THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN AND NORTH AMERICA Holme in Yokohama. Photographed at Farsari’s on 29 May 1889 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME ’S 1889 V ISIT TO JAPAN AND NORTH AMERICA WITH MRS LASENBY LIBERTY ’S JAPAN : A PICTORIAL RECORD



Edited by Toni Huberman, Sonia Ashmore and Yasuko Suga

GLOBAL ORIENTAL THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN AND NORTH AMERICA WITH MRS LASENBY LIBERTY’S JAPAN: A PICTORIAL RECORD Edited by Toni Huberman, Sonia Ashmore and Yasuko Suga

First published 2008 by GLOBAL ORIENTAL LTD PO Box 219 Folkestone Kent CT20 2WP UK www.glogaloriental.co.uk

Introduction © Toni Huberman, Sonia Ashmore, Yasuko Suga 2008

ISBN 978-1-905246-39-7

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

Set in Garamond 11.5 on 13pt by Mark Heslington Ltd, Scarborough, North Yorkshire Printed and bound in England by Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham, Wiltshire C ONTENTS

 General Plates face opposite page xxvi Lasenby Liberty Plates and Commentaries face opposite page 106

Foreword by Sir Hugh Cortazzi vii List of General Plates ix List of Charles Holme’s Diary Illustrations ix List of Emma Lasenby Liberty’s Plates xi Acknowledgements xiii Introduction by Toni Huberman, Sonia Ashmore and Yasuko Suga xv Map of Japan showing principal towns and sites visited by Charles Holme xxvi

THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN AND NORTH AMERICA

Part I – JAPAN : 28 March –7 June 1889 3 Part II – NORTH AMERICA : 7 June – 10 July 1889 69

Notes to Charles Holme’s Diary 91

JAPAN: A PICTORIAL RECORD 107 by Mrs Lasenby Liberty Edited and supplemented with a descriptive text by Mr Lasenby Liberty

Bibliography 209 Index 211

F OREWORD



was delighted to learn that a hitherto unpublished diary of a journey to IJapan and North America made in 1889 by Charles Holme had come to light. Holme was one of the first chairmen of the Japan Society’s council (1904–07) and the founder of the influential art journal, The Studio, which played such an important role in the history of art especially at the turn of the twentieth century. I also knew him as a friend of Sir Alfred East RA, whose diary of his visit to Japan I had edited in 1991. 1 Holme’s other travelling companions were his friend Lasenby Liberty, who founded the famous eponymous store in London’s West End, and Emma Lasenby Liberty, whose photographs of Japan I had seen in a privately printed edition. Fortunately, I managed to find a copy of this book thereby enabling reproduction of her photographs to be included in this volume. Holme was a business associate of Christopher Dresser who did so much to introduce Japanese art into Britain and became one of the most important designers of Victorian England. His book Japan: Its Architecture, Art and Art Manufactures, published in London in 1882, was a seminal work. Holme’s diary is not just another run-of-the-mill globe-trotter’s account of a visit to Japan in the late Victorian era. It is interesting for his descriptions of the places he visited in Japan and the people he met, including the young Rudyard Kipling, whose account of his two visits to Japan are contained in Kipling’s Japan: Collected Writings .2 More important are Holme’s sensitive reactions to aspects of Meiji Japan and to everyday Japanese objects. His sketches and drawings which he inserted into his diary add greatly to its interest. For Holme the journey marked a high point in his life and had a significant influence on his work as editor of The Studio . It made him a significant promoter of what became known in the West as Japonisme . HUGH CORTAZZI

1. A British Artist in Meiji Japan , Brighton: In Print Publishing, 1991 2. Co-edited with George Webb. London: Athlone, 1988.

L IST OF G ENERAL P LATES



1. Charles Holme, family and friends at Two Bridges Hotel 1 2 Gwendolen Holme, Lady Liberty and Clara (Mrs Charles) Holme at Two Bridges Hotel 2 3 Liberty and Holme at Upton Grey 3 4. Holme & Co. advertisement, Japan 4 5. Mawe & Co. catalogue cover, Japan 5 6. The Studio , the first cover, 1893 6 7. The Studio (1911): ‘Japanese Ornamental Basket Work ’7 8. Yaami Hotel, Kyoto, advertisement 8 9. “Tea-house in the Village of Hakone’, by Alfred East 8



LIST OF HOLME DIARY ILLUSTRATIONS

Japanese robes 9 Arrangement of flowers 12 Shoji and ramma 13 Mount Fujiyama 60 Wallpaper (Japanese leather paper) manufacturing process 68 The ‘curious shapes’ of burnt trees 73

NOTE: Of the six illustrations from Holme’s diary reproduced here, ‘Japanese robes’ (p. 9), ‘Arrangement of flowers’ (p. 12) and ‘Shoji and ramma ’ (p. 13) had to be taken from the carbon copy of the diary, whereas it was possible to use the original top sheet of the diary for the remaining three illustrations, i.e. ‘Mount Fujiyama’ (p. 60), ‘Wallpaper manufacturing process’ (p. 63) and ‘The curious shapes of burnt trees’ (p. 73).

L IST OF E MMA L ASENBY L IBERTY ’ S P LATES

Facing pages 106



View from Maruyama, Kyoto 109 Garden Shrine to the Rice Goddess, Kyoto 111 Chionin Monastery, Kyoto 113 The Golden Pavilion and Lake, Kyoto 115 Street near the Yasaka Pagoda, Kyoto 117 Approach to the Kodaiji Monastery, Kyoto 119 Street Acrobats, Otsu 121 The Deer Fountain at Nara 123 Avenue leading to a Temple, Nara 125 A Limb of the ancient pine tree at Karasaki 127 The Landing Stage at Karasaki, Lake Biwa 129 The Temple of Horyuji 131 Court Yard of an Inn at Sakamoto 133 Waiting Maids at an Inn, 135 The Red Lacquer Bridge, Nikko 137 Stone Images of Jizo, by the river at Nikko 139 A Woodland Shrine at Nikko 141 Gateway to the Futarasan Jinja, Nikko 143 Avenue of Cryptomerias, Nikko 145 Mausoleum of the 1 st Shogun, The Second Gateway 147 Mausoleum of the 1 st Shogun, Third Gateway 149 Mausoleum of the 1 st Shogun, The Oratory, Nikko 151 Garden at Dainichi-do, near Nikko 153 Garden at Dainichi-do, near Nikko 155 Approach to the Mausoleum of the 3 rd Shogun, Iemitsu 157 Mountain Torrent above Nikko 159 The top of the pass between Nikko and Chuzenji 161 Mount Nantaizan from Lake Chuzenji 163 A Street in Ikao 165 Village Houses with lilies on the roofs 167 Mount Asamayama from below the Uzutoge Pass 169 Bridge in Dogashima Valley, near Miyanoshita 171 Strolling Samisen Player, Dogashima Valley 173 Stone Image of Jizo, near Hakone 175 Boiling Sulphur Valley, near Hakone 177 Mount Fujiyama from a garden at Mishima 179 xii LIST OF LIBERTY PLATES

Nihonbashi Street, Tokyo 181 Mausoleum of the 2 nd Shogun, Drum Tower, Shiba 183 Mausoleum of the 2 nd Shogun, Interior of the Chapel 185 Exterior of the Gardener’s House, Shiba 187 Interior of the Gardener’s House, Shiba 189 Mausoleum of the 6 th Shogun, Bronze Gates, Shiba 191 Mausoleum of the 6 th Shogun, The Tomb, Shiba 193 Jinrikisha Coolie and Dwarf Tree, Shiba 195 Tea Plantation in the Suburbs of Tokyo 197 Stone Image of Binzuru, Suburbs of Tokyo 199 A Coolie and Votive Offerings, Suburbs of Tokyo 201 Corner of a Temple Court, Enoshima 203 Shore and Fishing Boat, Enoshima 205 Bronze Image of Amida, Kamakura 207 A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS



ur thanks to Paul Holme and Jay de Simone, great grandchildren of OCharles Holme, for allowing us to publish the Holme diary; to Stephen Calloway, Curator of Prints, Word and Image, Victoria and Albert Museum, who was instrumental in bringing the Holme archive to the Museum and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the project, and to Christopher Marsden, Senior Archivist, Word and Image, Victoria and Albert Museum for his help and unfailing support. Thanks especially to Sir Hugh Cortazzi, without whom this book might never have been published, and for his great kindness in acquiring the volume of Liberty photographs and making them available to us. To the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation who awarded us a grant making it possible to visit Japan, and to Tsuda College, Tokyo, for their hospitality and support of the open symposium: ‘British Japonisme and Charles Holme: Asian Trade, The Studio and his trip to Japan ’. Thanks too, to Harunori Ohmori and Midori Ohmori for making our stay in Kyoto such a pleasurable experience, and to Gregory Irvine, Senior Curator, Japan, Victoria and Albert Museum, for reading the final manuscript and con - tributing many helpful suggestions .

NOTE ON THE TEXT What survives of Holme’s original handwritten diary is now in the possession of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, together with the complete carbon copy. The version that appears here is a virtually un-edited transcript of that copy. Had he known that his account would one day appear in print, Holme might have rewritten some of the more awkward passages, but its uniqueness is in the immediacy of the experiences he describes, and it deserves to be read ‘as written ’. Holme made a number of sketches in the diary to illustrate items of partic - ular interest or curiosity. Some were no more than doodles. Copies of some of those original pages from the diary are included here. We have, however, deleted any reference to the omitted sketches in the diary, for ease of reading. There are various schools of thought regarding macrons. As Holme’s diary xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS includes no macrons, and Liberty used them inconsistently, to avoid confusion, we have decided to omit them altogether. Hyphenated names have also pre - sented a problem as they are used inconsistently by both Holme and Liberty. Here we have elected to use them as sparingly as possible. One jarring note for present-day readers will be his reference to ‘Japs’. In Holme’s day this was not considered a term of abuse. That came much later.

COPYRIGHT The frontispiece and Plates 1, 2, 3 © Toni Huberman V&A Images/Victoria & Albert Museum, London AAD/2003/10/36, pp. 325, 331 and 350 AAD/2003/10/37, pp. 202, 206 and 207 I NTRODUCTIO N by

Toni Huberman, Sonia Ashmore and Yasuko Suga



harles Holme (1848–1923) was a key figure in the art world in Europe Cduring the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 1 He was founder and editor of The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art , one of the most innovative and influential art magazines of the period preceding . He was also a major disseminator of Japanese art in the West, both through the pages of The Studio , and earlier as an importer of Japanese art goods, and as a founding member of the Japan Society in London. Holme was the son of a Derby silk manufacturer and began his career working for the family business, moving to Bradford in his early twenties where he acted as his father’s agent. Eager to explore uncharted and potentially rewarding trading possibilities, in 1874 he invested in and helped to organize the first European enterprise to import goods from Eastern Turkestan in Central Asia (now Sinkiang Province, China); he later expanded trade into India, exchanging British goods for quality art goods, rugs, wool, silks and embroideries. As a result of this trade he met Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843– 1917), who had just set up his own business in the retail trade, Liberty and Co. of Regent Street, London, and Dr Christopher Dresser, one of the leading designers of the day. Holme was attracted by Dresser’s talent as an artist as much as to the prospect of a profitable business association. He was first and foremost a businessman, but an enterprise without artistic merit held no interest at all. In 1879, Holme moved to London and, in June of that year, Dresser & Holme opened their wholesale warehouse in Farringdon Road, London. They sold art goods from India and China, Persia and the Middle East, as well as Japan, while Holme & Co established warehouses in China, as well as in Kobe and Yokohama in Japan. Dresser was an enthusiast and expert on Japan, and through him Holme developed an abiding passion for all things Japanese. While Dresser’s role in bringing an appreciation of Japanese art to the West has been studied in some detail, Holme’s has not. Having played a leading role in opening up the market for Japanese art, Holme later went on to refine it in the pages of The Studio . xvi THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

HOLME’S ‘WORLD TOUR’ DIARY In December 1888, Holme, the painter Alfred East, and Arthur Lasenby Liberty and his wife Emma embarked on their ‘world tour’. Holme wrote two volumes of his diary over the course of the journey, but only one survives. The first volume, which covers the period from their departure at Tilbury in December 1888, to their visits to Egypt, Ceylon, Canton and , and their arrival at Nagasaki in mid-March 1889, no longer exists. The second volume now exists in part only. What has survived intact, however, is the bound carbon copy, from which the top sheets were removed. It begins on page 189 in Kyoto on 28 March, and ends (on page 395) three and a half months later in Winnipeg, Canada, on 10 July 1889. The many blank pages at the end of the volume suggest that that is where he stopped writing. The adventure was over, if not the journey. Holme, Liberty and East were close friends. They came from similar back - grounds and shared similar interests. Holme and Liberty had a common interest in commerce, and both had embarked on their careers as independent men of business in the India trade. They were also frequent travelling compan - ions, having shared family holidays together: destinations, nearer home including Switzerland, Germany and Italy, and farther afield in Greece, Turkey and North Africa, often combining a little business with pleasure. There is a misconception that Holme was employed as a buyer for Liberty. This was not the case. They did have an informal arrangement, however, between friends, whereby Holme (the wholesaler) sometimes purchased goods for Liberty (the retailer). Holme had sold his business some years before; his agent in Japan, George Sale, who features in the diary, was now working for the new owners, Mawe & Co. Liberty had just acquired a new partner, John Llewellyn, so both had freed themselves from business commitments and were able to be away for six months. East, however, was not a rich man. He sailed to Japan under the aus - pices of Marcus Huish and the Fine Art Society, to spend six months in Japan and produce a series of paintings of its landscape and people. Emma Liberty was the only wife to take part in this adventure. She and Liberty had no chil - dren, and so presumably no ties to prevent her from going. She was a keen and accomplished photographer, as is evident from the diary and the quality of the plates in her Japan album, and, it would seem, a keen and intrepid traveller. As the trip marked Holme’s apparent retirement from business, he was often free to accompany Emma Liberty on expeditions while her husband was busy vis - iting dealers, manufacturers and agents. The trip was one long shopping spree for Holme and Liberty; East had nei - ther the inclination nor wallet to indulge, and he was sometimes exasperated at his friends’ indulgences. Every trinket and curio shop seems to have been INTRODUCTION xvii ransacked, several times over, from Cairo to Ceylon, China and Japan, the US and Canada. But above all Japan. And all this was recorded in the diaries that Holme kept during the trip. The surviving volume now adds to the body of first-hand accounts written by Victorian travellers in Japan such as Isabella Bird, Christopher Dresser, Rudyard Kipling and Alfred East. Although it is in some ways a travelogue typical of its time, it also increases our familiarity with Japan at an important transitional moment in its history, through encounters with key personalities and observations on the production of art objects in which Holme and his companions had a particular interest. It also tells us something about the sourcing of Japanese goods for the London market, particularly for Liberty’s influential department store that made its name selling merchandise from the Near East and Asia. It tells us about the motivation and modus operandi of key participants in that trade. Liberty published several accounts of his journeys abroad, but the Japanese section of his (unpublished) diary of the 1888 –89 ‘world tour’ is missing. Thus, apart from a speech made by Liberty in Tokyo summarizing his observa - tions of Japanese craftwork, subsequently published by the Society of Arts in London, 2 the diaries of East and Holme are the main source of information about this significant journey. 3 Their accounts are supported by Emma’s album of photographs referred to above which has its own intrinsic interest and charm; her photographs are reproduced in this volume. 4 Since East had his own painting agenda, Holme’s diary gives a fuller account of the party’s shared Japanese experience. He portrays their tireless enthusiasm, unwilling to miss any opportunity for sightseeing, meeting Japanese and European residents, shopping for artefacts to ship back to London, and, presumably, establishing relationships with Japanese exporters. The party’s itinerary covered Japan’s principal tourist sites at that time. Although the journey from Nagasaki to Kyoto is missing from Holme’s diary, East mentions meeting up with his friends in Kobe and Osaka. Holme records their visits to Kyoto and Lake Biwa, to Kobe, the hot springs area of Arima, Osaka, Nara, Nagoya, Yokohama and Tokyo, Hakone and Nikko. It may by then have become a conventional tour but it was a tour with purpose.

DRESSER AND JAPAN Holme’s former business partner Christopher Dresser had already visited Japan between 1876 and 1877 in a semi-official capacity, to advise the Japanese authorities on European taste for the benefit of the Japanese export market. He took a gift of European decorative art objects from the South Kensington Museum to the Imperial Museum in Tokyo, visited a large number of pot - teries, metalwork and other craft-based manufacturers, and also advised xviii THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN metal-ware manufacturers. Dresser later published a detailed and influential account of his tour, Japan: Its Architecture, Art and Art Manufactures, in 1882. Dresser was profoundly impressed by his tour of Japan, which also included entrée to private collections, and he took the opportunity to accumulate col - lections of Japanese objects both for himself and for Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York. In 1879, Holme established an importing company, Holme & Co., with a base in Kobe, run by Dresser’s sons Louis and Christopher. 5 It operated concurrently with the joint venture of Dresser & Holme in London. Louis sub - sequently returned to London to work for Liberty; Christopher stayed in Kobe and married a Japanese woman. 6 Thus, besides its impact through his subse - quent design work, Dresser’s visit provided the basis for a mutual business venture with Holme as well as a network of Japanese contacts for Holme and Liberty. Liberty’s lecture on ‘Japanese Art Industries’ at Ueno makes an inter - esting postscript to Dresser’s observations. 7 Dresser was both observer and observed; his trip was also influential for Japan, as his comments and suggestions on Japanese artefacts were summa - rized in the report, Eikoku Dokutoru Doresseru Doko Hokokusho (1877), commissioned by the politician Okubo Toshimichi, one of the key figures in Japan’s modernization. This report is noted Dresser’s appreciation of tradi - tional Japanese art forms and his suggestions for the modernization of manufacturing. One of his suggestions which was later realized was the establishment of a government factory for ‘leather’ wallpaper production. Dresser & Holme had been importing Japanese leather paper for years, and Holme was greatly impressed by his visit to the factory, and carefully recorded and illustrated the manufacturing process in his diary. 8

WESTERNIZATION MEETS JAPONISME By the time of Holme’s visit, Yokohama was forty days by steamship from London via the Suez Canal and sixteen from San Francisco; Japan was also con - nected with the Trans-Siberian Railway and many other routes. Facilities for tourists were well-established and the third edition of Murray’s Handbook was in preparation. Holme mentions the various ‘traditional’ methods of travel within Japan – the jinrikisha , or rickshaw, pulled by men wearing loin cloths and straw sandals, the basha or native carriage, the kago or palanquin, chairs carried by coolies, and the pack-horse. He even brought back to England a palanquin along with other bamboo artefacts, which were later presented to the Royal Museum of Economic Botany at Kew Gardens. For longer journeys there were the new railways and steamboats, although routes were still incom - plete and Murray’s Handbook advised that, ‘The conditions of travel do not lend themselves to intricate arrangements. ’9 There was, however, often a choice of INTRODUCTION xix traditional inns or Western-style hotels, advertising everything from ‘incan - descent electricity’ and European cuisine to bands and billiard tables. There were English language newspapers, European banks and travel agents, chemists and department stores, besides the great number of Japanese ‘curio’ dealers who happily made themselves available to Holme and party; they in turn echoed Murray’s Handbook in complaining that the best things were all sold and prices were too high. Holme and his companions were visiting Japan at a moment of dramatic cultural change. The opening of Japan to the fascinated and sometimes preda - tory gaze of the Western world in the 1850s, after more than two centuries of isolation, affected both Japan and its observers. Japan embraced modernity, while the West became entranced by the traditional cultures of Japan. By the 1880s, an official campaign of Western-style modernization was well under way, yet it was still possible to experience the ‘old’ Japan. Holme’s notes, like East’s, make frequent reference to the anomalies that these transitions entailed, as in the adoption of Western dress. ‘The best plan’, advised Murray’s Handbook , ‘is to avoid the Foreign Settlements in the Open Ports ... The old peasant life still continues almost unchanged in the districts not opened up by the railways. ’10 Many Japanese were sent abroad to study Western institutions and engi - neering methods, and to promote trade and Japanese culture through the international exhibitions. Japan actively sought Western experts, known as O- yatoi gaikokujin , in fields such as architecture and engineering; they advised on the construction of lighthouses, ships, telegraph lines, mines and the estab - lishment of engineering colleges. 11 Western artists and scientists were also employed, notably the Italian sculptor Vincenzo Ragusa, who spent several years in Japan teaching sculpture and bronze casting, and the German metal - lurgist Gottfried Wagener (of the Ahrens Company) who helped to develop ceramic and enamelling techniques. Holme and his companions experienced the first fruits of these innovations, travelling on the new railways, designed predominantly by British engineers and served by British locomotives, noting the impressive Lake Biwa Canal, still under construction, or a well-built cotton mill. 12 Holme and party also met key protagonists of modernization such as Viscount Sano, who helped to establish institutions such as the Japanese Navy and Red Cross, and was the official government delegate at the Vienna exhibi - tion. They encountered expatriates such as the British architect Josiah Conder, employed by the Japanese government to build Western-style official build - ings and to train Japanese architects, and the American philosopher turned art curator Ernest Fenollosa, who founded both the Imperial Museum and Tokyo Fine Arts School. They also met Captain Frank Brinkley, who had been xx THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN employed as an instructor to the Japanese military, became owner and editor of the English language Japan Weekly Mail and a connoisseur and defender of tra - ditional Japanese art forms. ‘Brinkley is a well known connoisseur of Chinese and Japanese porcelain and is a collector of Japanese curios in general. His house is quite a museum of beautiful things’, noted Holme. 13 They met other key Europeans such as the Scottish merchant Thomas Glover, who built the first western-style house in Japan, and moved from dealing in ships and arms to founding the shipbuilding company which later became the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. Curiously, Holme does not mention the fact that Glover, like Conder, Brinkley and Dresser’s son Christopher, all married Japanese women. One encounter that did not go smoothly was that between Holme and the newly-appointed Secretary of the British Legation, the Hon. W. J. G. Napier, which resulted in Holme not being included in the invitation to the imperial garden party in Tokyo. Napier, on the other hand, appears not to have settled in Japan, and his posting was cut short. By the 1880s, Japan was an artistic and commercial destination as well as a tourist one. The ‘discovery’ of Japanese art from the mid-1850s by French artists in particular, and promoted in Paris, notably by Siegfried Bing, had a profound impact on the artistic cultures of Europe and the , known by the shorthand term of Japonisme .14 Yet just as this Western discovery of Japan was taking place, the Japanese Government expended much effort to increase the production of export goods. The spirit was expressed by the politician Okubo Toshimichi, who argued that a country’s strength depended on its people’s prosperity that related to the ‘abundance of production’, and that it was ‘the duty of government officials, wholeheartedly and skilfully on the basis of actual conditions, to encourage industry and increase production and thus secure the foundation of wealth and strength without delay ’. 15 Holme indicates some of the less welcome effects of this national mission. Art objects were often promoted in Japan through ‘exhibitions’ which Holme and his companions found disappointing and more like bazaars, with European-style goods for sale. They also noted their shock on seeing European influence in art schools. ‘I mean to have a “say” about this somewhere before I leave Japan’, Holme commented in his diary. 16 Like many Western visitors, both he and his companions sought in Japan the craft values being lost through the process of industrialization in Britain, and feared that the fashion in the West for things Japanese and successful Japanese efforts to create an export market would debase Japan’s traditional material culture. 17 At the end of the trip, after a grand farewell luncheon, Liberty gave a lecture at the School of Art in Ueno entitled ‘Japanese Art Industries’. It was given to ‘a large audience of both Japanese and foreigners’, including such eminent INTRODUCTION xxi

Japanese officials as Okuma Shigenobu , the Foreign Minister, Viscount Sano, Sannomiya Yoshitane, Imperial Chamberlain, as well as influential westerners such as Brinkley and Fenollosa. Students from the school of art also attended. Liberty summarized some of the ambivalence felt by all the members of his group, arguing that ‘no period could have been more unfortunate for Japanese art, as it coincided with the western climax of art retrogression’. The Japanese, he believed, ‘for a while failed to discriminate between material and art advan - tages ’ 18 Liberty found that progress was an uneven process; while lacquer and other wares of the highest quality were still being made, the Japanese colour printer and fabric designer had ‘become utterly paralyzed, and deranged by contact with European influence’. There were also, paradoxically, advantages for importers such as Liberty as ‘manufacturers are conforming to European requirements ... The native hand-looms are being supplemented by power- looms and the latest scientific mechanical appliances of the West.’ The West offered Japan valuable markets for craft goods at a time when local patronage was diminishing and Liberty took full advantage of this, using the tour of Japan for business as well as pleasure, establishing trade contacts and finding new products for his London shop.

THE JAPAN SOCIETY On his return from Japan Holme bought William Morris’s ‘Red House’ at Bexleyheath, which he furnished with Asian artefacts, including Japanese ones. Important Japanese visitors were among the guests invited there by Holme. 19 Inspired by their journey, in 1891 Holme, East and Liberty became founder members of the London Japan Society. Prior to this, like-minded people met over dinner, on a fairly regular basis, to discuss their interest in Japan. Ye Sette of Odd Volumes was another gathering place, a literary dining club to which Holme and his friends belonged. Many members went on to join the Japan Society. Membership grew rapidly to over a thousand within two or three years; lectures were very well attended. The Society was a focus for all their energies where they could share their own passion for Japanese art while at the same time attempt to redress the dilution of that art by educating the British public as to the ‘real’ nature of Japanese culture. While art was the main focus of interest, visiting princes and statesmen played a significant part in the Society’s activities. Politics was something they tended to avoid. In the wake of the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) Holme remarked that ‘the current politics are wisely excluded’ from the Society’s agenda. 20 Holme went on to become Chairman of the Society (1904–07), and later Vice President. xxii THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

THE STUDIO AND JAPANESE ART In 1893, Holme founded The Studio , an art magazine which swiftly gained an international reputation, and international editions were published in France and the USA. It took advantage of the new print technology, where illustra - tions could be printed at the same time as the letterpress type, which meant that good quality reproduction could be achieved at economic prices. Initially, critics were not particularly fulsome with their praise of the magazine, although they were impressed with the quality and number of illustrations, but its artistically literate middle class readership loved it. And the critics grew to love it too. The Studio comfortably combined the ideals of both William Morris and Christopher Dresser in its admiration of both craftsman - ship and good industrial design, and its reputation as the voice of an era has ensured its prestige. The Studio was often used as a forum for the presentation and discussion of Japanese art as well as contemporary European developments. There were reg - ular features about aspects of Japanese art and artists, including a series of illustrations, some loaned by friends and others from Holme’s own collection. Just as there were regular reports on the art world in Vienna, Berlin, Melbourne, London and Paris the magazine also covered Tokyo and Kyoto, and there were reports, too, of English artists visiting Japan. In 1897, Mortimer Menpes, painter and etcher, and pupil of Whistler, wrote an account of his visit in the form of a letter addressed to ‘Mr Holme ’. 21 There were also Japanese artists studying European art in England: R. Isayama featured in the first issue, 22 and the young, and at the time impoverished, Yoshio Markino featured in 1901, to name but two. 23 Beside these there were frequent references in arti - cles not ostensibly about anything Japanese at all, reaffirming the Japanese aesthetic.

USA AND CANADA Moving on from Japan where the group witnessed a society in a state of dra - matic transition, Holme and the Libertys arrived in the USA in June 1889, just months before the official announcement of the demise of the American frontier. 24 Here they witnessed at first hand another sort of transition – this time from wilderness to urbanization. There were now no new frontiers to con - quer. Frontier towns were developing into prosperous cities, the wilderness was shrinking, and the great iconic events in the history of the ‘Wild West’ were already being transformed into myth. (Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show first opened in 1883, and had already visited England for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887; Holme took his children to see the show at Earl’s Court in London a few years later.) But those events were still very much within living memory. INTRODUCTION xxiii

General Custer had been defeated by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at the Battle of the Little Bighorn only thirteen years earlier, in 1876. The last buf - falo hunt on the northern plains had taken place in 1883, and by 1884 the buffalo were virtually wiped out. The Oklahoma land run, which opened up two million acres of what had been Indian Territory to white settlement, occurred only months before Holme set foot in America, and the Massacre at Wounded Knee, effectively ending the Indian Wars, followed a year after. The more seemingly-legendary-than-real Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Jesse James and Billy the Kid had all been around within the previous ten years. Calamity Jane was still alive (she died in 1903), as was the great Apache leader Geronimo, who had finally surrendered in 1886, and lived on to 1909. Holme arrived at the moment when the American Indian was finally pushed aside to make way for white settlement. He was appalled at the atti - tude towards Indians: they were often killed indiscriminately. Canadian paternalism he saw as the better, if not perfect, option: having taken their land and livelihood it was only right to pay them for doing nothing. The great cities of the western USA were beginning to appear. Holme notes that in San Francisco there were ‘some fine buildings’ and fine shops – shop - ping always being one of his priorities – and the place reminded him of Liverpool ‘with a touch of Paris’; but there was still ‘a good helping of the backwoods’ as well, with bad roads and the ubiquitous wooden shanties. 25 The spectacular Palace Hotel where they stayed, however, was one of the wonders of the West. Destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, it was later rebuilt in equally grand fashion. Holme visited the Pioneers Club near Market Street, where membership was still limited to those who had settled California before 1850, a reminder that some of the pioneers at least were still around. There was evidence of growing urbanization everywhere they travelled. Portland, Oregon, was expanding into a city, in size if not splendour: most of the buildings Holme saw were shanties. Seattle, which had been a rough and tumble town of mainly wood houses, burnt down the week before he arrived, but the new city of stone and steel rose up soon after his departure. Even the wilderness was not quite as wild as it had been. The first white man set foot in Yosemite in 1851; the first tourists arrived in 1855. Later, artists such as Albert Bierstadt, William Smith Jewett, Chris Jorgensen and Thomas Hill were recruited to paint the natural wonders of the region to pro - mote tourism, the intention being that the tourist dollar would go towards preserving the area. It never happened, but the tourists arrived anyway, and by the 1880s the great American satirist Ambrose Bierce was rejoicing with grim satisfaction that Albert Bierstadt’s famous painting of Yosemite Valley had been destroyed in a fire: a painting that had ‘incited more unpleasant people to visit California than all our conspiring hotelkeepers could compel to return ’ – xxiv THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

Holme and his party not included, we hope. 26 Holme does record a brief meeting, though, with Thomas Hill at his studio at Wawona where he praises Hill’s landscapes. They travelled by train up the west coast to Canada on the new Northern Pacific Railroad (completed in 1883), and in Canada they crossed the conti - nent from Vancouver on the Canadian Pacific Railway (completed 1887) on a train that included both first class luxury cars and special colonists’ cars designed to transport the hoards of poor immigrants coming to settle the land. The railway, mass transportation, was transforming the country. The following year, in December 1890, the last north-western stagecoach, one of the legends of the West, set out from Deadwood, South Dakota; the next day the railway opened. The West would never be the same again.

HOLME’S DIARY: A POSTSCRIPT After Holme’s death in 1923, the diary, along with other family papers, passed to his son, Geoffrey, and then to Geoffrey’s son, Rathbone (Robin). When Robin’s widow, Naomi, moved abroad in 2003 the papers, including the diary, were sold at auction. Until then, the diary had been stored, untouched and unexamined, in a dark green filing cabinet along with other family memora - bilia. Antiquarian book dealer John Hart purchased the collection and it was eventually acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, with the help of Curator Stephen Calloway, after which a small display of highlights of the collection, including the diary, was exhibited at the Museum.

NOTES 1. Toni Huberman, ‘Charles Holme (1848–1923): Founder of The Studio and Connoisseur of Japanese Art, in Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits VI (Global Oriental, 2007), pp. 250– 61. 2. A. L. Liberty (1890), ‘The Industrial Arts and Manufactures of Japan’, in Journal of the Society of Arts 38, pp. 673–89; a version was also published in the English edition of S. Bing’s Artistic Japan 6, 1891. 3. Sonia Ashmore, ‘Liberty in Japan’, in Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits IV (Japan Library, 2002), pp. 142–53. 4. Emma Liberty and A. L. Liberty, Japan: a Pictorial Record: Album of photographs by Mrs Lasenby Liberty . Text by A. L. Liberty (Adam and Charles Black, 1910). The album contained fifty pho - tographs, apparently selected from more than a thousand. 5. See Diary 13 April 1889, p. 28; and no. 85 and no. 87; also Yasuko Suga, ‘“Artistic and Commercial” Japan: Modernity and authenticity of Japanese leather paper’, in Buying for the Home: Domestic Consumption from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century (Ashgate: 2008). 6. For more on Dresser and Japan see Widar Halén, ‘Dresser in Japan’, in Christopher Dresser: A Design Revolution (V&A Publications, 2004), pp. 127–39. 7. See Diary , 2 June 1889, p. 67, and Ashmore, 2002. 8. Diary , 30 May 1889, pp. 62 –4; also no. 174. INTRODUCTION xxv

9. Basil Hall Chamberlain and W. B. Mason, Murray’s Handbook for Travellers in Japan (John Murray: 1899), p.17. The first railway line, linking Tokyo and Yokohama, opened in 1872; by 1889, a thousand miles of railway had been constructed. 10. Ibid, p. 13. 11. See Olive Checkland, Britain’s Encounter with Meiji Japan, 1868–1912 (MacMillan, 1989), for an account of their involvement. 12. Locomotives were soon to be assembled in Japan using British engines: Checkland, 1989, pp. 48–9. 13. Diary , 18 April 1889, p. 31. 14. On Bing, see The Origin of L’Art Nouveau: The Bing Empire (Van Gogh Museum/Les Arts Decoratifs/Mercartorfonds, 2004). 15. ‘ Shokusan Kougyou ni kansuru Kengi-sho ’ [‘Proposal for Industrial Promotion’] (1968), Meiji 7 [1874], in Okubo Toshimichi Monjo (Tokyo: Daigaku Shuppankai), p. 561. 16. Diary , 2 April 1889, p. 11. 17. Mingei , a term first used in 1926 by Yanagi Soetsu, was a later home-grown, if western (arts and crafts) influenced reaction to rapid modernization in Japan. See Kikuchi Yuko, Japanese Modernisation and Mingei Theory (Taylor and Francis, 2004). 18. Japan Weekly Mail , 8 June 1889, pp. 551–52. A slightly different version of Liberty’s lec - ture was reported in ‘The Industrial Arts and Manufactures of Japan’, Journal of the Society of Arts 38 (1890), 673–89; and a version illustrated with depictions of Japanese occupations from the ‘Tenkin Orai’ of Hokusai appeared in Bing’s Artistic Japan 6. English Edition (1891). 19. Sonia Ashmore and Yasuko Suga, ‘Red House and Asia: A House and its Heritage’, Journal of William Morris Studies 17 (2006), pp. 5–26. 20. Meeting of 10 February 1904. See Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1906), 6: 323. 21. Mortimer Menpes, ‘A Letter from Japan’, The Studio 10 (1897), pp.32–6. 22. The Studio 1 (1893), p. 34. 23. ‘Studio Talk’, The Studio 24 (1901), pp. 53–60; see also Yoshio Markino, A Japanese Artist in London (Chatto & Windus: 1911). 24. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner wrote a seminal paper for the American Historical Association in 1893 on the subject, concluding that ‘this brief official statement [by the Superintendent of the Census] marks the closing of a great historic movement’: ‘The Significance of the Frontier in American History’, in Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (1893). 25. Diary , 20 June 1889, p. 70. 26. Quoted in Katherine M. Littell, ‘Chris Jorgensen and the Pioneer Artists of Yosemite’, Harvard Graduate Society Newsletter (1990). Principal towns and sites visited by Holme 1

From left to right: Arthur S. Wainwright (Holme’s son-in-law), Gwendolen Holme (youngest daughter), R. Holden, Dora Holme (second daughter), Charles Holme, Sir Alfred East (facing camera), Dr Griffiths. Photograph taken at the Two Bridges Hotel, Dartmoor, 1912 2

Gwendolen Holme, left; Lady Liberty seated with umbrella; Dora Holme, standing; Clara Holme standing with umbrella. Photograph taken at the Two Bridges Hotel, Dartmoor, 1912. 3

Liberty and Holme. A shooting party at Upton Grey. 4

Holme & Co. advertisement. Holme had warehouses in Kobe, Yokohama and London. 5

Mawe & Co. catalogue. Holme sold Mawe his warehouses in Yokohama and London in the 1880s, before his arrival in Japan. 6

Holme founded The Studio. An illustrated magazine of fine and applied art in 1893. The first cover was designed by Aubrey Beardsley, a then unknown young artist. Vol. 1 No.1, April 1893. 7

A page from The Studio , February 1911, here featuring Holme’s Japanese baskets. 8

Advertisement from the Murray guide of 1899 featuring the 9 Yaami Hotel, Kyoto, where Holme stayed.

