

The workmen

the power of the priesthood was to a great extent broken.

newly established

who

rulers of provinces

now sought

skilled

could manufacture objects such as they themselves desired

and which might serve

to use,

part of the household of the lord for

These workmen became

whom

clothed as the servants of the household

and received presents or favours

;

tion of

;

;

They

they were fed and

they were allowed to

in return for

the produc-

works having special merit.

work of Japan was done enjoyed by artists working work had formerly been best the

For seven centuries the best under the conditions of under the baronial

done

they wrought.

palace

lived in the precincts of the baronial

marry

worthy of the accept-

as presents

ance of the Shogun or other barons.

rest

and

rule, just as

in the seclusion of the

art

leisure

monastery.

Metal -work, especially, prospered during the

earlier part

of

the feudal period, for not only were good sword-blades necessary

during the periods of

Daimio

civil

war, but officers of rank, as well as the

himself, sought to have their

sword and armour adorned

with metal ornaments of marked beauty. these enrichments, both as

On

the perfection of

regards workmanship and

art,

they

especially prided themselves.

Our

first

acquaintance with Japanese manufactures revealed 2

E

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

4i8

But

their skill in the casting of metals.

was the Vienna Exhi-

it

bition

which showed what supreme casters of metal the Japanese

are.

In this exhibition was shown a casting of a flight of birds,

which

may now be The

burgh.

seen in the Archaeological are so

birds

arranged

Tokio manufacturer of remarkable know,

this

Edin-

at

group forms a

This casting

separate the one from the other.

far as I

Museum

the

Yet the birds composing

continuous casting.

So

that

almost

are

it

the work of a

is

ability.

was the most notable work ever produced

by the flowing of molten metal into a mould. But even this marvellous work was surpassed by a peacock sent to the last Paris International Exhibition by the same wonderful metal founder. This peacock, which was of

unspread

tail,

but

many

were distinctly rendered

feathers,

had a drooping and

size,

life

of the feathers, and even barbs of the

while in

;

many

cases the barbs

were separate the one from the other, and the individual feathers

more or

less distinct.

Up

to the

time when this marvellous casting was brought

before the eyes of Europe nothing approaching

produced,

believe,

I

by any people or

in

it

had ever been

any time

;

but before

the close of the exhibition in which this was shown, Messieur

Barbedien of Paris added some truly remarkable works to his exhibit, which, while smaller than the difficult

his

But were

of production.

work

I

Japanese

to guess

bird,

were equally

how he accomplished

should say that he had learned the Japanese secret,

and adopted

While

I

in

their

method of work.

Tokio

I

had the opportunity of seeing the

little

foundry of the great metal caster who sent these marvellous objects to Europe,

and he most kindly showed

me how

he achieved his

results.

The

great peculiarity which

noticed in the Japanese

I

made

consisted in a fresh model being

Thus,

if fifty

kettles were to be

for

method

every work produced.

formed of the same pattern, not

only would a fresh sand mould be

made

for

each particular

kettle,

but a fresh model would be prepared for the making of each mould. All must

now be

familiar with those

beautiful iron

kettles

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

which have become so fashionable

419

for the afternoon tea-drinking,

and which frequently have a flower or some other device jutting These are of Japanese out from the side in almost full relief manufacture, and while the body is

of iron the

and the handle

lid

are generally of bronze (Fig.

To

wood

shape of

is

its

on

whether

ornament simple

or

most

in

wax

separate

pro-

" core,"

this

work,

modelled

be is

to

is

finished

the

it

elaborate,

turned to the

body, and the spray,

whatever

appear

on

J 6).

produce such a kettle a

block of

or

i

a

of

modelling being neces-

sary to

the production of each

cess

particular kettle. It will

be seen that this pro-

although

cess,

Fig. 176.— Cast-Iron Kettle, with lid and handle of bronze.

gives

laborious,

variety and interest to the works produced

methods must seem of labour, lose

by

I

;

and while

all

yet think that the Japanese gain as

much

as they

their processes.

Nothing

is

remove from man a true perception

so calculated to

The

of art qualities as seeing hundreds of works precisely alike.

mere

fact

of seeing a number of duplicates of the one thing, how-

ever meritorious each

may

ciation of the beautiful. dislike,

such

to us to involve an unnecessary expenditure

though the work

No one would of Landseer's

"

be,

is

itself

calculated to

weaken our appre-

multiplication of examples inspires

The

may

be worthy of admiration.

like to see his walls

covered with

Last Mourner," Herbert's

"

Man

fifty

copies

of Sorrows," or

Derby Day," even if each one were painted by the same So is it with reproductions of art objects of any kind. master. There is something about numbers which in some way detracts Frith's "

from our appreciation of the object multiplied.

The Japanese method

of

casting

gives

a

certain

amount

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE.

420

of variety in the

And

alike.

work produced,

each

has

no two objects are

for

character

special

a

precisely-

from the

resulting

personal work of the modeller.

which causes those who have

It is this quality

art appreciation

to prefer Japanese kettles to anything that the black countries

have yet produced.

Whether the work be

a rough piece of wood, to which shape

wax and

a mixture of

other fragile parts the slips as

resin

The model being

;

but

is

made on

first

given by the addition of

is

case of long feathers or

in the

wax would

would be needed

model

large or small a

bamboo

enclose such wires or

for their support.

prepared, a thin batter

formed by mixing

is

a sand of exceeding fineness, and almost clay -like in character,

This

with water.

manner

as to coat

model

carefully spread over the

is

all over.

it

dry a second coating

given,

is

When

these are dry sand

is

all

by the semi-fluid

filled

the whole appears as one shapeless but solid mass.

till

The next

process consists in removing the model with

surrounding sand to sufficient

is

When

around the mass and pressed into

piled

the spaces which have been but partly

heat

If necessary, other

placed over the whole or part of the work.

are

matter,

this batter

and then another, but now the

batters are formed of a slightly coarser sand.

coats

such a

But care must be taken to leave

no air-bubbles between the wax and the sand. is

in

a sort

to melt

of kiln

necessarily been

left

time of casting.

Through the

air

holes

is

to

Certain holes have

exist.

through which the metal

and also holes by which

its

which the

and evaporate the wax, and even

consume the wooden core should any to the mould,

or " muffle," in

to be introduced

is

to be expelled at the

any dust or ash can be

removed from the mould.

By

process

this

of

melting

the

and

wax,

evaporating

it

through the body of the sand, a firmness seems to be produced in the

mould which our moulds

model

is

this end.

first

But the

fact that the

coated with semi-fluid matter does

It is

in a vessel,

lack.

well

known

that

if

much

a pint of fine sand

much water may be added

to

it

wax

to attain is

placed

with the result of

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

diminishing, rather than increasing,

its

and

air,

owing to

it is

this fact that

Particles of matter

bulk.

adhere more closely together when floated

we

in

water than when

are able to

being floated

for the particles of vegetable fibre,

421

in

make

in

paper,

medium,

this

are brought into close contact and entangle themselves together.

had no opportunity while

I

process of casting carried on,

and moulds

workmen own.

I

Japan of seeing the actual

in

only saw the making of models

but from the explanations given to

;

seemed

it

to differ in

no

essential

was, however, told that the moulds were

I

me by

made hot

the fluid metal was poured into them, so as to prevent

This

while flowing through fine ducts.

know

I

its

of could such work as the

by no other method

tail

of the great peacock already mentioned be effected.

Anything analogous Japan, and

The

was known.

of "under -cut"

moulds " I never saw in method of working nothing

to our " piece

informed that of

v/as

I

I

before

chilling

think highly probable,

for

that

various

particular from our

this

case

work

is

met by their wax models. is

a cast-iron

hibachi with

much under-

Fig.

177

cut work.

one instance

In

saw a

kettle, the

was cover-

half of which

with

ed

I

upper

little

rounded

eminences,

closely

ranged

geometrical

in

disposition.

ar-

The mould

V

was, in this case, formed Fig. 177.

in

two

and

a

wooden

parts,

lower,

an upper

upon

a

The upper

core.

Fig. 178.

Cast-Iron Hibachi or Fire-Holder.

_ half of the

mould having been separated

from the lower, the end of a small iron tool, with rounded point (Fig. 178), was pressed into the sand wherever an eminence was wanted and while these indentations of the mould were ;

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

422

arranged

almost mathematical accuracy,

with

— row

row-

after

mould was

being so placed that when the entire half of the

covered with these depressions those spiral lines appeared which are always visible surface,

—

yet this

when dots are regularly arranged on a globose work of " pitting " the mould was accomplished

simply by eye, and without the aid of any

The

casting of kettles

many

Tokio, whence with gold and

is

setting out " whatever.

carried on chiefly in the district of

are taken to

silver, for in

"

Osaka

no country

in

or Kioto to be inlaid

the world has damascen-

The

ing been carried to such perfection as in Japan.

work

finest

of India, Persia, Venice, and the Peninsula being entirely surpassed,

both as regards excellence of workmanship

by many of the Japanese productions. work occurs where gold is inlaid in certain

and perfection of

The

detail,

iron or steel

The

;

but the Japanese inlay

and not

alloys,

in these latter

metals

in

also.

processes employed for the enrichment of metal-work in

Japan are more numerous than case

best of this

small

of

unknown

to

any other country, and

in

metal -work

objects

is

carried

to

a

in the

perfection

any other people.

Damascening, chasing, hammering, inlaying, and combining metals are means by which they achieve careful use of in

"

textures

so far as

while

I

results.

In bold

hammered

iron alone,

know, has Japan been beaten by other nations

has produced

it

by the

but repousse woxV has been practised

;"

Japan with magnificent

effects, as well as

grand

nail-heads

(Fig.

36)

;

but

and good

some of the iron -work Germany wrought during the Middle Ages like that which may still be seen on the old houses

hinges,

—

near the cathedral at Frankfort-on-the-Main

—

is

better than

any

work in Japan. With the exception of the nature of the alloys used, and of the means by which colour is given to metals, the metal manufactures are chiefly carried on in a manner similar to that of other similar

countries.

We tail "

here find true damascening.

cut being

into this cut.

made

in

This work

metal, is

"

This results from a

dove-

and by a wire being hammered

effected in the following

way

:

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, By mered

the aid of a

The same

tool

179,

now tapped

and

2)

then

other (Fig. 179, to

chisel-like tool (Fig.

make

is

1

79, 1) which

formed with nearly

with a

hammer

ham-

vertical sides.

run along,

is

is

first

one

groove (Fig.

of the

side

little

into the metal, a groove

423

3),

the

Mm,

wm

4:

so as

the base of the

Ti'

groove wider than the cut

on the surface

(Fig. 179,

This process always

4).

causes the groove to have

a raised and

curved is

edge.

slightly

This edge

now rubbed down,

the result, as seen

than

it

reFig. 179.

with

from the surface, of making

previously was (Fig, 179,

5).