Painting by Alfred East of a tea-house in Hakone, located opposite the house where Holme and East stayed, which according to Holme represented the happiest time he had in Japan. the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan and north america

part i – japan 28 march – 7 june 1889



Kyoto, thursday 28 march While we were going the round of these beautiful rooms, a party of japanese country people was being shown round also by one of the supernumeraries of the place. this guide was expounding the glories of the place in the singsong manner which showmen in all parts of the world fall into. the gentleman spoke his speeches as monotone with the most pronounced nasal twang i ever heard. the way the good country people stared at us with open-mouthed astonishment, however, showed us that we, to them, were one of the sights of the place. We are a little astonished to find in a place like Kyoto, so frequented by europeans and americans, that the people are not yet so accustomed to the sight of foreigners but the appearance of one is at once a signal for him to stop, open his eyes to their fullest extent – and his mouth on occasions – and stare (i put the word in capitals, because it really requires them to give the word its due intensity of meaning). round by yaami’s hotel are many of the attractions of Kyoto – temples, teahouses, etc. – and thither the country people all go. 1 this is why we see many of them and perhaps also the reason we get stared at so. i don’t think i am in the least weary of looking at the outside of this great temple of chionin– this ‘glorified barn’ as it has been called. 2 the whole exte - rior is in plain uncoloured and unvarnished wood which has become a greyish brown by exposure to the air. in this respect it is like the majority of temples in japan. only the ends of the beams and those places in the woodwork in which the grain is end across and exposed to the air are coloured white. this is so coloured however simply to protect the wood from rotting. i have come over and over again to see the place (being quite near to the hotel) and each time i have liked it better and feel more satisfied that, although perhaps a little barn- like in general outline, it is a great work of constructive art, in which the first principles of architecture have been carried out in a direct and thoroughly artistic manner. i hope when i have seen more of these great temples in other parts of japan i shall be able to form a clear and unprejudiced opinion as to their merits and demerits.  the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan friday 29 march a wet day. among the things i have purchased from the curio dealer is a com - plete set of utensils connected with the scent game; only i lack the necessary perfumes. 3 i therefore visit one of the principle establishments here for the sale of the scents. i find that the kinds used in the game are all different species of incense that are made in small tablets and burned over live charcoal. the game itself however is very little played and the ordinary people seem to know nothing of the manner of playing it. i overhaul the man’s shop however and look at all the different kinds of scents he makes. some are in long sticks, some in coils, some in tablets, some in powder. these last are used to sprinkle among the clothes or rub on the hand. there is a family likeness in the smell of them all; but still there are differences, and i make a selection of the varieties. another thing i look for and that is japanese paints, such as are used for painting on silk, etc. i find there are boxes of european moist colours (cheap ones) in the shops but am successful in meeting with a box of genuine japanese colours. these are all made in sticks and the range of colours is very limited. the brushes used for painting are a better kind than those commonly in use for writing, and some brushes are made, one fitting within the other, like a japanese fishing rod. But when all closed together they appear like one brush only. in fact i bought one, not discovering until afterwards that it contained two others. in the afternoon it clears up and i do a little sketching with east. saturday 30 march cold but bright (when the weather is warm we are sure to have rain and when it is cold it clears up and we have fine weather. this is quite the rule here this time of year). We take a rickshaw  to visit lake Biwa – about two hours journey from the hotel. 5 as we leave yaami’s we are soon on the great tokaido road which runs from tokyo to Kyoto and is the best road in japan. 6 until quite lately it was the only road in japan of any length available for carriage traffic. it is broad and well macadamised and kept in excellent condition. Going along we see the great works in progress for making the canal to bring the water from lake Biwa to Kyoto. this canal is not like an ordinary one just cut through a flat country, but it is one that goes through mountains and over valleys, and the works in connection with it would do credit to any civilized country in the world. yet the whole was originated and is being carried out by a young japanese, some twenty-two or twenty-three years of age. 7 the embankments are beautifully made, and the massive stone work which supports them in places, and in fact the careful and beautiful way in which everything is being finished – some of the aqueducts are beautifully built of bricks (made on the spot) – would put the work of an english railway con - 28 march –7 june 1889 5 tractor entirely into the shade. When completed, as i think i have said before, this canal will find waterpower to a large quantity of manufacturers besides being a waterway for traffic and supplying the town with a quantity of water. the tokaido road bound through it is well filled with people hurrying along carrying burdens, or pulling carts loaded with bales of rice or with rows of bas - kets full of unsavouriness for the farmers’ use. the hills rise up on either side and are clothed with pines or with clumps of feathery bamboo. a little stream rushes along by the side of the road and we are amused by the variety of ways it is made use of. the man waters the road in front of his house by dipping a ladle in the stream and deftly throwing the water in a sort of shower upon the road; a woman is busy kneeling upon a stone at its side and doing the week’s washing; at other places it is collected into spouts made up of bamboo and con - ducted for some distance until lower down the hill it turns waterwheels. it is a wonderful little brooklet, and no doubt it is looked upon by the people who live near it as a great godsend, a thing to be cared for, its banks to be kept in good repair, and altogether to be made the most of. at length we arrive at the town of otsu (pronounced oatso) on the shores of lake Biwa – quite a large town although not so clean and the streets not so broad as Kyoto. 8 But the view we get here of the lake is indeed beautiful. as we descend the hill into the town and we see over the roofs of the town to a vast expanse of water with faint hills appearing in the distance on the other side – the water being specked with little white sails and with a solitary steam boat that leaves a spreading tail of disturbed water behind it and a long cloud of black smoke in the air. Biwa is so called after its resemblance in shape to the chinese musical instrument of the same name [see plate p. 129]. Biwa lake is thirty-seven miles long and twelve miles wide at its broadest part ( vide murray). 9 our rickshaw men take us at once to one of the temples called miidera. 10 here we see the famous bell which Benkei, the strongman of japanese history, stole and carried to the top of a high hill – a favourite subject for japanese illustration. 11 also the huge iron pot, which, legend says, was used by him as a soup bowl. But we are more especially pleased with the beautiful pine trees which grow profusely here, the red trunks of which appear a bright scarlet in the sun – the foliage aloft forming a sort of background of dark green and of the lovely view we have of the lake and its distant blue hills, some of which are capped with snow. We get the most extended view from a hill on which stands an obelisk erected to the memory of soldiers who were killed in the satsuma rebellions. 12 it is here also that a troupe of japanese mountebanks – all children – come and walk about our rickshaws and turn somersaults, etc. mrs liberty, who has been taking photographs of the view, turns her camera round and takes one also of the performers who are curiously dressed with feathers in their caps and 6 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan make quite an interesting group [see plate p. 121]. after spending an hour or two ‘drinking in’ the loveliness of the place, we enter our rickshaws again and are bowled along a narrow road near the margin of the lake. the wind has risen and blows in the waves and these bend the long feathery grasses that grow in the shallow water, making many a pretty study for the brush. But no time can be given here. We have to hurry on to Karasaki, a small place in which there is a very remarkable pine tree reputed to be over a thousand years old [see plates pp. 127, 129]. 13 there is no doubt about it, it really is a very wonderful old tree. it does not rise to any great heights but its branches are trained along and supported by many props until they extend over a piece of ground and over the lake, probably covering a surface of a quarter of an acre in extent, perhaps more. 1 here we take luncheon and do a little photographing and sketching, but the wind is so bitterly cold and the rays of the sun so bright and hot as to make it uncomfortable to sit about. We content ourselves with ‘impressions’ of the place and hurry back to otsu. We take a stroll through the town and then return home by the tokaido – the way we came. sunday 31 march in the morning take a walk among the temples and round near the hotel. We meet with a priest, who takes us to a tea garden frequented by poets and artists – a very lovely garden it is with a few very old trees in it, and a little summer house where the ceremony of the famous cha-no-yu or tea drinking is still kept up at times. 15 We get some tea such as is used in the ceremony and which is made as follows: an old pottery bowl – a black one known as raku ware was brought together with a jar with an ivory lid containing green tea finely pow - dered, a small bamboo spoon, and a bamboo whisk and a kettle of hot water. 16 some water was poured in the bowl and a few spoons full of powdered tea was put in the water; the compound was now whisked up with the whisk until it froths up like good turkish coffee. the tea was then ready to drink and it was passed round the circle as a loving cup might be. the bowl must be held in the palms of the hand while in the act of drinking. some cake (like apple cheese - cake) was handed round as a sweetener – the beverage being a trifle bitter – though by no means, to my thinking, bad. after this the priest took us to look at his temple, which was very prettily situated in the midst of a pretty garden. We also saw a house where upon certain days a poetry competition takes place. it is a private house inhabited by a poet who judges the work of com - petitors. in the afternoon, i write letters and make up my journal. 28 march –7 june 1889 7 monday 1 april the Kyoto exhibition 17 opens today and mr hayashi brings us tickets and invites us to accompany him to see the show. 18 it is held in the mikado’s Garden. 19 We find the exhibition to be quite a small one and more in the nature of a bazaar than a bona fide ‘exhibition’. We are rather disappointed as we had been led to expect better things. it was nevertheless interesting to see the various manufactures put on show – and we could see to what an extent the japanese are now making european articles – soaps, scents, boots and shoes, clothing, all in european style and made in japan met our view. a new pair of boy’s leather lace up boots, copper tipped clump soles (to fit a boy of twelve or thirteen) might be bought for forty cents a pair, about 1s 2d. 20 since the importation of cows here the manufacture of leather is becoming quite an important one, and it is confidently expected by some that the japanese will shortly be exporting boots to europe. matches (japanese made) are good and cheap (ten boxes of safety matches for one penny). one room was devoted to an exhibition of pictures by the students at the native school of art here. some of the drawings shown were certainly very clever, but we were shocked to see a number of pencil and colour sketches in european style, in which all the faults and none of the virtues of european methods were shown. against the japanese sketches on silk which hung beside them, the europeanized drawings looked simply awful. i cannot find a strong enough expression to signify one’s disgust. as they say in yorkshire, however, it gave you the ‘stomach ache’ to look at them. mr liberty and i purchased a few of the best of the japanese sketches and then fled away from the room. the sight of them put east quite ‘out’ and he has been reviling the japanese ever since. our guardian and friend mr hayashi asked us to a japanese tiffin in one of the tea houses in the grounds. in an unlucky moment we accepted. We were shown into a dainty little summer house – so fresh and bright and clean, the new wood smelling sweet and the branch of plum blossom placed in a vase in the recess giving all the ornament that was needed. We took off our boots on the threshold – we could not defile the beautiful white mats with our muddy boots, and divested ourselves of our mackintoshes (it was raining hard). We entered the dainty little room – the shoji or screens or walls of the house, or whatever they are, were closed to shut out the dismal outside. 21 We sat on our heels and tried to look as comfortable as we possibly could, and awaited the tiffin. at length it came, trays full of bowls containing quite appetizing looking morsels and a supply of chopsticks wherewith to eat them. one dish of beautiful white-looking fish appeared on closer inspection to be raw. this was rather unquieting for we had heard most dismal tales about eating raw fish – how it was poisonous to europeans, contained worms, etc. however it looked so pretty, being decorated with bits of green chopped stuff like fresh lettuce (in 8 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan reality seaweed), that we got our chopsticks, and after fumbling with them for two or three minutes in order to get the proper hang of the things, we man - aged to hook hold of a little piece, dip it in a saucer of soy, and convey it with much caution to the mouth. We chewed, trying not to think about it, and at last got it down. While the excitement was on i managed to get down two or three more pieces. then i felt i must stop and try something else. two bowls of soup were brought – one a sort of soup made of fresh water snails from lake Biwa (the smell of this satisfied me and i wanted no more of it) and the other soup looked rather better – a sort of clear white soup with pieces of white boiled fish swim - ming about inside. i tried this and had two or three mouthfuls, but alas! it was flavoured with some uncanny sort of herbage that made me feel horribly bil - ious; so i ‘passed’ the remainder of that. We asked if we might have some bread and they brought some quartern-loaves in, one for each of us. 22 We tried to keep down what we had eaten by chewing large pieces of bread and drinking copious draughts of beer, which they also kindly provided to suit our insular prejudices. more bowls of dainty morsels came in, but we politely declined, making the best excuses we could. at last some eggs were brought, but no spoons and nothing to eat them with except chopsticks. liberty and i looked at each other – we were waiting for the other to begin first. mrs liberty was hors de combat . she had succumbed at the first mouthful of soup and was still trying to sop it up with pieces of bread. after waiting for each other to begin, until the eggs were nearly cold, we enquired of our host by the best signs we could make how we were to eat the eggs. he saw our difficulty and showed us the japanese method. he broke the egg into a bowl, stirred it up with the chop - sticks and then drank it like a cup of tea. We followed suit. at last it was over. the bowls and the litter were all cleared away and we started to smoke. We began to feel happier. soon after, we left, all of us feeling a little poorly and anxious for a little fresh air. We, of course, thanked our host for the great feast he had given us and mentally resolved never to accept another invitation of like nature. i may say that while we were at tiffin, we were interviewed by a reporter from one of the Kyoto papers, who published our account of our visit to the exhibition. he did not however refer to our tiffin experience. i forgot to say that one of the courses was stewed toadstools – not mush - rooms nor anything like mushrooms – but real toadstools with the most toadstooly taste you could imagine. i tried a small piece of one of them. mrs liberty being anxious to purchase some japanese robes, we went with her to help her choose the pattern. We were told at the shop that among japanese ladies only girls under sixteen years of age wear bright colours. Between sixteen and twenty stripes are worn. Between twenty and thirty-five, 28 march –7 june 1889 9 soft greys and quite plain colours. over thirty-five, dark plain blues or greens only are worn. the shape of the robes also differ – robes for girls having long sleeves, while the old ladies wear very short sleeves rounded at the cuff so:

a is young ladies’ robe B is middle age robe c is old age robe

We were told that these rules were in all cases strictly followed. 10 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan tuesday 2 april felt a little bilious this morning – the result of yesterday’s tiffin. mr liberty is busy settling with some curio people. mrs liberty and i go to visit the art school here. 23 the establishment is quite a large one and we were shown into two rooms. in the first room were a number of boys and young men being taught to draw in the japanese method. they sat upon the floor with pieces of paper stretched out before them and laid flat upon the ground. in the younger classes boys were drawing with a large brush. they had before them copies which had been drawn by the teacher in indian ink. one boy we noticed was drawing a large japanese key. he was not very successful in getting his proportions right, and he copied it again and again on the same piece of paper until the paper was covered all over with keys. this seemed a very excellent system of freehand drawing and i thought it a great improvement on the so called freehand drawing at home which is anything but real freehand. in a higher grade or class the boys were copying objects from drawings in various colours – the lower classes used indian ink only. this was again a species of freehand work – no niggling outlines – the management of colours in masses being the evident aim of the lessons. the next higher class completely astonished me. they were actually tracing their drawings, that is, their copies were underneath their paper which was thin and so the general form of the design below could be seen through. the colours, however, not being plainly visible, necessitated them raising their paper continuously to see the exact shade required. What the object of this was i don’t know. We could not make ourselves understood by the japanese. higher classes still were drawing without any copy whatsoever – evidently making composition studies. some of these were very interesting. in fact taken as a whole (the tracing class excepted), the system seemed to a certain point very good and was certainly full of suggestion. We next visited the room where the students were being taught to draw and print in european style. Boys were sitting on stools with drawing boards in front of them, the front part being supported on the knee, the back being held up by a sort of leg which was hinged to the board. they had before them a copy book consisting of lithographic drawings, some of heads laughing or crying in anger, others of landscape (like de veers copybooks at home) and they were drawing from these with lead pencil on paper. 2 others were painting in oils. one youth was painting a portrait from a photograph and imagining the colours; another one was painting in oil colours a landscape out of his head, his colours and values being all wrong of course. the sight of all this was painful and i longed to be able to talk japanese that i might pitch into the system thoroughly. no wonder the paintings we had seen the day before in ‘european 28 march –7 june 1889 11 style’ at the exhibition were so bad. i mean to have a ‘say’ about this some - where before i leave japan. opposite the school is a large store for the sale of books. all the books for sale were modern ones. there were some english yellow-covered novels, a large number of books in japanese consisting of translations of english novels, 12 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan essays, etc. We understood the japanese principally buy books of this class. it is not fashionable to care for their own literature. after tiffin mrs liberty and i go to see the Kinkakuji monastery which takes its name from a pavilion situated in a pretty garden called the Kinkaku or Golden pavilion. 25 We are first shown the rooms of the monastery in which are some good paintings ( shoji and kakemono )26 by the fine old artists, Kano motonobu and tanyu. 27 there is also a good kakemono drawn in indian ink of birds and flowers by okyo, much broader in treatment than this master’s usual work, but splendidly drawn and with lots of ‘go’ in it. 28 We were then invited into a room where powder tea and sweets were brought to us. in this room was a very pretty arrangement of flowers of which the above is from a sketch i made [see p. 11]. the whole arrangement stood about four feet high by five feet wide, and consisted of ‘a’ a bronze vase filled with water, ‘B’ a piece of a trunk of a tree with bark on, one end fastened through a ring to the side of the vase with the lower end in the water, ‘c’ a spray of dark lily leaves, ‘d’, sprays of plum blossom. the effect of the whole was charming and gave us quite a lesson in flower arranging. in this room we also noticed an ingenious arrangement by which screens are attached to the walls and make a suitable wall decoration. in nearly all japanese rooms the walls consist of sliding panels or shoji on which are hand paintings. the height of the shoji is usually about five and a half feet and above this is a frieze of plain white plaster; it is sometimes filled in with openwork panels beautifully carved called ramma. 29 the room we were in however had plain plaster walls but there was a sort of dado rail projecting from the wall about the height of the framework noted above. instead of sliding panels below this some folding screens were placed and held flat to the wall by little bamboo pegs which fastened in a groove in the rail and projected down in front of the screen[see p. 13]. the whole effect produced was the same as though the shoji were employed in the usual style. it seems to me that this form of wall decoration might be adapted to some rooms to advantage at home. after leaving the monastery, we were shown over the Golden pavilion – an old place the upper storey of which was once covered with gold, but the gold is now rubbed off and is only visible in patches. it is a very prettily designed place and when looked at from the other side of a pretty lake in front of it, it is very picturesque and charming. mrs liberty took two photographs of it [see plate p. 115]. We were also shown a little summer house in the grounds built about three hundred years ago of wood. this is very prettily arranged in rooms more irregularly planned than is common in japanese planning. the wood - work in it was all left rough and touched with tools as little as possible. it is marvellous the length of time these wooden structures last. We are also shown a large pine tree shaped as a junk in full sail – more curious than beautiful. as 28 march –7 june 1889 13

we leave the place we see the hills which surround it and which are covered with dark green trees with a curious effect of light and shade. the hills are in the declining sunlight a bright green, and in the shadows a deep indigo blue. We pass through a bamboo grove and the soft, silky rustling of these feathery giant grasses is as a sweet song on the evening breeze. We hasten on back to town for we have promised to be at ikeda’s the curio 1 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan man before the sun sets, as mrs liberty is anxious to take a photograph of his charming garden. 30 We arrive just in time and a group is hurriedly formed of ikeda, Komai, liberty (who met us there) and myself. 31

Wednesday 3 april packing up and cataloguing curios purchased, and packing luggage ready to go away the next day. thursday  april leave with liberty for Kobe. 32 call on bankers, shipping agents, etc. We hear there is a sort of exhibition here today and tell our rickshaw man to take us. But they take us by mistake to a dealer of curios named d’oash as he calls him - self. 33 We look round his store and he then takes us to the exhibition which however is unfortunately closed. it consisted only of an exhibition of curios for one day at a large native japanese club – a place frequented by the wealthy japanese. it appears that on certain days exhibitions of curios are held in this club and dealers come from Kyoto, osaka and other neighbouring towns bringing a few special objects with them. it is not considered the thing for a wealthy japanese to enter the curio dealers’ shops, hence it is that these special days are arranged at their clubs when the dealers show them their best wares. the collection of curios is the favourite amusement of men of wealth and leisure among the japanese and they pay very high prices for objects that would not at all interest the majority of european buyers. friday 5 april We leave Kobe early morning (having sent the main part of our luggage on by steamer to yokohama) en route for arima, or more correctly speaking yunoyama or hot spring hills – arima being the name of the district in which the village is situated. 3 We take rickshaws for the journey and at once begin to ascend one of the corner spurs of the hills at back of Kobe by easy grades. We pass our english missionary’s house just outside Kobe, beautifully situated with a most lovely view of hills and sea. the house is an excellent one to all appearances being planted with trees and flowers, in fact one of the best we have seen here. it is generally remarked that the missionaries live in the best houses in japan and this was a remarkable instance to the point. the roads are very bad, great ruts in them caused by the system of brakes they use for their hand carts in which they carry produce. these carts are primitive con - trivances, two long shafts supporting the structure and sticking out at the back. in coming down hills to break the momentum the coolies lift up the shafts until one part touches and digs into the ground. thus the roads become literally ploughed up and it is impossible to keep them in good order. it is 28 march –7 june 1889 15 surprising to us the government does not stop the use of such a bad system of brakes. the morning is rather dull and we have a little rain at times, but not sufficient to destroy our pleasure in the wild and beautiful scenery we pass through. the whole journey to arima puts us in mind partly of matlock and the peak district and partly of switzerland. the deep gorges and rushing tor - rents suggest the former, the pine clad hills and wooden cottages, sometimes very similar in appearance to the swiss ones remind us of the latter. But there is a local colouring in the clumps of light green waving bamboos and in the natives, of whom there are so many passing to and fro on the road. all the way along we keep meeting coolies dragging along loads of rice, wood and basket ware on their carts, or carrying them along by bamboo poles over their shoul - ders. sometimes we see a group of women taking home loads of faggots which they have cut in the woods. as they poise them on their heads they look like living netsuke .35 Netsuke or ivory buttons are so often carved with such subjects and we never realized before how very faithful these clever carvings are to nature. a journey to japan must give even to the most indifferent a sense of greater interest in the arts of japan, the arts and the ways of the people being in such close touch. We pass through many little villages and at length after four hours’ travel - ling arrive at arima. We took a guide with us named yamato from the Kobe hotel, and on arrival at the Kiyomizu hotel at arima – a little native inn – he commences to cook for us our tiffin, the material for which he has brought with him. 36 it is always necessary when going into country places to take food with you unless you can rest satisfied with rice, eggs and sake to drink. 37 yamato we feel is a poor sort of guide. he volunteers no information and has not much to give. he is however a fairly good cook and after tiffin we felt in better humour with him than we had done before. having satisfied inner cravings, we set out to see the sights of the place. arima put us very strongly in mind of matlock, being situated on a hill with a river running at the bottom. the hills around however are higher than the matlock ones. the streets are precipitous and narrow, the projecting eaves of the houses nearly touching in some places as one sometimes sees in switzerland. in fact the houses in this place put us strongly in mind of swiss chalets – the dark wood, the overhanging roofs and the balconies being the main features of both. arima is famous for several things – the pretty baskets that are imported so largely in england from japan are nearly all made here. there are many shops where these are sold and we look into the houses and see the people patiently and with wonderful quickness weaving the bamboo strips in and out and producing the charming little baskets we know so well. i make myself known at one or two places and find that my name is well known and the amount of extra bowing to i get is quite amusing. the coloured straw-cov - 16 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan ered boxes (also well known in england) are made here too, but it is not so important a manufacture in this place as the baskets. it is also a great place for making writing and painting brushes and these may be seen in all sizes, from the tiny lacquerer’s brush no thicker than a stout pin to brushes as large as whitewash brushes. a kind of wild berry is gathered on the hills in this neighbourhood. these are dried and put up in small boxes. these are another specialité of the place. another speciality, and one that brings a large number of japanese to it in the summer time, are the springs of mineral water. the water here is strongly impregnated with iron which tinges it a deep yellow and even red in some places. for some time before we reached arima we had noticed the yellow colour of the water and the reddened rocks, and in several places i got out of the rickshaw to examine the character of the rock which i found to be quite rich ironstone. there can be little doubt but that this district will become an important iron manufacturing district someday. in the village there is a bathing establishment where the iron water wells up out of the ground and is quite hot. We were invited to go in to see the baths and did so. When we opened the door of the principal bath room, we involun - tarily drew back for a moment as we found it tenanted by an old gentleman and a young lady, both of whom had apparently just got out of the water and were drying themselves with towels. they did not seem to mind, however, and we felt that it was not for us to feel bashful so we plucked up courage and went in to feel the heat of the water, which i should judge to be seventy-eight or eighty degrees. We hurried out again feeling that we were intruders, but this really was not so. people are accustomed to bathe together in public here and there appears to be not a vestige of feeling that there is anything wrong or indecent about it; it is not for us to pass judgement on this adam-and-eve- before-the-fall like simplicity. there were other sights to see however in arima – a pretty waterfall half a mile further up the hills and a well called the Torijigoku , i.e. the Bird hell. 38 the well is about six feet deep and if a rat or a bird be put in, it quickly dies – the well evidently being filled with carbonic acid gas. i tried to make a little sketch of arima before the sun went down but it was piercing cold and i could only stay to do one of the slightest description. the Kiyomizu hotel is built entirely in the japanese manner with sliding shoji to divide the rooms from each other and from the outside. chairs and truckle bedsteads however were provided for the accommodation of europeans. there are no fireplaces or stoves; but we get several japanese hibachi or fire boxes to keep us warm. 39 in these is a little pile of glowing charcoal resting on a bed of rice straw ash. there is more heat in them than at first one gives credit for; and two of these kept our room warm, although the cold out - 28 march –7 june 1889 17 side was very great, nigh upon freezing point. i am inclined to believe that the paper-covered lattice screens are naturally warmer than if they were fitted with glass. after we had discussed the dinner our guide had provided, our room was besieged by a number of dealers anxious to sell us straw covered boxes and bamboo baskets. We looked over their wares, to amuse us, but were not tempted to buy as in the first place high prices were asked, and in the second we did not want the articles. We retired to rest on the japanese futon or quilts with more of the same article to cover us. 0 they are not a comfortable sort of bed covering, however, because they are heavy and don’t ‘give’ to the shape of the body. saturday 6 april after an early breakfast we leave at eight fifteen to walk over the hills to sumiyoshi. 1 our guide told us that we should be able to walk the distance in two hours. We engaged a coolie to carry our bags. the morning was bright and clear and with a little frost in the air. as we walked up the zigzag paths behind arima we had the most beautiful and extensive views of the country around, and the sanda hills, quite blue in the distance, were charming to see. 2 the rocks of which the hills are made are largely composed of shale and metamor - phic rock with some granite, and they appear to undergo rapid disintegration through the action of the weather. this fact gives to them a remarkable peculi - arity. the sides of the hills break up with the weather and the pieces slide down into the valleys below and no vegetation seems to be able to find a lodge - ment in consequence. But on the extreme tops of the hills the disintegrating rocks form a sort of soil on which pine and other trees and shrubs find root hold. the effect of this is that the hills (or at least many of them) have bare sides and a fringe of trees on the top. one has often noticed this peculiarity in japanese drawings and one is now able to see how true it is to nature. in our way up the hill we occasionally came across pretty ferns and in one place we found a very curious shaped fungus, specimens of which i secured. it was shaped like a starfish with a ball in the middle. 3 the rays were a dark brown – the centre ball being whitish in colour. after walking an hour and forty minutes we came to the top of the pass where there is a little rest house and where we had some tea (most refreshing when walking) and signed our names in a book latterly provided by the local authorities for that purpose. in questioning our guide as to the possibility of catching our train at sumiyoshi, which was due in half an hour, after an immense amount of consideration and calculation he at length admitted that he thought we might be too late. the next train being two hours later we thought we would go to the top of the rokkozan which is not much higher than the pass.  this we did and found ourselves tramping through the crisp 18 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan snow. arrived at the top of the mountain, which is the highest one in the neighbourhood, we had a lovely view, on the one hand, of the sea and of the town of Kobe in the distance; on the other of the ranges of hills, one behind the other, in the sanda province. there was a very cold wind blowing so we did not remain more than a few minutes and we then commenced our descent on the other side. We walked very quickly for three hours and still did not arrive at our destination. it was quite evident our clever guide knew nothing about the route. We pressed on however and got to sumiyoshi just in time for our train, having spent four hours on the journey, two of which at least we walked very briskly. We said goodbye to our guide at the station, as may be imagined without any show of regret. after a short run we arrived at osaka 5 and took up our quarters at jiyutei’s hotel which we found comfortable. 6 our guide at Kyoto had come down to meet us there. this man, isaki, has proved himself a very useful, honest fellow. he seems a well educated man, with manners quite superior to the ordinary run of guides. Wherever he goes we observe that he always seems to command a considerable amount of respect from the japanese. after our long morning’s walk we feel a little tired, and take rickshaws around the town to see some - thing of it. it is a clean town and with a strong business element about it. over many of the shops are european signs and i noted another curiosity of japanese english . underneath the name of one shopkeeper was painted in large letters

‘do not Be cheapen no taKe’ from which we gathered that fixed prices were the rule at this establishment and that lower offers would not be entertained. We went to see the exhibition and museum that had been opened here a few days before. the museum con - tained various objects of old japanese art – old pottery, pictures and lacquer and was very interesting. the exhibition bazaar attached to it was quite a large one, very similar in character to the Kyoto one we had seen a few days before. We also call on yoshizumi, a maker of cabinets for the european market, and on yamanaka, the curio man. 7 saturday 7 april We leave at eight o’clock in rickshaws each drawn by two men for nara. 8 our men seem strong fellows and get along at a great pace through the town. after leaving osaka we pass for many miles along a raised road on either side of which are fields planted with wheat, beans and turnips. the farming here seems very high class and the crops seemed in uncommonly healthy condition 28 march –7 june 1889 19 and very abundant. the rows of plants, etc. are banked up very high (i should think eighteen inches) and the spaces between the rows were from three to six feet. everything seemed in the primmest order and the furrows were of the straightest. in some places a quantity of rape seed was planted and the plant was in flower. it has a yellow flower and occasionally the brilliant yellow would stretch across the country for miles. right ahead of us appeared a long range of hills, cobalt blue in the early sunshine. the yellow flowers and the blue hills would make a splendid subject for a sketch and i much regretted i could not make one. near the road on which we travelled, a railroad was being made and thousands of men seemed to be employed upon it – the work proceeding in segments in the usual way. they were making beautifully neat looking embankments and quite massive stone masonry (bridges, etc.) in some places. the navvies seem to carry the soil away from cuttings to make embankments in baskets slung on poles over the shoulder, and they hurry along in swarms of two lines, one going and one returning, and look in the distance like myriads of ants. the road was very busy with people drawing drays loaded with cotton cloth and barrel staves who were coming from the country to osaka. in fact we met a continual stream of them for miles. We were approaching a district in which, in nearly every house, there are handlooms making plain stout cotton cloth. in one place we passed a brick-built mill lately erected for spinning and weaving cotton. the whole place was built in the most approved lancashire style and i doubt if one could find a neater, better built mill in england. We hear that the work people after weaving all day at the power looms of this mill go home in the evening and then work at the old handlooms in their houses! after three hours’ travelling, going at a great speed all the time, our men pull up for the first time having accomplished twenty-two and a half miles without stopping. We had arrived at horyuji, which is the oldest Buddhist temple and monastic establishment in japan, dating from 607. 9 it is aston - ishing too that buildings made of wood can have lasted for so many ages, especially so when it is considered that the wood is unprotected by either var - nish or paint, and yet such is undoubtedly the case. these temples are a grand tribute to the lasting qualities of wood. there are many different buildings connected with the establishment, the two oldest being the pagoda and the kondo .50 i examined the wood of these very carefully. although very old looking – the grain of the wood standing out in high relief and worm eaten in some places – still it was on the whole quite sound, and may probably last for some centuries more. the style and character of the buildings is almost pre - cisely the same as that of the other temples we have seen elsewhere in japan. many old objects of great interest are shown in the buildings around. in one temple are some very old wood figures dating from the seventh century, and many bronze ones of the thirteenth century. 20 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan

there are some old Korean wall paintings – satow says in his Handbook : these are of extreme interest and value for the history of art in japan. of their great antiquity there can be little doubt, and the excellence of the style of itself confirms the opinion that they are the work of Korean artists for they are supe - rior to anything known to have been produced by japanese painters. 51

in one building, the walls and every available space are covered with mirrors and swords which have been deposited as offerings. the mirrors were pre - sented by women, the swords by men. they were offered by those whose prayers for restoration to health had been efficacious. i had a good look at the swords and did not see one that was worth picking up. many had been robbed of their mounts. 52 if this had been done by the priests, for the sake of a little gain, the act was a shabby one, to say the least of it. outside this temple a quantity of wisps of hair were hung up – offerings of women. it is from such offerings that the ropes of hair (such as we had seen at the higashi honganji at Kyoto) were made. 53 in another building is a sort of museum of art objects. among these are two paintings by the first great japanese painter Kose no Kanaoka. 5 the subject is lotus leaves and flowers. they are treated in a very bold style, very decorative in character, but the effect of them is not at all improved by the new mounts which surround them and which have been added by the generosity of an american gentleman whose name is well advertised around the place. 55 in another place we are shown the pupil of the eye of Buddha. 56 after unfolding eight different wrappers, one within the other, the priest who showed it us then disclosed to view a crystal receptacle. one portion is hollow and a black spot is the pupil which rolls about loose inside. in one of the buildings we noticed on the floor a projection of rounded shape around which was twisted a straw rope. on asking the meaning of it, the priest told us that below was a gold bell which had been presented to the temple so that, should it ever be burned down, it might be converted into money and would be sufficient to pay for its reconstruction. the straw rope was to keep away evil influences. after discussing tiffin, liberty took a few photographs [see plate p. 131] and we then pushed on to nara, and the men accomplished the whole distance from osaka to nara (thirty-two and a half miles) not withstanding stoppage of four and a quarter hours. they got along especially fast as some of our men were from the station and some from the hotel and there was a sort of competi - tion between them – the station men being determined to outdo the hotel ones. this they finally did as one of the hotel men just outside nara gave way and had to drop behind. he was fairly pumped out. on arrival at nara we first inspected a pagoda and a large tank full of gold fish and then walked through 28 march –7 june 1889 21 the park, passing along a fine avenue of trees and among many deer for which nara is celebrated. there is a quantity of little stalls where women sell little cakes to feed the deer with. the approach to the principal temples is through an ‘avenue’ of stone lanterns, lanterns of all shapes and sizes – literally hun - dreds of them. at one time these used to be lighted up at night, but the temple authorities cannot now afford the cost. While photographing these, mrs liberty appeared, having just come up from Kyoto by rickshaw. We did not at all expect to see her, and her appearance was quite a pleasant surprise. i must say i was somewhat disappointed with the appearance of the temples, which are very plain in character and with very little decoration beyond much red paint. 57 in one part we were told that we might see a performance of the ancient reli - gious dance known as the Kagura .58 this we were much interested in. two priests donned their special robes and performed, one on the drum, the other chanting a sort of prayer. two young girls appeared dressed in white robes, their faces painted and hair done up in old fashioned style, and commenced a slow formal movement, both looking preternaturally solemn all the time. the Kagura dance is a very ancient one. it is related in ancient japanese mythology that the Queen of light, being offended, shut herself up in a cave leaving the world in darkness. she was ultimately persuaded to appear again to witness the dances performed before the cave in her honour. the performance i should con - sider has now lost all religious significance whatever it might have had in days gone by. you pay your dollar, and the show takes place. a curious tree we saw near one of the temples. five different kinds of tree all spring from one trunk, including the camellia, cherry and wisteria – a remark - able bit of grafting. We find our hotel to be a thoroughly japanese one. it seems to consist of a lot of little summer houses arranged in a garden. i had part of one, liberty another. We slept on the floor in japanese fashion and did not find it half so uncomfortable as we anticipated. four thick quilts are placed one over the other to sleep on and three more are arranged to serve as covers. We had a deal of rain in the night, and in addition to the paper shoji being closed all round there were wooden shutters which were slid to, so that we were well protected from the cold and the elements. sunday 8 april a cold and rather wet morning. enjoyed my morning bath here very much. there was a charming little bath room so clean and neat with new wooden bath tub. i am now getting quite into the japanese system of taking quite hot baths – as hot as can be born – and douches of cold water afterwards. they are most refreshing and keep one from taking cold. We spent the morning in vis - 22 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan iting the temple in which is contained the immense figure of Buddha – the largest one in japan. 59 it is in a sitting position and measures fifty-three feet high. it is made of bronze and is very wonderful, and not at all beautiful. the head has been replaced three times, having been melted in successive fires. the body of the image dates from 79 – the present head being sixteenth century work. the daibutsu at Kamakura which we hope to see later on is rather smaller in size but more beautiful – at least so we understand. 60 there is an interesting museum of antiquities connected with this temple through which we look. there are some very old wooden statues of the four deva kings (the same subject as the four gilt figures i have at home) – some old bronzes and lacquer – the latter not of special note. 61 there is also an exhibi - tion of modern wares just opened which we go through and find very much in the character of those we have seen at Kyoto and osaka. nara has been famous for many years for making little wooden carvings, cut in a somewhat rude archaic fashion. the old ones i have seen contain a great deal of character and the carving on them, though rude, is decidedly clever. i was sorry to find that the art has certainly gone down in recent years – the carv - ings we saw in the shops being not only rude but without any of the ‘go’ or ‘chic’ which characterized the old work. in the afternoon we return to Kyoto (about four and a half hours’ ride). a good part of the way the road lays by a very broad river which runs from lake Biwa to osaka. 62 it is in places as broad as the thames at Greenwich. the evening effects across this river were very fine. as the day passed on the weather cleared a little and in the evening the sky in places was clear, but there were heavy purple clouds lying along the horizon which reflected in the water among the sails of fishing junks and rafts and made a delightful picture. in some parts of the road where the country is very flat, the haystacks are supported by immense bamboo poles that the wind may not blow them down. the effect of them was remarkable. We also see large plots of ground planted with pear trees, the tops of which are all trimmed on a lattice work of bamboo poles. the peasants in other places were hard at work covering over the tea plants with a lattice work of bamboo poles, on which straw would appear to be placed. this is done only with the best quality tea and is for the purpose of pro - tecting the leaves from the hot sun and from dew. this is therefore a sign that the warmer weather is coming, for which i am not sorry. Before reaching our hotel we go for seven and a half miles through streets of houses, which will give an idea of how the place spreads itself out on the main roads. We were delighted to get back to the comfortable hotel of yaami’s again. a gentleman showed me in the course of the evening an ingenious pair of japanese bellows he had purchased during the day, and which i thought 28 march –7 june 1889 23 worth making a note of. it was a double pair with two nozzles. one part proj - ects slightly and, when held between thumb and finger and worked up and down, it makes a continuous draught out of the nozzles . monday 9 april We hear that at one of the temples near the hotel a special exhibition of the art treasures belonging to various temples in Kyoto has just been opened, so we go to see it. the name of the temple is nanzenji. 63 Before the entrance we see a board on which is written in english the following notice, which i copied ver - batim with all the original blunders: the exhibition shall be opened from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, beginning on 6th april to the 5th may of the present year. visitor is requested at the entrance to show the ticket for inspection and should have the stamp thereon inspected. no ticket is wanted for child, not exceeding 5 years of age. tickets are charges 10 sens, 2 sens for the special and common respectively. no visitor who is mad or intoxicated is allowed to enter in, if such person found in, shall be claimed to retire. no visitor is allowed to car[r]y in with himself any parcel, umbrella, stick, and the like kinds except his purse and is strictly forbidden to take in with himself dog or the same kind of beasts. visitor is requested to take good care of himself from thievely. smoking is strictly forbidden in. there were some very fine kakemono (hanging pictures) by Kano motonobu, sesshu, okyo and others, besides some objects of lacquer and porcelain. 6 the government has lately issued an order forbidding the temples to sell any of their art possessions. lists of these possessions have been taken by the govern - ment and they will be inspected from time to time to see that they have not been parted with. this fact should render such objects as may exist in england of much greater value. another exhibition of similar objects was also being held at another temple, the Kennin-ji close by. 65 this we also visited. in the afternoon we made another journey to see again the temple of nishi hongwanji. We made the acquaintance there of professor akamatz – one of the principal priests – a gentleman who has been in england, speaks english well, is highly cultivated and is credited with trying to bring back the Buddhist worship to its old unidolatrous form. 66 he received us very kindly and took us round to see those rooms we had before left unseen. We were greatly charmed with the kind manner of our guide and the decoration of the lovely room he showed us. one room was decorated entirely with chrysanthe - mums painted on gold panels. another with peacocks on gold . the ceilings were also beautifully decorated – in one room with painted fans – each fan of a different design; another with flowers; a third with diaper patterns richly coloured. the professor spoke of miss Bird, dr dresser, mr conder and others who he knew and had shown round the temple. 67 2 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan

as we went home we passed through the theatre street, and passing from the sublime to the ridiculous, we went into a penny show. the curio here to be seen was a young japanese girl – an albino with white hair and very weak eyes. the showman said that her eyes, like the cat’s, changed in colour three times a day. another young girl was called the deer girl because her hands and feet had a cloven appearance like a deer’s hoof, caused i think by the absence of middle fingers and toes which may have been trimmed off when she was younger. this young lady shot with a bow and arrow held by her feet at a mark. there was also a gentleman without arms who made some rather clever light - ning sketches with the brush held in his mouth. there were many other similar shows in the street, which however we did not enter. one was sufficient for us. in the evening we went by the theatre to see a famous dance known as the Miyako dance but were disappointed. 68 the dresses of the dancers were not so good, nor the dance as interesting as we had expected. tuesday 10 april We at last take our final leave of Kyoto, and start by the eight o’clock train for lake Biwa en route for nagoya. 69 on arrival at otsu (lake Biwa) we get a last glimpse of east, who has been staying there for some time busily sketching. But the departure of the steamer takes place without allowing us more than a few minutes, and we soon find ourselves on the placid waters of lake Biwa. the morning is very fine and we get very beautiful views of the distant blue hills, some capped with snow. for four hours we go steaming up the lake, calling only at one place (hikone, where there is an interesting old castle on the top of a hill) for a few minutes, 70 and eventually arrive at nagahama where we again take the train. 71 there are no first class carriages running on this line (at least there were none on this train) and the second class we were in was rather uncomfortably full of passengers. still, we were interested and amused by their ways. next to me was one of the japanese ministers and his wife and i had a very interesting conversation with him. he knew london well. opposite us were two young bloods got up in the latest european style: new cutaway coats, new elastic side boots, new Gladstone bags containing new japanese books bound in the latest european style, new cigarette holders and a brand new macintosh pouch for tobacco. everything was quite faultless and they evidently fancied themselves immensely. unfortunately for the effect of one of them, in putting one leg over the other he disclosed a little piece of bare leg without any appearance of stocking over the boot top. this little omission seemed to take away from his glory. two rather pretty japanese girls got in at one of the stations and the young bloods aforesaid condescended to patronize them a little. they tried to 28 march –7 june 1889 25 be funny without losing their dignity. the effort was very pronounced and altogether very amusing. the country we passed through for a considerable part of the way was planted with mulberry trees to feed the silk worms – silk being produced in this district largely. the mulberry trees were planted in formal rows like apple trees in an english orchard. they were not in leaf, and there were therefore no picking operations going on. every patch of ground near the railway seemed to be cultivated – tea, pear trees, grain, beans and peas all being largely grown. in the bare hills we see in the distance nothing appears to grow; but the plains really are alive with agricultural industry. on arrival at nagoya, we are pulled in rickshaws through the broad streets to the shinachu hotel. 72 this is a small hotel but quite comfortable with neat, clean and comfortable little bedrooms fitted up with european conveniences, but with walls and windows and ceilings in japanese style. the wall of my room was plastered over with a yellowish plaster with a surface and colour exactly similar to the yellowish strawboards used by bookbinders. this against the unvarnished pinewood doors and ceiling had a very pleasant appearance. a little dining room was allotted to our party with sliding lattice shoji for windows, pretty painted screens and hanging pictures, and with lovely sprays of plum and cherry blossom in vases. We had tables and chairs for our comfort and good european cooking, but all else was japanese. We had a very lively waitress to attend to us whose name was o-Kiku or miss chrysanthemum. she was always laughing and seemed to take everything as a great joke.

Wednesday 11 april viscount sano, 73 to whom liberty had presented a letter of introduction, had written the Governor of nagoya to do what he could for us in nagoya (i.e. to give us all possible facilities to visit places). 7 We are therefore waited on by an emissary from the Governor who offers to take us to see the castle of nagoya – one of the typical fortresses of old japan. 75 the outworks of the castle are very extensive and we cross moat within moat, passing through immense doors covered with plates of iron three sixteenth of an inch thick. the main building is at one corner of the enclosure and consists of a pagoda-like tower of several storeys, the roof being crowned with an immense golden dolphin of consider - able value. We climb up to the top storey of the tower and there get a most extensive view of nagoya, which is a very large city covering an immense piece of ground. it is the third largest city in japan and is larger than Kyoto. We are also conducted through a suite of rooms very finely decorated. one room was especially effective, the s hoji all round being painted with tigers (full size) and bamboo on a gold ground. the ramma or panels above the sliding shoji were very fine in some of the rooms, being very large (about one and a half feet by 26 the diary of charles holme’s 1889 visit to japan

five feet in size) and most elaborately carved and coloured by the famous old japanese wood carver, the left-handed hidari jingoro. 76 We observed that the walls and the face of the towers were all armour-plated, and must have been invulnerable in the old days. But, of course, they would stand no chance against modern artillery. in the afternoon we were conducted to see several enamel workers – nagoya being famous for its shippo or enamel work. 77 the first man we saw used to work enamel on porcelain, but this trade has now fallen off very much in late years and it is very rarely now that he makes any. his workmen seemed to be mostly engaged in lacquer cloisonné work (an imitation of enamel cloisonné ). 78 this work is produced both on porcelain and wood surfaces, and there are many processes required before the work is finished. these processes are almost identical with the enamel ones, except that no firing is required. after drawing a design on the object to be decorated, wires are fixed on the outlines of the design and the whole object covered over with black lacquer. When this is dry it is rubbed down until the wires are in slight relief and then coloured lac of the required shades is put in the space between the wires. When these opera - tions are completed the surface is rubbed smooth with charcoal. the first enameller on metal in this place is morimoto, whose place we next went to see. this man is working on a new method which, although very beautiful, i do not think is the legitimate one. his effort is to produce in enamel the effects of a coloured sketch on paper with all of the shadings of colour so readily obtain - able by the brush. the use of wires in his work to divide and keep separate the various colours or kinds of enamel is almost dispensed with. in fact they are taken out in the course of one of the processes so far as is possible. i observed that his workmen applied the enamel in a creamy state with the brush, instead of the nearly dry state (as with namikawa’s men in Kyoto). 79 this, i cannot help but think, is the reason that when completed this man’s work is more faulty and full of ‘pinholes’ than namikawa’s. We next go to the exhibition (there seem to be ‘exhibitions’ everywhere). this, like the others we have seen, consists of a few lent objects and a large bazaar for the sale of new manufactures. among the curios lent by the govern - ment was a hodgson’s power loom, apparently never used, but getting very rusty. 80 the latest thing in modern pottery exhibitions were some full-size flying pigeons modelled in low relief to be used as inlays for furniture or walls. at night we are visited by a lot of curio dealers. i buy but little as i do not find the objects either good or cheap. at one time nagoya used to be the best field for the curio hunter in japan. things are altered now. the dealers of Kyoto and tokyo have been round again and again and got everything worth having. 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 27

THURSDAY 12 APRIL Leave for the port which is some miles away from the hotel and take the native steamboat for Yokohama. 81 This boat (from Nagoya to Yokkaichi) was the worst and smallest steamboat I ever saw. 82 There was no standing room on deck and we had to go into a dingy dirty little cabin and there try to make our - selves comfortable for several hours. This however was not possible, for the beastly boat tossed and rolled about like a dolphin. There were several Japanese below sitting on their heels looking very melancholy and ill. One was crouching all the time over a hibachi to keep himself warm for it was very cold and wet outside. The only movement he made during the whole time was to get the fire irons out of the hibachi and scratch his head with them. After tossing about for several hours we at last got to Yokkaichi – or rather off Yokkaichi – for the water is shallow here and we could not get nearer than a mile or so from land. We then got into little boats and were rowed in the pouring rain to the steamer the Nagoya Maru which lay still further out at sea. The sea was so rough we had some difficulty to get on the companion ladder and had to make a jump for it when the boat was on the top of a wave. At last we got all safe and sound in the steamer and were pleased to find ourselves on comparatively speaking terra firma in good, roomy, airy cabins. The sea that had tossed our little steamboat about so did not move the big ship and we managed to get a good rest and a good dinner. Then we got into stormy waters and we had a great tossing all night. The steamer is a big one but built on the old plan with paddle wheels and an outside beam engine. She is an American boat, built for ocean travelling, and her fittings throughout are very good. Her skipper, Captain Carew, an Englishman, is a very pleasant fellow and he told us some funny tales of his adventures among the Japanese. He is quite an amateur of Japanese porcelain and we saw quite a collection of interesting curios in his cabin. When we turned in at night, the ship was pitching and rolling a good deal. Nevertheless I passed a good night.

FRIDAY 13 APRIL When I woke I found the vessel still rolling about heavily. I hastened to look through the porthole hoping to see Fuji, but all was grey and foggy and absolutely blank. 83 With some difficulty I managed to get into my clothes. It is no joke dressing when the ship rolls heavily and you have to clutch hold, first of the bunk side, then the wash stand, then hat peg, then of the door handle, to keep yourself from falling – and went on deck. No Fuji, no anything, all was thick fog – the fog horn going, the vessel crawling along, men peering through the thickness to make out any shadow of a ship or boat. It is very dangerous about here in a fog. Not only are we very near the coast, but the water is alive 28 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN with fishing boats and many large vessels. The utmost caution was therefore necessary and the Captain stood at the bow of the boat directing every operation. It was very disappointing to us not to get any view of the famous mountain. We had been looking forward to seeing it on this part of the journey, as its appearance from the sea is so fine and wonderful. At last we got off Yokohama, seeing nothing but an occasional sail looming through the fog. The captain knew where he was by sounds and by the buoys in the water. The steam launch of the Grand Hotel came alongside, 84 and in it we found Mr Sale, who had most kindly come to meet us and conduct us to our hotel. 85 The day was hot and muggy with occasional steamy rain. Yokohama streets were dirty and dismal. Our first impressions of Yokohama were anything but favourable. After tiffin I take a walk through the streets of the European settlement. 86 They are narrow and by no means particularly clean. The houses and shops do not come up to one’s anticipation at all. I walk up to No. 94 (Mawe and Co.) and am introduced by Mr Sale to some of my old employees, from whom I get quite a reception [see plate p. 5]. 87

SATURDAY 14 APRIL Call on the Consul, who is about preparing his departure to England. He com - plains that the trade reports which consuls take an immense amount of trouble to make are taken no notice of at home, and he thinks that the labour bestowed is to a great extent in vain. I make also a few other calls. In the afternoon young Sale brings a buggy to take our party on a drive ‘round the road’ as it is called. This particular drive is the one which Yokohama seems to possess. The Bluff, where most of the private houses of Europeans are, is fairly interesting. 88 The houses are comfortable looking if not pretentious and the roads are good. Every house is surrounded by its own garden, and some of them are pretty with flow - ering trees and ornamental shrubs. The road from the Bluff descends to the sea shore (Mississippi Bay as it is called). Here there is a pretty view of distant hills and fishing vessels. From the sea, the road winds back up the side of some paddy fields into town. Fuji is supposed to be distinctly visible from several points of the cliff – but we see nothing of it as it is veiled in clouds or mist. We take tea with Mrs Sale in their roomy and comfortable house.

SUNDAY 15 APRIL Morning writing up diary. Afternoon take a walk ‘around the road’ with Sale. In the course of conversation with Mr Sale in reference to the paper money in Japan, which a few years ago was at a heavy discount (it reached $1.80 paper money equal to silver), he tells me that the Government acted very shrewdly and cleverly to bring it back to par (its present value). They first issued orders that any one asking more than $1.50 for a dollar would be liable to imprison - 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 29 ment. When the $1.50 rate became well established, they reduced the limit to $1.30, and so on until it got to par.

MONDAY 16 APRIL We take a little run over to Tokyo to present letters of introduction and take a preliminary look round. Call on Captain Brinkley 89 and Viscount Sano, leaving cards and at the legation where we see the Master of Napier, Chargé d’Affaires. 90 He has only just arrived out in Japan and seems to know little or nothing about it. He is busily decorating his house and is anxious for Mr Liberty’s opinion about it. The Embassy is very well situated in the best part of Tokyo and has a large garden and tennis lawns – in fact the British have the best position for their Embassy of any of the Powers. 91 After leaving here we drive to Ueno, famous for its cherry blossom. It was just now at its brightest – the white flowering trees seeming to line the whole road and thoroughly to pervade the place. All the trees are thickly coated with white blossom – no green leaves being visible. Thousands of sightseers are going about to see the bloom and many of them seemed to be making a ‘regular day’ of it, and were a little noisy. ‘Cherry blossom week’ in Tokyo seems to be on about a par with Bank Holiday at home. It is the one time in the year, par excellence, when sake (the Japanese beer) is consumed by some of the lower classes ad lib. We had tiffin at a pretty little restaurant and then went on to see the Asakusa temple. 92 We find our way blocked by an immense crowd of people who are waiting to see the Emperor (his old title of Mikado is not now used). 93 As he is expected to arrive in a few minutes we wait to see him. In a few minutes an orderly rides past and is quickly followed by a troupe of lancers and two carriages, in the first of which sits his Majesty dressed in European military dress. He is a very dark looking man with black hair. He sits immovable in his carriage taking no note whatever of the people who take off their hats to him as he passes. He is on his way to visit an exhibition at Ueno which has just been opened. 94 As soon as he has passed, the crowd clears away and we proceed to the Asakusa temple. This is a very popular temple in Tokyo and great numbers of people seem to visit it and rub the noses and eyes of the saints to extract healing virtue from them until the sacred members are nearly rubbed away. It is very much in the style of the other temples we have seen, but without having anything specially good to see inside. It is surrounded by cherry blos - soms in flower and is approached through streets lined with shops having sweets, tobacco pipes, teacups, and toys and other miscellaneous wares for sale. It is a bright day and the crowds of moving people bent on sight seeing, the cherry blossoms, and the big red temple make a very pretty picture indeed. A sort of perpetual fair is held near the temple at Asakusa. Long streets, full of booths and shops on either side of the road, in the former of which waxworks, 30 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN wild beast shows, performing animals and human monstrosities may be seen. There is also a structure of wood and canvas supposed to represent Fuji. On payment of a few cents one is allowed to ascend it. This one does not by means of steps, but by inclined planes. From the top an excellent view of the city may be obtained. Tokyo is an immense place and is said to be built on over a hun - dred square miles. There are over a million inhabitants and, in the one- to two-storey houses in which they live, they cannot of course cover the ground so thickly as in London. From this place we go to Mukojima – a road which runs by the side of the river, lined on each side by cherry trees. 95 The cherry trees are at their best in full blossom, but the road is simply crowded with sightseers who are made to go in two lines – one going and one returning. Many of the people seemed hilarious with sake and the dust they made was very great. So much so that a few minutes’ experience of it was sufficient for us. Mr Sale said he never saw so many drunken people in Japan before. We were afterwards told that the best place to see the cherry blossom here is to take a boat and view it from the river. Certain it is, that the crowds of drunken people who go to ‘view’ it on the road spoil the sight of it from that part altogether. On our way back to the railway station our attention is arrested by a sign over a shop door which read: ‘CNAIPS SNOP’ We stopped our rickshaws to look at it and to try to puzzle out its meaning. Inside there were a quantity of European chairs for sale. The proprietress came out in a state of alarm to see so many rickshaws stay before the door, the occu - pants gazing not at the shop but above it. She probably thought there was a fire or something of that sort. When she found we were looking at her sign, she wanted to know what was the matter with it. At last we found out what was the matter. Ns had been used instead of Hs, and Ps instead of Rs. Rightly read it meant: ‘CHAIRS SHOP’ We did not enlighten the old lady however. It seemed a pity to spoil the fun. We merely told her that it was a very interesting sign – very interesting indeed.

TUESDAY 17 APRIL At Yokohama with Mr Sale, talking on business matters and afterwards writing home. 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 31

WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL Take another walk round Yokohama and in the afternoon go to Tokyo at the invitation of Captain Brinkley to dine with him. Captain Brinkley is propri - etor and editor of the Japan Mail, an English paper published in Yokohama in which politics are discussed from the Japanese point of view. 96 Brinkley is a well known connoisseur of Chinese and Japanese porcelain and is a collector of Japanese curios in general. His house is quite a museum of beautiful things. His pictures are kakemono by Hokusai, Sosen and others, and his dinner plates are fine old examples of blue and white Chinese porcelain. 97 After dinner he fetched a quantity of old Japanese brocades to show us. Our time was lim - ited and we could but see but a portion of his treasures. We had to hasten away to catch the last train to Yokohama.

THURSDAY 19 APRIL Pack up and transfer headquarters to Seiyoken Hotel, Tokyo. 98 There are two very second class hotels in Tokyo only and very little to choose between them. When I was packing up at Yokohama an earthquake occurred, which Mrs Liberty said made the chandelier swing about in their room and caused the building to rock. I did not however feel it, being too busy to notice it. The account of it said it was a slight one – an ‘earth wave’ so to speak. Mr Conder, to whom I had letters of introduction, came to dine with me at the hotel and we spent the evening discussing the architecture of Japan on which subject he is a well-known authority.

FRIDAY 20 APRIL I engage a guide to go round with me and to translate certain portions of books which I had obtained or was looking out for. Tokyo is the great centre for the book trade and there were certain books I was anxious to obtain, and a good deal of my time on this and following days was spent in looking out for what I wanted – not so easy to obtain here as might be expected. In the afternoon I went to the Ueno Exhibition, 99 and was fortunate in finding on the way a man who dealt in the quartz crystals which came from the Koshin mines and which are so famous for their purity and the enclosures of other minerals they con - tain. 100 I found a few interesting pieces, which after a great deal of haggling I got down to my price – about a third of that asked. The Ueno Exhibition is very much like the others we have seen – a loan col - lection of curios and a bazaar of modern manufactures. The loan collection was very good, containing a good collection of porcelain (old Japanese and Chinese) lent by Captain Brinkley, a quantity of fine old lacquer, lent by Japanese, and some interesting old kakemono . Among the modern things shown were some fine pieces of enamel made by Namikawa of Tokyo. 101 This 32 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN man must not be confounded with the man of the same name we had before visited at Kyoto. Namikawa of Tokyo makes very fine work, but not legiti - mate cloisonné work. There are a very few wires in his work at all and these are not always essential to its manufacture. His work is similar in character to the Nagoya work before described, but is better in quality. One finely finished pair of vases with hydrangea decoration was valued at about $200.00, about ten inches high. There was also a quantity of fine ivory carvings – flowers, etc. cut out of solid pieces of ivory with every petal finely finished and worked. Wonderfully fine work, but lacking in the purely artistic qualities of the older work. Close to the exhibition is the museum – a fine building built in a sort of semi-Moorish style singularly out of place, but still it is a building expensively and well finished. 102 I could not see much as it was about to close but I noticed a quantity of Linthorpe pottery I presented to it years ago, 103 and which had on it a label in Japanese which my guide read ‘presented by Mr Charles Hole ’. 104 The mineral collection was in disorder – the room being decorated. There was a collection of stuffed beasts and birds, a great number of them being foreign ones. The Japanese fauna being but poorly represented, nevertheless there were some domestic fowls of a special Japanese breed and which come from an island off Kobe, the tails of the cocks being about seven or eight feet long. I intend to visit the museum again and see more of it. Conder has introduced me to the club here, the Rokumeikan – a very excel - lent one with capital dining, reading rooms and library and good billiard and card rooms. 105 There are 400 members (200 resident Europeans and 200 high class Japanese).

SATURDAY 21 APRIL The Libertys come over and we – Libertys, East and I – make a call on Sano at his invitation. His house is in Japanese style with sliding shoji but with a few European accessories: tables, chairs and carpets of a very villainous pattern and colour. His secretary spoke French and our communication had therefore to be carried on in that language. Sano seems a very pleasant oldish man. He is an enthusiast on art matters and we had a long talk about Japanese art old and new. We referred to the new law just about to be passed relating to the stop - page of export of fine old Japanese art works. He said the government was anxious to do something to prevent the country being depleted of its art treas - ures, but it was difficult to know how to pass a just and at the same time effective law. I told him of the laws which exist in Greece on this matter and which compel every man being possessed of Grecian antiquities, and desirous of selling them, to submit them to government, who have the option of buying them first at a valuation. Should the government decline to buy, the man is then permitted to dispose of his treasures as he may please. He seemed 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 33 interested in the subject and said he thought his government would adopt some similar law. He showed us a vase made of silver in the shape of a fish which he said had lain at the bottom of the sea for some time, being part of the lot of goods returning from the Vienna Exhibition, the vessel bringing them having been shipwrecked in Yokohama Bay. 106 It had gone a fine black colour, but the curious part of the vase was that it had a Chinese inscription upon it which said that the carp which lived at the bottom of the sea would one day ascend to the mountains or woods to that effect – a prophecy almost literally fulfilled. The Countess was unwell and could not see Mrs Liberty, but their little daughter was introduced in the room, oh such a pretty little girl daintily dressed in her beautiful brocade (Japanese fashion). She sat upon a chair and was very silent but she smiled and looked most charming. Her hair was thick and black and was done up like the wigs in the box of ‘dolls and wigs’ at home with a bow of hair on the top. When I asked how old she was, I was told eight years, but it was afterwards explained that really she was only about six and a half years – that in counting anyone’s age in Japan they reckon the year of the birth for one year and the present year another one. So that a child that was born in December 1887 would be told in January 1889 that it was three years old, although actually it would only be a little over one year. I asked her (through an interpreter) if she liked dolls and she said, ‘Yes, very much’. I asked her if she had many dolls, but she said no, she only had one and that she did not give it a name at all. Sano asked us to take tiffin with him at a restaurant at Ueno and we all went in, the director of the exhibition and another gentleman who spoke English joining us, so that we made quite a big party and were served with a champagne lunch in good style. We afterwards went to the exhibition and objects were fetched out of the cases to show us. The director was a great judge of lacquer and explained the different kinds of aventurine, which the Japs think a deal of. Aventurine lacquer work is called in Japanese nashiji . The powdered gold work (cloudy effects) is called mura nashiji, the squares of gold like tesserae let in the lacquer being called hirane . There is a man in Kyoto who makes imitation old lacquer called kom-zawa-[r]isai and I was shown a piece of his work. 107 It was so cleverly done that it would deceive any but the closest observant. I was shown a makimono as a great treasure by the same man and very similar to the pair I have at home (trades of Japan). 108 The name of the painter is Hishikawa. 109 In the evening East and I dined with Conder at the Rokumeikan and I was introduced to some of the principal members, one of whom, Glover, asked me to tiffin the following day. 110 Conder was telling us about Kyosai, perhaps the cleverest living Japanese painter. 111 He is now very ill and not expected to live. 34 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

He has illustrated several books, Kyosai’s Mangwa , the Gwa-Dan and two vol - umes of sketches produced when he was drunk. 112 He is a fearful old tippler, and all his best work has been done when he had been quite ‘tight’. A friend of Conder’s had had his shoji (doors) repapered and wanted Kyosai to come and decorate them. He arrived in a very drunken condition and wanted some more sake before he began to work. His patron was alarmed at the state he was in and did not want him to do the work he came for, thinking he was not fit to do it; but old Kyosai said he came to paint the doors and he meant to do it, and he had his own way and did paint them in a careless sort of way, laughing all the time. His patron thought that work done in such a manner could not be good and he sent for Conder to see them, but when Conder told him that if he would allow him to have the shoji he would supply new ones and have them painted by anyone else he liked, free of expense, he thought better of it, and now these shoji are the show pieces of his house.

SUNDAY 22 APRIL Morning; take a walk down the principal street in Tokyo. Trams run down the centre of the road which is fairly wide. Many shops are devoted to the sale of European goods – wine shops being very plentiful. There are also a good many tobacconists, who sell American packed tobacco very cheaply (duty here is only 5%). I bought two little lacquer trays (a penny each) in the street, quite pretty things that I had not seen before. I rummaged a little, also, among the old books until it was time to go to Shiba to Glover’s to tiffin. 113 Here I met Conder and Captain James – a resident of Tokyo, who I had before met in the railway carriage and who had made himself very pleasant. Glover’s house is prettily arranged in a semi-Japanese style: that is Japanese rooms and European furniture. He had some very interesting old Japanese screens, lac - quers, etc., mostly presented to him by different Japanese magnates. He is an extremely pleasant fellow and I spent a very enjoyable time. In the afternoon I looked through the exhibition at Shiba – a very large one, very much the largest I have seen here – but it is really like a huge bazaar, each ‘street’ being devoted to a special article. In one were hats and caps, in another tobacco pipes and pouches, in another lacquer wares, and so on. I spent the evening writing up diary.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY 23–24 APRIL Very wet days. Spend the time indoors writing, looking at old books, trans - lating, with aid of guide, and sketching from window. This is an immensely wet spring, everyone says, and we are continually assured that the weather must clear up soon and that we shall get a spell of really bright and warm sun. 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 35

WEDNESDAY 25 APRIL Libertys coming over. I go with them to visit the Shiba temples and tombs. We find where these are situated is very beautiful. Passing through a gateway with a heavy tiled roofing one enters into a broad avenue of immense cryptomeria, on the right side of which are gateways at intervals leading to the various edifices. Most of these are mortuary chapels and tombs of various shoguns. Some of these are of equal interest at least, so we are told, to those of Nikko; and certainly what we saw this morning filled us with great admiration. 114 We first visited the mortuary chapel of the second Shogun (Hidetada; died 1632). This is a building shaped as a small temple, elaborately carved in front and coloured with great art. Very much of the outside work is hidden from view, being covered over with blackened boards to preserve the decoration from the weather. This seems a great pity. If the decoration is too delicate to stand the changes of climate it is, of course, not the right sort of thing in this place. But I am of the opinion that it would stand it to a very great extent and gain only mellowness and beauty with age. Of course in the process of time the colouring might require renovations, but this could surely be done without impairing the work in any way. It may be done, however, so as to save the expense of renovation. Whatever be the cause, the fact remains that the outside with its covering of rough dirty boards is not beautiful. But the inside is the most gorgeously beautiful place I ever saw. If there is any defect in it, it is that it is too beautiful. When you kneel upon the ground, the proper position to see them to advantage, one is first struck with the beautiful ceilings, panelled into recessed squares and dec - orated in gold and bright colours, but so subdued by the softened light as to be not at all vivid looking. Below the coved cornice are carvings of birds in high relief, gilded and painted also in reds, blues and greens, and below these the wall panels are painted in bold and effective designs on gold ground. Every inch of the ceiling and wall is elaborately decorated, but in such excellent pro - portion and regard to values as to give to the eye a pleasant sensation of richness – no part of it standing out in such prominence as to destroy or nullify the beauty of the rest. The floor was covered with white mats, but underneath these it was of fine polished black lacquer [see plate p. 185]. We asked the temple attendant to remove some of these, that we might get some idea of the effect as originally intended. He obligingly did so, swept away the dust and washed it over. When this was done we found a new charm added to the inte - rior: the walls, the carvings, the ceilings! were all reflected in the floor – so that the floor did not look black at all, but as though it were a sheet of water, with all the lights and shadows around mirrored on its surface. As a decorative art work the whole must be pronounced in every way of the highest possible order. The ornaments which are richly displayed around, were not merely patterns – 36 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN they, one and all, were ornaments of interest having something to do with the symbolism of the place. The structure of the room was pleasantly seen in the pillars, the panelled shoji , ramma and ceiling. Nowhere did the ornament hide the structure. Although elaborate to a degree, it was always subservient. In this respect, and on account of it, must one base ones verdict; it is the great dis - tinguishing feature of all the great arts of the world. While admiring the effect as intensely as I do, I must also record an absence in ones mind of the sublime awe and lofty thought which a fine Gothic cathe - dral inspires more or less in all of us. The forms of Gothic architecture are distinctly superior and more nobly beautiful than the wood framing of the Japanese. The Japanese is good, very good up to a certain point, and there he stops short. It was difficult however to analyse the matter. Behind the chapel among the trees is another building containing the tomb of the second Shogun [see plate p. 183]. This building is lacquered all over inside and the tomb in the centre is made of gold lacquer on a stone pedestal. The lacquering of this is described in Murray’s as ‘most magnificent’. It is cer - tainly good, but I do not think it is by any means of the finest quality of lac. Mrs Liberty took a photograph of the interior of the temple. We took so much time looking at the chapels that we filled up the entire morning. It was raining hard all the time, and we did not see the interiors to the best advantage as they require the sun to shine to light them up properly. In the afternoon we went to the theatre to see the play of the Forty Seven Ronin .115 In this play the famous Japanese actor Danjuro is now performing. 116 Danjuro is considered to be the first living Japanese actor and great things are said of him even by Western critics. The play begins about eight o’clock in the morning and terminates at about eight o’clock in the evening. The acts we saw were the middle ones, but they were perhaps the best in the play. The plot is given in Mitford’s Tales of Old Japan and is too long and complicated to repeat here. 117 The acts we saw were where the castle of Takumi is confiscated and he is turned out of house and home, 118 and one in which harakiri is performed, besides some minor acts of less importance. 119 The acting of Danjuro in the first act was of the highest order. Japanese and Chinese actors as a rule are far too stagey – in fact ridiculously so. But with Danjuro, the stagey manner is almost absent. His regret at leaving his castle is managed by a superb, very quiet and very natural bit of acting. This is done without a word being spoken – but speech would have been superfluous. Irving in his final flight of acting might have had lessons from Danjuro. The harakiri scene is very painfully realistic – far too much so to please Western ideas. The whole process of stabbing himself and slashing himself about until he is almost covered with blood (or what looks like it) was performed with every minutiae in front of the audience, until the sight was almost sickening. 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 37

Apropos of this, Captain Brinkley told us the most harrowing experience he had witnessed on the Japanese stage was one in which a certain Daimyo was condemned to commit harakiri and also had to kill his own son – a boy of six or seven. 120 He has to explain to the little fellow what he is about to do, and he has to submit him to his fate like a hero. The boy is naturally frightened, but at last consents to die. Then comes the struggle of the parent to nerve himself to kill his own son. The deed, however, is eventually done as is also his own sui - cide, with every detail that can harrow the audience. These details however are greatly liked by the Japanese. The theatre is a very fine one, the accommodation being more roomy and better altogether than what we had before seen. You take your ticket for the day and can go out and come in as you like. Every family party has its own little box, and they sit down and make their tea and have their ‘chow’ just as they might at home.

THURSDAY 26 APRIL We again visit the Shiba temples and see some of the other chapels, etc. While these resemble in general appearance the one we had seen the day before they were not, on the whole, so good.

FRIDAY 27 APRIL Liberty being engaged in business, Mrs Liberty and I visit a few of the shops, including Namikawa the cloisonné man. But he has nothing as good as I had seen in the exhibition, and he allows no one to see his process, which is a matter of little importance as we had seen it at Nagoya. We go to visit the school of art at Ueno. Unfortunately we find the school in recess, but we are taken through the rooms by the secretary who obligingly explains all he can to us. Professor Fenollosa, under whose direction it is, was not in, but we hope to make his acquaintance on a later occasion. The arrange - ments here are greatly superior to what we had seen in Kyoto. Fenollosa’s system, as explained to us, seems a very good one. He instructs entirely on the Japanese method and permits only such Western notions, such as better per - spective and greater attention to anatomy, to enter into the work. No tracing such as we had seen in Kyoto is allowed in this school, and we saw no traces of oil painting or hard point work. The school of wood carving connected with it was very interesting. The masters had just completed a series of small blocks (about six inches square) for the students to copy from during the next term. The student has first to learn how to carve straight regular lines, first perpendicular ones, then horizontal ones and then vertical ones. Having accomplished this, he learns how to com - bine the various straight lines into patterns and blocks on which are carved 38 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN pretty diapers as his next copies. Then come curved lines, diapers with curved lines, then simple floral patterns until the highest stages of animal and floral decoration in high relief is reached. The series of patterns fresh from the tools of the masters was a splendid one, and would be a valuable adjunct to a school of art at home. Another room was devoted to modelling in clay and we saw one or two unfinished pieces of work very cleverly done. I mean to go to that place again later on, if possible. We also visit the Museum again. Kyosai, the painter, died today.

SATURDAY 28 APRIL With East sketching the torii of a Shinto temple and a cherry tree in full blossom. 121 Afternoon writing.

SUNDAY 29 APRIL Again with East sketching in the morning. In afternoon call on Conder, who is out, and Glover, who entertains East and I, showing us his curios, etc.