A

much narrower

it

wire of gold,

silver,

or

some other metal softer than the body in which it is to be inlaid, is hammered into this " dove-tail " groove. The whole is then ground down, and the

inlaid wire appears as a gold

line

on the

surface.

By

method most

this

ments are produced

some specimens of

write,

and complicated orna-

patterns consisting of

and even flowers are formed.

scroll-work, I

;

beautiful effects

for

and beautiful than anything

The Japanese

this I

I

is

in

the

manner

in

is

method of pro-

one of the richest

generally supposed to result from

a true method of damascening.

made

have before me, as

have seen from any other nation.

ducing that elaborate Kuftgari work, which

is

lines,

work which are more minute

are also acquainted with the

of Indian manufactures, and

straight

But

this

is

not the case, for

which the Japanese produce

it

their

cheaper work, and results from those parts of the surface of the metal, which are to be covered with gold, being scratching,

paper,

made rough by

and by sheet-gold, of the thickness of ordinary writing-

being rubbed

on to

this

scratched

work, to

adheres, the rough surface being sufficient to secure

its

which

it

adhesion.

Lines, less in thickness than the shank of an ordinary pin, can

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

424

be formed with great accuracy by this method

masses of gold and of

silver

which we frequently meet with on

Japanese bronzes, and which look in

reality only pieces

and those large

;

lumps of

like

solid metal, are

of bronze covered with a sheet of gold or

silver thus attached.

we not unfrequently

In Japanese metal-work of enamel introduced.

by the

their places

These are

lump

or devices out of a solid

due

it

is

results

to the mixture of various metals I

have before

me

undulated surface

;

button

;

methods of production, and

The

and has

its

moon appearing of inlaid

little bit

Here

is

Here

body formed of

silver,

is

while

;

(it is

with is

moon

the

have been

on one leg a in

low

relief),

eye (which

its

its

greatly

another iron

tree

tree stands

stork protrudes from the iron disc

no

is

legs are of gold.

its

a clasp, two and a half inches long by three-quarters of in width,

which has twenty-two

formed of white metal with gold little

water

in the

silver.

under the

work

little

longer than the eye of a very fine needle) and

an inch

one work.

as water

as well

cut,

but the interest of this

inlaid in fine gold lines, while stork.

in the

which a few sprays of some drooping

in

cut into

is

a sort of iron button on which one or two

increased by the reflected

being formed of a

which

but the choicest effects are

and alloys

bamboo have been

of

from the cutting of forms

or plate of metal,

fixed in the bronze

to the absence of all mechanical

sprays

prepared, and then held in

first

" dove-tail " cut.

Much Japanese metal-work form after

find small plaques

metallic alloy,

and each

the solid mass by so

leaf appears to

many

clean

The dense mass

centres.

leaves on which these flowers rest

cuts.

daisy-like flowers

little

is

of

formed of some dark

have been chiselled from

Here

is

a

little

chased

bead, about half an inch square, ornamented with flowers and

an insect

;

but interest

gold on the insect's yellow metal while has a

fruit

is

imparted to the work by a touch of

neck, and all

else

is

by one flower-bud being white.

Here

is

in

this

a brooch which

resembling that of the winter cherry boldly chiselled

out of white metal, but through some

little

openings

which represent decay, a red substance appears

in the fruit,

like coral, while

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, some of the

leaves are white, others black (being formed of an

alloy into the composition of which

antimony largely

enters),

and

brown of tea-urn bronze.

others the rich

Here

425

a

little

gourd-like bottle formed of iron, but in this

iron are inlaid

little

curved and irregularly arranged lines of gold.

There

is

no pattern on the

is

through

interesting

Here, too, its

is

is

rendered

method of mixing the metals.

another gourd-like bottle formed of brass, but with

surface roughened

some

object, but the surface

this curious

by

little

irregular

similar metal protruding from

rounded lumps of zinc or

it.

have also seen curious convoluted surfaces, formed by a

I

number of

thin layers of various metals brazed together

metals of the

compound

on the surface

in

waved

subsequent grinding down,

its

1

lines.

much

manufacture has

but the

been removed

the

town of Hiroshima

the

in

80),

all

sheet appear

Repousse work was formerly

(Fig.

a thick

Then, by the irregular hammering and

sheet has been formed.

bulging of this sheet, and

practised

till

Osaka, where the de-

to

scendants of the old Hiroshima metal-

workers

work

is

still

made

also

The

chiefly live

finest

seen of this

in

but repousse

;

Kioto and Tokio.

specimens that

particular

work

property of Mr. Mounsey.^ I

have

I

are

the

Curiously,

have never seen any other specimens

similar to

He

these.

has a bowl

in

white metal, probably in white copper (called

by the Japanese

tiitenagiie),

which has a dragon hammered up on its

interior surface with almost inimi-

table

works seen.

skill.

in

It

is

repousse

one of the that

I

finest

have ever

Fig. 180.

Bronze Hiroshima Candlestick.

Mr. Mounsey has also a pair

With much sorrow

I

learn of this gentleman's death while

my book

is

in the press.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

426

of vases, about two feet in height, surrounded by nimbused saints,

and robes treated with a

crisp conventionality, equalling, if not

surpassing, any mediaeval or early renaissance

There

to us.

is

about these works a

"

work

breadth

preserved

still

of treatment,

"

a simplicity of execution, and a boldness of design, which,

when

mingled with a perfect understanding of the method by which the design has been produced, stamp I

cannot but know the

"

them

as of great excellence.

Milton Shield," the other great works

of our Elkington, and the products of the attelier of Messieur

thought,

museums

York, as well as the

of Europe; yet, after calm

doubt whether any greater works exist than those of

I

which Mr. Mounsey these works

and that

New

and of Tiffany of

Christofle of Paris,

objects preserved in the great

I

I

the

is

happy

have been told that

I

Since

possessor.

I

first

saw

have objects of a similar kind,

have either had these works of Mr. Mounsey copied,

or have succeeded, through seeing them, in possessing myself of like treasures.

This

is

another instance of the fact which so often

comes before me, that others know so much more of me than I myself know. Were I speaking according to the best of my knowledge and

belief, I

should say that the only things of the kind

I

have ever seen are the magnificent, and perhaps unequalled, works

which Mr. Mounsey managed to pick up while in Japan but as gentlemen have stated that I also have received like works from o ;

Japan,

I

suppose

somewhere amidst

I

must be

my many

can positively say, that I

know, Mr, Mounsey

I is

blind,

and that they are hidden

specimens of oriental

have never seen them

;

and

This

art.

I

that, so far as

the possessor of works in repousse which

are both unique and priceless. I

saw the silversmith

to the

emperor (Mikado)

hammering up beautiful forms when in his company was his grand very old man) and his spectacles (Fig. teapot,

;

at

work on a

but what struck old

happy

me most

face (he

was a

i8i).

Hiroshima bronze-work attained a celebrity which deserved, and which will increase as time advances.

It

it

richly

resulted

from the work of the hammer, and from a simple method of inlaying.

The

vessel itself

was of copper-coloured bronze, whether

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

and each specimen bore the marks of the modern frying-pan. Silver inlaid sprays, bordered But marks, gave relief to the surface (Fig. 182).

box, tazza, or tray

hammer,

like a

by sunk

tool

;

Hiroshima work was also characterised by a

of

school of

seam

Hiroshima bronze affords a

a).

individuality

work and

hammered bronze

refined

Hiroshima Bronze Tazia,

would take many printed pages

specialties of

and no better

;

Fig. 182.

Fig. 181.

and

the metal

exists than that of Hiroshima.

His Spect.'\cles.

It

in

fine illustration of

feeling

art

embossed metal

little

clasps, which overlaid every crack, handle, or

(Fig. 182,

427

enumerate the excellences

to

Japanese metal-work

inlaid with silver.

;

the task, therefore, must

The wood-carver, the enameller, the weaver, and others have an equal demand on my space, which

not be attempted. the printer, I

must divide

The the

before

I

can amongst

all.

great charm in Japanese metal work, as in most of their

arts, consists

at

as well as

in

the variety and delicacy, the poetical feeling, and

same time the boldness, displayed

me

a metal netsuki on which

I

in

I

it.

have here

find a butterfly, a

moth,

a dragon-fly, a gnat, beetles, a bee, grass, leafage, and flowers

innumerable. is

conveyed.

Thus the thought of summer, In

an

illustration

reflected,

and here the

already given,

I

and beauty have spoken

water

in

which the moon

interest centres

in

the sheen of the

of the bamboo drooping over

was

life,

the

reflected orb of night, while the very attitude of the stork, stand-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

428

ing under the golden branches of a weeping

tree,

removes the

The

bird

is

netsuki from a mere mechanical work.

thinking

and even

;

some time

its

thoughts can be divined.

since this bird last partook of food,

become conscious of the sustenance.

It

fact that

stands on one

it

moment

tribe in the adjacent waters

No

it

shall

further

its

should seek, and for

it

mind which of the finny

choose for

We

colour in metal compositions.

its

evening meal.

realised

kettles,

the

fact

make

and iron grates

that

steel

fenders, copper

but

we have never

;

by producing

metallic

combining these with pure metals, a world of colour

We

has just

it

people but the Japanese have understood the value of

coal-skuttles, tin fully

and

contemplative mood, medi-

leg, in

made up

has scarcely

it

evidently

shortly need

will

tating on the nature of the meal which

the

obviously

It is

have also never known the value of reflected

to metal compositions.

copper to another plaque of

tin

and when various

If light

many

to another

all

metals,

the

effects

times it

reflected

it

is

intense

by

and

open to

us.

light in relation

from one sheet of red,

becomes an earth-green produced

considered,

is

is

alloys,

is

light,

we have open

if

from one

(terra vert),

reflected

by the

to us an

infinite

resource of polychromatic harmony.

The Japanese have more nearly achieved the production of harmony in metals than any other people and in many their works we see gold, silver, copper, zinc, black-metal, tea-urn

colour of

;

bronze, green bronze, and other metals and alloys brought together;

and not only brought together, but so arranged that are brightened

by

reflected lights,

their colours

and brought into harmony by

skilful juxtaposition.

We are lence,

and

harmony

certainly in the very infancy of our

knowledge of metal-

Chilleney's cups are masterpieces of manipulative excel-

working.

their art qualities are also great in

;

but there

anything that Chilleney ever produced.

is

no colour

What

are

gold and silver but vehicles for the production of the beautiful

?

and cannot tenderness of shape, delicacy of form, and careful manipulation find expression also in copper, iron, tin, and lead ?

Are not

these, then, also vehicles for the

conveyance of beautiful

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

thought and refinement of mind

Japanese alone, of

certainly they are

?

civilised nations,

all

429

understand

and the

;

how

to

bine metals so that they shall express form, and at the

time combine to produce colour harmonies.

com-

same

In their combination

of metals they express an understanding and knowledge of the of

capabilities

materials

than

greater

that

of any

European

people.