MONDAY 30 APRIL Go about five miles to the other end of the city to visit a famous old dealer in kakemono and are lucky in getting some sketches of Kyosai, who died last Friday. Go with Liberty and East to Brinkley’s to tiffin; meet Conder there. Are entertained in excellent style. After tiffin, Brinkley shows us some pieces of porcelain, Japanese and Chinese, and especially some pieces of old Satsuma. 122 We were especially pleased to see these because we had become a little foggy as to the nature of genuine old Satsuma, having seen so much of such varied character, all of which was represented to us as old Satsuma. What we saw at Brinkley’s, however, very much confirmed us in our opinion as to the true nature of the ware – a ware of fine ivory-like glaze with delicate unobtru - sive crackle and with a quiet decoration, not overdone with gold. We were greatly pleased with a kakemono he showed us by Hokusai, the subject a s hoki or demon-queller painted in a brick red colour. 123 We coincided in thinking this to be one of the finest and most decorative drawings we had ever seen. I greatly enjoyed my afternoon and feel very grateful to Captain Brinkley for his great kindness to us. 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 39

TUESDAY 1 MAY We leave Tokyo; the Libertys and I journey by train for Utsunomiya– East going on to Yokohama en route for Fuji. 124 Utsunomiya is about four hours’ ride by train in a northerly direction from Tokyo and is the nearest railway station for Nikko. Part of the way lies through a flat region of uninteresting rice fields, but as we near our station the country becomes more woody and picturesque. Utsunomiya is quite a large town and we go through perhaps two miles of streets lined with shops and teahouses before we reach the celebrated avenue of cryptomeria which extends for twenty-three miles to Nikko [see plate p. 147]. The avenue through which we pass in rickshaws for five hours is perhaps the most wonderful avenue in the world. The grand old trees are planted regularly on each side of the road on a raised embankment. As we come to different vil - lages en route, the avenue ceases at the commencement of the village but begins again immediately on the other side. The weather was very bad, raining the whole time, and the roads were very heavy especially through the villages. We did not therefore see the sights of the road to such advantage as we could have wished. It was dark when we reached the Nikko Hotel, and we hailed its lights with no little pleasure as rickshaw riding along the rough Japanese roads is anything but easy. The Nikko Hotel is quite a new one – a little too new looking at first sight with its whitewashed walls – but it is a comfortable one with all its appointments in European fashion. 125 After dinner we go to bed rather tired out with our journey.

WEDNESDAY 2 MAY Fine morning. As I look out of the bedroom window the hills which rise up in front are very fine, some being pinkish in colour with some flowering shrub (wild azalea as we afterwards find out). I try to take a little sketch of the effect, but the subject beats me. After breakfast we go to see some of the temples for which Nikko is so celebrated. Walking up a little path at the back of the hotel we soon come to a flight of steps which leads to a large plain looking temple, coloured red. Passing this, we ascend another flight of steps, the balusters of which are covered with richly coloured moss and lichens, and passing through a gateway we find ourselves in the precincts of the tomb and mortuary chapel of Iemitsu, the third Shogun Tokugawa dynasty [see plate p. 159]. 126 To the right of us is a little construction supported on four posts covering a stone cis - tern full of clear water which comes from a little spring hard by, leaping down over rocks in the manner of a miniature cascade. The decoration of carved wood and bright colour together with the lines on which hang white, blue and dull red towels make this little construction (backed up, as it is, with masses of dark green foliage) a very pretty picture and we stand some time to admire it. 40 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

To the left is another flight of stone steps leading to another gateway in the side recesses of which are huge monsters carved in wood, representing the gods of wind and thunder. Up again more flights of steps we come to a third gateway, in the niches of which are more fierce looking wooden statues (the four Deva Kings). Within this is a courtyard surrounded by a sort of cloister and in the centre of this is the mortuary chapel of Iemitsu. This beautiful edi - fice is a blaze of colour, of red and green and gold in a setting of immense dark green lines of cryptomeria, which rise up behind it and on each side. I sit down within the gateway to try to take in all this gorgeous scheme of colouring. I cannot help but feel, in gazing at it, how poorly the photographs render the character of the place, the essential beauty of which lies in its colour more than its form. I resolve to come up some other day to make a sketch of it, so as to have a memento, something that may remind me of its wonderful and gor - geous colouring. The interior of this chapel, which we saw, is very fine, but to my mind although similar to the Shiba chapels we had before seen was in no way superior to them, if indeed it was equal. But still it is very fine. Ceilings, friezes, wall paintings are all carried out in a similar scheme of colour, and with the great taste which characterizes the Shiba temples. Behind the temple is the tomb of the Iemitsu – a plain structure in bronze surrounded by stone balusters. From this place we proceed to the chapel and tomb of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. 127 Here again do we ascend steps and go through elaborately carved gateways passing minor temples, a wonderful oblong cistern carved out of granite, so truly set on its base that the water within it flows equally over all its edges so that a thin veil of water descends equally over its four exterior sides, stone carved lions, bronze candelabra, bronze bell, a bell tower and a drum tower excellently carved with birds, up more steps to a beautiful and renowned gateway called Yomei-mon , the colours of which are beautifully carved with arabesque patterns and low relief, and come to another gate, elab - orately carved and decorated in different coloured woods. 128 To give details of all the beautiful awnings that cover all these gateways and temples would occupy pages of description and could not give any idea of the beauty of them. Photographs or careful drawings are the only things that can give any notion of them [see plates pp. 147, 149, 151]. The interior of this mausoleum is similar to what we had before seen. I may mention however a few things I especially noted. One of the ceilings of the interior was decorated in recessed panels with dragons, every panel being dif - ferent in design. In some of the rooms the wall coverings were of plain woods of different colours, carved with figures of birds. We are shown one chamber, known as the stone chamber from its floor being made of stone, which, but a few years ago, was not shown to the public. A select few only, and those of the 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 41 highest Japanese rank, were permitted to enter. So sacred was it considered that even those few people were only allowed to approach it with a cloth over their mouths, so that they might not pollute the air with their breath. We come away from these sights with a feeling of satiation and fatigue akin to that which one experiences after a long day at the Royal Academy. There is so much to see, and everything of such interest that the eye becomes weary and ceases to do full justice. With such a feeling did I make my way back to the hotel and I had no mind to see more temples that day. In the afternoon we walked down the road to see the red lacquer bridge which spans a rushing stream some little distance from the hotel. This bridge is not open to traffic. It is very old, being built in 1638. 129 The effect of the red lacquer with which it is covered, in contrast to the green trees on either side of the stream, is very fine and decorative, and I decide to make this a subject for a sketch [see plate p. 137].

THURSDAY 3 MAY I go up to the Iemitsu chapel again with sketch book and colours and sit down to make a careful drawing. I begin to realize then, for the first time, the extent of the task I have undertaken. As I work away, troops of Japanese pilgrims and sightseers come to visit the place and are shown round by resident guides who describe the beauties in a monotonous voice, while the peasants stare with mouths open at the sight. At times, when they have passed by, all becomes silent again and nothing is heard but a few birds calling to each other on the trees around, or the distant boom of a temple bell striking the hours. The priests regulate the time in this place. All have to set their clocks by the temple bell, and as just now the temple bell is half an hour faster than the proper time of the place, our lights at the hotel are put out half an hour sooner and we are roused half an hour earlier than usual. I work for four hours at my sketch and then shut up my apparatus in disgust and go back to tiffin. In the afternoon we go to see a little waterfall a few miles away from the hotel called the Ourami Waterfall [ Uramigataki ]. 130 It is a beautiful afternoon. The cobalt blue of the distant hills looks lovely against the foreground of the light greenish yellow of the young foliage. In one place the bamboo grass and shrubs on the hillside had caught fire and an immense cloud of smoke filled a neighbouring valley and streamed over the edge of one of the confining hills. After a time we reach a sort of gorge, along the bottom of which rushes a stream of water making plenty of noise among the boulders and rocks. We skirt along the side of the hills on a narrow pathway. Below us is a sheer descent of a hundred feet or so to the water below. The hill that rises up on the other side of the stream is covered, like the one we are on, with trees and brush - wood and here and there is a patch of bright pink blossom – the blossom of the 42 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN wild azalea, now in its perfection. The gorge has many turnings and twistings and we continually get fresh vistas of beauty. Finally, as we turn a sharp corner, we see the fall in front of us. It is not a very wonderful fall. The volume of water is not large and the depth it tumbles not great (about fifty feet). Yet it is very beautiful; the water strikes against many rocks and spreads out as it descends and the hills which encompass it on either side are covered with trees fresh with young spring foliage interspersed with great clumps of wild azalea, some of which hang over with its lovely pink blossom right in front of the fall. I never saw anything like the effect before, and I doubt if such a picture could be found anywhere else but in Japan. As I look at it, many Japanese painted land - scapes, which have before appeared to me somewhat fanciful, now appear intelligible and I can now see what faithful impressions they really are of Nature as it is here. As we return home, the distant hills which as we came were cobalt blue, are now turned an indigo colour and the sky, before a pale blue, is now pink with the setting sun. In the dusk of the valley where we had seen the smoke of the burning grass, we now see flames, for the fire is still raging and blackening the hillside. We pass by the little house, Kanaya, that Miss Bird went into such raptures about and where she stayed. It is turned into a small hotel, and looks to us no more remarkable than the scores of similar houses that line the road. 131

FRIDAY 4 MAY Morning sketching the red lacquer bridge. Somewhat lower down the river there is a very beautiful view. Another valley with a dry river bed filled with large rounded stones opens up all at once to sight. I think the view presented was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The ‘composition’ of the trees, the distant hills capped with snow, the winding river bed was perfect, but it is a subject that requires painting big in oil colours to do anything like justice to it. I come down again later in the day to this view and try to make a rough sketch of it. I also go with the Libertys to the back of our hotel, right up the hill and among the trees, to look at more temples and waterfalls. The temple, or rather shrine, attached to a temple which especially takes our attention is one called the Osano Miya [Sannomiya]. To this shrine people come to pray who are desirous of having children. They present tablets shaped like Japanese chessmen [see plate p. 141]. 132 On the back of these are written short sentences, one of which was translated by the guide ‘Please give us nice, clever children. We have none.’ Then follow the names of the supplicants. These tablets are made of wood and vary from five inches high to ten inches about. The whole shrine is filled with them. Even the roof is covered and they lodge on the top of the torii which stands in 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 43 front of the shrine. We also see the pretty little waterfall, the Akinowo, where Mrs Liberty takes some photographs. As we return to the hotel we go down a lovely avenue of immense pine trees. In the afternoon we visit a spot where there are several hundred stone images of Amida which are arranged in a row besides a pathway which runs close to a foaming torrent of water. 133 These images are many hundreds of years old. Some have lost their heads, but all of them are partly covered with little strips of paper about two inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide, on which a short prayer is stamped. These are placed here by pilgrims and devotees. The water as it rushes between the rocks and over immense boulders looks very fine. There are some Sanskrit letters engraved on one of the rocks in an apparently inaccessible spot about which there is an absurd story of some sage having thrown his pen at the rock, and thereby were the characters traced.

SATURDAY 5 MAY The Libertys leave for a long journey across country to Miyanoshita. 134 I regret that I am unable to spare the time to go with them. I take another walk among the temples and make a few sketches and then go into the town of Nikko which I had not before seen, and which seems to consist of one very long street containing many shops for the sale of furs and dressed skins. The turned wood articles are all of a rather inferior description. The skins are an interesting nov - elty. Here are monkey skins, badgers, foxes, wolves, bears, otters, stoats and cats. Slippers are made of these furs (some of which I had already purchased from dealers at the hotel). The prices asked seem rather high – certainly no great bargains were to be picked up. As I return to the hotel I meet a new arrival, a son of Kipling of Lahore, an old correspondent of mine. 135 He is writing for one of the Indian papers, and I take him round to see some of the sights. At night at the hotel dealers in curios and furs crowd the little dining room and guests sift among the heaps of objects that are shown, and great is the noise of their trafficking. These dealers swear that all they offer is old – very old. One man will offer a piece of lacquer made the week before in Tokyo and give its date with seeming certainty – ‘155 or 160 years old’. It is not often, if ever, that any real bargain can be got from these men, still if you know what you are buying, it is possible to get the objects at reasonable rates. It is very seldom however that one sees anything really worth having – the stores of these people have been ransacked over and over again for prizes, and their stocks are now little more than ‘blanks ’. 44 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

SUNDAY 6 MAY Having made the acquaintance at the hotel of some very pleasant German people (the German Consul at Hong Kong and his wife) I am asked to join their party to visit the Lake of Chuzenji and we start out early, the consul and I being mounted on Japanese steeds and the lady being carried in a chair with four bearers. 136 Chuzenji lies about nine miles away up among the hills and is 2,000 feet higher than Nikko. 137 My pony as I get ready to mount him utters a deep groan and shivers all over. He starts off however at a very steady pace. The Consul’s is a far more lively animal, and before he goes out of the inn yard he performs a pas seul with many turnings and twistings. We all get away, how - ever, safe and sound. The morning is a very lovely one. The sun shines through a very slightly hazy atmosphere which softens the distant hills and gives to the landscape the same pearly look I have before made mention of. The country is bright with flowering trees, the azaleas and apricots being in full bloom. Our way lies along narrow paths and we frequently come across very stiff rocky bits that our ponies cleverly climb over, and all we have to do is to hold on tight to prevent slipping over the tail. I begin to find however that in the downhill bits my steed is evidently not clever. He is very timid and frequently stumbles, and I keep my feet out of the stirrups to be ready for a fall. We wind round the sides of the mountains which are well clothed with vegetation. Occasionally we come across lovely views as fresh valleys open out to right or left. In places, the hills are ablaze with pink azaleas and the effect of them is never to be forgotten. After about an hour’s riding we begin to descend and I have to keep a close look out after my pony. In one place a long green and yellow snake glides across the path. My steed stops and trembles in every limb. I turn his head round until the reptile is lost in the long bamboo grass and then get him along. It is some time however before he regains his equilibrium and he begins to stumble worse than ever. I get off his back as we come to a rough bridge made of loose faggots placed across a couple of stout poles. The faggots don’t seem secure for a stumbling horse and the river below broils and rushes along over and between great stones and does not seem a nice place to fall into. For some distance the path here keeps by the side of the torrent crossing it continually. The whole valley is full of loose rocks which on examination prove to be pieces of lava, the product of surrounding volcanoes. These volcanoes are now all extinct ones, but it is evident from the nature of the rocks and soil that once upon a time this was a lively spot, the hills running down with molten matter and the air black with ashes. As we get clear of the bridges and torrent and on to a more level pathway, I again mount my steed, which roars and shudders during the operation as before. After another half an hour’s journey up hill, we come to a little teahouse perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking a beautiful valley with a very beau - 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 45 tiful waterfall – the water dropping from a great height. The whole valley is well wooded, but the hills that form the background are bare volcanic masses with only a little bamboo grass growing on them to hide their nakedness. From this ground the road gets very steep indeed, and we are obliged to dis - mount. After an hour’s hard climbing, we at last get to the top from whence it is but a short walk to Chuzenji. This town lies at the edge of a lake and consists of hotels (Japanese) only. Just now the majority are shut up as the season has not commenced, so the town has a very deserted appearance. 138 However we go to a tidy little place overhanging the lake. Chairs and tables are provided for us and we unpack our luncheon and ‘set to’. I had expected to meet the Libertys here but find they have gone on to Yumoto, where there are some hot springs. 139 Chuzenji is very high (about 4,500 feet above sea level) and consequently cold [see plate p. 163]. We do not stay long as the weather looks ‘threatening’. Having had a good look at the lake, which is very still and quiet – not a boat visible – we start back to Nikko. After going about a third the way it begins to rain. I mount my steed and try to urge him on, but the more I thrash him, the slower he walks. He is like ‘I’ow’d moke’ in Gatty’s song: 140 You might hit him on this side and hit him on that You might pet him and coax him with talk But do what you would, it all was no good, He wouldn’t go out of a walk I had no umbrella and no overcoat and the rain pelted down and I began to get cold, so I determined to walk the rest of the way. I did so, and in the hour and a half’s stiff walking through torrents of rain I got simply wet through. I was glad to see the Nikko Hotel, have a hot bath and get into dry things. I was none the worse for it, luckily.

MONDAY 7 MAY Fine morning. Start on my way back to Yokohama. A lot of the Nikko visitors, including the Poesneckers, Kipling and others are all going the same way so we make quite a long procession with our rickshaws. The long avenue which leads to Utsunomiya looked altogether different in the bright morning sun - shine to what it did when we came up it a few days before. 141 The roads were drier and the villages more picturesque. In many places large boughs of azaleas in full bloom were put in the running brook at the side of the road and light - ened up the fronts of the houses wonderfully. There were no growing azaleas about the village. Perhaps they won’t flower in the neighbourhood of these great pine trees; so these branches are brought by the flower-loving Japanese and stuck in their brooks to give colour to the scene. In one place (as we had 46 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN plenty of time) we got out of the rickshaws and walked for a while up on the bank on the other side of the trees. We then saw another snake which glided across the path. It is funny, as we pass through the villages, to see the little boys and girls – little bundles of clothes – bowing and bobbing to us as we pass and calling out ‘u-hi-o’ (good day). 142 In passing through the streets of Utsunomiya I saw two more funny signs: ‘RETAIL & FULLSELL’ (meaning retail and wholesale) ‘VARIOUS NEW DEALER’ (meaning dealer in novelties) Our train (as usual) is crowded with Japanese. The railways must pay the Government here, they are so well patronized. The Japs are great travelling people and very fond of gadding about. Before arriving at Tokyo I change into a train that goes round Tokyo, and this enabled one to see the outskirts of the city. 143 The train passes many vil - lages alive with people. In one place there is a fair going on – at another is a large florist’s nursery just now ablaze with peonies. It was evidently a show day with him as his place was full of people inspecting the flowers. I saw three or four storks in a paddy field – my first sight of these birds in a wild state in Japan. Arrived at Yokohama. I met Mr Sale in the street who fetched me my let - ters, and afterwards came to spend the evening with me at the Grand Hotel.

TUESDAY 8 MAY Morning with Sale on business. Ride up on young Sale’s Chinese pony to their house on the Bluff to tiffin. No complaints of slowness to be urged against this animal, which trotted fast all the way. This time I wanted to go slow so as to look more dignified going through the streets; but the beast had a hard mouth and wouldn’t be pulled in until he got to Sale’s gate. Afternoon writing letters and diary.

WEDNESDAY 9 MAY Up at half past five to catch the early train to Fujisawa on the railway line near Mount Fuji. 144 Mr Sale meets me, and arrived there we take rickshaws to Enoshima. 145 The morning is beautifully fine, but a little hazy. After an hour’s ride we arrive at our destination – a little peninsular jutting out into the sea. Sometimes when the tides are high it is an island. We have to walk along the connecting neck of sand in which Japanese children are digging and making sand pies. A callisthenics professor (Japanese) is instructing about thirty chil - 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 47 dren in arm exercises. They are evidently young at it. Mr Sale says that the Japs are now recognizing the value of these exercises and they are being taught at all the schools. Enoshima may be described as a village on a big rock. The houses are surrounded with trees of many sorts. The island is sacred to the memory of the goddess Benten and therefore of course is particularly interesting to me. 146 You enter the village through a torii – an especial attribute to Benten. She is always represented wearing a small torii in her headdress. Passing through this we come at once to a lot of shops up the sides of a very steep street. These are all devoted to the sale of shells, sponges and shell ornaments. Enoshima is a great place for shellfish. The queerest looking crabs are caught here – some with long spidery legs three or four feet long; others are very curious rocky looking chaps, with excrescences all over them; others are small fellows like beetles. But the speciality of the place is the ‘glass rope sponge’, having long glassy fil - aments, bound near the base tightly together by a shelly covering. 147 They are found attached to rocks and grow downwards in the sea. A quantity of very ugly pictures made of pieces of coloured shell are on sale in all the shops. The Japs patronize these. It is astonishing that people with so much natural good taste should buy such horribly bad rubbish. Having got over the shop portion without much harm to our pockets, we meet an old man clothed in a simple garment (a loose jacket) of cotton. He tells us he is eighty- five and offers to act as our guide through the place. He is a hale-looking old fellow and his limbs are turned to a ruddy brown with exposure to sea air and sun. He takes us first to a temple dedicated to Benten [see plate p. 203]. He tells us this is the Shinto Benten. Next we climb up to a tea house, said to have a good prospect of Fuji. All we can see is a whitish glow in the sky where the summit of Fuji is. This we are told is the snow on Fuji. The outline of the mountain however is not visible. Again therefore am I disappointed. Next the old guide takes us to another small temple which he especially emphasizes as being Shinto [Ed. note: underlined twice] Benten. We had thought we had seen the Shinto Benten temple before; we anticipate however from the manner he emphasizes the word Shinto that we shall next see a Buddhist Benten – or probably a Christian one. We therefore pass on without remark, but when we come to another temple or shrine and he tells us that is the [Ed. note: under - lined twice] Shinto [Ed. note: underlined four times] Benten we begin to wonder if he is making fun of us. But no, he seems really earnest and anxious for us to understand the nature of the Benten whose temple we are seeing. Surely he cannot think I am expecting to see Clara Benton in these parts. Having seen the temples we descend the other side of the rock until we reach the seashore [see plate p. 205]. Here a number of men get a living by diving for shellfish. The water here in places is very deep. I think it is probable that certain edible shellfish are ‘laid down’ here to be fetched up when wanted. 48 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

The kind that I saw offered for sale had a large shell about five or six inches in diameter, the mollusc covering himself up with a large white open coelom. Men will dive for these for you for a few cents. They strip themselves naked and after sitting a while to get their breath, down they go. I timed them as to number of seconds they remained under water. One was thirty-eight seconds and another thirty-six. Besides the shellfish, one fellow brought up a beautiful bright orange-coloured starfish. There is a cave at this place, very famous in Japanese mythology – and our guide next took us to see this. The sea comes right into the mouth of the cave, but some rickety bridges conduct you to dry land. The cave narrows and one has to proceed in a crouching posture. Our progression was not a comfortable one and we asked our guide if there was anything to see if we went on. He said, ‘Oh, yes! Very fine image. Come on’. We toiled along, sometimes pretty well on our hands and knees and at length arrived at a standing-up place. Here our guide with much mystery took our candles and held them altogether at one side of the chamber so as to get plenty of light and told us to ‘look’. We did so and saw a rude sort of shrine and a figure looking very dark and forsaken. We asked who it was. And our guide told us with some hesitation that this figure was the Shinto Benten!!! 148 I think we very much astonished the old man by the roar of laughter which followed, and I am afraid we wounded the feelings of the old gentleman. Having ‘done’ Enoshima, we next took a boat for a run of a few miles across to Kamakura. The boats here appear to be all flat bottomed, unpainted and unvarnished affairs. But they are sound, well made boats, and the timber seems perfectly good even in a boat of twenty years of age. The men row as is usual in Japan from the stern of the boat, and with the addition of a little white sail we are soon rounding the point into the Bay of Kamakura. 149 The town is some little way from the sea beach, but there is a European hotel near the sands, and this is the only building to be seen as we land. A few fishermen are dragging in the line of a net, but as they say it will take them two hours before the net is in, we do not wait to see the ‘catch’. We go to the hotel and get some tea. The place seems comfortable, but it is overrun with nurse maids and children from Yokohama, and would therefore not be so quiet and cosy as it looks. We then trek on to see the Great Buddha or Daibutsu, unquestionably the finest colossal statue in Japan. It is a ‘wet’ god; that is, it is not covered as the one at Nara is. It is beauti - fully situated in well kept grounds with pine trees and pretty flowering shrubs about [see plate p. 207]. It is undoubtedly a great work of art. The expression on the face is quite sublime and one cannot but feel impressed, and solemnly so, as one looks at it. We go inside, but it is like going in an oven for the sun has warmed up the metal of which it is made to a considerable degree. Beyond 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 49 a few gilt figures of Kwannon there is nothing to see within. 150 A few dollars are made by the priests here by taking photographs of people who pose on the arms or hands or folds of the dress of the figure. None of these photographs however appears to me in good taste. The dignity of the statue is altogether dwarfed when a number of ‘Arrys, or Jack Tars, or Tommy Atkins, or even my Lord this or my Lady that pose themselves directly in front of it. 151 Probably the worst taste was exhibited in a photo taken of the back of the figure. High up on the back of the figure is a small door which opened to admit light. 152 Here, seated on the ledge, a young fellow is holding out a bottle of beer in one hand and a pipe on the other, an idiotic grin on his face, while a boon com - panion is represented in the foreground in some equally vulgar position. I mention this as, from what I see and hear, it aptly illustrates the want of respect and ordinary good manners exhibited by a great many of the European visitors to Japan. They don’t care a cent whether they hurt the feelings of the Japanese or not. From the figure we went to see the temple which is very picturesquely situ - ated on an eminence with a flight of broad steps leading up to it. We are shown some old swords and curios of historical interest. Kamakura was once upon a time the capital of Japan, but there are now few remains of its ancient glory. The once busy streets are now paddy fields and the numerous houses have disappeared. It is surrounded by hills on three sides and the sea on the fourth, and can only be entered through two pathways cut through the rocks. These, with a few men to defend them, would be impass - able to an enemy. Many a bloody fight had been fought in the old days around this place. It is perhaps more impressive from the famous historical associa - tions it has than from the present appearance. We take rickshaws back to Yokohama – a long ride winding in and out of small valleys, all cultivated with grain and vegetables of various kinds. The drive however is a very pleasant one. I spend the evening at Mr Sale’s at a Shakespeare reading and meet a great many of the residents of the Bluff.

THURSDAY 10 MAY Mr Sale takes me to the house of a friend of his, the Reverend H. Loomis, who is an enthusiastic entomologist. 153 He possesses a very large collection of but - terflies and moths which he has taken in Japan and to which he is continually adding. He told me that the Germans were sending out a man purposely to examine one of the Japanese butterflies – a yellow one. There are two varieties of it exactly similar in colour, size and markings, but the upper wing of the one is a little rounded while the other one is straight. The question which this gentleman is coming so many thousands of miles 50 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN to examine is whether these butterflies are distinct species or merely varieties of the same species. After seeing the collection of this gentleman I returned to the hotel, packed up and took the train to Kozu en route for Miyanoshita. 154 The morning was very clear and bright and the railway ride a very interesting one as it goes near to the sea most of the way, and many glimpses of the sparkling ocean dotted with white sails are obtained on the one side, while on the other are prettily wooded hills and valleys with occasional high mountains looming up in the distance. Fuji was not to be seen on account of the haze. Arrived at Kozu I take jinrikisha for my luggage and myself. The road to Miyanoshita is very pretty. One passes several villages, over rushing torrents, climbing up and up for 2,000 feet or so. The road is weary and long for the men, but the endurance they possess is wonderful. We pass through one small town, famous for its hot springs; several bathing establishments have been erected there which are largely patronized by the natives. The latter part of the way is very hilly and was impassable for jinrikisha until lately; but a new road has now been cut which enables these vehicles to go right up to Miyanoshita (pronounced Mee-an-osh-tá). The hillside having been cut away considerably to make the road, one can see from the nature of the earth that the hills and mountains of this district are formed of mud and broken fragments of rock and were originally mud volcanoes . The whole neighbourhood abounds still in hot springs and bubbling solfa - taras. These must have been in earlier days of a size and character truly terrible – the force of steam and water being such as to break away rocks of many tons’ weight and to hurl them into the air to considerable distances. Arrived at length at Miyanoshita I decide to stay at the Naraya Hotel, which appears to me the most pleasantly situated of the two hotels which exist here. 155 Naraya is quite a large place, built in American style but having also a Japanese quarter in Japanese style adjoining it. The bedrooms are comfortable and mine has a splendid prospect looking down an immense gorge where there are many waterfalls and a few houses dotted about on the hillsides. In each bedroom, Japanese kimono or dressing gowns are placed for the use of visitors – especially to be worn when going to the bath. The bathroom is simply splendid, an octagonal building of wood, fresh and clean and smelling like cedarwood. 156 In the centre is a fountain, and around, duly partitioned off, are eight baths which may be filled in a few minutes with either boiling hot water or cold water which comes direct through bamboo pipes from adjoining nat - ural springs .157 The baths are of wood set in the ground and are very roomy. Everything is scrupulously clean, the wood being unpainted and unvarnished and yet not showing a finger mark. Bathing here is an especial luxury. 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 51

FRIDAY 11 MAY I wake up to find it raining in torrents – the hills around me enveloped in clouds which descend here and there in the valleys. The general effect is that of a mass of cloud with little openings here and there through which peeps of the country may be seen. It is quite impossible to go out so I write up my journal and play billiards. In the afternoon it clears up a little, and I go out with an old India colonel who is staying in the place to try and see some of the sights. In the village of Miyanoshita are many little shops for the sale of boxes and arti - cles made of wood. These are very neat and beautifully made, some being inlaid in pretty patterns. 158 The work is far superior to that of Nikko, made mention of before. There are also many bathing establishments patronized by the natives, who may be seen through open doors quietly taking their warm baths, ladies, gentlemen and children all together when the baths are large enough to admit of it, or lounging about on the verandas, clothed in white or blue kimonos only, and these they sometimes forget to put on. As we get out of the villages we come on to a pretty pathway, very wet from the recent rain, but overhung with pretty ferns and curious creepers, swarms of little land crabs running sideways and across the path. At a teahouse overhanging a cliff there is a lovely view up a valley with great hills on either side and a rushing torrent below the pretty village of Kiga (pronounced King-a) stretching along by the side of the water. 159 We descend and pass through the village, which like Miyanoshita is principally composed of bath houses. Just beyond the torrent becomes very violent, rushing and leaping through and over great rocks and boulders, the country opens out and the prospect of distant hills is very fine. The butterflies have come out to bask in the sun, and among the varieties that one sees, a large black swallowtail with crimson spots on the under wings is remarkable. I stood a long time watching a pair of these gyrating about near the water. A few lazy flaps of their great wings seem to give them sufficient impetus to carry them a great way with their wings out - spread and immovable as those of a hawk. They were a pretty sight and I was rather glad than otherwise that they were quite out of reach. As we return to our hotel we go up a side path which leads to the springs of hot water which supply our bathroom. This comes bubbling out of holes in the rocks and fills the air with steam. The water is collected in bamboo pipes and conducted to the various bath houses in Miyanoshita. In places the bamboo pipes are buried underground – in others they are supported on posts in the air. They are so hot with the contained water that you cannot bear your hand on them for more than a second. The supply of water is continuous throughout the year and always in the same boiling condition. 52 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

SATURDAY 12 MAY A beautiful morning. Very sunny and hot. Having brought a butterfly net out from England I thought I would try and catch a few specimens to show to one’s friends at home. I therefore sallied out with a boy to do the running. We were fairly successful catching about a dozen varieties. The most common kind appeared to be a ‘green veined’ white, almost if not quite identical with the one at home. Small blues and coppers similar to our own were also common. There were many also of a very large brown one with light coloured spots upon it, and a black and white one something like our white admiral, but of a dif - ferent shape and different method of marking which was fairly plentiful. The large black swallowtails, before mentioned, were less common and flew so high and so rapidly as to be almost un-takeable. The small yellows, which seem very common in some places, here were very rare. A couple of German barons staying at my hotel were also entomologically inclined and had nets and boxes, so that we made quite a party. In the afternoon I walked over with my boy to Ojigoku, some five or six miles distant, where there are some solfataras or sulphur springs [see plate p. 177]. 160 It was extremely hot walking, the route there lying up hill all the way. We were provided by the hotel with long bamboo poles to help us over the rough and hilly way. As I went along I divested myself of one garment and then another until only two (besides hat and boots) were left. As we got near our destination the rotten egg smell of sulphurated hydrogen began to get very strong; the hill beyond us was covered with steam and sulphureous acid. As we reached it we found the steam arose from little pools of bubbling and boiling water. My boy continually cautioned me not to step on certain places which were dangerous, so I let him take the lead and I followed in his footsteps. We were really treading on a crust of earth and sulphur below which one could imagine was a huge cauldron of boiling water and sulphur. By putting the ear near the ground we could hear the bubbling of water below. If you pressed your pole well into the ground, steam and water would rush up as you drew your stick out. The edges of the pools and the rocks about were coated with fine yellow sulphur, and in places around the pools were small and beautiful little crystals of sulphur forming a sort of golden circle. In one of the pools a jet of water rose in the middle about a foot high. In another place a large rock which had fallen from the hill above covered one of the steamy outlets. The rock was cracked by the heat and the steam from below which came through the cracks coated the sides with sulphur. The place is truly infernal. The smell of sulphur is almost unbearable: the uncanny looking pools, the rotten ground, the clouds of steam all join to make the place into what the Japanese call it – a ‘little hell ’. It was not a place to lounge about in. After having seen all the sights one 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 53 was glad to get away into the pure air again. There is quite a trade in sulphur from this place. The Japanese collect it in bags made of rice straw and carry it on their backs or on ponies’ backs and take it down to Odawara, a town near the coast where it is used for manufacturing purposes. One man can carry one bag and can make two or perhaps three journeys a day at the outside. The price he gets for his bag of sulphur is fifteen cents, so that he may make 1s to 1s 6d a day; but the work is hard, especially in wet weather when the roads are bad and slippery. It would also cost him something in sandals. I was rather hot and tired when I got home and glad to have a warm bath. After the bath an old woman came into my room – the shampooer [masseuse] of the establishment – and recommended me to be shampooed. She was an old hag, very thin and wrinkled and looked about ninety years old. 161 I lay on my bed with my kimono (dressing gown) on and the old lady knelt on the bed and began softly kneading and rubbing ones face and limbs. While she was engaged in the operation, an Australian gentleman, who had just come up from Yokohama and had a letter of introduction to one from Mr Sale, came to my room. He was fresh to Japan and Japanese ways and the sight of the old lady kneeling on the bed rubbing me about seemed to astonish him. He did not seem to know whether to come into the room or retire, and a word of expla - nation seemed necessary to calm his scruples. After dinner I made a return call upon him at his hotel, the Fujiya. I might here say in reference to shampooers that they seem to find contin - uous employment among the Japanese. They are mostly blind people and they go about the street in the evening with a little whistle on which they blow two notes only. In some places (as at the Grand Hotel, Yokohama) one may hear the sham - pooers whistle in the streets until after eleven o’clock at night. In the Miyanoshita shops they sell ‘self shampooers ’–little wooden balls held in wooden sockets which you rub yourself with when tired.

SUNDAY 13 MAY Slight feverish cold, so I stayed indoors to get rid of it and console myself with a novel.

MONDAY 14 MAY Very fine and very hot. I take a walk to explore the valley over which my window looks. After a steep descent one comes to the little village of Dogashima – another place devoted to bathing establishments [see plates pp. 171, 173]. The walk down hill is a very pretty one. The pathway is a narrow one bordered by pretty ferns and bamboo grass. In one place there is a fine fall of water, of not great volume but of a respectable height. In the village is 54 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN another fall (probably fifty feet high). Dogashima being at the bottom of a very confined valley with huge hills on every side, the air about seems very close and confined. The sun in Japan mounts high in the heavens and penetrates into all the nooks and corners so that the houses in the valley get almost as much of it as those on the hills. I think it is for this reason that the Japanese are as suc - cessful with their small gardens at the back of their homes. In more northerly latitudes, as in England, the sun would scarcely ever find its way into these tiny patches and the trees and the flowers would droop for want of it. But in Japan, no matter how surrounded the garden may be with buildings or fences, the sun shines right down into it from above and keeps it bright and healthy. For the same reason this little village of Dogashima was intensely hot and close and I was glad to get out of it onto the hillside beyond. Here looking back one had a charming view of mountains and a rushing torrent with the houses of Miyanoshita perched away up on one of the nearer hills. I afterwards was able to secure a good photograph from this point. I had not enough courage to attempt to sketch it. In the afternoon I took a long walk down to Yumoto with the McBains (people from Shanghai staying at Naraya’s). Yumoto is another bathing vil - lage, but there is nothing about it especially worthy to chronicle. 162

TUESDAY 15 MAY Pouring wet day. Stay in, write up diary and letters home. The rainy season is evidently well on us and has come much earlier than usual.

WEDNESDAY 16 MAY In the morning still raining. In the afternoon it clears up a little but the roads are too wet and muddy to take any long walk. Stroll over to Kiga again and gather a few ferns for pressing. The land crabs were very lively and the pathway fairly swarmed with them in places. Lose my pipe and have one made at a wood turner’s shop. I choose a piece of wood with a pretty bark on it and for the stem I go into the back garden and select a slender bamboo. I superintend the turning of the bowl and have much difficulty to get the man to make the hole for tobacco large enough. However I eventually get it right and am so pleased with it that I order more to be made, and advise the man to make others and put them in his shop. A few days after I got many pipes (three cents each, or one penny) and the man seemed quite pleased to tell me he had already sold thirty-six to other visitors.

THURSDAY 17 MAY Another pouring wet day. Impossible to go out. The visitors in the hotel get a lot of Japanese battledores and shuttlecocks and play in the hall. I make a 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 55 pencil sketch of one of the coolies and turn over all the stock in trade of the dealers in photographs and wooden boxes who congregate in the hall, and invest to the extent of eighteen pence.