One

other

connected

point

Japanese

with

metal -work

is

worthy of most careful consideration, namely, the various textures

We

given to metals.

are too fond of bright surfaces, and not

unfrequently prefer glitter to repose is

They

vulgar. to

districts

but to the Japanese glitter

a tale of a servant coming from the rural

tell

Tokio, where she entered the service of some disIn her

tinguished family. teapot,

;

new abode she discovered a

which was beautifully oxydised and subdued

To

which she at once proceeded to brighten. tale

has a point which

respectability of polishing,

the

I

their

am

the Japanese this

not so striking to us, for to them the whole

is

article

was

removed by

become an object of absolute

process

this

and what was a work worthy of high

had, by her labour,

silver

colour,

in

of

appreciation

vulgarity.

sure that the Japanese are right in seeking to give to

works

in

metal

such textures as

will

render their forms

apparent, and

make

the ornaments which they bear prominent

by

Many

of their works have a

contrast.

powder-like grain, and from

what smooth

this

"

toothed

"

or gun-

an ornament, having a some-

surface, frequently stands out.

But the number of

various textures given to the surfaces of metals by the Japanese is

almost endless.

The Japanese

are the only perfect metal-workers which the

world has yet produced, for they are the only people who do not think of the material, and regard the effect produced as of greater

moment

than the metal employed.

gold, silver,

things of beauty as the other,

To them

iron, zinc,

bismuth,

and copper, are only so many materials with which

if

may

be produced, and the one

perfect appropriateness

of the material, and

if

is

is

as acceptable

seen in the application

the result produced be

satisfactory

and

JAPAN

430

So long

beautiful.

and

insist

as

:

ITS ARCHITECTURE,

we value

upon purchasing

the material rather than the

art objects

art,

by the ounce, we can never

Whoever heard of music being dealt Fancy paying for an oratorio by measured quantities.

attain to true knowledge.

out in

the length of time taken up in

recital, or

its

purchasing a picture

Yet if a silver teapot is purchased its weight is by the yard demanded, as though the material were not altogether insignificant when compared with the knowledge and skill expended on its !

production.

been formed by a

If a teapot has

man who

knowledge, and who has simply expended upon

art

many

so

hours of labour, then

it

is

its

production

right to determine both the

value of the labourer's time and the cost of the material the

work be

beautiful,

knowledge and

and

refinement

if

it

of an

has no

;

but

if

conveys to the beholder the educated

artist,

then

it

is

its value as though the material of which composed were of greater worth than the amount of life, thought, and painstaking care expended upon its production.

ridiculous to estimate it

is

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

CHAPTER

431

VI.

ON THE MEANS BY WHICH FABRICS RECEIVE PATTERN. Processes in zvJiich the effect produced results

The

from

processes of printing on fabrics, and the

figures are

produced on both cottons and

the loom, are

somewhat various

in

silks,

the use of dyes.

means by which without the aid of

With the simple methods

Japan.

of block printing they are perfectly familiar, but of those processes

which are mere modifications of our own

methods which

I

am

I

need not speak.

The

about to describe are those by which the

greater portion of Japanese fabrics receive their figure.

Japanese towels, as

have before

I

cloth or calico, about three feet in

said, are strips of a

common

length by one foot in width,

which always bear some simple pattern or curious device, and while they sometimes vary in colour, almost nineteen out of twenty are of blue with a white figure.

All

etc.,

183), cesses

seem to

is

first

be

such as towels, coolies' dresses (Fig. figured

by one of the following pro-

method

consists in preparing

while the other has the pattern which

it.

two blocks, the one of

simply a heavy piece of wood with a perfectly smooth

cloth cut into

upon

fabrics,

:

The which face,

common

its

From

surface,

—

the pattern

is

is

to be given to the

thus wrought in intaglio

the deeper portions of the sunken figures holes

are bored through the block to the outer surface, where they are

enlarged into funnel-shaped tubes.

fAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

432

In order that the fabric be figured

smooth

surface of the plain block, as

figured block

now

is

inverted

Fig. 183.

The

circular device

surfaces of the plain so as

to

possible,

and

table

thus the fabric

Printed Dress df a is

stretched over the

is

lies

this the

between the

Choi.ie.

the bad^e of the master

and figured wood.

upon

;

whom

he serves.

Pressure

is

now employed

bring the surfaces of the blocks as near together as

when a dye

is

poured through the funnel-shaped holes,

thus brought in contact with the fabric wherever the block

is

has been hollowed. saturated with the dye

poured off

fluid

;

it

upon a

In

a

few seconds the fabric has become

when the blocks

and thus the

;

are inverted,

all

the spare

fabric has received pattern, for the

pressure was sufficient to prevent the

"

running

"

of the dye, and

thus the obliteration of the figure.

some

In

cases a

dyed

fabric receives a white pattern

modification of this process, in which a

which

fluid

in

will

a dyed cloth,

in this

way

that

Although on cloth but

I

works

it

I

destroy or is

discharge

"

weak acid, or some other the dye already existing

poured through the holes

many

in

the block.

It is

of the towels are figured.

have described

this

method of producing patterns

by no means unknown in our own manufactures it is now almost abandoned in our calico printbeing, however, one of the simple processes by which

is

believe that It

"

by a

;

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, cottons

are

mention

it.

figured

Japan,

in

have

I

Another process by which cotton

common

of using a I

by

84), but

paint tern

is

desirable

fabrics receive pattern

is

to

that

formed of lacquered paper (Fig. simple means two kinds of effect are produced.

this

simpl\'

is

dye being used instead of

while in the other case the pat-

;

it

stencil plate

In the one case the pattern stencilled, a

thought

433

stencilled with a kind

of paste,

or " resist " (a substance that

protects

,

^

^

=

=

^

^S^'^^^^-^^'^^l^^g

^^^

'^H *

^^^i::

^^

I

^*v

|

^p ^p

|

mersed in a dye vat, and then washed, by which processes the ground of the

^p'

|

^P^

1

and then the

^p: ^*^

when brought in conwith the latter). Whenever the

cloth from dye tact

pattern " resist "

cloth

upon the

placed

is

the

cloth

afterwards

is

receives colour,

first

fabric

in

im-

" resist " is

washed away, leaving a white „„4-4-„ „ „ pattern upon a coloured ground. 1

There

in

another

is

the

modification

following roundabout

figure

little

1

by which work

process,

this

1

—say

—has

a leaf

of

1

i '^

-

-

-

-

Stencil formed of lacquered paper. The dark tint shows

Fig. 184.

the paper, and the white lines the

openings cut

in

it,

mil

size.

done

is

Let us sujDpose that a

manner.

be distributed

to

in

green colour

over the surface of a fabric, a thing which could obviously be

done by the use of a small green colour.

little

stencil

plate and

a brush with

a

But the Japanese have a labour-expending

process (not a labour saving-method) by which they achieve this result. size,

in

They

cut a series of leaves,

all

of the

same shape and

paper, and instead of using the sheets from which the

leaves have been cut as so

many

stencil

plates,

they take these

paper leaves themselves and arrange them upon the cloth

manner

Now

required.

holding a leaf with a finger of the

hand, and with a sort of trowel quantity buried, as

Leaf

of

resist,

well

after leaf

as is

in

they so spread the

covered

in the

cloth in

the

left

the right, on which rests a that

the

leaf

intervening between

the

leaves.

this

resist

is

same manner, care being taken

2 F

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

434

the " resist

that

Each the

leaf,

fabric

"

does not get under the edges of the paper.

which

is

now

is

just visible through the " resist

covered,

hence at these particular places the fabric is

now

with which

"

up by a needle point

picked

is

The

clean.

is

dried, the fabric

;

" resist

dipped

is

green dye vat, by w^hich the

in a

assume their colour.

leaf-like spaces

The

cloth

now exposed

is

steaming process which

and

to us,

iliar

thus the resist

have a

is

is

series of

to the

so fam-

is

then washed

;

removed, and we

green leaves figur-

ing a white surface.

185

Fig.

gives a copy of a dragon cut in

paper which Fk;.

Japan

Paper Dragon.

I

just

We such as

am

I

in the

silk crapes, receive their patterns,

any way analogous

aware,

I

feel

what

I

Now an

have already said briefly

as to the

artist,

I

means of

who draws

were designing an

can

it

I

I

but as

most

it

The

far

difficult,

and less

paper read some

but there

could not

I

work.

figuring fabrics, the silk

the pattern upon

am now

fabrics,

we have

have more or

in a

;

in the present

historical cartoon.

by the process which in

the task of describing

fully as

leaf

Japanese method, so

time since before the Society of Arts

go into matters so to

to the

whole of these descriptions of processes

to repeat little

in

and

in

of.

must now consider the means by which expensive silks

no process as

manner of the

the

in

spoken

saw used while

I

is

first

as carefully as

given if

he

pieces of silk figured

describing, are about forty feet

length by twelve inches in width, and on the entire fabric the

artist places either

a varying or a repeating pattern as

is

required.

This pattern he draws with a preparation of indigo, which can readily be

removed from the

fabric

by washing

;

gives outline but adds depth, shade, or whatever

and he not only

may

enable him

to produce a desired effect.

Thus, at the outset, the whole pattern

is

drawn by hand

(Fig.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, I

and

86),

this

we should thhik

figure to a fabric

work

is

only

;

now

Fig. i86.

but

a sufficiently costly

the process which

in

in its first stage of

— Painting

we

435

mode

of giving

are considering the

production.

the Design on the Fabric.

After a native drawing.

The artist having finished his work hands the fabric to a workman who has prepared a material of a most tenacious and ductile nature a sort of glutinous bird-lime. This mucous

—

matter he forms by boiling the

finest possible rice-flour

glutinous matter he

warms

a kind of putty knife, but

warm

with lime

Having previously prepared

water of a particular strength.

and rubs

it

slightly,

it

appears to

A

indiarubber would be.

me

it

this

on a board with

as difficult to rub as

piece of this bird-lime about the

wooden point or skewer, and a portion of the fabric is stretched flat by bowed Thus all is ready for pieces of cane being placed beneath it. size

of a small pea

with the that

the

placed on the end of a

Holding the stretched

work.

it

is

may

little

hand under the

left

fabric over a small

cloth, so as to

raise

charcoal

fire,

any portion of

be necessary, and with the point of wood, on which

ball

is

of plastic matter, in the other hand, the operator

begins by touching the fabric at some point of the pattern, say

mucous ball, which at once adheres mucus is now drawn to some little

at the base of a leaf, with the

to the cloth.

The

ball

of

distance from the surface of the fabric, say a foot, but betw^een

the

fabric

and the

mucus, for so ductile

ball is

there

now

intervenes a thread of this

the material, and so sticky, that

it

will

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

436

adhere to anything, and draw out to a thread some yards

By

length without breaking. right hand, in is

held,

when

which the wooden point supporting the

and by the middle finger of the

left

hand

necessary, a thread of the plastic matter

formed, and

movements

certain dexterous

is

as constantly

to the pattern (Fig,

i

87,

dropped upon the

With

A).

is

in

of the

plastic matter

raising the cloth

being constantly

fabric as an outline

the utmost skill leaves, flowers.