FRIDAY 18 MAY Fine at last. Start off early with a long bamboo pole and a guide to walk to Hakone. For four miles the way lies uphill. Near the highest part is a little tea - house where one is glad to take two or three little cups of the refreshing Japanese tea. The morning is delightful although very warm. All around are hills and mountains, and the little blue-backed, white-breasted, long-tailed wagtails run along the pathway in front and give to the scene the little life it is otherwise in want of. Soon after passing the teahouse one comes to the village of Ashinoyu, famous for its sulphur baths. There are some rather large establishments here and the place is frequented both by Japanese and Europeans, the bathing having very marked curative properties in certain skin diseases. The whole place smells of rotten eggs or sulphurated hydrogen and I was glad to walk rapidly through it and get on the breezy hills beyond. About a mile further on one comes to a large Buddha carved in solid rock. I make a mental note to sketch this later on [see plate p. 175]. 163 Am too hot with walking to dare to sit in the wind and do it then. After passing this object the road begins to descend rapidly and one gets into a regular forest of slender bamboos (about six feet high) which are being cut down to be made, I under - stand, into brush handles for writing or painting. A glimpse of the Hakone Lake is now got, shining dazzlingly bright in the sun below us. Down the rocky pathway we go with long strides and by the help of the bamboo poles until we come to a road roughly paved with great rocks. This is part of the famous Tokaido Road which runs all the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. In a few more minutes a large torii is reached which marks the entrance to Moto-Hakone, one of the villages on the lake. The houses here are pretty with quaint straw thatchings and the whole district seemed full of subjects for the painter’s brush. But we hurry on, for our destination is not here. Through the village, up a long avenue of pines, past an uninteresting semi-European looking house on a hill, which I understand is a summer palace lately erected for the Emperor. Then we come to another portion of the lake where is situated the village of Hakone, our destination. I am mightily pleased with the look of things here, and I determine to stop the night at the inn and try to get a little sketching done. Fujiyama is not to be seen, but the place is pointed out to me where it may be seen on a clear day. Some more people come in from Miyanoshita, including Mr and Mrs McBain and Colonel Hooper, and we have our luncheon 56 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN all together in the pretty Japanese room of the inn. 164 We had brought our ‘grub’ with us from Miyanoshita – we join forces and make quite a respectable display of tiffin. ‘Yokohama’ beer which we can get at the inn is in large demand and the bottles are emptied rapidly. Yokohama beer is made by an English company at Yokohama. It is light and very good and the company deserves the great success it is having. Everyone is in high spirits and there is a great deal of chaffing and laughing and joking going on. After tiffin the whole company, with the exception of myself, take boats to go to the other end of the lake en route home to Miyanoshita via the Ojigoku solfataras which I had seen a few days before. I see them off and quietly smoke a cigar, feeling just a little lonely; I watch the boats disappear out of sight. Some time after they had disappeared I hear a faint song come over the waters: ‘John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the – John Brown’s body,’ etc, etc. 165 I went back to my hotel, got out my sketching apparatus and selected a teahouse near to for the first attempt. I was just getting in the outline in pencil when I saw a tall figure in a big hat and a large portfolio under his arm come across the road. It was East. We were mutually delighted to see each other. I had half hoped to meet him here, but not seeing anything of him at the hotel had given up my expecta - tions. After a chat we decided to combine forces and go to a place which East had marked out as a good one and sketch together. Unfortunately it began to rain, but we found shelter under an overhanging roof and made a little sketch of the street just as it was in the rain and mist. I found East was staying at a house quite close to my hotel, and he asked me to dinner with him. We went in early and while dinner was getting ready I managed to make another sketch of a boy making one of the tatami , or mats for the house. Then we had dinner and a long chat and a smoke, after which we detailed our various experiences since we last parted. We arranged to go together to Miyanoshita the next day that I might fetch away my luggage and stay with East awhile at Hakone.

SATURDAY 19 MAY Up at six o’clock. I open my paper shoji wondering if at last I shall see Fuji. There, right in front it was, appearing over the top of a dark mountain across the lake – a bright, pinkish-white shining cone. I was in ecstasy with it. I had begun to fear I was destined not to see it. I got out my paints and paper and made one or two rapid sketches of it, fearing it would disappear before I could dress myself. It was in sight, however, for the next two hours and then it clouded over. East came in to breakfast, and when this was over we went off on our road back to Miyanoshita. Arrived at the rock-cut Buddha we each make a sketch of it and in due time arrived at Miyanoshita, East taking up his quarters 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 57 at the Fujiya where he had before stayed. In the afternoon we go out again sketching, but coming on to rain we are driven back to the hotel.

SUNDAY 20 MAY Raining again. Write up diary and letters and get a Japanese to teach me how to play the Japanese game of chess. It is a very elaborate game indeed, and the pieces are arranged rather differently and have different values to ours. They are flat pieces of wood and they are placed flat upon the board with the painted end facing the opponent’s. They vary in size, and each piece has its name written upon it. I have noted down all the details for future reference.

MONDAY 21 MAY Still raining, but in the afternoon it cleared up so I pack up my baggage and East and I take the opportunity to get back to Hakone. East’s guide, who is the servant of an English gentleman at Yokohama who was going to China, lent him to East during his absence. He speaks a little English and is a good cook. His wife was a servant in a European family and she also speaks a little English. They had invested their savings in a small house (Japanese style) at Hakone and this was to be ready for our reception on our return to Hakone. We there - fore took up our quarters at it and found it to contain two quite comfortable bedrooms with chairs and beds! and a dining room. This was just what we had hoped to be able to get before we left home. It was especially necessary for East, who wanted to get some big work done, and to feel settled and at home with all his painting things about him. It was a great regret to me that I could only spend a few days with him. We lost no time starting to work and made a com - mencement sketching some fine pine trees that were situated quite close to our house.

TUESDAY 22 MAY Beautiful morning. Fuji again shines, and brightly, in the morning sky. We are out by half past five o’clock, determined to make a sketch of him before he is hidden in the clouds. While I am at work a man comes up – a European – who is also an amateur sketchist and he shows me his drawings. We get into conversation and I find he was an old landlord of mine in Japan – Mr Ginssani of Yokohama. He presses me to call on him at Yokohama and also to go to his country house near Moshimiau. 166 After breakfast he goes with East and I to Moto-Hakone and we all get to work then. We return to our quarters for tiffin and while we are at it we see Mr and Mrs Liberty passing the window, which is open. We rush out to them. Mrs Liberty had espied our boots outside the door – boots are not allowed on our clean mats – and surmized we were within. They come in to 58 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN tiffin and we hear that they had arrived the evening before at Miyanoshita and, gathering letters which we had left behind for them, had come on at once next morning to see us. As soon as tiffin was over they had to move on again as they were going back to Miyanoshita across the lake and via Ojigoku. We saw them off and then went back to sketching until dinner time, after which we were both tired and glad to get to an early bed.

WEDNESDAY 23 MAY Wet again. I sit in the doorway of our house and sketch the teahouse nearly opposite. It was pouring with rain, and as the weary pedestrians come by in their yellow paper raincoats and big hats they were invited into the teahouse to rest and to take a cup of the hot refreshing beverage dispensed there. They were very curious to see what I was doing and kept continually skipping across in the rain to have a look how my sketch was going on. They were evidently pleased at my having sketched their establishment as a subject for my brush, and the people at the neighbouring teahouse I fancied were a little jealous I had not favoured them instead. In the afternoon I manage to get a few very fine lichens and fungus from a wall near the house, and being quite unfit to go out, I sketch them indoors. There is an immense field of study for the botanist in Japan among the fungi and lichens. There are some most remarkable ones. There is a large, brilliant scarlet fungus (?), very cold and flabby to the touch, which grows on the trees, spreading over them and looking remarkably brilliant against the surrounding green. 167 I was told by a Japanese that it was used in Japan for dyeing purposes.

THURSDAY 24 MAY Wet again. Write up diary. In the afternoon it clears up a little and I go out and make a sketch of the lake. It comes on to rain again, however, and I return to our quarters and sketch out of the window some cottages that may be seen at the back of the house. There was not much but the roofs to be seen, but the roofs were characteristic and pretty. I am determined to take the first opportu - nity that now occurs of a fine morning to get away to a district where I can get a good uninterrupted view of Fuji. At Hakone one can only see the summit appearing over other hills. I want to see the entire mountain from base to summit. I am told that the best possible view may be obtained from the Nagao Pass and on the road to Gotemba. 168 I determine therefore to take the first fine morning.

FRIDAY 25 MAY My landlord wakes me up at five o’clock. It is brilliantly fine, not a speck in the sky. I hastily pack up, get a man to carry my luggage on his back, take a 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 59 hurried breakfast and make for the boat which is to convey me across the lake en route for the Nagao Pass. East gets up too, and is hard at it painting Fuji. I won’t let him leave his work, and with a hurried adieu off I go. I am sorry to leave Hakone and would have liked much to have stayed another day or two. It is quite a model Japanese village. The people are simple and very polite and good natured. If one only could have one’s friends at home around one, what a jolly summer could be spent there! I shall ever remember it with pleasure. The ride across the lake (seven miles) was a lovely one. I had no time to regret leaving Hakone just then for I had continually in sight the summit of Fuji, shining brilliantly white right above the mountains that skirt the lake. The morning was a perfect one and made one forget all about the rainy days we had experienced. The two oarsmen stood up in the stern of the boat rowing with their oars behind the boat, the invariable custom of rowing in Japan. I lay at the bottom of the boat with a fragrant morning pipe in my mouth, and a sketch book in hand making notes as I go along. Having arrived at the other side of the lake my guide and carrier arranges my luggage on a sort of wooden rack which he carries on his back. The load was a big one and towered well over his head, and I felt quite ashamed to burden him so. Coat, waistcoat, and tie I get rid of, for I have a stiff uphill climb in a blazing sun. The first mile or two lies across a flat meadowy district in which some hun - dreds of cows are grazing. This was my only view of cows in Japan. They are imported from abroad and kept here as being one of the few favourable dis - tricts in Japan for them. We come to a shallow river which we have to cross. My guide wades through with his load and then returns and carries me across. Then we begin to ascend. Fuji is now hidden behind the mountain which we have to ascend. After about one and a half or two hour’s climbing we are at the top and then, oh what a view!!! I don’t know how to describe it. I never saw anything so lovely in scenery in my life before. Fuji was there right before me visible from summit to base. Down below on the intervening plain were numerous little villages, the houses being so small as not to be distinctly vis - ible. A few small clouds were casting their moving shadows on the plain. A small cloud was making a belt round the middle of Fuji and this gradually thickened and broadened as I looked at it, until at last the dazzling white summit seemed to stand up alone by itself in the sky above the clouds – the deep purple base rising up and meeting the clouds below and forming a back - ground to the plain, which was specked in places with the bright green of growing crops and the yellow of the ripening corn. The perfect symmetry of the mountain is remarkable, and the way in which the base slowly thins out with the plain so as to make it difficult to see where the plain ends and the mountain begins is most noticeable, and perhaps more especially so from the 60 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN place on which I was standing than from any other one. It merges into the land so:

As I look at it I cannot help but understand how it was that Fuji should have been looked upon with awe and veneration – as a thing to be almost regarded as supernatural. Its snow-covered summit dazzling white in the sun rising up high above the clouds in the blue sky above did not seem to belong to the earth at all. 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 61

I rapidly sketched in pencil in my pocketbook the outline and a few of the features before me. I did not stay to make any careful drawing as I was very hot with my climb and the wind was blowing pressingly cold. My guide was very impatient to get on that I might not miss my train at Gotemba. Away we went, therefore, down hill, through masses of growing bamboos and ferns. The royal fern was here in abundance and as we descended the hill many other kinds were seen. I made a good collection of these in my vasculum, intending to preserve them when I reached Yokohama. 169 For several hours we pushed along, zigzagging down the hill and eventually reaching the plain; we threaded our way on the little pathways which intersect the rice fields. Men were busily engaged with bullocks up to the knees in water and black mud, ploughing the paddy fields. Some very fine butterflies and dragonflies were flying about among the fields, and several pretty and quite strange looking birds would fly before one or settle on a fence or bough and show off their finely coloured plumage. As we arrived near Gotemba, Fuji, which had been gathering clouds around it all the time I descended the pass, became invisible being now entirely enveloped. We went to a teahouse where I got a room and was able to have a good wash and a change and felt quite ready for the lunch I had brought along with me. Gotemba is a long village consisting mainly of one street. The station was some distance away, and after lunch I had to hurry away to catch my train for Yokohama. 170 The road from Gotemba was round the base of the hills on which Hakone and Miyanoshita are situated and the view from the carriage windows is very charming. Many little rivers or torrents spanned by quaint bridges, waterfalls, curious rocks, intermingled with villages and isolated houses, the labourers in the fields with blue and white cotton handkerchiefs around their heads and not much else upon them – all these pass in rapid succession. At Kozu we get a large contingent of passengers coming down from Miyanoshita and after about four hour’s journey we eventually arrive at Yokohama.

SATURDAY 26 MAY Back through some of the native streets and buy a few of the children’s games so popular in Japan, and get the shopmen to give me lessons as to the manner of playing thereof. Meet a number of Miyanoshita acquaintances: the Greenhills, Hooper, McBains, and go with them to buy photos, etc.

SUNDAY 27 MAY Writing letters. In afternoon go with Greenhill and the others to Tokyo to see the wrestlers. Today is an especially good day and we are told on no account to 62 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN miss it. We have to drive a long way from the station before we reach the wrestling grounds. 171 Arrived there, paid our money and entered a rude sort of structure very ‘temporary’ in its appearance, and were accommodated with seats (on the floor) in a rude sort of gallery which ran round the place. There were perhaps 4,000 people present, either standing in the centre or seated in the gallery round. Right in the centre of the enclosure there was a small plat - form with a sort of awning over it. On either side of this sat a row of men, either naked or with a light cotton kimono (robe) on. These were the wrestlers waiting their turn. On the stage was the umpire who called out the names and achievements of the various wrestlers as they came on the stage. The wrestling itself was I thought on the whole very slow – a simple touch or a push was sufficient to constitute a ‘round’, and between every round there was so much water drinking and formulae before setting to work again that one soon got tired of the exhibition. Every now and then there was a regular ‘bout’. The wrestlers – fat, fleshy monsters – would push and struggle with each other until one could get the other to the edge of the platform, when over they would topple among the audience, the winner on the top. This was fun, but there was not enough of it, and after about an hour we felt that we were surfeited and we toddled off back to the station. I omitted to say above that in the morning we had a good view of Fuji from the Bay of Yokohama.

MONDAY 28 MAY A ‘business’ day, and a ‘selling’ day. Ginssani (the gentleman I met at Hakone) asked me to drive with him in the evening. He is a very nice fellow. He has a very extensive collection of books on Japan which I saw. He has privately pub - lished a ‘bibliography of Japan ’ – a copy of which he gave me. I was astonished to see such an extensive literature on the subject.

TUESDAY 29 MAY See some people (Dr Branus of ) off by the City of Sydney to Vancouver. Get my photograph taken at Farsari’s and go to Tokyo to join the Libertys. 172

WEDNESDAY 30 MAY We start out early to visit the government factory (Insatsu Kyoku) where bank notes, postage stamps and leather paper are made. 173 The printing department where the banknotes and stamps are made is an extensive one full of machinery from America and Germany. The paper used for the bank notes is a very good one, with watermark very distinctly showing, and it is very tough indeed. Both men and women are employed in printing – the women all being dressed 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 63 in white cotton kimonos. They look very clean and ‘artistic’. The whole place seemed in very full work and in capital order. The machines are all driven by steam power, and the appearance of the working rooms is in every way the same as a first class manufactury at home. In one department, they were printing coloured pictures by lithography in the most approved western method. But the manufacture of the wallpaper – which is carried on in a separate building – was the thing we were most interested in and here we spent some time examining the processes. The highly embossed Japanese wallpapers are made as follows: 174 firstly sheets of coarse greyish looking paper (something like ‘sugar paper’ but coarser) are steeped in alum water until thoroughly soaked. They are then steeped in rice water. A wooden roller, having been pre - pared with the design of the paper to be made cut boldly upon it, is placed upon a rack of which the following is a section: 64 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

The sheets of paper which have been steeped in the alum and rice water are then placed upon the top of the roller ‘A’. A couple of boys stand one on either side, who have in each hand a long handled brush – the brush being made of stiff bristle, like a blacking brush but not quite so thickly set. With these they hit with very rapid strokes the paper until it is embossed thoroughly in the hollows of the wood roller. Pieces of paper are then placed upon those parts where the hollows are deep, and hammered in with the brushes until they are well embedded. Another sheet of paper is then put on and is served in the same way as the first. Three thicknesses of paper besides the padding are usually employed to make up the required thickness of the wallpaper; but sometimes four and even five are used. The sheets of paper are arranged to overlap each other. By this means a continuous roll of any length may be made. The alum is put in the water that the paper may rapidly set; the rice starch that it may stick together and stiffen it. As the paper is embossed it is rolled round the wheel ‘C’, and when the required length has been completed, the paper is taken away and spread out on frames to dry. In fine weather it is taken out in the courtyard and spread upon a bed of stones (large rounded pebbles) to dry in the sun. After it is dry it is placed upon a table and the surface is lacquered over with a big brush (in some establishments glue is used). While still ‘tacky’ it is cov - ered with sheets of tin foil, which is first rolled by a hand roller (like a printer’s ink roller) and then dabbed with a soft brush, until it lays well within the cav - ities of the design. It is then dried in a damp room (lacquer will only dry in the presence of much moisture. It will not dry in the sun or if moisture is absent). The tin foil is then lacquered over giving it a golden hue, and again it is dried. Then it is coloured by placing stencils over the pattern – oil paints being used and stencil brushes similar in shape to the last one figured. It is then touched up by hand to repair any imperfectly coloured places. Some elaborately coloured papers are painted by hand – the shaded parts in some designs being done by hand. After being dried again it is ready for the market. Men, women and boys are employed in the manufacture. Each one has one thing to do, and so, although the processes are many, the work is got through rapidly. Mr Strome, who showed us the process, says that other makers do not lacquer their papers, and that the unlacquered ones are not so durable as the lacquered ones. 175 In the afternoon we go to a fine old garden belonging to the ancient Mito family. 176 This is one of the first old private gardens in Japan. An immense amount of money must have been spent in its construction. The art by which it is arranged is of the highest order of gardening. Every spot seems to have been studied with a view to effect and not a tree or stone is there that does not add to the beauty of the place. The different parts of the garden are arranged in imita - 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 65 tion of some famous scene or landscape in Japan. The trees are very various and of the choicest description. There is a great variety of bamboos, some beautiful trellises of wisteria, magnificent pine trees, flowering cherries, oaks, palms – of every description that will grow in Japan. In one tree was a group of magnifi - cently coloured fungus. I think I never saw such a lovely shade of deep crimson before. These fungi, nestled as they were in a bed of green moss and lichen in the hollow of an old tree trunk, were a perfect picture. I asked permission to take one of these to make a drawing of it; but I must say I felt a regular philistine to remove it from its natural position, and I was only consoled in the thought that it would be quickly replaced by others that were springing up around. There was a beautiful lake in the grounds, and in this was an island shaped as a tortoise, on the back of which grew an old fir tree and bamboos – all being typical of longevity. In one part the walk swarmed with tiny little black frogs (not more than a quarter inch long). As we were looking at them, we noticed a movement in the grass near to – and we saw a snake softly gliding away. He had evidently been having a feast on the frog prey. Quaint little bridges crossed little streams in places, some being made of wood, some of stone, in archaic Japanese fashion. There was a beautiful little summer house over - hanging one part of the lake, and as our visit had been made here under the auspices of Viscount Sano, we were asked by the military officers who attended us (for the place is now under the care of the War Office) to enter the pavilion and take tea and cakes in the most approved Japanese fashion. We were all greatly delighted with this wonderfully beautiful and extensive garden. It is most grandly conceived – everything is arranged with consummate art, and the art is concealed so that it appears as the result of Nature only. From this place we were taken to the Museum of Arms, which is near to. 177 This is highly interesting – the collection of old cannon, guns, swords, spears and old armour being very fine and large, and most beautifully arranged. Some of the old cannon are most beautifully cast and ornamented. Many of them, although two or three hundred years old, are breechloaders. There were several old fashioned guns, each having a dozen to twenty barrrels spread out as a fan partly closed – a regular mitrailleuse – dated seventeenth century. 178 Some magnificent old swords were shown, made by the most famous old makers of Japan. Some of the blades (sixteenth century) were most beautifully cut out in the solid steel with figures of gods, dragons, etc. The collection of armour and old warrior dresses beggar description. Everything one ever saw in Japanese drawings connected with the military is represented here by the actual object. Standards, masks, drums, fans, helmets of repoussé iron, some plain, some richly damascened, gorgeous horse trappings and armour. I don’t 66 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN think there is a military museum in the world to compare with it in interest. One ought to have spent days here instead of a few hours. In the evening Liberty and I went to dine with Conder, who had invited Brinkley, Dr Divers (of the Japanese University) and Gubbins (Secretary of the British Legation) to meet us. 179 We had a pleasant evening. Conder showed us his collection of Kyosai’s drawings, some of which were very fine.

THURSDAY 31 MAY I hear that lantern slides of views in Japan are to be got here, so I try and hunt out the maker and have considerable difficulty in finding him. At last I suc - ceeded after some amusing adventures but was disgusted with his collection. I could only find about a half dozen slides worth having. In the afternoon I went with Mrs Liberty to Shiba to assist in keeping off the crowd while she took some photographs of the avenues. 180 There is a large gardener’s establishment here. He deals in curious dwarf trees. 181 We boldly went and moved his plants about and made some (I hope) good studies of them. His house in the grounds was so dainty and beautiful we could not refrain from cheekily pointing the camera at it and taking a ‘shot’ or two [see plates pp. 187, 189].

FRIDAY 1 JUNE Mrs Liberty and I again go out photographing and shopping (Liberty having received permission to visit the palace). In the afternoon we go to a grand func - tion given to us by Viscount Sano (East coming over especially to be present). The entertainment is at the Maple Club– a place frequented only by Japanese nobility and friends. 182 Sano had asked quite a number of Japanese ‘swells’ to meet us, men in the government, or holding important positions under it. Mr Napier (the British Chargé d’Affaires) and his wife were also there. First of all we were shown an interesting collection of old pictures, lacquer, etc., which had been brought up especially for us to see by the Director of the Kiryu [Kiritsu] Kosho Kaisha, and when these had been inspected and admired dinner was served à la Japonaise .183 Seated on cushions or on the floor, little tables with dainty dishes con - taining quite edible food were brought us. Many European dishes were cunningly included, so that we might make a good and welcome meal; and champagne was offered us as well as sake. When the dinner was about half over some musicians and dancers entered and we had a splendid performance–the dancers being the first to be seen in Tokyo. First was the maple dance – three girls dressed in beautiful robes figured with maple leaves: a slow quiet dance full of the graceful movement of falling and gathering leaves. Then the première danseuse of Japan, dressed as a warrior, gave a pas seul full of active and graceful movement. She is a pretty girl, tall and active and upright, and not at all 28 MARCH –7 JUNE 1889 67

‘slouchy’ like the Japanese women are in general. After this came the washer - woman’s dance: a very graceful one in which long pieces of soft, white crêpe are made to wave about in the air until it becomes quite misty with it. Then a small piece was performed of the nature of Pygmalion and Galatea. Galatea is discov - ered in a big wooden box, beautifully posed and draped in a gorgeous costume. The Sculptor falls in love with his own handiwork and she comes to life, but apparently not liking it she goes back to her case again and ‘dries up’. Another ‘maple dance’ followed and the performance and the dinner concluded. Our entertainment from beginning to end (including the curio exhibition) was a thoroughly typical high class native one – and one that we felt ourselves very fortunate in being able to see.

SATURDAY 2 JUNE Liberty gave today a very ‘small’ luncheon at Ueno, at which many Japanese and English notabilities were present, including Okuma Shigenobu (Foreign Minister of Japan), 184 Viscount Sano, Sannomiya (Imperial Chamberlain), Napier, Brinkley and others. 185 After luncheon Liberty, at the request of Sano, addressed the students of the Tokyo Fine Art[s] School on the art of Japan – a very clever Japanese interpreter rendering it into Japanese as he went along. 186 The lecture was greatly applauded and seemed to give satisfaction all round. Reporters were present and Brinkley promised a report of it in his paper 187

SUNDAY 3 JUNE Wet. I go round with my guide to make a final call on the dealer I have bought wares from and visited the workshop of one of the workers of crystal (quartz). He showed me his stock of minerals at which he worked making seals, balls, beads and other objects. I was able to tell him a little about some of them he did not know, and he was so pleased that he showed me every detail connected with the working of the crystals. He held a piece of crystal between his toes, and with a tiny chisel and mallet he chipped away little pieces until it took the general shape of the object he was about to make. The crystal is then rubbed on a piece of iron – if a ball, the iron is hollowed like a spout. On this a little ground garnet powder is put and wet with water. The crystal is rubbed up and down until it gets smooth and circular. It is finally polished by rubbing it in a vat of water in which finely ground garnet powder is placed. This man was working a prettily marked kind of jasper which is found in northern Honshu province. He also was working orpiment (sulphide of arsenic), which is bright red in colour, into small beads. He gave me specimens of all his materials and I purchased a few worked and half worked specimens as memento of the visit. 68 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

MONDAY 4 JUNE Return to Yokohama. This day and the next, Tuesday [5 June] are employed in making final preparations for departure – calling on acquaintances, etc. Conder and a few friends dine with me at the hotel at night and I give a Japanese chair to my old employees at ‘94 ’, with which they are greatly delighted.

WEDNESDAY 6 JUNE I am presented with a piece of crêpe by my old employees who come in a body to thank me and are very nice and pleasant. I have also presents from Mr Sale and Mr Ginssani. In the evening dinner at Sale’s.

THURSDAY 7 JUNE Up betimes and take leave of Yokohama and Japan, going on board the Oceanic by nine o’clock in the morning. Quite a crowd of people come down and see me off. Mr and Mrs Sale and the family, all my old Japanese employees, who come in a body to say adieu. Ginssani called betimes to say goodbye, and other acquaintances one had met came down to the wharf for a last shake of hands. Our little steam launch was crowded by passengers, and Sale engaged a spe - cial launch to come to the steamer and see us off. Soon after we got on board the Oceanic began to move out of harbour. Our friends circled round us in their launches; hats and handkerchiefs were waved until we gradually forged ahead and got out of sight. I think my regrets were many and sincere in leaving this charming country. It is not everything that is good. Its climate is by no means perfect, its people are not gods and goddesses, its scenery is not the finest in the world; and yet in spite of many drawbacks which it undoubtedly has, there is something about it which cannot fail to leave many a pleasant memory and make one feel the hope that it may not be the last time that one will see its ‘shining shores ’. PART II – NORTH AMERICA 7 June – 10 July 1889



From the 7th June to the 20th we passed our time on the good ship Oceanic crossing the great Pacific Ocean. 188 From the time of leaving Japan to our arrival in San Francisco we saw absolutely no land and no sign of man. Our boat was very full of passengers and I was one of four in a small cabin. Our progress was most uneventful. The progress of the ship was for the first half of the way northwards, and on the third day we experienced a sudden fall in the temperature. Our first day out the weather was hot, the thermometer standing at 79°; second day 74°; third day 43°. Every day afterward the thermometer fell two degrees until it stood at 37°, with a cold north wind blowing. We had want of our very warmest things. Nevertheless our passage on the whole was a very good one. The winds blew us along instead of retarding us, and although we had two or three rather rough days on which the boat rolled a good deal, still the passengers for the most part did not succumb to the effects. Our amusements were cricket on the calm days and deck billiards, chess and cards filling up the time indoors. I instituted a chess tournament, eight players each having to play the others. My record was not the worst. There was a good deal of reading but very little music, the passengers being on the whole a decidedly non-musical set for which I was sorry. 189 Captain Metcalfe, the commander of the ship, was a very pleasant fellow. It was his last voyage after many years in the service, before retiring from sea life and entering into business ashore. The officers one evening made him a presen - tation of five very fine Japanese bronze vases, and on our last evening the passengers presented him with an address, which I had the honour of preparing, wishing him luck in his new venture. The passengers were, mostly, a pleasant lot of people and included many nationalities: Japanese, German, Dutch, French, English, American, Scotch, etc. One evening we had an acrobatic performance by a Japanese ‘troupe’ who were on board and which was very successful. The sea ‘life’ we saw was not abundant: one whale, a large shark, and some pretty jellyfish – one of which was washed aboard and I made a hurried sketch of it. ‘Voila tout ’! 70 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

THURSDAY 20 JUNE We arrived at San Francisco during the night, but could not go to the wharf until the morning as it was necessary the doctor should visit the ship before anything could be landed. It was a great disappointment not to see the ‘golden gates ’–the entrance to San Francisco. 190 We were on the deck as soon as it was light but the view of the town from the harbour is not enchanting – large, dingy looking warehouses and wharves were all that could be seen. We had been told that the inspection at the Custom House was very strict. Before landing we had to fill up forms declaring the nature of our luggage and full details of anything dutiable. It was fortunate we sent our Japan purchases direct home from Yokohama. We had to open all our packages but the officers did not ransack the contents so much as I antici - pated, and we got away all right to the Palace Hotel. Our ride there was through some of the main streets. There are some fine buildings side by side with wooden shanties – the windows of nearly all seemed to want cleaning badly. The roads were detestable. They are paved with great boulders and when you want to cross the road you have to skip from rock to rock as on crossing a stream. The pavements are for the most part good, although in many places they are composed only of planks of wood laid side by side. The Palace Hotel is one of the largest in world – about a thousand bedrooms. 191 It is certainly a good hotel, the bedrooms are clean and well furnished, many of them being sup - plied with separate lavatories and bathrooms. Prices however are very high. We went on the American principle of paying for board and lodging at so much a day – the price charged here is $5.00 = 20s 10p, which is extremely high compared with the Japanese rates. Nearly all things are dearer in California than in other parts of the States, and nothing is less than five cents (2 1 ⁄2 d) – not even a box of matches. Liberty paid $1.50 (6s 3d) for having his hair cut in the hotel and the prices of cabs are immense, $4.00 being charged for about one mile’s ride. Fortunately trams are plentiful and cheap, and by far the most agreeable means of travelling. The streets leading out of San Francisco are very steep indeed. The trams being, however, worked by cable enable them to go full speed up the steepest of them. After having secured our rooms we made a few visits to bankers, post office, etc. There seem to be some very fine shops about the place, and the shops as well as the town generally seem to give one an idea of Liverpool, with a touch of Paris and a good helping of the backwoods of America. The weather was fine and bright but in the afternoon it commenced to blow and the streets were filled with dust. This is a regular thing here. The evenings are cool. In the afternoon write letters and telegrams home. 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 71

FRIDAY 21 JUNE In the morning do a little shopping and arrange about tickets to visit the Yosemite Valley. In the afternoon we take the tram for the Golden Gate Park and Cliff House. 192 The former is an extensive park with broad drives along which roll various specimens of American carriages – nearly all of which are remarkable by having immense spidery wheels and small bodies. Cliff House overlooks the sea and some rocky islands on which there is an immense number of seals or sea lions. These, although not under restraint, are always to be seen in great numbers about these rocks and no one is allowed to molest or shoot them under a penalty of $500.00. It was very curious to see them. They make a lovely grunting noise as they wave their heads to and fro like pigs. After dinner we left by a high coach on leather springs which rocked about most awfully on the roads to the ferry, which took us across to the train which was to convey us to Raymond, the nearest station to the Yosemite. The ferryboat was a huge affair splendidly fitted up and appointed. The upper saloon seemed long and broad and more like a concert room than a room in a boat. The train was entirely on the Pullman system with sleeping accommodation. 193 Besides whistles the engine has a big bell which swings to and fro and seems to be on the ‘clang’ all the while as the train moves. We went to bed early to get such sleep as was possible and at six o’clock we were awakened next morning with the announcement that we had arrived at Raymond.

SATURDAY 22 JUNE This city appears to consist of a railway station – a refreshment room and one general store – all built of wood in ‘pioneer’ style. No other houses or shanties were visible. After a very considerable breakfast we mounted the stagecoach and were soon on our way. Although early morning, the sun was very hot and the roads very dusty. The country does not seem to be cleared here, but here and there were small clearings fenced round, with a shanty or two made of unpainted deal planks within the enclosure. The ground is dry and dusty and all the grass dried up. The trees are mainly oaks, not so large nor so fine as our English trees. Besides these is a shrub called manzanita , the stems and branches of which are a deep claret red, the leaves being small and a dark rich green. 194 As we roll along in the jolting ‘stage’ we alarm various small animals who scamper away to cover. The commonest of these is what is called a ‘jack rabbit ’ – a larger rabbit than ours with longer ears and longer hind legs. Two or three different kinds of squirrels are common, one of which, a beautiful grey squirrel, being very plentiful. Occasionally one sees a stoat or weasel. The woodpecker abounds in this region and the trunks of decayed trees are scored with his bill, used in search of insects infesting the wood. There is also a beautiful blue bird which we frequently see. As he flies 72 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN along with wings outstretched he sparkles like a sapphire in the sun. Butterflies are very common, and include many species I have not before seen. In some places they literally swarm, and frequently one saw at least ten or twelve different species in one locality. This is the Mariposa (Spanish for but - terfly) County, and it well deserves its name. I regret very much not having a net that one might obtain a few specimens when the stage stops to change horses. But regrets are vain, and the insects are very timid and quick flying and do not readily permit themselves to be entrapped with the hat. Our route lies for the most part up hill, and in a few hours we leave the barer district and oak trees for a thickly wooded one of pines and cryptomerias. Here the evidence of frequent fires is observable. Nearly all the trees are burned more or less about the lower part of the trunk. Some are totally black - ened and charred, others have only a portion of their trunks remaining, burned and blackened into curious shapes. These stand about among their living brethren and have often in the distance quite a human appearance, but the variety [of shapes] is endless [see p. 73]. At one time one could imagine one saw an undertaker standing on the edge of a cliff pointing to the distant sandy desert of Sacramento. At another a black Japanese ghost seemed to be rising up from the ground. These charred remains are the result of the spread of civilization: a camp fire, a lighted match care - lessly thrown away, a cigar end – each of these are sufficient to light the dry pine needles that lay all over the ground, and the smouldering fire extends for miles and miles. In our company we have an American botanist, a lecturer at one of the insti - tutes – a Mr Russell. He is a very nice young fellow, and he enlightens us with the names of the various pine trees. One very remarkable one is called the sugar pine, on account of a sugary sort of substance found on the cones. The cones hang down like tassels from the ends of the branches and assume a great length, sometimes attaining twenty to twenty-two inches. The withered boughs of nearly all the trees are covered with a bright yellow-green lichen which has a remarkable appearance at times. Perhaps the tree is a red pine and the trunk, untouched by lichen, is a brilliant ruddy colour in the sun whilst its dead branches, projecting, are a bright greenish yellow. This is all the more effective in the setting of dark green pines that surrounds it. At midday we stop at a hotel, built of wood with a broad veranda, all coloured white, and are served with an excellent luncheon: plenty of nice rasp - berries and thick cream. The afternoon is spent slowly climbing up a long hill covered with pines. As we ascend in the coach, splendid views are frequently obtained of the valley below and hills beyond, all clothed in dark pine trees. After about four hours up hill we arrive at the summit and make a descent into another valley in which lies Wawona, our destination for the night. As we 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 73

go at a good pace down the hill, we go through one of the smouldering fires alluded to above; the ground on either side of us was smoking and little flames might be seen consuming the low brushwood and pine needles. We are glad to arrive at Wawona and find quite decent accommodation at the wooden hotel. 195 A brush down and a good wash was truly a luxury after our hot and dusty drive. Dinner over, we sit on rocking chairs on the veranda and smoking 74 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN the pipe of peace, and watch the setting sun and the blue smoke from the fire which is settling down in the valley and along the sides of the hills in true Japanese fashion (that is, like the conventional clouds the Japanese love to draw). An American artist has a house close to the hotel and we go to inspect his pictures of American scenery which he has arranged on the walls of his study in quite artistic fashion, interspersed with skins of wild animals, horns and examples of Indian work. His work is mainly of the Yosemite Valley and appeared very much above the average, there being some very excellent paint - ings among the collection. 196

SUNDAY 23 JUNE Up before six o’clock and start in good time to complete our journey to Yosemite. For some hours our way lies through woods as on the previous day, and all up hill. We have a different driver today to the one we had yesterday – and he takes the down hill bits at a tremendous pace and shakes us up consid - erably. About midday we get our first glimpse of the Yosemite Valley from our position known as Inspiration Point. The view is very grand and extensive but being up at a great height we looked down upon it and it did not impress us with the immensity of the rocks as we had anticipated it would do. Still it was very wonderful. The Bridal Veil Falls some miles away was visible as a thin white thread falling from a great height. As we descended into the valley and got nearer the objects of interest, they began to increase, to all appearance, immensely in size; and a feeling of awe modified, it must be admitted, by a sense of fatigue, crept over us at the immensity of the rocks and the great natural beauties of the place. We had still about an eight miles’ drive along the valley to our hotel. The views of special interest commence with the Bridal Veil Falls which, descending some hun - dreds of feet, gradually seems to resolve itself entirely into a spring. As the wind plays upon it, it continually takes fresh shapes. It is very lovely and the beauty of it grows immensely upon you as you look at it. Nearly opposite (on the other side of the valley) is the famous rock, El Capitan, which towers up to an immense height. Imagine about a dozen Matlock High Tors, one on top of the other, and you may gain an idea of its immensity. 197 A little further on we come to the Cathedral Rocks which tower up to an immense height and have a most striking resemblance to an immense cathedral, the face being flanked on either side with towers, strangely symmetrical, and the body being sur - mounted by a huge dome. The interest is then carried to the other side of the valley where the Yosemite Falls comes into view. This is claimed to be the highest known fall in the world .198 There is unfortunately not very much water descending at this time of the year as it depends for its volume to a great extent on the melting of 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 75 the snows, and these have now all disappeared. A mile or two beyond this we come to Stoneman House, and find ourselves more or less fatigued and anxious for a rest. 199 The weather was very hot, the thermometer in the shade regis - tering 90°, a wonderful difference to the temperature at San Francisco. After a late luncheon we lounged about on the hotel veranda all afternoon, no one caring to venture far until the sun had lost its power a little. I went into the shade of the woods at back of the hotel to try and do a little sketching, but the mosquitoes abounded so I was obliged to give it up. We took a stroll after dinner and turned into bed early to try and get a good rest.

MONDAY 24 JUNE We started off before seven in a carriage to see the sun rise upon Mirror Lake. The hills around being so high the sun does not make his appearance until late, although it is light as early as four o‘clock. In going we pass the North Dome on the left, which is also visible from the hotel. It is a very curious formation. An immense granite cliff rises sheer up from the valley and right on top of it is a dome, nearly perfect in symmetry. This has given much rise to discussion in geological circles. On the right of us is a similar dome but cut right in two – one half having disappeared. These are more curious than beautiful. About two miles further on we come to the Mirror Lake. This is quite a small lake but being very placid the trees and surrounding hills are reflected in it as in a mirror. As we look at it the sun begins to throw shafts of light between the rocks that tower above. The summits of the hills on the right become fringed as it were with gold, while on the left the golden light is creeping fast down the hill sides. All at once the light bursts right upon us and on the lake. The effect of it was wonderfully beautiful. I sat by the edge of the lake to try and make a sketch but was so devoured by mosquitoes that I was obliged to give it up. Mrs Liberty took several photographs from which we anticipate great results. A gentleman with a trumpet and a pistol awakened the echoes of the surrounding hills for which we were not at all thankful. From Mirror Lake we went to see the Nevada Falls. The carriage could only take us to within about two miles of there so we had to walk in the hot sun. But we were amply repaid, for they are by far the most lovely falls in the valley and probably in the world. We felt as we gazed up at them from a bridge which spans the torrent a mile or two below them, that the picture was perfect , and that the view was perhaps the most beautiful we had ever seen. The water which tumbles over the cliff here is of considerable volume (about as much as the Derwent at Matlock). 200 It falls onto great rocks which send up the spray in clouds which float away on the wind, and the sun shining upon it makes beau - tiful rainbows. We are so refreshed by the sight of it that we are moved to 76 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN greater efforts and, climbing along a narrow pathway which in one place is simply a narrow ledge of about six inches in a precipitous rock, we make our way up to the fall and after about an hour’s climbing, sometimes up boulders, we arrive quite close to it. A little more climbing and we are on the top of the ledge over which it falls. Then it is that another great sight bursts into view. Two or three miles fur - ther back is another great fall, the Nevada. I really cannot attempt here to describe the beauty of it all. Pages and pages of matter would be required. Suffice it here to say that I consider it the most beautiful and grandest scenery I have ever seen. The many photographs one sees of this district do not in any way do it justice. We arrive back at the hotel after a long hot walk thoroughly impressed with the beauty of what we had seen. In the afternoon I had a long stroll down the valley with Mr Russell and his father, Dr Russell – both extremely nice and intelligent men. We sat and watched the Yosemite Falls for a long time, gathered some beautiful wild flowers, including a lovely evening primrose quite five inches in diameter, and some very pretty dwarf lilies. We began to realize how wonderful the place really is and how full it is of interest to both artist and scientist. Six months might be spent busily in the valley sketching and noting the phenomena of nature. It was late when we got back to the hotel for dinner. The guests were picking their teeth on the veranda, but the waiter had saved us something and after having concluded it we went out to see a huge bonfire which had been lighted on Glacier Point and which when alight was thrown over the cliff. This celebrated our last night in the Yosemite.

TUESDAY 25 JUNE We leave by six o’clock on our way back to Wawona. Our coach load is made up of the same company as in coming. Besides the Russells, an American gen - tleman and his wife (Mr and Mrs Turner) from Chicago were with us. Mrs Turner is a very lively lady and answers us ‘all the time’ with her smart sayings and pleasant ways. She is a middle aged lady and calls us all ‘her children’, so we address her as ‘ma’. After five or six hours riding and jolting we arrive at Wawona. After lunch we take another coach to visit the big trees of Mariposa Grove. A few hours riding along a road through pines and cryptomerias, we come to a district where the trees begin to appear much bigger in girth – these are the Wellingtonia or Sequoia gigantea . We stop at one immense fellow, the trunk of which is partially burned, and here Mrs Liberty takes several photo - graphs. Further on our coach goes right through the trunk of a tree; this quite easily with plenty of room to spare on either side. 201 Beyond this is one of the largest, now lying on the ground. Besides these however are acres of others, all immense fellows, and we are all very much impressed with them. 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 77

Near the large tree on the ground is a log cabin where a white man and an Indian live, who make a living by cutting pieces of bark, which are sometimes about two feet thick, into little squares for pincushions and fashioning pieces of the wood into paper knives. The Indian makes bows and arrows – Indian fashion – and is very expert in the use of them as he showed us. We drive back to Wawona thoroughly pleased with our ride and go to bed early, tired out.

WEDNESDAY 26 JUNE Coach again back to the railway station on the same road we came. On leaving Wawona, the driver points out to us a man engaged on mending the roads who a few days before shot an Indian. It appears that the Indian had several times threatened to kill him, and to put an end to all anxiety he got his gun and sat on the steps of the Wawona Hotel and waited till the Indian passed by and then, without giving the Indian a chance, shot him dead. The coachman seemed to think he had done a good thing. The murderer has not been arrested, and would not be punished. This is the state of things in this western country where anyone may shoot an Indian, and no enquiries are made. The murderer is looked up to with admiration and as deserving the thanks of the community. We arrive in the evening at Raymond where we take our train. Sleeping on board all night we arrive –

THURSDAY 27 JUNE At San Francisco. After a little rest we go with the Turners to visit the Chinese quarter of the city. Mr Turner insists on standing treat for the day. We visit a joss-house, a restaurant where we have tea and cakes à la Chinoise , an opium den and sundry shops and houses. 202 All these sights were a little flat after having seen the Chinese in China. The houses are not altogether Chinese in style – in fact the majority of them are quite American. The streets are broader and not so picturesque, nor so smelly, as they are in the Celestial Empire. We also visit the Chinese theatre – a large place with a small audience. We are accommodated with seats on a stage. The portion of the piece we saw was a sort of battle – batches of warriors came in at one door, crossed spears and danced about and went out at the other, an awful din being made all the time with gongs and symbols. We did not stay long as the noise was too great and the acting but very poor. I think we were all very glad when bedtime came.

FRIDAY 28 JUNE The Turners introduce us to a friend of theirs, a captain in the army who takes us to see the Pioneers’ Club – a very fine building in San Francisco. All the 78 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN members are men who lived in San Francisco prior to 1850. 203 There are large reading rooms, etc., and an interesting museum full of Californian curios: a fine collection of minerals, the original flag of independence (the device, a star and a bear) old play bills, letters, etc., when the town was in its infancy, and Indian curios, etc. We then returned to the hotel to make our preparations for leaving north - wards, leaving the city finally on the 7 pm train en route for Victoria.

SATURDAY 29 JUNE Soon after 9 am, our train stops at a place called Upper Soda Springs, where there are some natural mineral waters springing up close to the railroad. We take a drink of it and find it rather nasty. A little further on at Sisson we get a sight of Mount Shasta, with its peak covered with snow. 204 The air is so clear here that although the mountain is thirty miles away it looks only a mile or two. Mrs Liberty takes a photo of it and I make a little sketch or two. We have this mountain in sight nearly all the day. The country about us is partially cleared. We stop at ‘cities’ composed of a street or two of wooden houses and surrounded by fields, some with ripening corn, others a tangle of brushwood and burnt tree stumps – at other times we speed through tracts of uncleared country, sometimes woods, sometimes bare. On one portion of the line there are hundreds of small hills of various sizes which at one time have been active volcanoes.

SUNDAY 30 JUNE We arrive in the morning at Portland, in the state of Oregon, one of the most important of the cities on the coast. It is quite a large town. Here is the ter - minus of the Southern Pacific line, and we have to change cars on to the Northern Pacific. Americans ‘out west’ think a great deal of Portland. They talk and brag about it as though it were one of the finest and most prosperous cities in the world. Liberty and I had a short walk through the streets and we did not think much of it. Three quarters of the houses are wooden shanties. The pavements are made of planks and the roads are as uneven as the desert of Sahara. The whole district however is a fine farming one, although farm pro - duce is so cheap that the farmers don’t make much money. The people here however do ‘guess’ and brag most awfully about this country, and so much so we have taken a pleasure in running it down to them which makes them ‘just mad’. The people about here are rather rough. Their conversation is not of the choicest, and their chewing and spitting ways are beastly. After another long day’s journey, the features of which consisted in the crossing of the beautiful and broad Columbia River and the sight in the dis - tance of the snow capped peak of Mount Hood, we arrive at Tacoma on Puget 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 79

Sound. Here we were disappointed in not being able to find rooms at the hotel of the place – the Tacoma – and we went to what was perhaps the dirtiest and most wretched inn we ever stayed at, the Central Hotel. The rooms were hor - rible and Mrs Liberty hardly liked going to bed at all. It was just such a place where one might expect to find such hotel rules as are related of an Oklahoma hotel – Oklahoma is the name of a new settlement on the borders of Mexico. 205 The notice in the bedrooms of the hotel there, I am told, runs as follows:

NOTICE

1. If the bugs are troublesome you’ll find the kloriform [sic] in a bottle on the shelf. 2. Gents goin’ to bed with their boots on will be charged extra. 3. Three raps on the door means there’s a murder in the house and you must get up. 4. Please rite [sic] your name on the wallpaper so we know you’ve been here. 5. The shooting of a pistol is no cause for any alarm. 6. If you’re cold put the oilcloth over your bed. 7. Kerosene lamps extra. Candles free, but they mustn’t burn all night. 8. Don’t tare [sic] off the wallpaper to light your pipe with. ‘Nuff of that already ’. 9. If it rains through the shingles you’ll find an umbrella under the bed. 10. Two men in a room must put up with one chair. 11. Please don’t empty the sawdust out of the pillows. 12. If there’s no towel handy you may use a piece of the carpet.

MONDAY 1 JULY We are up by five, as we hope to catch the boat which leaves for Victoria, British Columbia. The steamer is of the regular American kind, such as we had even on the Canton River – but not a very good one of its class. It was very crowded with people of a very rough sort. Puget Sound over which we sailed all day rather disappointed us. Still, in places the view of distant snow capped hills was fine. It was not however until crossing into Victoria Harbour that we were impressed with the beauty of it. It is about twelve hours’ sail from Tacoma to Victoria. On the way we called at one of the rising American cities – Seattle. Seattle and Tacoma are the two principle American towns on the Sound, and they vie with each other in boasting of their rapid progress. 206 Seattle however had suffered a great misfortune, a few weeks before we called – for the best part 80 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN of it, including many handsome brick structures, had been burned down. When we saw it therefore it was a mass of blackened ruins with white tents scattered about to shelter the homeless inhabitants. 207 The entrance to Victoria however compensated for some previous disap - pointments. The harbour is well protected. Some very fine, handsome houses are seen among the trees on the sides of the bay. The British flag – welcome sight! – is seen floating over many buildings in the town, for it is Dominion Day. The Victorians however are not very enthusiastic about forming part of the Canadian dominion. Until comparatively recently British Columbia was a separate colony of which they were proud, and they will not permit themselves to be called Canadians, for a Canadian with them is synonymous with a ‘mean fellow ’. 208 Our luggage had to be examined by the customs on landing, but they were most amicable and they let my baggage go through without even opening it. We made our way up to the principle hotel, the Driard, and the style and the comfort of it was in pleasant contrast to the wretched quarters we had had at Tacoma. 209 After dinner we were glad to get to bed for we were tired.

TUESDAY 2 JULY I went out early and enquired at an old-fashioned looking drapers shop if they could give me any information about my relations, the Jenkinsons. They were known very well and I got the addresses of my cousins at once. The first thing to do was to call on them – the ladies first, and I met with a very cordial reception, and I made arrangements to spend the evening with them. In the afternoon I went back through the town and was pleased with the English look of the houses, which are more substantial home-like structures than one had seen in the States up to the present. There are some fine, hand - some shops and banks. The Hudson’s Bay Company has a large establishment near the wharves and Mr Liberty and I took the ‘liberty’ of calling on them. 210 Their manager showed us all over the place. They deal in all kinds of English manufacture, etc., which they import by their own sailing vessels which sail round the Cape. Their old trade among the Indians however is not at all what it used to be. The fur business is declining. Still we were shown a large quan - tity of skins of different animals which were being packed to be sent away to England. Among these were a large number of bear skins, some sea otter, and grey squirrel, both the latter commanding high prices. In one of the rooms they were packing in small bags sugar and other groceries to be sent away up country to distant ‘forts’ or store houses. These are made in packages of a weight that a man may carry, for they have to be so transported to the out of the way stations. We were told that a few years ago it cost to transmit sugar to some of the outlying stations as much as $1.20 = 5s 0p per pound. This for car - 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 81 riage alone. This would bring it to about ten cents a lump – the cost of breathing in the San Francisco hotels according to Mark Twain (ten cents a breath). We were finally taken to the ‘vaults below’ and treated to a glass of real old Scotch, and then made our adieus to the obliging manager. There are several shops at Victoria devoted to the sale of Indian curios, worthy of objects made by the natives of the Queen Charlotte Islands ‘way up’ west. Among the objects displayed are carved black stone pipes and fetishes, in which the bird’s beak and the bear are especially prominent. According to an old fellow who kept one of these shops, and who professed to have lived among the Indians for thirty years and made a special study of their myths, etc., the bird was the animal that first introduced man, or rather woman, upon the earth and breathed life into her. She married a bear and the natives look up to this ill-assorted pair as their first parents. The different carved ornaments we saw were to a large extent illustrative of this curious myth. It is a remarkable fact that the Ainu of Japan trace their ancestry back to the bear. This would seem to support the idea that some relationships must exist between the two nations. 211 Besides these objects we saw some rather interesting basket work – one kind being made to hold water. Water is actually boiled by the Indians in these bas - kets, stones being made hot and dropped into the water until it boils. They also make pretty mats from the bark of a tree plaited together. Other basket work, made evidently to sell to white people, was less interesting, as also were such articles as bangles made of beaten dollars, which were not at all indige - nous in design or conception. The evening was a very lovely one. The far off hills on the mainland were visible, their snow-capped summits being tinged with pink by the setting sun. The air was fresh and cool without being in any way cold. The climate here is really delicious. For the last three months we are told it has been like it has been today – pleasant English summer weather – and this will continue for another four or five months. The winters are mild – last winter there was only one small fall of snow which disappeared very rapidly. Even the Yankees, who will not allow Canada or the Canadians to have any virtues whatsoever, are first to admit that Victoria is a charming spot.

WEDNESDAY 3 JULY Mr Jenkinson and Mr Brown came to fetch us early to take a drive into the country. 212 We drive to Esquimault, where the English navy have a station for which there is a fine dry dock of which the Victorians are very proud. 213 In the bay here the British fleet are normally at anchor, but just now they are away at Vancouver to celebrate Dominion Day. We drive along the coast seeing many inlets of the sea, the land all being covered with pines and firs right down to the water’s edge. The scenery is very 82 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN lovely and Mrs Liberty, who did not bring her larger camera, takes many ‘shots’ with her little Kodak hoping that some of them may do justice to the scene. We take luncheon with our friends, the Browns; Mrs Liberty photographs their pretty house with a whole group of us on the steps and in the afternoon we again start off for another drive, this time to a pretty park, some fine Jubilee hospital buildings and to the cemetery where a beautiful white marble column marks the spot where my aunt and her husband rest. We are told that land about and in Victoria is going up very much and one or two English investors are going in strongly for investments in real estate and property here. In the evening we go on board the steamer which is to convey us across to the mainland to Vancouver, the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Our male friends come down to bid us adieu. An announcement of our august pres - ence in Victoria is made mention of in the Victorian paper, only unfortunately Liberty’s name appears as Mr Losenby Criberty – an error which is made right in the next issue. Our boat was not advertised to start until about four o’clock in the morning, so we went to bed to get to sleep as soon as we were able. My cabin had two berths and the man in the one above me, as soon as I got into bed, began to snore most frightfully – I never heard such a noise as he made before. I had been accustomed on the Oceanic to a little steady rumbling from one of my room mates, and to a considerable amount of talking in his sleep from another. But the man in my cabin on the Yosemite (the name of our boat) made as big a row as fifty of the ordinary snorers. 214 I couldn’t get to sleep, but after about an hour and a half’s agony, in which time he had practised on every note of the snorer’s gamut, I bethought me to adroitly wake him up. I reached over and got my boots –my thickest pair– and slammed them down on the floor as hard as I could. The snoring stopped. I heard the enemy move in his bed. Apparently he half got up and peered all about the cabin to see what was the matter –at least I imagined he did. I was very quiet below, and before he could get off to sleep and to his snoring again I lost consciousness and was proof against further disturbance.

THURSDAY 4 JULY I was awakened by the noise of my snoring companion getting up and when he had finished his ablutions and departed I rose, freshly dressed and went on deck in time to see the last of Vancouver Island. The sight was a pretty one in the morning sun. The shores seemed clothed with trees to the water’s edge, but inland one could see a range of big hills of various forms, more or less of a faint grey as they merged into the atmosphere. 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 83

While we were at breakfast the boat began to toss and move about unpleasantly – she was not at all of a class suited to a heavy sea. We shipped a few wares which came on to the lower deck with a force that made the vessel tremble all over. Some of the passengers began to look pale and ominous sounds came from different cabins. It was very hot in the sun on deck, but in the shade the breeze was fresh and delightful, and as we neared the mainland the sketch book and camera were brought into requisition to catch some of the pretty effects of the nearing shore of the mainland. The Captain pointed out a small steamer laying on its side half in and half out of the water near to the shore, which he said was the first steamer that ever plied on the Pacific coast. 215 It came out over fifty years ago and its engines had been made by the famous firm of Boulton & Watt. 216 He was anxious we should get a good photo of it, and he so ordered the course of our steamer that it could be seen to the best advantage. A couple of instantaneous ‘shots’ were taken at it with the big camera. Soon after we arrived in the Bay of Vancouver where we found four English war vessels and a few merchantmen at anchor. This was the Fourth of July and a few American flags were raised above some of the houses ashore, but other - wise there was no demonstration. The Canadians had had their day a few days before. Close to the landing stage, the Canadian Pacific train was drawn up ready to hurry us off to the Rocky Mountains and across the plains. But we had an hour or two to spare before she started, part of which time I made use of in sketching the harbour, and part in taking a hurried walk into the town and a hurried lunch at a restaurant. The town is quite a new one, three or four years old only, but it is already quite a large one with some good buildings, including a very fine hotel belonging to the railway company. 217 Estate agents were plentiful, but beer saloons were less numerous than in other new towns we had seen on the American coast. The pavements however were all made of planks, and a very good pavement they make too when kept in order . Unfortunately however they don’t often seem to be in order. Vancouver is evidently a very rising town and cannot fail some day to be a very important one, thanks to the fact of its being terminus of the great Canadian Pacific Railway. Its situation however is not nearly so beautiful as Victoria. For lunch I had a chop and two glasses of milk. The chop was 25c and the milk nothing. ‘We don’t charge for milk here’ said the landlord. Our train was made up of very new and nice looking carriages comprising two or three ‘Colonists ’ Cars ’ – very clean and well fitted up, a first class car and a sleeping car. 218 One has to pay extra for the sleeping car. This during the day is turned into a ‘drawing room’ car and has a bathroom and a splendid smoking room. It is placed the last on the train so that from the windows of the smoking room the whole back track is visible. In the room and on the balcony at back 84 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN are the favourite seats, and many ladies brave the fumes of the weed that they may be participants in the beautiful lookout from this car. All the rest of the day we passed through a succession of beautiful scenes. We kept close on the bank of the Fraser River, and this river passes through some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery in America. At first the scenery is comparatively flat and there are some farms and attempts at cultivation, but we soon get into uncleared land among the pine trees. Many of those are but blackened stumps now, for fires are frequent in the forests here and in many places tracks of forest, miles and miles in extent, are blackened wastes, the long gaunt trunks of trees standing up bare and dreary. Very quickly, after a fire, the grass grows up and this looks very bright against the sombre surroundings. Among the grass a pretty pink flower grows to a considerable height. They say this flower only is seen springing up where the forest is burned, and it is hence called the fireweed . Chinamen seem in force here and wherever there are any houses or log huts about a Chinaman or two is sure to be discovered. They may be seen also down by the river washing the sand for gold; and at this work they are said to make two or three dollars a day – good pay for a Chinaman but not good enough for a white man. In other places we see Indians fishing. They sit on some pro - jecting rock and with a spear in hand, poised ready for striking, watch steadily the water below and when they see a fish, down goes the spear to impale him. Salmon is very plentiful in the Fraser River and we see in many places the fish cut open and hung on poles to dry in considerable quantity – a witness of the success of the Indian fishermen. We pass through Hope, Yale and other places of great natural beauty. Our eyes become weary with the succession of beau - tiful scenes and we scarcely regret the night which robs us of seeing much more of similar nature.

FRIDAY 5 JULY Morning finds us having left the Fraser River and skirting the arms of a curious shaped lake known as the Shuswap. Later on we come to a remarkable gorge or canyon known as Albert Canyon. The train stops here that the passen - gers may get out and proceed to a small platform where one can see down a huge chasm with perpendicular walls on either side. Down, some hundreds of feet below, is a boiling rushing torrent of water. The sight is a fine one but soon the conductor calls out ‘all aboard’ or rather ‘bo-o-a-rd’ and we clamber into the cars to be whirled into fresh scenes of beauty. At 2 pm we arrive at Glacier House. All morning we have gradually been ascending and here we are 4,122 feet above sea level with snow covered mountains and peaks all about us. The hotel is a pleasant little Swiss-like structure lying close to the railway plat - form. It is the only house in the district excepting a shanty inhabited by some 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 85 railway employees. Here we stop off to get rooms as we intend to stay two or three days for a break in our journey. 219 As soon as we have discussed dinner, we set off to see the Great Glacier which is a mile or two distant from the hotel. 220 As we leave the hotel we are startled by seeing a great bear with its forepaws on the trunk of a tree looking at us. He has got a great rope round his neck, but it does not look at all securely fastened. We step aside to give him a wide berth, when we discover that he moves not, but is a stuffed one. He had been killed in the neighbourhood some time before. A live young bear which had been kept at the house had escaped the day before, and we were told to be on the look out for him and to ‘bring him back’ if we saw him. Our way lay beside the torrent formed by the melting of the glacier. In some places the river is almost choked up with the trunks of fallen trees. We skirt round an immense wall of great boulders, the terminal moraine of a previous great glacier. We pass through a mass composed of thousands of trunks of trees piled up high in confusion that have been brought down by avalanches in the spring. We thread our way along a narrow pathway among great pine trees. As we proceed we see an artist busily at work painting in oils the rushing torrent and the snow clad peaks. He is between two fires from which a considerable smoke comes, and a lady is seated near him with a veil all over her face. The artist has a handkerchief round his hat and gloves on, and the two are sur - rounded by thousands of mosquitoes. These latter, as we afterwards find out for ourselves, are the one drawback to the place. So long as you keep in movement they don’t trouble you much, but as soon as you sit down, you are literally wor - ried by them. They come around you in thousands, and when you protect your hands and face with gloves and veils then they sting right through your clothing. Our experience of their effects, however, came later. We were now intent on getting to the front of the great glacier we had caught glimpses of occasionally through the trees ahead of us. At last we could see clearly through the trees and came right opposite so as to obtain a full view of it. It was a great sight – a great bed of ice sloping down from distant hills and ending abruptly among a mass of boulders at its base. It was cleft in many places as though it had been gashed with a mighty knife, and the gashes were greenish-blue in colour, as also were the little ice caves at the foot of the glacier where the ice had broken away in great pieces. The great mass of the ice was a dirty white in colour, but the crevasses and caves were shaded from a light turquoise down to the deepest indigo. To get to the foot of it, and to touch the ice, we had to cross the torrent which was spanned in places by rickety planks and trunks of trees – and we had also to climb the great boulders that the glacier had brought down and deposited at its end – the terminal moraine as it is called. We found this rather 86 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN stiff work but were greatly delighted at what we saw. We clambered along the foot of the glacier for some distance, and after a good long look at it turned our backs on it and made our way home where we had an early supper and an early bed.

SATURDAY 6 JULY A day of sketching. The scenery is so beautiful one felt fired with the desire to make some notes of it. I prepared to resist a charge of mosquitoes by gloves and handkerchiefs over my hat, until only a small part of the face was visible. The precautions however were insufficient. One ought to dress in a cast iron suit to be proof against their attacks. Although I wore my thickest winter suit, they came and settled on one in scores and stung right through the clothing. A favourite place was just close in under the brim of the hat. They are cute enough to know one cannot strike at them effectively there. But the favourite place of all was the palette hand. As you hold the palette the hand is invisible. Moreover it takes a little time to get at them when they are on that hand. They know all this and there are always a few flying round to make an attack when they think you are absorbed in something else. By evening I felt I had been pretty well bitten all over. One does not feel, however, the effect very much at first. The second and third day after the bites are the worst. All the same I was in a state of sufficient irritation to get but little sleep at night.

SUNDAY 7 JULY I did not feel in a Christian-like frame of mind. I had forty-eight big bumps on my hands and face each of which itched like ‘mad’. I managed to get through a little writing, but did not feel like going out sketching again. In the course of the day a young man who called himself a Presbyterian missionary arrived by train from the west and informed us he would hold service in the hotel in the evening. Liberty, who had been out on the glacier the day before with some other people, thought he would do a little sketching near the hotel. The missionary saw him at work and professed to be shocked at his breaking the ‘Sawbath’ in that way. Poor young man. Doubtless he meant well, but he was a little over zealous and inexperienced and did not know who he had to deal with. The train going west today was several hours late in consequence of a land - slip on the line. It will be necessary to spend a deal more money on the line before it is perfect. The embankments do not slope back enough, and every time a train passes a lot of stones and rubbish is loosened and rolls down. I should not be surprised to hear of a serious accident occurring on this line from this cause some day. I had a long talk with ‘Jim’ the guide today. He is a very decent young 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 87 fellow, hardy and strong as a young buffalo. He knows the district very well but a few weeks back he was out with a party on a long excursion away from the beaten track and they lost their way and had to go without food for three days. He says the whole district is rich in minerals, gold, silver and lead. Capital is wanted to develop the country. He had a very nice little collection of min - erals, mostly from Illecillewaet a few miles away where some very large quantities of galena exist. From the same place he had got a few very pretty clear, quartz crystals, one of which he gave me.

MONDAY 8 JULY I had another walk up to near the glacier and also down the railway track to a long shed built over the line to protect it from avalanches. Here I made a rapid sketch – the scene being very characteristic of the district. Packed up and at 2 pm left on the cars en route for Winnipeg. All the afternoon we passed a suc - cession of beautiful views of snow capped hills. At one place, Leanchoil, the hills were most remarkable in shape and I made a rapid pencil sketch of their strange outlines. In the evening we came to the wildest part of the whole scenery. An extra powerful engine was put behind the train to help us along up a very steep incline up the ‘Kicking Horse’ Pass. 221 The track was cut out of the solid rock of a very steep mountain. On one side of us was an almost perpendi - cular wall; on the other a deep gorge down which you peer and see a roaring, rushing torrent below. The train went very slow and laboriously up the hill and we felt that if it went off the lines (a common accident in America) it would soon be all over with us. ‘Safety switches’ are arranged at certain inter - vals along this part. The object of these is in case any part of the train should become detached and go down the hill it can be switched on to a short side line that runs up hill and so get stopped. A few months ago a luggage train did get loose and rushed back down the incline. The switches didn’t act and the whole train was precipitated over a cliff and smashed to pieces. There it still is. Every precaution however seems now to be taken against accident. Look-out men are posted on the engines, whose business it is to apply the brake on the slightest indication of weakness. Two men are posted at attention at each of the switch stations, and we felt that everything was being done to secure safety. Still, the very apparent nature of all these precautions, and the intense wildness of the scene, makes this part of the journey quite an exciting one. At last we reach the top of the pass, the summit of the Rockies. Our attendant engine salutes us with a farewell shriek of its whistle and leaves us to go back again to its station at the foot of the pass. A little further on the streams and torrents which up to the present had all flowed westwards, we found to be moving east. Our dusky 88 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN car attendants had made up our bunks and we went to bed with an ‘adieu’ to the wonderful peaks of the Rockies.

TUESDAY 9 JULY No sign of hills. We are now on the great prairies of America with not a tree in sight. The view all day was of the most monotonous character. The prairies here are trackless wastes covered with a short wiry sort of grass, the only living things in sight being prairie dogs, who sit upon their haunches on the tops of their little mound dwellings to look at the passing train or dive in haste into their little holes. Occasionally we come to a little station – a shanty built of wood with a garden planted with potatoes and other vegetables, which show us that the land only wants cultivation to produce the good things of the east in abundance. Sometimes a few Indians lounge about the station, the squaws having buffalo horns which they try to dispose of to passengers. At least they sit down with the horns in front of them and the passengers can go and buy them if they want to, for there is no attempt on the Indians’ part to pester you to buy. Sometimes we see a group of Indian tents – but these are by no means common. Policemen dressed in a sort of English military costume: red jacket round, stiff cap stuck jauntily on the head, riding boots and a little switch occasionally may be seen on the station platforms. The main business of these men is to look after the Indians. The importation of spirits and liquors is for - bidden here in the Northwest Territory. The Indians are paid so much a week by the Canadian government to keep quiet and orderly. Many people seemed dissatisfied that the Indians should be so well cared for and kept in idleness. But the policy is perhaps the best one. Their country has been taken from them and their historical means of livelihood (hunting) stopped. In the States they are shot down like vermin. In Canada they are kept from want and lead an idle, shiftless life. Their traditions prevent them from labouring at farming for their daily bread, and the only thing to be done is to keep them at peace with those who do. In this the Government are fairly successful – far more so than the American government. This being so, the policy of the Canadians is surely the best. If a white man shoots an Indian in Canada he is quickly brought to justice and made to suffer the penalty of the law. In the States he goes free. This is a fact , and not an exaggerated statement in any way.

WEDNESDAY 10 JULY Still out on the prairies, but occasional cultivated tracts of land are passed. Around the stations little towns are growing. Grain elevators betoken the proximity of cultivated farms and wheat land. Occasional rivers and lakes are passed. At about 10.30 am we reach Brandon, a town of 5,000 inhabitants. 7 JUNE –10 JULY 1889 89

Here I find a place near the station where a few Indian bead-worked objects are for sale, and on which I make a small investment. After passing this place towns are more frequent. We run for some distance near the Assiniboine River. Trees begin to appear. At one of the stations (High Bluff) Mr and Mrs Liberty leave the train to visit some friends who meet them at the station. Three hours later I arrive at Winnipeg , a town with 25,000 inhabitants, with broad streets, fine brick and stone buildings: the capital town of Manitoba. I go to the Clarendon Hotel where I get a well furnished, comfortable room. 222 I feel that once more I am in a civilized land. In the evening I go to see a lacrosse match which is being played, and was much interested in the game. 223

NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME ’S DIARY



1. Yaami’s hotel above Maruyama Park in eastern Kyoto, now defunct, was patronized by both Christopher Dresser and Rudyard Kipling. Dresser noted that ‘it is often called the European Hotel, yet it is a thoroughly Japanese building’ (Dresser, 1882, p. 119). Alfred East described it as ‘beautifully situated on one of the range of hills close to the temples’ – on the slopes of Higashiyama (East, 1991, pp. 28–9). 2. Chionin remains the principal temple of the Jodo sect, founded in the early thirteenth cen - tury, whose buildings, dating mostly from 1630, have elaborately decorated ceilings. The temple has the largest bell in Japan; seventeen monks are needed to ring it. 3. The ‘scent game’ ( ko-awase ) was an ancient game or competition, described in Murasaki’s Tale of Genji, where the qualities of different scents were described in verse. Genji-ko is a cere - mony based on memorizing or recognizing different kinds of incense. 4. The rickshaw is the European name for jinrikisha , or ‘man-powered-vehicle’, which origi - nated in Japan in the 1860s. Other man-powered forms of transport were the kago , a form of palanquin, and chairs carried by coolies, described by Dresser as a ‘horrible contrivance’ (Dresser, 1882, p. 193). Native carriages or basha , ‘a springless, very uncomfortable one-horse shay’, were to be avoided, ‘if you have either nerves to shatter or bones to shake’ (Murray’s , 1899, p. 10); see n. 9. 5. Lake Biwa, or the Lake of Omi, 235 km in circumference, is the largest lake in Japan. Mountains descend to it from the west; a plain lies to the east. 6. Tokaido, the old ‘eastern sea road’ running eastwards from Kyoto and partly lined with a great avenue of pine trees, was the route by which the Daimyo travelled twice a year from the old imperial capital, Kyoto, where the emperor lived, to pay their respects to the shogun at the effective capital, Edo (Tokyo). In mountain areas it was ‘a rough road indeed, paved with great stones which in steep ascents are simply rough stone steps impassable to vehicular traffic’ (East, 1991, p. 90). A famous series of prints of the Tokaido was published by Hiroshige. One section of the Tokaido still survives. For modern comparisons, see Carey, 2000. 7. Lake Biwa Canal, then under construction, created a navigable link with Osaka Bay and also supplied irrigation and water power to Kyoto. The Chief Engineer, Sakuro Tanabe, had studied under British engineers in Japan, but used US technology in the project which included hydro- electric power schemes. The canal opened to traffic in 1890; a dedicated museum was opened in Kyoto to celebrate its centenary. 8. Otsu is a town on the southern shore of Lake Biwa. It was briefly capital of Japan during the seventh century and is now a port for the lake. 9. The first edition of Murray’s Handbook for Travellers in Japan was published in 1881. The Handbook for Central and Northern Japan , by Ernest Satow and A. G. S. Hawes, became the stan - dard guidebook to Japan. Basil Hall Chamberlain, Professor of Japanese and Philology at the University of Japan, who edited the third to ninth editions, described it in Things Japanese (1890, p. 140) as the best guide book to Japan, but by then it was out of print, with second- hand copies fetching high prices. 10. Miidera is a Buddhist temple near Otsu, one of the thirty-three shrines sacred to Kwannon (or Kannon, derived from the Chinese Kuan Yin), Bodhisattva or goddess of mercy, sometimes depicted with multiple arms symbolizing compassion. 92 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

11. Benkei, a retainer to Yoshitune (b. 1159), and half brother of the first Shogun, allegedly stole the bell and rang it all night. He had to be bribed with a huge cauldron of bean soup before he would return it. 12. The obelisk is a nineteenth-century memorial to soldiers who died fighting the Satsuma rebellions ( Seinan Senso ) in 1877. The Satsuma samurai considered that the government’s policy of modernization was destroying the traditional social structure of feudalism, which would undermine their position. The ensuing rebellion was led by Saigo Takamori. The unsettled atmosphere and unhappiness with foreign influences was noted by Dresser in his account of Japan (Dresser, 1882, pp. 171, 183). 13. Karasaki was a village or small town on the western shore of Lake Biwa. 14. At the time, this famous tree was over 90 feet (30 m) in height, 37 feet (10 m) in circum - ference and the length of its branches up to 288 feet (nearly 90 m); it is still supported by wooden scaffolding. 15. The Cha-no-yu, or tea ceremony, evolved from medieval Buddhist practice and was codified during the sixteenth century. Holme read a paper to the Japan Society on ‘The Pottery of the Cha-no-yu’, 11 November 1908, later published in the Society’s Transactions and Proceedings 8 (1910), pp. 163–86. He also presented the Warrington Museum with several items relating to the tea ceremony, which are still on display there. The Museum has some 400 Japanese objects, collected since the 1850s (Irvine, 2004, p. 149). 16. Raku is deliberately ‘rough’ looking pottery fired at a low temperature, and is used in the tea ceremony. 17. The Kyoto Exhibition, or Shinko Buppin Tenrankai , was an ‘Exhibition of Objects Old and New’, held 1 April – 10 May 1889. 18. This may have been Hayashi Tadamasa (1853–1906), an art dealer who played an impor - tant role in Japonisme . In 1878, he went to France to serve as an interpreter at the Paris Exposition, and became an art dealer. He did much to encourage interest in Japanese art in Europe but, in order to make Japanese works more saleable in the West, encouraged the separa - tion of art and craft, traditionally considered one. 19. The Mikado’s garden or Kyoto Gyoen was situated in the centre of Kyoto. Many residential buildings of imperial relatives and court nobles were located around the palace; after the capital was moved to Tokyo, those residences were abandoned and the residential area was converted to an open space surrounding the Palace. It is now a national park of ninety-two hectares. 20. The Meiji government had issued (nonconvertible) bank notes from 1868, but the money system was uncoordinated and used elements of the old Edo system. By the time of Holme’s visit, the Bank of Japan had been established (1882), and was issuing convertible (yen) bank notes (from 1885), designed by Italian artist Chiossone. The Mexican silver dollar was also rec - ognized currency until 1897; the new yen was its equivalent. 21. Shoji are sliding screens covered with paper, used to divide rooms in traditional Japanese buildings. Painted panels are called fusuma-e. 22. According to the OED , a quartern loaf is a four-pound loaf. 23. Kyoto-fu Gagakko , or Kyoto Municipal Painting School, was established in 1880 and was the first public painting school in Japan. 24. The ‘De Veers copybooks’ may be Vere Foster’s copybooks. Foster (1819–1900) was an Irish philanthropist who published a series of writing and drawing copybooks in the 1860s and 70s which became central to Irish education for the next half century and were also adopted by School Boards in England and Scotland. 25. The Kinkaku was converted into a Zen temple in the early fifteenth century. It was burnt down in 1950 and later rebuilt. NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME’S DIARY 93