Fig. 187.

and even the small parts of the with this mucus, which

flowers, as the stamens, are outlined

upon the cloth

falls

the thickness of an ordinary pin-shank.

ever small

its detail,

But as

outlined.

for thickening

The whole

or however finely serrated

this outline

Hence a

it.

as a thread of about

pattern, leaves,

its

in

diameter.

At

tube

is

made by

outside)

and also to

is

is

to

broad

its

i

87,

fine

b).

This

opening

in

so pressed as to thicken (on the

raise the outline already formed.

All this has

means of preventing the " running " of dyes which be used and when thus prepared the fabric is ready

afforded a

now

formed

an opening

is

a fine darning-needle (Fig.

charged with the mucus, and through the

the tin nozzle the plastic matter

thus

the small end this tube

terminates in a tin nozzle, in the apex of which

such as would be

how-

not sufficient, means are adopted

is

conical tube of oiled paper

of about four inches in length, and with an orifice at

end of about an inch

is

;

are for

the next stage of the process.

This consists

in the

painting with dyes of various colours of

the spaces enclosed by the

mucous material

;

and a care

little is

banks of now dry but formerly

bestowed upon

this painting

such as

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, would

production of a highly-finished water-colour

suffice for the

drawing.

way

In this

437

the pattern

exposed

dried, the colours are

for

is

The dyes having

wrought.

about six minutes to the action

of steam in a steam bath

(which

is

a sort of kit-

chen

"

over

a

pot

water),

and

steamer

"

placed

of

boiling

then

mucous matter moved by the

the re-

is

fabric

being gently rinsed a

of

vat

(Fig.

I

88).

If the

ground

to

is

the whole

coloured

be

in

water

clean

are

now

painted over by a

" re-

of the figures

and the

sist,"

then dipped

fabric

is

the dye

ground receiving

vat, the its

in

colour

as

it

is

un-

protected.

Landscapes, flowers, birds,

and

various

groups

kinds are

of pro-

by this methand some interest-

duced od,

^^^ i88.— Pattern of Fabric knto which Telegraph Posts, with their Insulators, and Telegraph

Wires are introduced.

ing sketches, which are often mistaken in

by

this

for

pure hand drawings, are wrought

semi-mechanical method.

Many thus

England

some

fabrics are

made by combinations

are in part stencilled and in

of these processes

part wrought

by

;

this last

mentioned process.

The means

of producing an effect just described appears to us

the most laborious that could well be imagined

method

is

;

yet, while the

laborious, the results achieved are in the highest degree

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

438

and nothing could be more welcome than some of

satisfactory,

the effects thus laboriously obtained.

we

Here, on a length of fabric figured by this strange process,

have a strange

some

of panels,

series

with

painted,

is

group of

exquisite

some other pretty

In each of these

over the surface.

forms, distributed

shapes

and some of other

fan -shaped,

all

flowers, a objects,

the

tenderness of hand -work,

few birds at rest or

while

on

in

an or

flight,

the ground are dispersed

blossoms, sprays, spiders'- webs, and insects in groups of singular

No

interest.

mechanical method, such as we employ,

purely

could possibly produce the effects gained by this

may

and while we "

be disposed to talk of

"

mode

of work

wasted labour

;

and

"

laborious methods," the Japanese yet succeed in producing, by

their process, effects that

all

artists

work yet achieved by our calico with art knowledge and taste.

The Japanese know have already

results are achieved

notice

the

whereas but

little

other methods of figuring fabrics, as

;

I

it

is

these only by which artistic

and while we cannot hope that our manu-

follow the Japanese methods,

facturers will

;

has satisfied persons

but the processes described are those which

said,

alone require our notice, for

their

esteem

printers

artistic

character of the

we

yet

works

commend

to

produced

in

Japan.

The

principal seat of the cotton-printing industry

and near towns

;

but the more expensive fabrics, as

is

Nagoya

silks,

are

chiefly figured in Kioto.

On

Fabrics figured in the Loom, by Embroidery, and by combined Methods.

As the

regards the methods by which fabrics receive pattern in

loom

little

need be

said, for

they are of primitive character

and the work of the Jacquard apparatus raises strings

is

;

done by a boy who

and thus enables the weaver to give pattern to

his

fabrics.

This same method of weaving was formerly employed by

us,

ART, for

sat the "

on the top of our loom

succeeded his

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

in

draw-boy,"

439

whom

Jacquard

dethroning by the ingenious contrivance which bears

name. In Japan weaving

Even

the hand.

on ahnost without mechanical

carried

is

appliances, and the shuttle

is

in those cases

passed across the warp threads by

where many colours are introduced

the various shuttles necessary for the production of the fabric are

moved more which such a

manner of a darning-needle than contrivance is moved by us.

For personal wear Japanese neutral

that in

the

in

but a

colour,

will

girl

are

fabrics

show

narrow

a

of dark

generally strip

of

bright

colour around her neck, and the sash which she winds around

her waist will often be of rich terry, with a pattern upon velvet

and

But

gold.

in

in

it

no case must she wear obtrusive colours,

bow on

save around the neck, or as a

the hair, and even these bits

of colour must be small in quantity.

The Japanese seem to understand most of the systems weaving that we employ, but they also have methods peculiar themselves.

It is

common

to find

as to produce a velvet pattern, figure,

velvet gold

may

terry cloths with parts so cut

when

and the terry as the ground

generally happens that

by looking

of to

;

the velvet appears as the

but when this

is

the case

it

the cut surface of the

into

be seen, for the Japanese often weave gold into

the substance of a fabric so that

it

can only be seen through th

cut velvet surface.

Speaking of gold, we may here remark that the thread used in

the weaving of fabrics for the production of gold tissues

nearly always shredded

paper, and that gold thread

gilt

is

is

scarcely

ever used by the Japanese weaver.

The

fabrics

gorgeous

in

used for

I

produced are very varied

in character.

colour and beautiful in effect scarcely know.

I

;

Some

are

but what these are

have seen bright coloured cloths

thrown over trays on which presents were borne to a friend, but in no other way have I seen the gorgeous tissues which they produce

utilised.

Their houses are not draped

openings have no curtains

;

and there

is

;

the

window

no furniture to

cover.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

440 All in

I

can say

that during

is,

my

stay in Japan

never saw, either

I

the palace of the Mikado, the residence of

house of a merchant, or the cottage of an

a minister, the

any of

artisan,

their

richly coloured fabrics used, either as dress materials or in

On

other way.

the occasion of a reception given

by

any

Harry

Sir

Parkes one native lady of high rank wore a dress covered with

cherry-blossoms of the softest pink shade, and on the robes of the priestesses at

Nara were embroidered sprays of somewhat

bright colour, and, while neither was of a character similar to the

specimens of which

rich

many examples, they were

possess

I

stronger in colour than anything that

save

little

bits of

common

finery in

I

met with

in the country,

which the children of poor

parents were dressed on holiday occasions.

Amidst the ground

rich fabrics

the

often find specimens in which the

common

from one colour to another, the most

shades

variation being from

that

we

ground

In one illustration

red to white.

changes

about

I

notice

whereas

every half yard,

in

another we have this change occurring about every four inches. Besides

gorgeous

the

effects

colouring and the free use of gold,

resembling our brocaded colours or are certain

silks

mere damasks,

produced by polychromatic we have many fabrics closely

and these are either

;

in

two

distinct

their pattern rendered visible

by a

arrangement of the threads.

Then we have gauze -like

tissues

of the most charming tints

of soft greens, gray-blues, and other neutral colours, with patterns

woven upon them

in gold, or in

gold and colours

;

but

we might

almost fancy that the figures on some of these tissues had been

produced by darning, at the

back of the material

useless

cloths

;

for

fabric,

there

is

no

"

floating " of the thread

and the consequent cutting away of the

and besides these there are scores of other

which cannot possibly be described.

Something should be

said

respecting

the

patterns with which these fabrics are figured.

character of the

One

consists of a

dragon, clouds, and flowers, drawn to a somewhat large scale, and coloured

in

a

rich

and neutral manner

formed wholly of scroll-work

;

;

some have patterns

others have scroll-work grounds

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, with circular

floral

^^\

Some have

ornaments placed upon them.

the ground covered with fan -shaped panels, in which landscapes are

wrought

and others have patterns of a wholly geometrical

;

Then

character.

there are patterns formed of clouds, of storks,

of insects, of pine leaves, of small diapers, of sailing boats, of

cobwebs, of fungi, of water, of feathers, of

bats, of

of

fire -flies,

sea-monsters, of broken diapers, irregular powderings, strange key patterns,

rosettes,

numerous

to

plaids,

waved

lines,

mention, even rain

and

elements too

other

being used

some of

in

their

designs.

Out of these strange materials the Japanese

manage

artists

to

construct patterns which are both interesting and satisfying, and,

discarding

symmetry and

their fancy

and produce designs of the wildest

Yet there

other

all

nothing outre

is

in

they give free vent to

fetters,

order.

their patterns, for

by

flatness of

treatment and evenness of distribution they achieve the production of effects having at

pean

all

same time they

the

necessary qualities of repose, although,

bid defiance to

all

the canons of Euro-

art.

What would

an English

artist

think were he asked to produce

a pattern from telegraph posts and wires, or to arrange a design in outline

boys

at

fabrics

and

flat

!

such

the

materials

little

Japanese figure

Japanese art seems to laugh at the canons by which

the European derision.

colours which should consist wholly of

Yet with

play?

designer

is

bound, and to hold our method

Clearly, without law

and without

in

order, patterns can be

constructed which are quite as acceptable as those which other nations with fixed rules have produced.

While speaking thus respecting the

art of Japan,

I

be understood to underrate the ornament which arose in

China,

developed

in

Greece,

into

the

in

Morocco, and Normandy. of a

Byzantium, and

styles

of

in

must not in

Arabia, and which

Rome, Pompeii, Turkey,

Neither do

more exalted character than

these.

I

Egypt,

Persia,

say that Japanese art Its

forms are

less

than the Greek, less dignified than those of Egypt, and in miss that purity of style which characterises

Mahometan

is

pure it

we

orna-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

44:

Yet there

ment.

unknown little is

to

all

a variety and a freshness about

is

other systems of decoration

and while

;

which

it

is

savours

it

of the college, and makes no pretence to Attic elegance,

redolent of spring,

and has

all

it

the freshness of the fields and

the flowers.

In the sections Architecture and Art the interest of Japanese patterns

lies

in

we noticed

poetical feeling,

its

here

is

was taken

where

and

fact (Fig.