26. Kakemono are paintings designed to be hung vertically. 27. Motonobu (1476–1559) was the second generation of the Kano family, a large and influen - tial dynasty and school of artists crossing seven generations. They originally developed a classical style based on Chinese ‘water-ink painting’ methods. Painters of the Kano school also adopted the name, according to Rudyard Kipling (see Cortazzi and Webb, 1988). Motonobu’s work was distinguished by his brush strokes, use of strong colours and increasing naturalism. Kano Tanyu (1602–74) was active in the Edo period, undertaking paintings for the castles at Edo, Nagoya and Nijo, among other important buildings. 28. Maruyama Okyu (1733–95) was a painter belonging to the Kano school of painting. 29. Ramma is a carved wooden frieze, usually openwork. 30. Ikeda was a curio dealer at 54–57, Shin-monzen Umemoto-cho, Kyoto, and with branches in Tokyo and Kobe. 31. The Komai family of Kyoto were known for their traditional family business of metal - work, which developed from Komai Yoshitaka, also known as Otojiro (1842–1917), who trained as a maker of sword fittings. In the Meiji period they exported many objets d’art and dec - orations abroad, some of which were sold through Liberty and Co. Their business was located at 33. Furu-monzen Miyoshicho, Kyoto. 32. Kobe on the south coast was founded as a foreign settlement and port in 1868; it was favoured for its climate and location. 33. Ohashi was a ‘native’ curio-shop at Kobe, specializing in ‘modern art products’. It was sit - uated at ‘the end of Division Street near the railway station’. Other leading curio dealers were Kuhn and Komor and the ‘Museum of Arts and Manufactures’ on the Settlement (Murray’s, 1899, p. 344). 34. Arima was a summer resort in the hills above Kobe, with hot (iron) springs. The literal meaning of Yunoyama is ‘hot spring hills’. 35. Netsuke are miniature carvings which became popular in the seventeenth century ( ne =root, tsuke =to fasten). The kimono, traditional Japanese garment for men and women, has no pockets; women could carry small, lightweight items in their long sleeves or tucked into a fold within the wide obi (sash or belt). Since men’s kimonos had narrower sleeves and obis , they could tie a small sack or basket to a long cord and pull the cord up under the obi where it would be kept from slipping out by a small stone, gourd, or root. These simple toggles evolved into intri - cate masterpieces of the carvers’ art. Holme was an enthusiastic collector of netsuke and reputedly had one of the largest collections in the world. 36. The Kiyomizu Hotel was established around Meiji 6 (1873) as one of several hotels in the Arima hot spring area specifically for foreign visitors. 37. Sake is an alcoholic drink made from rice, traditionally served warm. 38. There were three holes at the foot of Atago Mountain from which carbon dioxide spouted out, and because birds and insects near them died these holes were called Bird Hell, Insect Hell and Carbon-Dioxide Hell. 39. The hibachi is a charcoal brazier. 40. The futon is a bedding quilt, laid down on tatami mats and put away when not in use. 41. Sumiyoshi is situated at the foot of Rokkozan. 42. The Sanda hills are a range of hills to the north-east of Kobe. 43. This may be one of the ‘earthstars’, either, an Astraeus or Geastrum species. 44. Lying between Kobe and Arima, Rokkozan stands at 3,000 feet (900 m); the Rokkozan Pass is at 2,800 feet (853 m). By 1907 European expatriates living in Kobe had constructed a golf course there. 45. Osaka is a city on the banks of the Yodogawa, the river on the eastern side of Osaka Bay. 94 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

46. Jiyutei, or ‘Resthouse of Freedom’ Hotel at Nakanoshima, Osaka, was established in 1881 for foreign visitors, and was government-run with a Western-style restaurant. 47. Yamanaka Sadajiro (1866–1934), the fourth member of the Yamanaka family to head the company, was a dealer in Japanese art objects who increasingly made goods for Western mar - kets and established branches in London and the United States. He also introduced other non-Western artefacts to Japan (see Monden, 2001). In later years, Holme often publicized exhibitions arranged by Yamanaka in the pages of The Studio magazine. 48. Nara was the first permanent capital of Japan, known as Heijo-kyo, 709–784 AD. Many of its temples are located in a large deer park. 49. Horyuji (‘Temple of the Flourishing Law’) was nominated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993. 50. The five-storey wooden pagoda and the main hall ( kondo) are among the oldest wooden structures in the world. 51. Murray’s, 1884, p. 395. Ernest Satow (1843–1929), co-author of the original Murray’s Handbook , was head of the British Mission in Japan (1895–1900) and an exceptional Japanese scholar, having already spent more than twenty years in the country where he had a Japanese family (see Ruxton, 2004). 52. Sword mounts, including the handguards known as tsuba , were metal decorations or guards for swords which became prized as art objects on account of their elaborate workman - ship, and found their way into museum collections in the West. Liberty and Co. later sold a number of tsuba to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 53. The temple known as Higashi Honganji was rebuilt on seventeenth-century foundations in 1895. The timbers were ‘lifted into place by twenty-nine gigantic hawsers made of human hair’ (Murray’s, 1899, p. 373). These huge ropes, ke-zuma , which were made of human hair donated to the temple, were said to be far stronger than conventional rope, which was then of poor quality in Japan; coils of the original rope are still on display in the temple. Ke-zuma were shown in the Japanese section of the 1862 International Exhibition in London. 54. Kose no Kanaoka was a ninth-century painter and founder of an artistic dynasty. His ren - ditions of horses were thought to be so lifelike that he had to paint on halters to prevent them from straying. 55. This may have been Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), American, professor of philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University who, with Okakura Tenshin (1862–1913), known for his Book of Tea , founded the Imperial Museum and Tokyo Fine Arts School at Ueno in 1887. He became director of the Fine Arts School in 1888 and made great efforts to preserve native artworks. Fenollosa was appointed by the Japanese government to compile the first inventory of Japan’s native treasures, and it was at this time that he came to Horyuji and was responsible for the unwrapping of the gilt Yumedono Kannon for the first time. In 1890, he returned to the USA and became curator of the Oriental Art department of Museum; he later revisited Japan. 56. The Buddha’s left eye is kept in the Shariden , or Place of the Relic. 57. By ‘red paint’ Holme was probably referring to lacquer. 58. The Kagura dance and music are part of the Shinto rituals for the gods, and relate to ancient legends; they were performed by priests and shrine maidens and their origins lie in shamanistic trances. 59. The Todaiji (temple) houses the Daibutsu, a colossal, sixteen-metre high, bronze Buddha figure representing Roshana or Birushana Nyorai, an embodiment of light. While the largest in Japan and dating from the eighth century, it is not considered as fine as the one at Kamakura, having twice been severely damaged by fire with the head and hands in particular having been re-cast. NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME’S DIARY 95

60. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha located in the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple. At a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan and artistically is considered to be the finest in Japan. The statue was cast in 1252 and was originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were washed away by a tsunami tidal wave in the late fifteenth century, and since then the Buddha has stood in the open air. 61. The Four Deva kings or Shi Tenno (heavenly kings), were guardians of the four directions of the compass and protectors of Buddhist laws. 62. The river known as the Yodogawa. 63. Nanzenji, originally intended as the retirement villa of Emperor Kameyama, is a Zen Buddhist temple founded at the end of the thirteenth century and rebuilt in 1606. Much of the building visited by Holme burned down in 1895 and was subsequently rebuilt, although some fine early sections survive. It is now headquarters of the Rinzai school of Buddhism. 64. Sesshu (1420–1506) was a priest and painter who spent some time working in China. He was revered by subsequent artists. Maruyama Okyo (1733–95), artist and teacher, founded the Shijo Ryu style, based on the accurate observation of nature. Okyo was renowned for using a flat brush, unevenly loaded with ink; he received commissions from both emperor and shogunate. 65. Kenninji is a Zen Buddhist monastery founded in 1202, containing paintings by Yusho, Ryosan and S ōtatsu. 66. ‘Professor Akamatz’ was possibly Akamatsu Renjo, a priest at Nishi Honganji temple who had strong links with politicians. He was sent to Europe in the 1870s to study modern educa - tion systems. 67. Isabella Bird (Mrs Isabella Bishop, 1831–1904) became a prolific traveller and writer in her forties. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan , published in 1880, describes her travels in the country two years earlier, a journey covering more than 1,400 miles (see also Barr, 1994). Christopher Dresser (1834–1904) was a highly innovative and influential British designer and business partner of Holme, 1879–82; he travelled extensively in Japan, 1876–7, and published his observations in Japan: Its Architecture, Art and Art-Manufactures (1882). Josiah Conder (1852–1920) was a British architect taught by Thomas Roger Smith and assis - tant to William Burges. He was invited to Japan as a government architect in 1877, designed many Western-style buildings and trained Japanese architects. He also wrote books on Japanese landscape gardening and flower arranging (see Richards, 1964; and Finn, 1995). 68. Miyako Odori , or Dance of the Capital, was performed by the maikos and geikos of Gion, Kyoto. 69. Nagoya was a thriving commercial city at this time, noted for its porcelain and cloisonné enamel work. The city was rebuilt after heavy destruction in World War Two. 70. Hikone Castle was built by the Tokugawa Shogun family during the Edo Period. One of the few feudal castles to have survived in Japan, it has a renowned garden. 71. Nagahama on Lake Biwa was then famous for its manufacture of crêpe, known as hama- chirimen , and of mosquito netting. It is now known for the Nagahama-Matsuri festival held in April. 72. The Shinachu Hotel was mentioned in Murray’s (1899). 73. Sano Tsunetami (1822–1902) was a politician instrumental in founding the Japanese Navy and also the Red Cross, of which he made Holme an honorary member. He had repre - sented the Japanese government at the 1873 Vienna International Exhibition and taken the opportunity of studying Western manufactures. His son, Sano Tsuneha, a naval officer who introduced the Boy Scout movement into Japan, later visited Holme at Red House, William Morris’s house at Bexleyheath, designed by Philip Webb, which Holme purchased on his return from Japan. See Ashmore and Suga (2006). 96 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

74. Dresser had been entertained to a grand dinner by the Governor of Nagoya, who both assisted him and also had him closely watched. 75. The original castle of Nagoya was described in Murray’s, 1884, p. 75, as ‘one of the won - ders of Japan’, built by twenty feudal lords for the son of the Shogun, Ieyasu, in 1610. The present building is a reproduction within the original moats. 76. Hidari Jingoro was a legendary wood carver active in the early Edo period. 77. Shippo (literally ‘seven treasures’), is the Japanese term for enamels. The technique of enam - elling is usually achieved by attaching and fusing a design of wires onto a copper body before filling the areas surrounded by wires with enamels which are subsequently fired. Shippo-yaki (cloisonné enamels) are traditional craft items which developed around the town of Shippo, now in . 78. Cloisonné . A method of inlaying coloured enamels onto a metal body, usually between a design created by sections of flattened wire laid on edge (see n. 77). Earlier enamelling tech - niques were revived in the mid-nineteenth century by Kaji Tsunekichi at Nagoya, patronized by Tokugawa Keisho, Daimyo of Aichi province. 79. Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845–1927), known as ‘Kyoto Namikawa’, was renowned in the Meiji and Taisho periods for his shippo-yaki techniques and for the perfection of his black enamel, developed with the assistance of the German chemist Gottfried Wagener (1831–92). He was appointed Imperial Craftsman and his residence and studio are now kept as a memorial museum. 80. The Hodgson’s power loom was probably made by George Hodgson of Bradford, Yorkshire. Holme had worked in Bradford as a young man, as agent for his father’s textile business. 81. Yokohama was the largest of the seven Treaty Ports, which also included Hakodate, Nagasaki, Kobe, Shimoda, Niigata and Osaka. They were opened to foreign trade following treaties with Britain, the US and other Western powers in 1858. In the days of sea travel, Yokohama, which opened on 2 June 1859, was the port of entry for most visitors to Japan. 82. According to Murray’s, Yokkaichi was ‘the first Japanese town to Europeanize itself by clusters of factory chimneys’ (1899, p. 304). It produced a faience known as banko . Dresser had visited several of the potteries, describing how the clay was pinched, not thrown, on the wheel. Today Yokkaichi is an industrial city. 83. Mount Fuji is the highest, most revered mountain in Japan. A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1707, at 12,400 feet (3,776 m), its peak is often hidden by cloud. 84. Situated on the Bund, the hotel overlooked the harbour and Tokyo Bay. Both the Holme party and previous visitors such as Dresser and Rudyard Kipling complained that it did not live up to its name. 85. George Sale joined Holme & Co. in Japan in 1881 . Other members of the family subse - quently worked for the company, including Charles V. Sale, probably George’s son, who became a leading member of the Yokohama Chamber of Commerce for foreign traders and also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 86. Europeans were obliged to live in a separate area from the Japanese. 87. In 1885 when Holme & Co. was sold to Mawe and Co. it was situated at Yokohama 90 (there were no street names at the time, only numbers). Mawe then moved to No. 95 in 1886 and to No. 94 in 1888, so Holme’s ‘old employees’ were now working for Mawe. In 1892 Mawe sold out to Sale and Company, and the business continued at No. 94. 88. The Bluff, or Yamate-cho , developed after 1867, was the hilly area where the better-off resi - dents of Yokohama lived. Isabella Bird likened it to the suburbs of Boston. Wealthy Japanese lived in an area called Kanagawa Bluff. 89. Frank Brinkley (1841–1912), came to Japan as a military instructor and mathematics teacher before buying the Japan Weekly Mail in 1881. Criticized by some for being too sympa - NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME’S DIARY 97 thetic to the Japanese, Brinkley founded the Asiatic Society of Japan, co-edited a Japanese- English dictionary, published in Japan in 1896, and wrote an eight-volume history of Japan and its cultures, published 1901–02. He was also a collector of Japanese art and artefacts (see Hoare, 1999). 90. The Hon. W. G. H. Napier was the newly arrived Secretary of the British Legation, Tokyo, and briefly Chargé d’Affaires. Alfred East described him as being ill at ease, and he left sud - denly the following year. 91. The British Legation, sometimes referred to by Holme as the Embassy, was situated at 1, Koji-machi, Go-bancho (now Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku), to the west of the Imperial Palace moat. It became an Embassy following the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902. The buildings were seriously damaged in the 1923 Yokohama earthquake and later rebuilt by the British Office of Works (see Hoare, 1999). 92. A temple dedicated to Kwannon (or Kannon), goddess of mercy, whose image was miracu - lously fished out of the water by two fisherman in the seventh century. 93. Emperor Meiji, who reigned 1868–1912. 94. Ueno Hill was the site of the defeat of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868. The Meiji gov - ernment established the place as a park; it contains Toshogu jinja, a shrine (built 1627) to Tokugawa Ieyasu (see n. 100). 95. Mukojima, on the banks of the river Sumida, was renowned in Japan for its exceptional display of cherry blossom. 96. According to Chamberlain, ‘the first [Japanese] newspaper worthy of the name’ was founded in 1872 by John Black, an early English resident of Yokohama. Despite rigid censor - ship, by 1890 there were 648 regular publications in Japan including three English language newspapers at Yokohama, two at Kobe and two at Nagasaki (Chamberlain, 1890, pp. 258–61). (See also Hoare, 1994). 97. Hokusai Katsushika (1760–1849), who actually used twenty different names, started a new phase of Ukiyo-e painting; his ‘Thirty-six views of Fuji’ were popularized as prints; his Manga (fifteen volumes of woodblock printed sketches), had a great influence on European artists. Sosen Mori (1747–1821) was a painter of nature, particularly renowned for his depic - tions of monkeys. 98. Seiyoken Hotel was a Western-style hotel established in 1872 at Tsukiji, Tokyo. The 1876 branch at Ueno (near Ueno Park) still exists, although rebuilt and is now a restaurant. 99. Ueno Park was and remains the location of some of Tokyo’s principal museums and also housed exhibition buildings. See also n. 95. 100. ‘Koshin’ may refer to the Ashio copper mines near Nikko; copper ore is found in a matrix of clay, calcite and quartz. 101. Namikawa Sosuke (1847–1910), or ‘Tokyo Namikawa’, had premises at 8 Shin- Yemoncho, Nihonbashi-ku, Tokyo. He began to manufacture cloisonné around 1880, and developed ‘wire less’ cloisonné from 1889. He was also appointed Imperial Craftsman in 1896 (Harris, 1994, p. 122). 102. The Imperial Museum was designed in Moorish or ‘Saracenic’ style by Josiah Conder and completed in 1882; it was destroyed in the 1923 earthquake; the present main building of the National Museum dates from 1938. 103. The Linthorpe Art Pottery at Middlesbrough, in the north-east of England, was founded in 1879 by John Harrison with the help of Holme’s business partner, Christopher Dresser, who contributed Japanese-influenced designs. Dresser & Holme were originally sole agents for Linthorpe; Liberty sold Linthorpe wares from 1883, when the Art Furnishers’ Alliance in London’s Bond Street, in which he was a principal shareholder and which had sold Linthorpe goods, went into liquidation. 98 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

104. The transliteration is still not entirely correct, but Holme’s name is now inscribed on the wall of the Donations Gallery among the many donors to the museum. 105. The Rokumeikan, or ‘Deer Cry Pavilion’, was a building designed by Conder for the Japanese Foreign Office, and became the centre of Westernized social life. It was also the first home of the Tokyo Club before it moved to another building, also designed by Conder. The Rokumeikan was demolished in 1940. 106. The 1873 Vienna World Exhibition marked the start of official Meiji government partic - ipation in international exhibitions. Sano had made a selection of Western artefacts thought to be of interest to the Japanese and intended to form the basis of a museum collection in Tokyo, but they were lost at the bottom of the bay on the journey home. 107. Komazawa Risai was the hereditary name of one of the ‘Sen-ke Jissoku’ (literally one of the ‘ten craftsmen of the Sen family’), one of ten craftsmen designated by the Sen family, each to produce a different item of tea ware. 108. Makimono are scroll paintings; often illuminated manuscripts. 109. Hishikawa Moronobu (1630?-94) began his career as an embroiderer but went on to found the Ukiyo-e , or the ‘floating world’ style of painting. Although he produced only twelve hand scrolls, these were widely reproduced as woodblock prints, and he also published a large number of illustrated books. 110. Thomas Glover (1838–1911), a Scottish merchant who came to Japan in 1859 and worked initially for Jardine Matheson, buying Japanese green tea. Two years later he founded his own firm, Glover Trading Co. ( Guraba-Shokai ). His first major success was as a merchant dealing in ships, guns and gunpowder sold to the rebellious Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa clans in Japan during the 1860s. His business was based in Nagasaki, and it was here that he had con - structed his home, the first Western-style building in Japan. Glover was a key figure in the industrialization of Japan, founding a shipbuilding company which was later to become the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. He also helped found the Japan Brewery Company, which later became the major Kirin Brewery Company Ltd (see McKay, 1997). 111. Kyosai Kawanabe or Gyousai (1831–89), was a painter and printmaker (see Conder, 1911). 112. Kyosai’s Manga : the Ga-Dan Kyosai Hyakki Gadan or Kyosai Hundred Monsters’ Picture Story , was published in Meiji 22. 113. Shiba is an area of Tokyo with a park containing the Zojoji temple, founded in 1393. The temple was last rebuilt in 1974. Six of the Tokugawa Shoguns had their tombs here but these were almost entirely destroyed by bombing in World War Two. The site is now dominated by the Tokyo Tower, constructed in 1958. 114. Nikko is a small town some 100 miles north of Tokyo, which developed as a training area for ascetics until the Edo period. Set among mountain scenery and groves of monumental trees are the elaborately carved seventeenth-century mausolea of the Tokugawa Shoguns, Ieyasu and Iemitsu, and associated temples. From the Meiji era it became a resort, taking advantage of the attractions of hot spas, Lake Chuzenji and Toshogu Shrine. There is a saying in Japan, ‘Never say kekko [splendid, satisfied] until you see Nikko’. 115. Forty Seven Ronin is the story of revenge recounted in Mitford’s Tales of Old Japan . The rōnin were ‘wavemen’ or wanderers, clan members outcast by the harakiri of their chief, Asano Lord of Ako. 116. The ninth Danjuro Ichikawa (d. 1903), a well-known Kabuki actor of the Meiji period, was described by the ‘diplomatist’s wife’ Mrs Hugh Fraser as, ‘a remarkably tall and gaunt- looking man, about fifty years old, rather like Henry Irving in his general appearance’ (Fraser, 1898, p. 393). He had his own theatre, vividly described by Douglas Sladen (1892, pp. 252– 62). NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME’S DIARY 99

117. A. B. F. Mitford (1837–1916), later Lord Redesdale, worked in Japan and China as a British diplomat, wrote interestingly about his experiences and published a collection of tradi - tional Japanese tales (see Cortazzi, 2002). 118. The Castle of Takumi belonged to Asano Takumi no Kami . 119. Harakiri , or ‘belly-cutting’, also known more politely as seppuku , evolved among the mil - itary class as a formally recognized means of exemption from the indignity of being put to death by an executioner. 120. Daimyo were the feudal lords of the Japanese provinces. 121. Torii : traditional gateway to a Shinto shrine, formed of two vertical and two horizontal beams, often painted vermilion. 122. Satsuma ware is faience delicately decorated with gold and enamels, dating from the sev - enteenth century and later commercialized by makers such as Awata and Kiyomizu until 1860. Christopher Dresser claimed that ‘Satsuma’ ware bought in England was usually Awata: ‘Only a keen eye can distinguish between the two. Little Satsuma ware, either old or modern, reaches England’ (Dresser, 1882, pp. 385–6). 123. Shoki is said to protect against demons. The story detailing this act originated in China and was adopted into Japanese folklore. Banners depicting Shoki were often hung to celebrate the Boys’ Day festival. 124. Utsunomiya was a railway stop on the branch line from Tokyo to Nikko. Nearby at Oya are the oldest stone statues of the Buddha in Japan, carved into the rocks. 125. The European-style Nikko Hotel was recommended in Murray’s (1899). 126. Iemitsu, the third Shogun (1604–51). As Shogun (1623–50), Iemitsu consolidated the Tokugawa regime, ordering the Daimyos to live for half the year in Yedo (Tokyo) and to leave their families there for the other half. In 1633, he officially isolated Japan from the rest of the world, banned Christianity and ordered the entire Japanese population to register at a shrine or temple. 127. The Shogun, Ieyasu (1542–1616), ruled 1603–05. He was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan for the next 250 years. 128. Yomei-mon , or the Gate of Sunlight, is also known as Higurashi-mon, the Gate of Twilight, since one might marvel at it until nightfall. 129. The Shin-kyo (red lacquer) bridge has been repaired and rebuilt many times, most recently in 2005. 130. Uramigataki is in a ravine an hour’s walk from Nikko. 131. This was a traditional house near Nikko, where Isabella Bird lived with the Kanaya family and which she describes in her book, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, as a ‘Japanese idyll’. Holme was evidently considering only the appearance of the building and not Bird’s experience of living with a Japanese family. Advertisements in Murray’s Handbook state that the hotel was actually established in 1871, before Bird’s visit. 132. Chess ( shogi , which literally means ‘the generals came’) was introduced into Japan from China. It is played on a board with eighty-one squares; each side has twenty pieces, distin - guished by ideographs, not by shape or colour. 133. Amida, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, derived from the idea of boundless light. 134. Miyanoshita was a resort in the Hakone district, an area with hot mineral (iron and sul - phur) springs and views of Mount Fuji. East described it as having ‘special charms for the lazy man’ (East, 1991, p. 90). He stayed there on three occasions, once when he walked in the hills with the Libertys, with Holme, and later when he met Basil Hall Chamberlain. 135. The ‘son of Kipling’ was Rudyard, son of John Lockwood Kipling and Alice MacDonald, sister of Georgiana Burne-Jones. Holme and Lockwood had corresponded since the 1870s, 100 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN when Holme was importing art goods from India, and Lockwood was Principal of the Mayo School of Art and Curator of the Lahore Museum in Lahore, India. Rudyard visited Japan in 1889 and again in 1892. For Kipling’s account of those visits see Cortazzi and Webb, 1988. 136. Holme is referring to Lorenz Poesnecker, who was the German-born Austro-Hungarian Consul in Hong Kong. He took up his position there 7 February 1889. 137. Lake Chuzenji is 1,300 m above sea level; it is exceptionally deep. The town is still a pop - ular resort. 138. Chuzenji was a place of annual pilgrimage when thousands of pilgrims would come to make the ascent of Nantaizan, but was quiet the rest of the year. 139. Yumoto literally means ‘the source of spring water’. Apart from the sulphur springs, Yumoto offered fishing and good walks. 140. This is probably Alfred Scott-Gatty (1847–1918), who pursued a career in the field of heraldry, was knighted in 1904, and was later awarded the KCVO (Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order). He was also a comic poet and composer of popular songs, many of them intended for children. 141. The city of Utsunomiya has developed and prospered around the Futaarayama Woods. 142. Actually ohayo , meaning ‘good morning’. 143. The Tokyo ‘urban’ railway line ran through parts of the old castle moat, connecting with the suburban railway line. 144. Fujisawa borders on Sagami Bay, about twenty kilometres from Yokohama. 145. Enoshima Island, which is actually a peninsula, has been famous for marine activities. Nowadays it is a fashionable beach resort popular with young people. 146. Benten (Benzaiten, Benzai-Tennyo) was the Japanese goddess of love, eloquence, lan - guage, wisdom, knowledge, the arts, music, good fortune and water. She is the patroness of geishas, dancers and musicians. Originally she was a sea or water goddess, usually depicted riding a dragon while playing a stringed instrument. The island of Enoshima rose up from the sea to receive her footsteps. Holme’s wife was Clara BENTON. He seems to have taken great delight in confusing the two. 147. This is the Hyalonema sieboldi ; the Japanese name for glass rope sponge is hosugai . 148. While Benten was originally a Buddhist goddess (Sarasvati in Sanscrit), Japan has its own mythology of Benten coming up from Enoshima. The tour guide may have wanted to empha - size the Japanese story of Benten by repeating the word ‘Shinto’. 149. Kamakura became the political centre of Japan when Minamoto Yoritomo chose the city as the seat of his new military government in 1192. The Kamakura government continued to rule Japan for over a century, first under the Minamoto shogun and then under the Hojo regents. 150. Kwannon, also spelt Kannon (see n. 10). 151. Tommy Atkins was the nickname for the typical English soldier (the expression probably dates from about 1815); Jack Tars were common sailors; and ‘arry was a term used humorously and coined in Punch for a vulgar type who ‘drops his h’s’ ( OED ). 152. There are now actually two small shuttered doors at the back of the figure. 153. Henry Loomis (1839–1920) was an American missionary who served the Presbyterian church in China, Korea, and Japan. He translated a hymn book into Japanese and his transla - tions of those hymns are still in use today. He also discovered a butterfly which now bears his name ( Roomisu-shijimi ), and is acknowledged as one of the natural treasures of Japan. Holme was a keen entomologist himself and had acquired a large collection of butterflies over the years. In 1891 he presented Warrington Museum with a box of insects gathered during his visit to Japan, although whether they included butterflies is not recorded. NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME’S DIARY 101

154. Kozu is in Odawara district, near to Hakone. Miyanoshita, together with the neigh - bouring spas of Sokokura and Dogashima, is part of the thriving group of hot springs in the central area of Hakone district. 155. The Naraya and the Fujiya both competed for foreign visitors. The Fujiya seems to have been the more popular, and the cheaper. It is the oldest surviving European-style hotel in Japan, its future existence assured by having been declared an Important Cultural Asset. The Naraya has not been so fortunate. It was demolished over ten years ago. 156. This must be hinoki , which has traditionally been used for bathtubs and bathrooms. The scent of the wood works as a deterrent against insects and mould. 157. The minerals occurring in the springs were salt and soda, apparently making the water particularly pleasant to bathe in. 158. Parquetry was a major industry in Hakone. 159. Kiga is one of the ‘Hakone 7 Toh’, the seven traditional hot springs ( onsen ) of Hakone, which included Yumoto, Tonosawa, Miyanoshita, Sokokura, Dogashima, and Ashinoyu. Recently ten further hot springs have been added: Oohiradai, Kowakidani, Gora, Miyagino, Ninotaira, Sengokuhara, Ubako, Yunohanazawa, Takogawa and Ashinoko – collectively known as ‘Hakone 17 Toh’. 160. Ojigoku literally means ‘grand hell’ because of the sulphurous steam there. Its alternative name was Owakudani, or ‘Valley of the Greater Boiling’. 161. These women were called amma-san . ‘Immemorial custom limits the profession to the blind, who thus support their families instead of, as is mostly the case in Western countries, being a burden to them’ (Chamberlain, 1890, pp. 226–7). 162. Yumoto also had hot springs and a cascade. 163. There are twenty-five images of the Buddha carved into the rock (1192–1333), known as Roku-do Jizo . The largest of these was reputedly carved by the Buddhist saint, Kobo Daishi, in a single night. Jizo is considered the patron of travellers, children and pregnant women. 164. Probably the Hakone Hotel or Hafu-ya , which was semi-European in style. 165. The famous American Civil War marching song originates with soldiers of the Massachusetts 12th Regiment. The tune was later adopted by Julia Ward Howe for ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’. 166. Could this be Mushiyu (‘Vapour Bath’) in the hills north-west of Tokyo? According to Basil Hall Chamberlain, ‘The naked people sometimes standing about at Mushi-yu make this place unsightly’ (Murray’s, 1899, p. 182). 167. The question mark is Holme’s. This could have been a lichen, which is more likely to have been used for dyeing. There are various basidiomycetes, such as Phlebia species, which can be red to orange in colour and may have such a texture as Holme describes, but they are unlikely to be used for dyeing. 168. Nagao Pass is a very good viewpoint for Mount Fuji. Gotemba was named after goten (a castle). Tokugawa Ieyasu gave orders to build a goten , to accommodate travellers on their way from Sumpu (now Shizuoka City) to Edo. The town gradually developed around the castle. 169. A vasculum is a case for carrying botanical specimens. 170. The Gotemba train station is on the Tokaido line. It was opened in February 1889, only a few weeks before Holme arrived in Japan. 171. Wrestling matches were held for ten days each winter and spring at Ekoin, a temple on the south bank of the Sumidagawa River in Tokyo, and at other temporary locations. Today, the modern Ryogoku Kokugigan Sumo Hall and Museum are in the same area. For a detailed descrip - tion see Sladen, 1892, pp. 94–102. 102 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

172. Farsari & Co. was situated at 184 Bluff, Yokohama, near to the Grand Hotel, and was, according to their advertisement in Murray’s, ‘the best establishment of the kind in the Far East’ (1899, p. 9 advertisement section). 173. Insatsu Kyoku was the Government Printing Bureau, responsible to the Ministry of Finance and established in Meiji 4 (1871). 174. These were imitation leather papers, called kinkarakawagami or kinkawagami , which the government factory began producing after the Vienna International Exhibition of 1873. See Suga, 2008. 175. C. J. Strome of Rottmann, Strome and Company, which had a business in St Mary Axe, in London, had an exclusive contract with the Government Printing Bureau to produce Japanese leather paper. In 1877 Strome had set up C. J. Strome and Co. in Japan, through which he acted as agent and manager of Londos and Company, for which Christopher Dresser was then Art Director. 176. This may be the Koishikawa Korakuen garden, founded in 1629 by Tokugawa Yorifusa, the founder of the Mito clan, and completed by his son, Tokugawa Mitsukuni (popularly known as Mito Komon). This fine botanical garden is open to the public. It is situated near the Tokyo Dome. 177. The Museum of Arms (Yushukan) in Kudan, in the Kojimachi district, was built in 1882 and severely damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. It was later rebuilt and is now associated with the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which is dedicated to war victims. The emphasis today is on the Second World War. 178. The mitrailleuse was an early machine gun with twenty-five barrels. 179. John Harrington Gubbins (1852–1929), was a member of the British Consular Service in Japan, 1871–1908. He became proficient in Japanese, played an important part in the work of treaty revision, and wrote several books on Japanese history and philology. He retired to teach Japanese studies at Oxford (see Nish, 2004 and 1997). 180. Shiba is still famous for its cherry trees. 181. The dwarf trees are known as bonsai . 182. According to Murray’s (1899, p. 116), the Maple Club ( Koyo-kan ) was set in a wood among the Shiba temples, a place where ‘excellent dinners and beautiful dances in native style are given’. Sladen describes the place and its ‘dancing girls’ in some detail (1892, pp. 38–48). 183. The Kiryu [Kiritsu] Kosho Kaisha (Company for the Establishment of Industry and Commerce) of Tokyo was founded in 1874 by Matsuo Gisuke and Wakai Kensaburo, and later employed Hayashi Tadamasa, with the intention of manufacturing high quality articles such as bronzes, cloisonné , ceramics, lacquer-work, etc. The impetus for the founding of such a firm was the keen interest shown by Europeans in Japanese products at the Vienna International Exhibition in 1873. 184. Okuma was President of the Vienna World Exhibition committee, and Sano Vice- President. 185. Sannomiya Yoshitane (1843–1905) supported the restoration of the Imperial Family. 186. The Tokyo Fine Arts School is now incorporated into the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Japan’s first government school of fine arts (see n. 55). 187. Japan Weekly Mail , 8 June 1889, pp. 551–2. 188. The Oceanic was operated by the Occidental & Oriental Steam Ship Company between 1875 and 1895, sailing the route between San Francisco, Yokohama and Hong Kong. 189. Holme was very musically inclined. On the journey out from England he often enter - tained fellow passengers with his singing and piano playing. Obviously his fellow passengers on this leg of the trip were not so appreciative of his talents. 190. The Golden Gate Bridge which spans the strait leading into San Francisco Bay was not completed until 1937. NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME’S DIARY 103

191. Built in 1875, it was described as ‘one of the sights of America’: a vast structure of iron and brick, nine storeys tall with an interior courtyard, four artesian wells and five elevators: The Englishman’s Guide Book to the United States and Canada (Stanford, 1884), p. 196. 192. The Cliff House (hotel) that Holme visited was built in 1863 and owned by millionaire philanthropist Adolph Sutro, who later built a railway to the House so that the general public could benefit. The building was destroyed by fire in 1894. The present building is the third Cliff House on the site (1909). 193 In the US ‘Pullman’ carriages referred to sleeping cars. In the UK and Europe it was also applied to dining cars. 194. Arctostaphylos glauca . 195. The first structure to be built in the Wawona Valley was a log cabin, in 1856, by Galen Clark, a former miner, where travellers to the Yosemite Valley could stock up on provisions. The wooden hotel where Holme and his party stayed was built around 1879 and included twenty-five guest rooms. Among the guests who stayed there over the years were President Ulysses S. Grant (who was welcomed with a brass band), and President Theodore Roosevelt. 196. The painter was Thomas Hill (1829–1908). He was born in England and emigrated with his family to Massachusetts in 1841. He moved to California in 1861 for his health, and later settled in Raymond, where he lived during the winter months, and in Wawona, where he spent his summers. His studio, close by the Wawona Hotel, was a popular spot for hotel guests. He was noted for his landscapes of Yosemite, although his most famous painting was ‘Driving the Last Spike’, which depicts the last spike being driven to join the transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. 197. Matlock High Tor is a magnificent limestone outcrop nearly 400 feet (nearly 122 m) above sea level in the Peak District National Park in central England. It is renowned for its spectacular views. And it is in Derbyshire, where Holme was born. 198. In fact Angel Falls, Venezuela is the tallest, at 3,212 feet (979 m). Yosemite Falls is fifth highest, at 2,425 feet (740 m). 199. Stoneman House was a four-storey hotel with accommodation for about 150 guests. It had opened the previous year and was considered a luxury hotel, intended to appeal to the well- heeled visitors who were attracted to Yosemite at that time. In later years, camping and more rustic accommodation predominated, and when Stoneman was destroyed by fire in 1896 it was not replaced until 1927, by the Ahwahnee Hotel, thus reflecting the changing needs of visitors. 200. The Derwent is the largest river in Derbyshire, at almost fifty miles in length (80 km). It rises in the Peak District and for the most part is a rural river; but it also powered many mills in the region, including the Holme family silk mill in Derby. 201. This is the Wawona Tunnel Tree which was cut in 1881. It finally collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowfall in 1969. 202. A joss-house is a Chinese temple. 203. The Society of California Pioneers still exists, only now membership is restricted to the descendants of those who settled California prior to 1850. The building that Holme refers to stood at Fourth Street and Pioneer Place and dated from 1886. It was destroyed in the fires after the earthquake of 1906. 204. Sisson was renamed Mount Shasta City in 1924. 205. Holme is referring to ‘Oklahoma Territory’. Oklahoma was originally part of Indian Territory, a vast unorganized area (that is, having no territorial government) west of the Mississippi, which was reserved for the Indian tribes. Its western border touched New Mexico, not Mexico, as Holme says. A few months before Holme arrived in the USA, in April 1889, the 104 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN first land run to what was then designated as Oklahoma Territory opened up two million acres of Indian Territory to white settlement. By this time Indian Territory had been reduced to what is approximately present-day Oklahoma. In 1890 Indian Territory was again reduced to just the eastern half of Oklahoma Territory, and when Oklahoma gained statehood in 1907, Indian Territory disappeared altogether. 206. The rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma continues to this day. 207. The Great Fire took place on 6 June 1889. Twenty-five blocks were destroyed in the centre of Seattle, although no deaths were reported. The new city was built on top of the ruins of the old, and parts of this ‘new’ (rebuilt) city still survive, below ground, in the area beneath Pioneer Square. Five months after the fire Washington was granted statehood. Eight years later, in July 1897, the steamship Portland arrived in Seattle loaded with gold, and the Klondike Gold Rush began. 208. British Columbia became a province of the Dominion of Canada in 1871. 209. The Driard House was the grandest hotel on the Canadian Pacific coast, with an elegant, plush interior imported from France and England. Originally the St George Hotel, it was renamed and a new wing added when Sosthenes Driard bought it in 1871. It remained a ‘grand’ hotel until 1910. When the Bay Centre was built (1989–90) the façade of the Driard, along with other historic frontages, was incorporated into the modern shopping centre. 210. Hudson’s Bay Company was established in 1670 to explore a northwest passage to the Pacific, and to develop commerce, initially around the Hudson’s Bay area. Victoria was set up as a trading post and fort in 1843, and until the trans-Canada railway terminus was built at Vancouver it was the main city on the Canadian Pacific coast. 211. The Ainu are an ethnic group indigenous to northern Japan. The Ainu may have been one of the first ethnic groups to settle in North America. 212. Holme’s aunt, Martha Brentnall, younger sister of his mother Ann Brentnall, married Robert Jenkinson in 1853. They emigrated to Canada some time after that, and both later died in Victoria in the 1880s. The Mr Jenkinson referred to was their son; the Mr Brown was mar - ried to their daughter. 213. Esquimault is now the Pacific naval base for the Canadian Forces. 214. When the Canadian Pacific Railway line from Montreal was opened in July 1886, the Yosemite met the first train passengers arriving from the east. 215. The Beaver was built for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1835 and was said to be the first steamship to operate along the Pacific coast of North America. It was a floating trading post in the early days, and later carried passengers and cargo. She ran aground on Prospect Point 25 July 1888, just a year before Holme’s visit. 216. Boulton & Watt was founded in 1775 in Smethwick, near Birmingham, England. For over 120 years they developed and produced steam engines. Initially they were purely pumping machines, but Watt later developed the rotative engine which was used in power rotating machinery which facilitated the expansion of power-driven industry. 217. Vancouver was incorporated as a city only the year before, in 1888. Its rapid expansion was due to the extending of the Canadian Pacific Railway line from Port Moody. 218. Colonists’ cars were first built in 1884 to transport the many immigrants settling in Canada. They provided bunk beds, straw mattresses and a cooking stove at one end of the car - riage. 219. Glacier House was opened as a hotel for passengers on the railway; it closed in 1925. 220. In Holme’s time it was known as the Great Glacier; today it is Illecillewaet Glacier. 221. This section of the Canadian Pacific Railway was known as the ‘Big Hill’, with a gradient of 4.5 per cent, and was the steepest section of mainline rail in North America. In 1909 two spiral tunnels were built which made the route marginally longer but, at a gradient of 2.2, safer. NOTES TO CHARLES HOLME’S DIARY 105

222. Built in 1883, the Clarendon Hotel was in its heyday when Holme stayed there. The sub - stantial five-storey building towered over the neighbourhood; but times and the area changed, and it was finally demolished in 1920. 223. The game of lacrosse originated with Native Americans, and was first played by Europeans in Canada in the early nineteenth century. The first lacrosse club in Winnipeg dates from 1876.