Woven

189).

of

a dress which well

illustrates this

it

much

that

it

in Kioto,

to Vienna,

enjoyed a con-

spicuous position at the International Exhibition, after

my

which

it

possession.

came The

into

pat-

tern of this dress consists

of flowers and butterflies

drawn

in colours

cloth

of

The

flowers

flies

are

upon a ground.

gold

and butter-

treated

as

flat

ornaments, and are without

shade

but

it

mony I Fig. 189.

shadow

or

not

is

the

;

har-

of colour to which

wish to

call

attention,

Woven Fabric with Cloth

of Gold Gkound AND Flowers and Flies in Colours.

perfect as

it

is,

beauty of the

though

this

is

nor the

drawing,

excellent, but the thought realised in the work,

namely. Summer.

No

one can look upon

this

beautiful dress

without feeling the influence of the sunny ground, of the profusion of richly coloured bloom, of the glorious insects which appear to

hover over the flowers

summer

while

we

could possibly

gaze.

;

and the influence makes us

No

feel

that

it

is

merely imitative treatment of flowers

convey the thought of summer so well as

this

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

we

conventional treatment does, and here

443

are pleased with the

consistency of the means employed to achieve the

while

effect,

if

we should have been offended

the rendering had been naturalistic

by inappropriateness.

The

Kioto, and

company,

all

produced

looms are owned by the

majority of the

the

banking

Mitsui

Japan are nearly

richly figured fabrics of

yet

private

individuals

in

rich

weave

also

fabrics.

Embroidery never to fabric to

be decorated

much

on as a manufacture, and

carried

is

by

be practised is

as an

ladies

in

Europe.

Embroidery, as practised

in

Japan,

more usual

as

it

is

form

seen

is

brought into this country yet these do not convey a

Two

is

of

numbers

in large

full

men work

many for

the

kinds, but the

have

been

banner -screens

;

idea of the nature of Japanese work.

They have

these.

The

on those squares which

methods of producing

Japan are

seems

stretched on a frame, and

worked

pattern

it

accomplishment.

which

results

are

peculiar

to

kind of embroidery consisting

a

wholly of raised dots similar to those often used for the centres of flowers in this country, and which result from wrapping the

thread

several

through the

when the work

round the needle and drawing the

times

coil. is

This class of work

on a small

scale,

is

made with

latter

a fine thread

and with a coarse thread

the production of large pieces, such as

we should use

for

for the panels

of walls.

The

other method

is

that of forming the ground of a

of spiral arrangements of the thread.

much Japanese embroidery fabric

through the is

used

results

on which the work

—

ground

fabric, as

is

is

It

from stitching threads to the

placed rather than from stitching

common

with

us.

say one of the one -sixteenth inch

is

formed by

two or more inches a curious effect

is

this

in

When in

a stout thread

diameter

cord being rolled into

flat

— and

the

spirals of

diameter, which are sewn to the fabric,

produced

work employed on

number

should be noticed that

;

but

large pieces.

I

have only seen I

this

method of

have also seen the ground

formed of gold threads so arranged into masses as to give much

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

444

the ground of "the hawthorn pattern;" and

the effect of

arrangement has the advantage view

it

may

from

that,

be seen, some parts of the gold

this

whatever point of be bright.

will yet

In some cases remarkable effects are achieved by shaded or

mixed yarns being

In a piece before

used.

me

as

I

write

I

see

the silk thread shaded from indigo to claret colour, from claret to green, from green to soft yellow, and from this to light blue, and

the rocks on this piece of work are formed of this mixed yarn.

all

Then we have

a sandy beech formed of

mixed

the shades are soft and silvery, and are so

Water

a curious sheen.

crestings to the waves,

from white to

A

hues.

is

worked

in

which

is

conspicuous

and

in this

in

in

shades passing

a series of amber

It

work has a

piece of

head and neck formed of a piece of flesh-coloured slightly

produce

as to

shades of blue, with white

and the clouds are worked

red, in various tints of blue,

figure

threads, but here

managed

which

silk,

modelled by wool being placed beneath the raised

The skimp

has eyes formed of talc or horn.

is

parts.

hair of the head,

eyebrows, the long but sparse moustache and beard, are

the

full

all

formed of the

finest

of

silk,

the loose ends of which give a

strange naturalistic look to the embroidery.

The

worked

lips are

with red, and a soft pink thread gives outline to the features, while the texture of a tiger standing close beside the figure

by shades of floss silk. More need not be said respecting embroidery, notice a combination of processes by which the

is

excellently given

we must

for

finest

effects

England we manufacture printed goods and woven

fabrics,

achieved in Japanese fabrics are rendered. In

and we also work embroidery, but we never attempt the three methods of producing pattern. the Japanese, for here varied, in

With of

we

find

us, also, printing seems to be

stuffs

only

;

is

to

combine

not so with

any methods employed, however

order that effects of an art

common

This

character be

employed

produced.

for the

figuring

but in Japan the methods equivalent to

our printing processes are applied to the most costly fabrics, and paid to the texture of the cloths which are

special attention

is

to receive pattern

by any method of

printing.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, crape

Silk it

is

a favourite

by a

often figured

is

material with

" resist "

445

the Japanese, and

being stencilled over parts of

by dyeing, a white pattern is produced on a coloured ground, as we have already seen. Such a pattern when occurring on an expensive material is generally enriched by embroidery, some of the flowers being filled in with coloured the surface, when,

or with gold, while

silks

a leaf here and there

emphasised

is

same

in the

manner.

A dress, which especially

is

woven

was

me

to

beautiful,

as

white

a

damask, figured

silk

all

over with the buds and

So

flowers of the plum. far

a woven fabric

is

it

But

figured in the loom.

now

it

goes to the printer,

and he

stencils here

there upon

its

and

surface in

"resist" fan-shaped pan-

and then

els,

fabric

in

a

We

dye.

dips

soft

the

scarlet

thus have

a

scarlet fabric figured with little

D\biNC, Painting, anu EMBKOiDrR\

plum blossoms and

outline either flowers, outline

work

is

in

part

fish,

filled

in

in

tender

animals, birds, or landscape, and the

with subdued tints of colour.

next goes to the embroiderer,

each fan-shaped panel, and

who

who works

The

a border around

enriches certain portions of the

surface with charming sprays of the in

now drawn

In each panel are

white fan-shaped panels.

fir-tree,

some

in

gold,

some

yellow-green silk thread, and some in a green shade of indigo

(Fig. 190).

This method of combining processes

is

of the greatest value

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

446

achieving art

in

effects,

and we

lose

more than

We

supposed by our exclusive modes of work.

is

generally

forget that various

processes achieve different results, and that these various effects

can be combined

a most welcome and harmonious manner.

in

The question that we have to solve as artists is not simply how we may produce the best effect by printing, by weaving, or by embroidery, but how we can produce the most welcome results Surely if by a by any processes of which we have knowledge. combination of weaving and printing, or of printing and broidery, or cloth,

only,

we can it is

em-

by a union of the three methods of giving figure to get better effects than by employing one method

our duty as well as our privilege to avail ourselves of

them.

Nothing can be more stupid than our pig-headed persistence Progress is no longer possible if we do only old methods.

in

what our

forefathers did

We

and

all

and the gulf which separates one manu-

must be crossed

facture from another

should.

;

if

we

are to advance as

have yet to learn the need of so using

all

materials as to achieve the best possible results.

doing we

may meet

with

trade

we

processes

In so

opposition and the difficulties

which spring from prejudice and ignorance, but these must be encountered and overcome or our manufactures will ultimately be to a great extent replaced

In

some

by those of

instances embroidery

Japan.-^

used to heighten the effect

a drawing, and in the case of Indian

of

golden threads are frequently

On is

is

employed

ink sketches on silk

to give sheen to clouds.

a specimen of a very beautiful character, in which the drawing

coloured,

of floss silk

we have ;

and

the lustre of ripe capsicums given by threads

in a

melon garden by moonlight we have touches

of embroidery which give the idea of the yellow blossoms in a strange and effective manner.

Another method by which

fabrics receive pattern in

Japan

is

evidently derived from Central Asia, and practised to this day in It may here be noticed that Japanese tea-trays have ahnost entirely superseded our own, and have materially injured our manufacture of such articles, as their price is less '

than that of English goods, and their art qualities greatly superior.

ART, India

;

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

but the Japanese objects figured by the process about to

be described are most frequently

The mode silk

of procedure

silk scarves.

as follows.

is

crape are taken, each about three yards

inches in width (twelve inches

Fig. igi.

Fabric tied ready FOR DYEING.

These two pieces of forming one double

is

Two

Fabric untied and stretched flat.

Fig. 193.

untied.

fabric

are placed

Thus

fabric,

and

placed, will

together so that one

we

Finished Silk Crape

manipulated together.

common meat

Fig. 195.

The

Fabric.

A

is

regard them as

will

forget that

there

are two

and the two are

thicknesses, for they are both treated as one,

Fig. 194.

pieces of white

length and twelve

in

the usual width of native cloths).

Fabric being

Fig. 192.

exactly over the other.

a

447

Part of a Striped Silk Crape Fabric. stripes being

formed by a method of tying.

small piece of pointed stick resembling

skewer, and a quantity of

waxed

thread, are the

requisites of the process.

From below

a small portion of the fabric

is

on the point of the skewer into the form of a

pressed upwards

little

cone

of,

say.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

448

half an inch in height.

Around

so that a Httle tuft or knot

The skewer from

this

is

this

cone waxed thread

formed on the surface of the

now withdrawn and removed about

is

little tuft,

when

it is

employed

wrapped round by the waxed

formation of tufts

is

repeated

them, when

ready for dyeing.

in its

dipped

in

turn

it

is

the entire fabric

This

thread. is

covered with

Thus prepared the

fabric

is

a dye-vat, which in this case generally contains scarlet

The dye

or pink colouring matter.

and

till

fabric.

half an inch

to raise a second cone,

is

which

wrapped,

is

at the

same time shrinks

it

gives colour to the cloth,

hence, where the dye has

;

in contact with the crape a shrinking has taken place.

come Thus

The waxed thread is permanent conical eminences are formed. being unwound, and not only has tuft little each now removed, a curious fabric been formed with a surface consisting of conical

eminences, but also a fabric variegated

wax

thread was

upon

it

in

in

colour

;

for

where the

contact with the crape the dye could not act

thus by the one operation a fabric has been produced

;

both variegated and with a

rich,

coarsely -granulated

character

and 195).

(Figs. 191, 192, 193, 194-

The

heio-ht

eminences

much.

are

to

which these

brought

varies

In some instances conical

tufts of half

an inch

height

in

completely and regularly cover the fabric, while in other cases the tufts are but small and are

arranged into patterns.

Common

cotton

cloths are

also treated in a similar

manner,

only here the tufts are large .

Cotton Fabric figured nv TvEiNG AND Dyeing.

but by the

stretching

fabric after the

dyeing

of is

;

the

com-

pleted irregularly shaped star-like figures have been produced over

the surface (Fig. 196).

We

must not hope that English manufacturers will adopt a yet some of the crape scarves treated process so laborious as this ;

ART, in this

manner

are

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

amongst the most

beautiful

449

and dainty of fabrics.

But what the Japanese do by hand we could achieve by the aid of machines

;

and

it

surely would not be very difficult to bind

the fabric into tufts by revolving spindles of suitable description.

This interesting manufacture

—^Narumi

and Arimatsu

shibori (shibori

meaning

— and

is

carried on in

tied or knotted).

2

two small towns

the fabrics are called

G

Narumi-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

450

CHAPTER

VII.

MINOR MANUFACTURES OF JAPAN. In

many manufactures

certain printing processes are employed,

as in the production of wall-papers, hand-screens, umbrellas, fancy

For whatever purpose

papers, and other things.

may

printing" processes

be employed, the method of engraving and of getting im-

pressions from the blocks seems to be similar.

A

drawing

prepared on a thin piece of paper, and this

is

pasted on a block of cherry wood, which across,

the grain.

The engraver

knives and chisel-like tools.

cuts

In this

is

is

cut with, and not

through the paper with

way

those wooden blocks are

prepared which are used for printing the illustrations of books as well

The

as for producing the

native drawings

in

this

papers used

in

the manufactures

work were engraved

in

the

:

same

manner. Just

as

we

use

several blocks

the production of wall-

for

when

papers, so the Japanese use various blocks

occur in the one pattern

;

different colours

but their methods of printing are so

simple that shading can be effected without difficulty by the use of but one block.

In the production

upwards on a table or the block is

is

of wall-papers the stool

block

from four to six inches

fed with colour in various ways.

is

placed face

in height,

and

Sometimes a brush

used for this purpose, when colours are not unfrequently blended

together, so that a polychromatic effect

sometimes by a

sort of pad, like that

is

given by one printing

;

used by engravers for the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

production of proof impressions

451

and sometimes by a membrane

;

stretched over a circular frame to which a long handle (this feeder closely

by

resembles

methods, the colour

either of the latter

" dabber," or to the frame,

attached

is

form a shallow stew-pan).

in

and by these

If fed

applied to the

given to the block

is

it

first

is

;

but the dabber appears to be chiefly used where colours are

When

shaded from dark towards white. pared with colour a sheet of parper with

in contact is

its

the block

placed upon

is

it

thus pre-

is

and pressed

by the hand or by a pad which

surface either

bamboo shoot

generally formed of a scale from a

as

it

first

from the ground.

issues

In no instance where paper

brought down

on the paper.

always pressed on the block.

seems ever to have been used

observe the block

I

On the contrary, the No printing-press of any in

described being that by which

When

printed did

is

paper was description

Japan, the simple process already

all

printing

speaking of wall-papers,

it

is

effected.

must be noticed that while

these are used on the " slides " which separate the various rooms

of a house, they are never produced in continuous in

small sheets.

lustre effect

which

powdered mica. a sort of paste material

is

Silver

so

is

common

in

their

in

rolls,

them being due is

Fans are made

to

in

sizes

be used

many

to finely

generally

use of this

;

seem

but always

production, the

The size used for binding the colours made of rice but I do not think the

invariable, for

different roots,

never used

is

made from

of different sorts, and in various cases.

parts of Japan, but the cheaper kinds

are produced in the district of Kioto, while the costly productions

come

chiefly

from Tokio.

The Japanese

a native invention, and assert that half of the seventh century.

They

wing, which was studied as a model. originally

that

it

formed of twenty-five

was introduced

The

into

it

flat

claim the folding fan as

was

first

made

refer

its

origin

They

in

the latter

to the bat's

also assert that

it

was

boards united by strings, and

China from Japan.

uses of this familiar object are various.

It is

the house-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

452

hold bellows with which the

machine by which the chaff girls

use

it

is

kindled

office

;

Roman

important individual has rather the shape of a

There

fan.

than the wood side-pieces when the fan

perfumed

way

closed

is

paddle

a form of

is

much broader

folding fan peculiar to Nara, in which the folds are

its

at wrestling

but the particular form used by

than that which we associate with the

form or other the fan finds

Dancing-

rice.

indispensable as an

it

employed by the umpire

It is

matches as a badge of

the winnowing

is

it

;

separated from the

is

a manner which renders

in

adjunct to the dance.

this

fire

;

and

in

some

There are

into every house.

with scented material enclosed between the two

fans,

thicknesses of paper

there are waterproof fans, which are used

;

as sprinklers in hot weather

by being dipped

water and then

in

swung backwards and forwards in the ordinary way. The Japanese often ask great artists to make a sketch on a fan, great writers to inscribe a few

words of poetry, or celebrated men to place

autograph on such an object photographs of Besides

;

their

and these they preserve as we do

friends.

the

folding

screens, or flat fans,

fan

made

in

peculiar this

any other part of the country.

Nara, there are hand

to

town which we do not

find

silk

and sometimes of paper, but

like

our stencil plates, only the perforations are exceedingly

Sometimes the pattern figures,

and

in all

cases they are perforated

is

fine.

consists of diaper-work or small geometrical

at other times of flowers, animals, or birds

cases the figure

in

These are sometimes formed of

;

but

in all

produced by perforation.

These fans are always made by hand six thicknesses are cut through at the

;

but

same

if

formed of paper

time, while

if

silk

is

used a smaller number of thicknesses are brought together during the operation of cutting. is

The accuracy with which

this perforating

accomplished, and the minuteness of the work, causes us to

wonder

at the skill of the

workmen,

for lines

shank of a medium-sized pin are commonly but also

no thicker than the

cut,

not only

in

paper

in silk.

When

these pieces are

made

into screens one piece

is

pasted

on the front and another on the back, but they are so arranged

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

the perforations of one

that

4 53

exactly over the perforations of

fit

the other.

There

in

is

Japan a material which we

This

crape.

is

my

but the process of manufacture

;

stay in the country.

am

I

catalogue of the Philadelphian Exhibition

which

may be

paper, which

is

a most perfect imitation of the real crape,

called the matrix-paper

mentioned

'

it

the Japanese

in

wooden board

is

In the

first

is

place, that

prepared by laying a moistened sheet

cut with fine grooves running either parallel

or crossing one another at very small angles, and by beating so as to force

did not see

:

ingenious and most simple process.

of strong paper on a

I

therefore compelled to give

the description of the process which appeared

" The crape made by a very

it

a tough, fibrous paper to which a crape-like sur-

face has been given

during

crape-paper, as

call

crimped woven fabric which we know as

closely resembles the

into these grooves.

It is

it

with hard brushes

then painted over with the frequently

consequence of which operation the paper becomes so

shibu,' in

after having been stretched out it refolds by itself. For the production of crape several sheets of thin moistened paper are laid alternately with sheets of the above-mentioned matrix-paper, one upon the elastic that

when

let

go

The package

other.

is

then

wound on

several times with a strong lever, as

By means

of wood.

if it

to a

round piece of wood, and pressed

were

to

be stripped

off

from

into the folds of the matrix,

and consequently folded

in a similar

is

forced

manner.

repeating this manipulation ten or twelve times, each time unrolling to

this piece

of this operation the soft and moistened paper

it

in

By order

change the position of the paper between the sheets of matrix-paper, and by the paper becomes gradually folded in it again on the piece of wood,

winding all

directions, the intersecting points of all these folds producing the craped

process causes the

Naturally, this

surface.

This kind of craping

is

paper to shrink considerably.

done with printed pictures, and also with coloured

papers, which are used for coiifures."

Paper leathers also receive their textures in

the

last

" grain "

these

Paris

in a like

way, and

Exhibition some pieces with the coarsest of

were shown.

The

patterns which are embossed

leather-like surfaces are

upon

almost always due to the fabric

being hammered with hard brushes upon a matrix in much the same manner as we form the moulds in the process by which our

newspapers are stereotyped.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

454

With regard

to baskets there

is

nothing of importance to be

number of

noticed, except the fact that in a large

formed from

flat

work which

sheets of plaited

cases they are

are cut into shape

and joined together.

When plaited

are covered

The is

made

thus

work

the basket

by

strips of

plaited

generally lined with a kind of

is

from that of the exterior, and the seams

differing

bamboo sewn over

in basket-like fashion.

work of which the exterior of the basket

is

formed of shreds of the bamboo, on one side of which

made that

is

hard glossy surface characteristic of the stem of the plant, and

much

these sheets are plaited for chairs.

surface,

in the

All good baskets have as their exterior this glabrous

which possesses the quality of

The

degree.

manner of our cane bottoms remarkable

resisting dirt to a

inner lining of the basket

is

formed of

flat

laths of

extreme thinness, which are cut from that portion of the bamboo which

remains

Common

used

baskets,

purposes, are

the

after

made

surface

silicious

has

removed.

been

holding eggs and other household

for

of the inner portions of the stem, like the

lining of the better works.

Baskets are also

made

in

Japan from the shoots of the Westeria

creeper, but these are not in interest attaching to them.

general use, and there

no special

is

Occasionally a beautiful basket

may

fine string of some kind instead of bamboo. Such a basket, rubbed over with brown lacquer and dusted with

be seen formed of

gold, ful

is

before

me

as

I

write.

We

have already seen that beauti-

works are also formed of fern fronds

The

(see

page 194).

Japanese are the best basket-makers in the world, and

They

they alone have raised the manufacture to an art industry.

make baskets which are not only useful but

beautiful,

of them must be classed as true art objects. carefully considered, the patterns into

are beautiful, the contrast of open ated,

and the handle

is

often of

and many

Their forms are

which the bamboo

is

worked

work with solid is duly apprecimost dainty character, while its

curve almost invariably forms a pleasant contrast with the lines of the other parts of the work.

As

I

write

I

have by

my

side a

number of baskets from Japan, China, Formosa, India, Jamaica,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

455

Ceylon, Java, Haiti, Spain, and Algeria, but none of them are

comparable as works of

Boxes are

art with those

made

also

from Japan.

of fine basket-work on which lacquer

sprays are sometimes drawn, the interstices between the strips of

bamboo being the flower

is

things are in

we

are

all

filled

up

some

familiar with the egg-shell

Sachi

Immense bamboo

many

bags,

in

these are as an

piles

and

orang-es

feet

filled

The Japanese

cups covered with

covered

common.

are

formed of

length, are also

in

to a river, as

strips of

we have already seen bamboo for carrying

;

fruits.

from

differ

all

other people in the extended use

of material, and in the mingling of a

The advantages which

one object.

produced where

with boulder-stones and then arranged

embankment

and other

materials,

and from the mingling of

object,

greater than

is

sachi

similarly

bottles

nets are formed from strips of

little

is

Cabinets, luncheon baskets, and other

cases covered with plaited bamboo-work, and

basket-work.

;

so that a level surface

to be drawn.

we might

number of substances

in the

accrue from this use of varied different substances in the

one

at first suppose.

In the sections on the metal manufactures the fact was noted that the Japanese use metals for their art qualities, and to a great

extent disregard their intrinsic worth. also, for

an art workman

in

It is

so with other materials

Japan seems to search the earth and

the seas for material with which to produce beautiful objects.

A ivory,

but

pipe-case which

and

its

it is

I

have just been inspecting

decorated with inlaid sprays of

interest rests in the fact that colour

by the use of formed of of ivory

different kinds

is

formed of birds

;

given to the sprays

Thus we have

of material.

tortoise-shell, of pearl, of gold, of

dyed green, while the

is

bamboo and

oxydised

leaves

silver,

and

birds are formed of horn, through

which coloured pigments are just

visible.

But each bird has a

golden eye.

By employing and colour

is

this variety of material richness of effect is got,

also secured

;

whereas we to a great extent lose the

advantag-es of colour through confining ourselves to certain kinds

456

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

of materials.

197 gives a wood pipe-case in which flowers formed of various metals are inlaid.

and

Fig.

butterflies

Fig.

197.— Pipe-case, formed of wood, with pattern of chased inlaid metalsgold, silver, and bronze being used in the work.

But besides combining various substances

the one object

in

the Japanese use materials which no other people

employ

in their

manufactures.

Bark

is

worked

into trays of considerable beauty,

And

either left plain or lacquered.

made

veneer, the trays being chiefly in the district of

The bark used what suberous the

Nikko

is

Hakone.

is

is

of various kinds, but that most

of ash-gray colour, with a rough and some-

character.

trays

largely used as a

is

Nikko and the veneer work done

in

as a veneer

generally employed

bark

That employed

for the

manufacture of

comparatively smooth and ligneous, and appears

to be the inner bark of a cone-bearing tree.

The

inner layers of

a certain kind of fibrous bark are also used for the

temples

thatch

of

and a roof of this material which has become celebrated

;

Japan owing ing which

it

to the perfection of its

has lasted,

In Japan

The

which are

I

is

in

workmanship and the time dur-

pointed out as one of the sights of Nara.

purchased a

set of sachi

cups

made

of orange-peel,

rind of half an orange had been shaped into a beautiful form,

and covered with a thin coating of transparent

dried,

Internally the cup

These little

little

vessels

was covered with red lacquer of

cups were not mere ornaments

from which the Japanese would

should wine from a Venetian glass.

prove durable.

But

I

And

;

lacquer.

perfect finish.

they were dainty

sip their sachi, as

we

they would certainly

suppose that the British workman would as

soon think of making his breakfast of cowhides as he would of

making orange-peel into cups. I found in Tokio a manufacture which concerned

itself

with

the working of sea-weed into pocket-books, plaited hats, and other things.

The form

of algae used was evidently a tangle.

By some

ART, means the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

was extracted from

salt

while the beautiful smoothness of

The town

Okabe

of

it,

its

Suruga

in

and

was rendered pliable

it

was

surface is

457

retained.

almost entirely devoted to

the manufacture of mats, trays, and chop-sticks, from the stems of the

common

brake

Mats

fern.

are

made by

number of stems

a

of equal size being arranged in parallel rows and held together

by long copper pins which run crosswise through the stems, or by being

first

pinned and then plaited together by a

thread

little

The

trays are formed in the same manner, only they by one or two stems similar to those of which the bottom part is made. The margin is generally tied to the bottom part at two or three points by strips of cherry bark (Fig. 63). At Yumoto-kawabata, in the province of Sagami, baskets, which are beautiful in shape, and hats of helmet-like form, are

of cane.

are margined

made from

the fronds of a pinnate fern which are most ingeniously

The

plaited together.

pieces of frond used for this purpose are

generally about twelve or fifteen inches in length, and the pinnae

When

extend to about six inches on either side of the mid-rib. dried this frond sistence

one-third of

The sawn

smooth, of

its

in

the gourd

is

also used

and even teapots are made.

in

pilgrim bottle,

is

pared to about

Japan, and with

A

is

;

it

gourd which

bottle

two lengthwise makes two excellent

interiors are well lacquered

I

and leathery con-

soft buff colour,

original consistency (Fig. 64).

rind of

cups, ladles, is

is

but before being plaited the mid-rib

;

ladles

when

their

but the use of the gourd, save as the

not general in Japan.

have seen excellent stands, with lacquered and inlaid orna-

ments upon them, formed of those fungoid masses which we sometimes see protruding from the sides of

box formed of

When

the

bamboo

almost enveloped

gus shoot.

first

rises

And

I

have seen a

from the ground the stem

in large scale-like leaves like

These are shed when the

their appearance.

Such

scales are

is

a colossal aspara-

foliacious

branches

somewhat scoop-shaped,

make

as they

or less encircle the stem.

They

are gray in colour, fibrous,

slightly striated in character

owing

to their

more and

trees.

a sea-urchin (Echinus) shell, with lacquered interior.

endogenous forma-

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

458

These

tion.

made

much

work now commonly cut

of the

but in this case they are most

;

into little squares vertically

as veneer to

scales are used

Tajima

at

arranged that the

so

and horizontally

of the scale run

fibres

in the alternate squares.

Flattened grass stems are also largely used for the covering of

wooden boxes are

made with

and when dyed into many colours beautiful objects

;

simple material

this

:

Bamboo

scales are sometimes,

though not frequently, covered with lacquer and used as scoops. have

I

Japanese

in

mentioned

a

number of

used

materials

by the

order to show English manufacturers that they do not

avail themselves of

many

materials capable of being formed into

beautiful objects

but

have not even named the two which

;

more of the

furnish

I

useful

scarcely excepting clay itself

To enumerate would be

make

of Japan than any other, These are the bamboo and paper.

objects

the various uses to which the

to furnish a

list

bamboo

is

put

altogether unreadable, for they seem to

everything of bamboo, and to treat

it

every imaginable

in

manner. It

must be remembered that the bamboo

giant grass, with hollow stem

Thus

it

is

a tough, fibrous,

divided horizontally at the knots.

consists of a series of cylindrical

chambers superposed one

on the other, and separated from each other by horizontal wooden divisions

— the

knots or divisions being very close to each other

near the root of the plant, and removed from each other by a considerable distance in the higher part of the stem.

from these

It is

knots that the thin shoots on which the foliage

borne are

is

protruded.

Before me, as

I

write, are a series of carved

boxes each made

from a section of the stem with two of the transverse divisions,

box and come from the

the one forming the top and the other the bottom of the these boxes vary in height according as the joint has

centre or lower portion of the stem.

Here

is

a sachi bottle formed

of an elongated joint, and with an arched handle. beautiful spray of the magnolia carved in the

;

manner

On

it

is

a

called cameo,

and with a bud so arranged as to become the spout from which the sachi

is

poured.

A

plugged hole at the top permits of the

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART,

459

vessel being filled with the exhilarating fluid (Fig. 198). is

a

Here

bordered with a Greek key pattern, and on one side of

spill

which a snake

carved, while on the other

is

we have

a flower,

the surface being lowered in both cases so that the fieure stands

Fig. igg.— Teapot, formed of portion of

bamboo

stem, with three septa.

Sachi Bottle, formed of a porbamboo stem, with two horizonone becoming the top, the septa

Fig. 198.

tion of a tal

—

Tray, formed of the carved transverse bamboo stem {the dissepiment).

Fig. 200.

partition of a

other the bottom, of the vessel.

out in relief

But besides the carving,

riched with a

little

and a warm brown flowers cut

upon

it

formed out of a short root

hole

is

made

in

Here

colour, prevail.

in intaglio.

Here

joint.

in

the top, to which a

consists of a tuft of lateral shoots.

is

another

is

en-

silver,

spill

with

a tea-box or tea-caddy

is

Here

a root joint, with the spout carved

A

beautiful spill

this

lacquer-work, in which gold, oxydised

is

a teapot also formed of

the thickness of the side. lid is fitted,

Here

is

and the handle

another

made

out

of two cells and three of the dissepiments, the one being utilised as the handle (Fig. 199).

But before

me

I

see scoops

made

of

portions of the stem, trays formed of the horizontal divisions, both

carved (Fig. 200) and plain; medicine boxes; portable writing-cases

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

46o a

box formed by

splitting a portion of the

of boxes, consisting of a the form of a tripod

number of superposed

and many other

;

stem lengthwise; a nest joints

a censer in

;

But the Japanese

things.

make useful ladles. They use large joints for the carrying of water as we use pails. They make fences of a hundred different kinds by plaiting and

attach handles to portions of the stem and thus

intertwining

the

shoots

thin

in

various

ways

(Figs,

i

to

15).

They make sun blinds by threading little bits of bamboo on strings, as we thread beads they split it into laths and form mats by attaching the strips together with threads they make They split a stem throughout the spokes of their fans of bamboo. a portion of its length and make a hand screen by spreading the They make their split portions and pasting paper over them. fishing-rods of the bamboo they convey water in bamboo stems from which the transverse members or dissepiments have been ;

;

;

removed; and the gutters around

Japan

formed of

their houses are

Their baskets are of the bamboo (willow

material. for

basket-work)

;

and,

by hammering

it till

this

not used in

is

it is

reduced to

a broken and fibrous condition, they form a fuse used for blasting operations

;

while the tooth-brush

is

a bit of

bamboo

is

put

in

stem, with

These are some of the

the end rendered fibrous by hammering. uses to which the

bamboo

Japan, but they are only a few

out of a multitude.

The Japanese paper that they treat

it

is

in various

ance of other substances.

tough and

ways so

fibrous,

and we have seen

as to give to

Thus they make from

it

the appear-

it

a material

closely resembling leather, and also an imitation of tortoise-shell

so like the substance imitated that

the real

shell.

passes through

They make it

almost be used for In

its

as

it

it

might readily be taken

for

a paper so gossamer-like that the air

would through a

net,

and which might

ladies' veils.

leather-like form paper

is

used for the making of pocket-

books, tobacco-pouches, pipe-cases, satchels, and for most of the

purposes to which we should apply leather. tion tortoise-shell

it

is

inlaid into

In the form of imita-

cabinets and trays.

Japanese

pocket-handkerchiefs are formed of paper, and some of these

may

ART.

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

461

be rubbed up into a ball without their tearing, when they become

Small parcels are almost invariably

as soft as the finest cambric. tied with string

formed of twisted paper.

formed of paper, as well as the paper

is

also put to

have now, so

I

devoted to

Waterproof coats are "

of the jinrikishas, and

we apply

far as I could, described

in

it

England.

the arts and the art

want of space has compelled me

to treat

The art of Japan is so full of volume and many illustrations should be

subjects imperfectly.

interest that a large it

be employed

aprons

those uses to which

all

industries of Japan, but

some of the

"

alone if

and especially should coloured

;

justice

is

done to

to be

illustrations

The manufacturing

it.

processes are so varied and so interesting that a volume should also. My book may, however, awaken some interest in the beautiful works which Japan produces, and throw some little light on the architecture, the art, and the

be devoted to their consideration

manufactures of the country. in

productions of others.

the

or any of them,

Some

I

may

It

own manufactures by

our

improvement

also lead to

calling attention to excellences If

should achieve these

it

my

shall feel that

interesting manufactures

knowledge

I

have been unable to describe

and one of the most

want of

i.e.

the manufacture of cloisonne enamel-work on porcelain,

;

While

been obliged to pass unnoticed. detail

of the process, and after

Nagoya, most kindly got

them

in

complete set of specimens.

trading firm,

was sold

To me

in

own

have

I

observed every

These

which appears

goods.

But, un-

and no one got a

parts,

they were

all lost,

no opportunity of analysing the substances used

The

I

the substances used.

mistake for their

fortunately, the collection

Japan

a specimen of every process in all

were sent to the care of a London to have sold

in

interesting,

the country Dr. Roritz, of

I left

me

for

the manufacture, and samples of

results,

labour has been well bestowed.

for

sufficient

in

in

and

I

had

the process.

wires are attached to a biscuit-ware and not to a glazed

surface,

and

(probably a

to

this

liquid

they are stuck by a resin

or

a

solid

gum -like

volatile

oil).

substance

When

all

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

462

the wires have been fixed in their places, the whole work

and

biscuit

—

are smothered

in a white semi-fluid

—

wires

The

matter.

and sent to an oven, where the white matter But this subwith which it has been covered becomes vitrified. It has no tendency to run, but stance never actually melts. simply becomes hard and gritty; is it borax? It is this substance object

which

now

is

dried,

fixes the wires in their places,

manufacture

enamel colours are placed

in

the cells and are vitrified

process of filling and of vitrifying

come

with a true enamel.

filled

till it is

secret of the

After the wires are thus fixed the soft

here.

rests

and the whole

repeated so that the

is

The work

all

and

this

cells

be-

now ground down

is

smooth, and the outer edges of the wires are

all

then comes a polishing process, after which the work In

;

distinct

;

finished.

is

respects this manufacture resembles that of cloisonne metal

objects,

save

them

soldering cloisonne

in

is

now

The whole

the to

of the

fixing

metal,

and the

wires

to

earth

instead

of

metal

manufacture of the

so familiar as to require no description.

of the manufacturing processes of Japan are con-

ducted without the aid of any mechanical contrivances whatever, I do not think that the country and with the simplest of tools. boasts a saw of sufficient length to cut through a large log of

The saw has

wood. it

and work plank

is

is

begun on the opposite

cut.

The plane

so does the saw.

I

when

the form of a butcher's chopper, and

has cut well into the angle at the end of a log, the log side.

By

is

repeated turnings a

cuts pulling towards the

workman, and

never saw a lathe with a continuous

motion, save in the Royal Arsenal, which

is

turned,

rotar}-

nothing more than

and I never but once saw a labour-saving a European workshop Rice is husked by being contrivance of any kind in the country. The pestle placed in a sort of mortar into which a pestle falls. by a fulcrum supported is attached to a horizontal piece of wood ;

in the centre.

On

thus the pestle

is

By

this repeated

the end opposite to the pestle a

raised

:

man

stands

but by his jumping off the pestle

;

falls.

stepping on the end and jumping off the process

of husking the rice

is

accomplished.

In the corner of a field

I

once saw one of these mills with a

ART,

AND ART MANUFACTURES. beam where

kind of bucket placed on the end of the

would

stand.

filled this

Fig. 201.

A

small

water -spout

bucket with water, when

it

coming from

the

a

and thus

let

man

hillside

But the

raised the pestle.

Humorous Sketch of a Man working a Rice Mill, who jerked the fulcrum from its socket.

act of raising upset the water,

463

bv his energy has

the pestle

humorous native sketch of an energetic workman, who by exuberant energy has displaced the beam,

is

A

fall.

his

given in Fig. 201

;

and the delighted man who has found out the labour-saving contrivance

is '

given, together with his mill, in Fig. 202.^

A

similar contrivance

is still

in use in the

north of Ensiland.

This, as

I

464

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

FiQ. 202.

— Rice

ISIili,

wokkeu

by

watek power,

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

ART, have just the

said, is the

only machine that

productions of the

465

ever saw in Japan, yet

I

country would

lead

us

to

that

infer

machinery of an advanced character must be common. Various forms of water-wheels are known, but during all my travels I never saw one.

The

may

following

be useful, as

is

it

a

of the chief woods

list

of the country, with the Japanese, the English, and the botanical

name

of each, the natural order to which the tree belongs, and

the chief uses to which each

is

by Motoyoshi Ono

put, as prepared

of Tokio for the instruction of engineers, students, and merchants.

Magnolia

Magnolia.

Ho-no-ki.

hypolciica S. et Z.

Used

Magnoliacea?.

sword scabbards and cabinet-work.

for

CercidiphyHum.

Katsura.

Used

liaceae.

Mokkoku.

Used

Ternstroemia.

Magno-

et Z.

and boxes.

Tej-nstra'tnia

Japonica

TernstroemiacecTe.

Tli.

for joinery.

Kiwada.

Phellodendron.

Used

Cercidiphyllum Japonicinu S.

for furniture

Phellodeiidroii aniurcnse Riip?\

Xanthoxylacea?.

for joinery.

Sweet hovenia.

Kenpo-nashi.

Ho^ietiia duh/'s

TJi.

Rhamnacece.

Used

for joinery.

Horse-chestnut-tree.

To-chi-no-ki.

Used

^-Esciiliis

iurbinata Bl.

Sapindaceae.

for joinery.

Urushi.

Lacquer-tree.

Dc.

RJiiis ver)ncife7-a

Anacardiacea?.

Used

for

boxes and joinery.

for

Kaki.

Sopliora Japonica L.

Sophora.

Yenju.

Cherry wood.

Sakura.

Used

Leguminoste.

Pruniis pseiidocerasiis Litid.

for joinery.

Rosaceje.

Used

woodcuts and joinery.

Persimmon wood.

Diospyros kaki L.

Ebenacea?.

Used

for

joinery.

Kuro-gaki.

persimmon.

Black

Diospyros kaki L.

Ebenaceje.

Used

for joinery.

Yego-no-ki.

Styrax.

Sfyrax Japonicum

S. ct Z.

Styracacene.

Used

for

joinery and turnery. Shoji. Kiri.

Kind of

for boxes

Kusu.

ash-tree.

Paulownia.

and

Used

for joinery.

Scrophulariacere.

Used

Cinnaviouuiin cnmpliora F. Xces. et Ehcrn.

Lauracese.

for joinery.

Yama-giri.

Used

Oleacea?.

furniture.

Camphor.

Used

F7-axinus.

Paiihnvnia ivipo-ialis S.et Z.

Wood

oil-tree.

Elcrococca

for joinery.

2

H

cordata

Bl.

Euphorbiacese.

JAPAN: ITS ARCHITECTURE,

466

Ze/kowa Kcaki

Zelkowa (planera).

Keyaki.

Used

Urticacea;.

Sieb.

for timber, joinery, furniture, etc.

Aphananthe.

Muku-ye-no-ki.

Used for joinery. Kuwa. White mulberry. and Nara,

aspera

Aplianatitlie

Morns

Urticace^e.

PI.

alba L.

Urticacea_\

crispiila

Bl.

Used

for joinery

furniture.

Kind of oak.

Querais

Used

Amentiferre.

for

handles, ships, and timber.

Used Amentifera;. Kind of oak. Qiierciis ciispidata Th. and timber. Amentiferae. (literals thalassica Hance. Shira-gashi. Kind of oak. Used for handles, ships, and timber. Kind of oak. Qucrcus acuta TJi. Amentifera;. Used for Aka-gashi. handles, ships, and timber. Querais sp. Amentifera?. Used for handles, Sawaguri. Kind of oak. ships, and timber.

Shihi-no-ki.

for handles, ships,

Kuri.

Castanea vulgaris Laiiik.

Chestnut -tree.

Used

Conifera;.

Used

Pinus Tlnmbcrgii Paralat.

Black pine.

0-matsu.

Amentiferae.

and timber.

for boxes, joinery, furniture,

for timber.

Red

Me-matsu.

pine.

Pinus

de7isiflo7'a S.

et Z.

Conifera;.

Used

for

timber.

Hime-ko-matsu.

Used

S.

et

Z.

Coniferre.

and timber.

Larix

Larch -tree.

Kara-matsu.

Pinus paT^tnflora

Yellow pine.

for joinery

leptolepis Cord.

Conifera?.

Used

for

Conifera?.

Used

for

timber.

Momi.

Abies firnia S.

Fir (Coarse texture).

et Z.

timber and boxes. Fir (fine texture).

Shirabe. for

Abies niensiesii S.

et

Z.

Conifera;.

Used

boxes and timber. Fir (white wood).

Tohi.

Abies alcokiana Lindl.

Conifera\

Used

for

boxes and timber. Tsuga. Sugi. for

Fir.

Abies Tsuga S.

Japanese

cedar.

et Z.

Used

Coniferaj.

Cryptonieria japouica Don.

for timber.

Conifera;.

Used

timber and cooper's work.

Kurobe-sugi.

Used Hiba.

for

Japanese

cedar.

Cryptonieria japonica Do?l

Coniferre.

timber and cooper's work.

Thujopsis.

Thujopsis dolabrata S.

ct.

Z.

Conifera\

Used

for

timber (much valued).

Nedzuko. fera;.

Sawara.

Used

Selaginellense Thujopsis.

Used for timber. Kind of white cedar. fyr

4-

Thujopsis

l(Ttevi7-ens

Lind.

Clianiceyparis pisifera S. ct Z.

timber and cooper's work.

Coni-

Conifenu.

ART,

Juniperus.

Jimiperus

and timber, Arbor vitee. Tlnija.

nipponica

Maxiii.

Coniferae.

for joinery

Wa-byakudan.

Yew-tree.

Araragi.

Coniferae.

for timber

Beni-byakusin.

Used

467

Kind of white cedar. Chamcccyparis obtusa S.et Z. (much valued).

Hi-no-ki.

Used

AND ART MANUFACTURES.

Taxiis

Used

Coniferae.

aispidata

S.

et

Z.

for joiner}'.

Coniferte.

Used

for

joinery.

Kaya,

Nut-bearing tree resembling the yew-tree.

Used Icho.

for

Ginko

boxes and tree.

Torreya nuciferce Z. et S.

fine timber.

Cinko biboba S.et Z.

Coniferae.

chessboards.

THE END.

Printed hy R.

&

R. Clark, Edhilmrgh,

Used

for

boxes and

l'^

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

llllllillllll,, 3 9999 05692 2899

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