JAPAN

A PICTORIAL RECORD BY Mrs. LASENBY LIBERTY

EDITED AND SUPPLEMENTED WITH DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY M r. LASENBY LIBERTY View from Maruyama, Kyoto. – Maruyama is one of a range of hills rising on the outskirts of the ancient city of Kyoto. The city itself lies in the plain below. Kyoto is now the third largest city in Japan, but for over a thousand years it ranked as the cap - ital of the Empire; and it is said that in its palmy days it contained from one to two millions of inhabitants, a place which occupied 2000 acres of grounds, three hundred Buddhist and Shinto temples, and a greater number of buildings devoted to theatrical performances, music, dancing and other more questionable entertainments. It was here that the Mikados (the Tenshi , ‘Sons of Heaven’) held their Court. To it the Daimyos (the feudal princes and barons), accompanied by their armed retainers, journeyed in stately procession from their fiefdoms in the distant provinces to pay their yearly homage and attend the Court. It was here, beneath the shadow of the Court the national arts were cradled, grew, and flourished side by side with a rank upgrowth of extravagance and veiled licentiousness. It was here, too, in after years, that the Mikados lived in luxurious isolation, debarred from temporal power and from all contact with their subjects. Kyoto’s rank as capital was, in the year 1868, defi - nitely annulled in favour of the city of Tokyo, which for centuries had been the real centre of government under the rule of the Shoguns. The citizens of Kyoto still claim, however, to possess a higher degree of refinement and a more classic form of speech than those of any rival city, and its craftsmen still assert their ancient superiority in the manufacture of artistic wares.

Garden Shrine to the Rice Goddess, Kyoto. – Small Shrines dedicated to the Inari , the Rice Goddess, abound in all the rural districts, and their little red roofs are a constant and picturesque feature in the landscape. The Rice Goddess is one of the minor deities connected with the indigenous Shinto creed, and the peasantry are her devoted votaries, as rice is the main food supply of the people and the rice crop the foundation on which the fortunes of the agricultural population depend. Images of foxes are placed upon the shrines, as the fox is dedicated to the special service of the Goddess. Inari is said to have aided the mythical hero and sword-smith, Kokaji Munechika , to forge his wonder-working blade, and the romantic incidents in connec - tion with the tradition are embodied in one of the most famous of the national dramas. In a secluded district near Kyoto a temple dedicated to Inari is visited on a certain night in every year by pilgrims carrying lighted lanterns, who wend thither through the woodlands from all parts of the country. Some authorities maintain that Inari is a deity of the male sex.

The Chionin Monastery, Kyoto. – The Chionin Monastery was founded by the Jodo sect of Buddhists in the year 1211 A.D.; the building seen in the photograph is one of the outlying dormito - ries. The main structure, the Hondo, ranks as one of the largest of the wide-gabled elaborately bracketed temples built entirely of wood, that are the unique product of the architecture of Japan – ‘glorified barns’ as they have not inaptly been called. The Hondo of the Chionin is constructed with timbers hewn from trees selected for the perfection of their form and growth, and its interior fitments are made of different kinds of wood selected for their rarity and beautiful graining. The sliding doors which divide the rooms, and the sliding panellings which form the walls of the halls and galleries are enriched with matted gold, and decorated with paintings by some of the most celebrated masters of the ancient Kano School. Among minor details, the writer noted the poetic significance of the title, ‘The Silver World’, given to one of the paintings which depicts a snow scene: and also that in Japan, as elsewhere, fantastic merits become attached to works of art which are of exceptional excel - lence – for instance, a group of fir trees is claimed to be drawn so true to nature that resin exudes from the trunks on a certain day in every year, and a flock of sparrows is said to have been drawn with such realistic perfection that the birds flew away.

The Golden Pavilion and Lake, Kyoto. – The Kinkakuji (the Golden Pavilion) the name by which this building is known, recalls the probably well-founded tradition that its roof was originally covered with plates of pure gold. It is the sole rem - nant of a once famous monastery founded by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in the year 1397 A.D., and within it are still pre - served some interesting examples of medieval art. Among these are a statue of Amida (‘the immeasurably resplendent, the deity of consolation, help and deliverance’) a statue of Kwannon (the goddess of mercy) and several decorative works by Kano Masanobu. The lake surrounding teems with large carp of great age which are regarded as sacred, and which swim up fearlessly to visitors to be fed with the little cakes sold at the shrine – as feeding the sacred fish is deemed by the Buddhists to be a means of ‘accumulating merit’. The lake and Pavilion lie in a tree-embowered park in the environs of the busy city.

Street near the Yasaka Pagoda, Kyoto. – As shown in the photo - graph the dwelling houses and shops in this street are all built of wood, which is also the case with nearly all other buildings in the land. The paper lantern in the foreground is a survival of the days of artistic Japan, while the gas lamp in the mid-distance marks the bald usurping influence of the Western world. The little flags bear the national colours and denote the day to be a public festival. A whole town can be decorated with these loyal emblems at well-nigh a moment’s notice, as every householder makes it a point of honour to keep them in store. At other festi - vals flags with other emblems are used; for instance, on one day in the year a flag in the form of a fish is hoisted over every house in which there are male children, while on another a festival is held in honour of the girls, when dolls are the prevailing sym - bols. Children in Japan, are idolized by their parents; they appear always to be happy and docile, and the greatest care is bestowed on their training. In the home the father occupies a position something akin to a divine overlord, to whom unques - tioning obedience and devotion are due; and he, in turn regards himself and his family bound by similar ties to the Mikado, as the semi-divine as well as the temporal ruler of the State. The Pagoda in the background is a building constructed entirely of wood that has been standing since the fourteenth century. It is dedicated to the Nyorai – four patron saints who guard the car - dinal points of the compass, known individually as Hojo, the guardian of the South, Amida of the West, Askuku of the East and Shaka of the North.

Approach to the Kodaiji Monastery, Kyoto. – The Ko-daiji Monastery and its environs are connected with many traditions of the home life of the warrior Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a hero of the sixteenth century, while within its walls are treasured a number of actual re1ics of his former belongings. In its beau - tiful grounds it is said that ‘he often sat through the night gazing at 0 Tsuki San (the Lady Moon), dreaming over his days of turmoil and peril in the past – and meditating on plans for future arduous exploits’. It was amid these peaceful surround - ings he was stirred by the ambition to emulate the adventures of the widowed Empress, Jingu Kogo, who is stated to have con - quered Korea in the year 200 A.D. – and his dreams were realized when in the year 1592, he once again led the armies of Japan into the domains of the hermit kingdom. Among the spoils brought home by the victors were the ears and noses of the foes they had slain, and these gruesome trophies are said to still lie buried under the Mimizuka , or Ear-mound – a monu - ment overlooking the Daibutsu den, a temple in which are enshrined 33,333 images of Kwannon the Goddess of Mercy! The Monastery was founded in 838 A.D.

Street Acrobats at Otsu. – Boys and girl performing acrobatic feats under adult leadership are frequently met with in the towns and villages, the drum and bamboo flute forming an invariable accompaniment to their movements. Sometimes the children are draped to resemble fabulous monsters, their heads being encased in huge masks with formidable jaws, and the little actors, with their hands hidden under the draperies, pro - duce the most startling effects by suddenly lengthening out and drawing in the necks of the masks. Occasionally, they are taught a variety of the Kagura, a dance of Shinto origin, which consists of a series of slow posturings with rhythmic movements, and is performed on certain festivals by priests and women within the precincts of the temples. These little mummers are known as Yechigoshish, as they come from the province of Yechigo.

The Deer Fountain, Nara. – Deer are dedicated to the Shinto deity Kasuga, and were formerly held in such high veneration that the penalty for killing one was death. The ‘sacred’ deer in the groves which surround the temples at Nara, troop up, with the utmost confidence, to nestle their nostrils in the hands of passing visitors, seeking for the little cakes with which they are accustomed to be fed. The fountain seen in the photograph is designed as a deer with water flowing from it into a cistern, and, thus combines the symbol of the patron deity with water, the symbol of spiritual purification. The fountain is in bronze and the inscription on the cistern, when translated, reads ‘Kasuga Temple, dedicated to the Shinto sect’. The towels hanging beneath a pent-house and the water in the cistern are for the use of pilgrims before entering an adjoining temple. But wholly apart from the symbolic significance of water, scrupu - lous cleanliness is a prominently marked characteristic of the Japanese as a nation. To bathe daily is regarded as a duty of imperative importance by all classes, every house has a cistern of some description with a stove attached by which the water can be heated, and every member of the family takes a hot bath at least once a day – generally in a wooden tub placed out of doors at the rear of the house. Public baths, too, are numerous, and until recent years, bathers of both sexes mingled indiscrimi - nately, the utmost decorum being always observed.

Avenue leading to a Temple, Nara. – Some twelve hundred years ago, Nara was for a time the capital of the Empire, and two of the great temples reared during this period remain among other mementoes to bear witness to its regal past. It is a favourite haunt of the ubiquitous pilgrims – those cheery wan - derers who, to the casual observer, appear always to be making holiday in the most interesting and beautiful districts of their native land. The ancient temples are approached by paths thickly bordered with giant firs and spanned by torii archways, whilst on either side are ranged countless numbers of the stone lanterns known as ishidoros – the gifts of pious votaries in bygone days. The Todaiji Temple is the most celebrated of these records of Nara’s historic past. and contains beneath its vast roof a statue of Buddha which measures 53 feet in height, and which is claimed to be the largest bronze casting in the world. But the most precious relics are stored in a small wooden building of most unassuming guise, and consist of native works of art in textiles, ceramics, bronze and carvings, said to have been gath - ered from all parts of the Empire more than a thousand years ago. These national treasures are shown but on rare occasions, and then only to exceptionally privileged visitors.

A Limb of the ancient pine tree at Karasaki. – The tree, of which only one of the limbs is seen in the photograph, is said to be over 2,000 years old, and is remarkable not only for its great age and bulk, but as an example of the extremes to which the training of trees into eccentric growths may be carried. Its size may be judged by the fact that it covers over an acre of ground, and its eccentricity in form may be realized from the fact that its 380 branches, instead of being allowed to follow their nat - ural upward growth, have been trained horizontally for generation after generation, and that as a result they have now to be supported by a mazy network of heavy scaffolding on account of their enormous weight. So great is the care still bestowed on this tree that a roof has been built on one of the branches to protect from the rain a bruise in the bark which shows signs of a cancerous development.

The Landing Stage at Karasaki, Lake Biwa. – The photograph shows another lirnb of the pine tree described on the preceding page, and a group of holiday-makers from the neighbouring town of Otsu. Karasaki is a favourite resort in summer-time for spending a leisure day picnicking beneath the shade of the giant tree, and boating upon the lake which bounds the promontory on which it stands. The pleasure boats are built of a soft tinted brown wood, with decks and fitments of snow-white pine, and both without and within are studiously kept free from paint and varnish of any kind. The single garment worn by the boatmen is in full accord with the simplicity of the boats, but for head-gear they wear a coif of blue and white cotton arranged in many varying and picturesque forms. Lake Biwa is noted for its beauty and as being the largest lake in Japan; its waters cover an area of over 200 square miles; and the vast depression of the earth’s surface within which they now lie is said to have been formed on the same night and by the same terrific earth pangs which gave birth to the world-famous mountain Fujiyama.

The Temple of Horyuji. – This temple is believed to be the oldest wooden building in Japan, having been erected by Shotoku Taishi over twelve centuries ago. It contains some interesting ancient works of art, and is particularly notable for the multitude of votive offerings that crowd the outer court, and that are piled upon another shrine behind the main building known as the Mine no Yakusi, which is all but hidden by their enormous numbers. They consist solely of swords (chisakatana) and metal mirrors (kagami). The sword is the Shinto symbol of the male element of divinity and represents power and strength; the mirror is the symbol of the female ele - ment and represents truth and purity. As in the evolution of all other creeds the initial tenets of the Shinto religion – ‘The Way of the Gods’, as it is self-titled – have in the course of time become obscured by numberless accretions, but they appear to have been based on conceptions of the utmost simplicity. It is held that the divine powers bestow on everyone born into the world an intuitive sense by which right actions can always be distinguished from wrong, but that this may vary in accord with the special environment and circumstances of the indi - vidual, and that it is therefore irreverent for man to formulate inflexible codes by which to judge the conduct of his fellow- men. This intuitive sense is claimed, however, to have been bestowed on the inhabitants of Japan in its fullest measure, and, consequently, it is held that it may be necessary for less favoured nations to have inflexible codes of sacerdotal ethics.

Court Yard of an Inn at Sakamoto. – The photograph of this little courtyard records an incident which occurred in an inland district, when, on the arrival of Mrs Liberty and her travelling companions, at an inn, all means of exit were immediately barred to the intending guests until their passports were exam - ined and all details of identification duly passed and registered. The regulations with which an innkeeper has to comply are most stringent, and every night a notice has to be placed out - side the house showing the number and status of his guests. The youths leaning over the barred gateway are taking full advan - tage of the opportunity to gaze, probably for the first time, at a European lady. In these remote villages on the arrival of a European of either sex, a crowd will often collect and follow, shyly taking note of every peculiarity in the stranger’s features, gait, and costume. Even in the sleeping apartments at the inns the little waiting maids will sometimes slide open a tiny space in the fusuma (the light panels which divide the rooms), and coyly peep through at the unconscious guest. Inquisitiveness, indeed, is a prominent trait of the lower classes, but is, however, invariably accompanied by an undeviating attitude of courtesy. The mountain Miogisan, which is seen indistinctly in the back - ground of the photograph, is famed for the grandeur and beauty of its surrounding scenery, and its ascent is a popular object of pilgrimage and holiday diversion.

Waiting Maids at an Inn, Nagoya. – Al1 travellers to the Far East are unanimous in their praise of the little waiting-maids of Japan, their gentle and deferential manners, their anxiety to forestall the stranger’s every want, their ingenuous words of welcome and their courteous expressions of regret to parting guests. Sayonara (if it must be so), the word used for farewell, epitomises a phrase conveying in rhythmic consonance the most perfect compliment. These waiting-maids are often called Mousmes by Europeans, but the native term is Gejo , or Jochu, the title Mousme being reserved for women of a higher rank. The word Inn too is not an accurate term, as tea is the refreshment invariably offered, and therefore the house itself is known as a Chaya (a tea-house). The floors of these tea-houses (and of all other houses) are covered with spotlessly clean matting, and, consequently before entering the building it is the unvarying custom for all outdoor footgear to be removed – the visitors’ sandals, boots or shoes being taken off by an attendant and left on the wooden platform, which is built round the exterior of every house. The fitments in the interior of all houses are few and of the most simple kind. They consist generally of a recess for votive offerings and a single picture (the Tokonoma ), a screen (the Byo-bu ), a little charcoal hand stove (the Hibachi ), a metal kettle for boiling water (the Kama ) and a vase for flowers (the Hana-ike ).

The Red Lacquer Bridge, Nikko. – This interesting re1ic of Old Japan, known as the Mi-hasi, was unfortunate1y swept away by a flood soon after the photograph was taken. It was built in the year 1638, and marked the final stage of pilgrimage to the tombs of the Shoguns Ieyasu and Iemitsu. It was consid - ered so perfect that the Mikados alone were permitted to pass over it. Its loss was regarded as a national misfortuue, and funds were immediately raised by voluntary subscription for the new bridge which now replaces it. Up to this point of the river an avenue of majestic pines extends in double columns in an unbroken line for the extraordinary length of five-and-twenty miles, and it is said to have been planted by one of the feudal barons who was too poor to contribute funds towards the erec - tion of the tombs. The hills which are seen rising beyond the bridge bear the poetic name of ‘The-Mountains-of-the-Sun’s- Brightness ’.

Stone Images of Jizo, by the river at Nikko. – These time-worn images, which stretch along the picturesque banks of the River Daiyagawa, were erected by pilgrim visitors to Nikko at dif - fering periods; they are carved with varying skill, but are all representations of ‘Jizo, the God who watches over the souls of little children ’, – a Buddhist abstraction of the ideal of boundless light whose image is always represented with the hands lying on the lap with the thumbs placed end to end. A superstition prevails in regard to these images, similar to that connected with Druidical stones in Europe, the belief being that no two persons can count them up to the same number – and they are conse - quently often called ‘Bakejizo ’ or ‘Images of Mystery ’.

A Woodland Shrine at Nikko. – This unpretentious little building, dedicated to a wooclland deity, stands in an excep - tionally secluded spot and is yet within bow-shot of the imposing temples reared around the neighbouring tombs of the two great Shoguns. The small cubes of wood which are seen scattered upon the altar steps, the roof, and transom of the torii are gifts to the deity offered by expectant mothers in the hope of securing a safe delivery of children about to be brought into the world. Toriis similar in form to that facing this shrine are erected in front of nearly all buildings devoted to religious pur - poses, and on passing through one the devotee is considered to have entered on consecrated ground. The origin of the torii as a religious symbol dates back to the early ages of the Shinto faith, and its exact significance is now unknown.

Gateway to the Futarasan Jinja, Nikko. – This torii (or gateway), which stands at the entrance of a series of courts leading to a temple known as the Futarasan Jinja , is of imposing proportions, as may be seen by comparing it with the height of the two figures seated at the base of the columns (one of whom was the writer of these notes). The building beyond the torii is a Kagura Stage, on which at certain festivals during the year a religious function known as the ‘No ’ dance is performed. The temple itself (which is not included in the photograph) is dedi - cated to Onamuji, a demi-god connected with the Shinto faith, who (with the aid of his wife Tagori-hime and their son Aji-suki- taka-hikone ) is said to have guarded Japan from trouble and invasion during the infancy of its national life, and also to have voluntarily resigned his throne in favour of the Mikado’s ances - tors when they descended from heaven 200 generations ago. The triad of these ancient divinities is known as the ‘Gonqen of Nikko ’.

Avenue of Cryptomerias, Nikko. – The shrines and courts which surround the tombs of the two Shoguns buried at Nikko lie amid woodlands, at the foot of lofty mountains, approached by stately avenues of giant firs. Bands of pilgrims wander throughout the year among the groves, and pace the avenues from fane to fane to worship at the temples raised in honour of the two great rulers of their fatherland, to whom alone has been accorded an imperial isolation in their final resting place – all others sleep their last sleep within the boundaries of the great city of Tokyo.

Mausoleum of the First Shogun, The Second Gateway, Nikko – The gateway, known as the Yomei-mon, is the second of the three portals which lead by courts and shrines to the tomb of Ieyasu, the first Shogun of the historic line of the Tokugawas. It is con - structed with countless bracketings and panellings, and enriched by gilding and coloured lacquerings and carvings of flowers and birds, of beasts and fish and creatures of phantasy innumerable, and, notwithstanding the complexity of its countless details the whole of the work is finished with an incredible perfection. It is said, indeed, that its designers con - sidered it so perfect, that a fear arose it might excite the jealousy of heaven, and, therefore, one pillar, which has since become known as the Ma-yoke-no Hashira, or Evil-averting pillar, was purposely placed upside down. Some idea of the multiplicity of its decorative embellishments may be gathered from its popular name, Higurashi-no-mon, which, freely translated, means the gate one can still spend one whole day in looking at notwith - standing the sun is already setting.

Mausoleum of the First Shogun, Third Gateway, Nikko. – This gateway, known as the Kara-mon (i.e. the Chinese gate), is the last of the three portals that lead to the tomb of Ieyasu. The massive timbers of which it is constructed are covered with pol - ished black lacquer, and it is said that they were brought from China. The carvings under the roof (seen only indistinctly in the photograph) represent a group of Chinese philosophers; the group below shows the founder of the Chinese monarchy, the Emperor Gyo, surrounded by the members of his Court; and these and many other details suggest that the whole of the work was controlled by Chinese influence. The Kara-mon opens on to a quadrangle surrounded by a Tama-gaki (a palisading of wood), which is lavishly decorated with lacquers in rich colourings and carvings of birds and flowers in high relief.

Mausoleum of the First Shogun, The Oratory, Nikko. – The Oratory (or Honden) is the last of the buildings by which pil - grims approach the sacred Chapel (the Haiden ) before paying homage at the tomb of Ieyasu. The straw rope and paper tassels seen in the photograph stretching along the front of the Honden are known respectively as the Shimenawa and the Gohei , and when placed thus together they form the Shinto emblem of the Divine Being. The bell with the rope attached is for the use of supplicants desiring to attract the special attention of the deity. The treasury box seen (indistinctly) in the foreground has a long slit in the lid into which money offerings are thrown from a position railed off for the purpose. The official seated beneath the sacred emblem registers the amounts of the donations pre - sented. Before being thrown the money is wrapped in paper, and some of the little packets which have missed their aim may be seen lying outside the box. The building itself, which is most primitive in design, is constructed of plain white fir wood. and studiously free from colour decoration of any kind. This per - sistent accent of severe simplicity (which pervades everything connected with the Shinto cult) denotes that it is a Shinto fane, and consequently it stands out in strongly-marked contrast to those in the adjacent courts, where under Buddhist influence the most lavish ornamentation and colouring prevail. Yet, notwithstanding this seeming wide divergence in the spirit of the two religions, the sacred symbols of the Shinto faith are to be found in nearly all the Buddhist temples.

Garden at Dainichi-do, near Nikko. – It has been said of Japan that it is a land of topsy-turvy – a land where the roof of a house is built first, where foot-gear instead of headgear is removed by way of courtesy, where sweets come first at dinner, and books begin where we consider they end – that it is a land in which the flowers have no scent, the fruit no taste, the birds no song – and where kisses are unknown. Yet, the most pessimistic admit its countervailing charms, and even that ‘no one should use the word “Kekko ” (beautiful) who has not seen Nikko’, is a word- play on the two names that expresses no vain boast. The pilgrims who plod thither along the highways from every province in the country, do so not merely to pay reverence at the famous tombs of the Shoguns, or to admire the unique architec - tural triumphs of the medieval master craftsmen of Japan, but also to feast their eyes upon the matchless beauty of the romantic woodlands, the picturesque glens, and solemn avenues by which these world-famed monuments are on all sides surrounded. The little garden of Dainichi-do, lying at the foot of the adjacent Mountains-of-the-Sun’s-Brightness, although but a minor object of interest has a charm and beauty of its own.

Garden at Dainichi-do, near Nikko. – This charming little garden is planned on the well-known methods of the Japanese, by which the effects of a wide and picturesque landscape are produced within a strictly limited space. It is a dainty epitome of nature and art, set out with little shrines and temples, tiny roads, lakelets, and rivulets, all interspersed with pigmy lanterns, trees, and shrubs. But here the dreamy atmosphere of repose which usually surrounds these fascinating little gardens is mingled with attractions of more prosaic kind – to wit, a tea - house, and busy little maids serving refreshments to passing travellers.

Approach to the Mausoleum of the Third Shogun, Iemitsu. – The reign of the Shogun Iemitsu, which extended from the year 1623 to the year 1649, was one of the most eventful in the his - tory of the nation. He carried to completion the intricate and drastic constitutional changes which were initiated by his grandfather, Iyeyasu, and thus succeeded in finally consoli - dating the complicated dual form of government which was the characteristic feature of medieval Japan. This placed the Tokugawa Shoguns securely in their usurped possession of supreme temporal authority and relegated the legitimate sover - eigns, the Mikados, to a merely formal and spiritual ascendancy and compelled them to live with the members of their Court in mystical seclusion within the precincts of the palace at Kyoto. The centre of the usurping military hierarchy was established at Yedo, where the feudal barons (the Daimyos ) were summoned to reside with their armed retainers for certain months in every year instead of attending the Court of the Mikados at Kyoto as heretofore. But the event of even more far-reaching consequence was the suppression and absolute extirpation of Christianity from the country, an undertaking conceived in the belief that the Christian religion had become a source of danger to the State. About a century before this took place Francis Xavier, and the numerous other Jesuit missionaries who subsequently landed in Japan, had been hospitably received, and are said to have converted from 600,000 to 1,000,000 Japanese to the Christian faith. But as the influence of the missionaries increased they are said to have gradually assumed an attitude of intolerance, and jealousies arose between the adherents of the new creed and those of the established Buddhist and Shinto faiths; and later, these religious animosities became involved with political ambitions, and the country was plunged into a civil war which extended over many years. The policy of national isolation was avowedly adopted to prevent the possi - bility of the re-introduction of Christianity with its attendant risks of a renewal of civil and religious discord. This self- imposed barrier, as is well known, excluded Japan entirely from the range of international progress, but at the same time it resulted in the preservation of a distinctive form of highly organized civilization and in the maintenance of internal and external peace which lasted over two hundred years.

Torrent above Nikko. – The river Daiyagawa, which forms the torrent seen in the photograph, issues from Lake Chuzenji at an altitude of some three thousand feet above the sea level, and hurries on its course to Nikko through a boulder-strewn gorge hemmed in with rocks and caverns which tradition claims as the homes of the demons of the winter storms. In spring the gorge is robed in purple, red, and white, with the blossoms of the wistaria, whose sinuous branches laden with pendant flowers, twine upwards sometimes to a height of 20 feet; whilst along the lower reaches of the river the Pirus Japonica, here growing as a shrub but a few inches from the ground, spreads out its flowers on either bank in a vast carpeting of brilliant scarlet hue. High above river, rocks and gorge towers the grim Mountain Nantaizan.

The top of the pass between Nikko and Chuzenji. – The climb upward from Nikko to Chuzenji by the foot track along the cliffs above the bed of the Daiyagawa occupies about three hours. At every step the way is full of interest, and at the summit of the Pass a fascinating panorama of the whole district traversed breaks suddenly in view. On either hand are rushing streams and glittering cascades, below stretch an interminable array of rocks and hills, valleys and forests, and above looms the giant mountain Nantaizan. Sometimes the ascent is made in a kind of Sedan chair with poles, which is carried on the shoulders of bearers, but it is an irksome mode of progress and necessitates a relay of coolies; the natives use what is known as a Kago, a sort of basket hammock slung midway beneath a pole, which is much easier to carry, but far too small for a European of ordinary dimensions to squeeze into. The coolie in the foreground of the photograph, loaded with baggage, carried up the camera with which this record was taken. He is dressed in the ordinary cos - tume of the peasantry of the district.

Mount Nantaizan from Lake Chuzenji. – The waters of Lake Chuzenji, which descend in some places to the extraordinary depth of 93 fathoms, are connected at one end with another lake, Lake Yumoto, whose waters, though of an extremely high temperature, and strongly impregnated with sulphur, yet abound with multitudes of fish, which appear wholly unaf - fected by these abnormal conditions. Mount Nantaizan sweeps upwards for an additional 8,150 feet above the water level of Lake Chuzenji, and thus, reckoning from below the Pass, attains a total elevation of 11,150 feet above the level of the sea. Although for many ages past Mount Nantaizan has remained in a state of quiescence, it is still deemed a volcano. Its ascent is extremely steep, but nevertheless it is computed that an average of over 10,000 pilgrims toil up it every year, July and August being the favourite months for the undertaking. The boat in the foreground shows the type of craft in general use on these lakes.

A Street in Ikao. – The village of Ikao is perched high on the picturesque slopes of Mount Haruna, whose summit attains to an altitude of 2,700 feet, and the adjoining rock-girt valley of Haruna reveals some of the most romantic scenery in the world. Ikao is a favourite health resort, its hot springs, which are noted for the cure of rheumatism, issue at a temperature of 113° Fahrenheit and in such volume that they supply the domestic needs of every household in the village, and as they are con - ducted in open conduits clouds of steam form a permanent feature of the locality. Steep steps rise throughout the whole length of the main street, and the houses on one side of it are built on the brink of a ravine whose depths are the bed of a foaming torrent. The ladder with a bell attached, as seen in the photograph, is the usual provision in towns and villages for giving an alarm in the event of a fire.

Village Houses with lilies on the roofs. – The Japanese as it is well known are the most devoted lovers of flowers. The lowliest peasant in the land aspires to possess a spot, be it ever so tiny, to cultivate as a flower garden, and, when no other space is avail - able, floriculture is extended to the very roofs of the houses, as shown in the photograph. Flower festivals are among the most popular functions of the year and are held on the advent of the cherry blossom, the wistaria, the iris lily, the chrysanthemum, and other flowers. On these occasions admiring crowds may be seen wandering to and fro to view the blooms from every van - tage point, and individuals will even linger to write quatrains in their praise. The teahouse seen in the photograph, at which some coolies are resting, has a boarded awning contrived to be also used as a shutter to close the dwelling up at night.

Asamayama, from below the Uzutoge Pass. – Earthquakes are so frequent in Japan that it is said no day in the year passes without a tremor of more or less violence occurring in some part or other of the Empire. But it is not, perhaps, generally realized that Japan is a land of active volcanoes. Amongst these the largest is Mount Asamayama (which the writer ascended), and it is also one of the most active. Rising from the midst of a richly cultivated plain it mounts by comparatively easy gradi - ents to an altitude of 8,280 feet. Subterraneous disturbances can always be heard at its base; on one of its lower sides is a cascade known on account of the colour of the water as the Blood Waterfall; near the summit dense banks of loose scoriae make progress very difficult, while the sulphurous exhalations are sometimes so oppressive as to make the complete ascent impos - sible. The crater, from which mephitic vapours are nearly always exuding, is of abysmal depth, whilst eruptions of minor import are frequent. The most violent outburst on record took place in the year 1783, when many thickly-populated villages were destroyed on the plain below, and a primeval forest which formerly stretched on the north side for many miles was com - pletely obliterated.

Bridge in Dogashima Valley, near Miyanoshita. – The little bridge seen in the photograph connects a pathway on either bank of a stream which runs between a colony of picturesque little houses that lie scattered among cascades and trailing foliage in the nooks and crannies of the cliffs around. The fig - ures on the bridge wear the costumes of the bygone feudal days, which are still adhered to in many of the country districts. A short climb up the cliffs from this charming little valley leads to Miyanoshita, one of the most popular holiday resorts of European residents in Japan, and widely noted for the curative properties of its hot springs and as a centre for excursions into the delightful surrounding mountain scenery.

Strolling Samisen Player. – This photograph was also taken in the Dogashima Valley. The figure on the right is a Jinrikisha coolie, and that on the left an itinerant musician. Music is as popular an adjunct of social entertainments in Japan as it is else - where. Children of the leisured classes, both boys and girls, are taught instrumental music, and for girls of the higher classes proficiency in both singing and instrumental music are regarded as necessary accomplishments. The Shino and the Samisen are instruments generally used by men – the former a kind of flute, the latter something in the nature of a guitar: the Koto , a horizontal harp with a sounding board, and the Samisen are used by women. The multiplicity of intertones in Eastern music afford evident pleasure to ears trained to their subtleties, though they are extremely difficult for the uninitiated to follow with equal gratification; they are, nevertheless, in fascinating accord with the figures and dress of the Eastern musicians, and especially so when they are expressed by the dainty maidens of Japan.

Stone Image of Jizo, near Hakone. – This figure, which is hewn in the face of the solid rock, borders the mountain pathway between Miyanoshita and Lake of Hakone (or as it was known in olden days Ashi-no-ko ). It is of Buddhist origin and represents ‘Jizo the compassionate helper of all who are in trouble ’. In Japan, as elsewhere, the images of deities and saints are generally erected on picturesque sites, but are never surrounded by tawdry trap - pings such as usually desecrate the similarly placed sacred images in Europe. It must be confessed, however, that some of the Japanese deities and saints appear to be intentionally repre - sented as grotesque and others as frankly demoniacal.

Boiling Sulphur Valley, near Hakone. – The two names by which this valley is known are both suggestive of its forbidding character, i.e. Owakudani , ‘the Valley of the Great Water Boiling’, and Ojigoku, ‘the Big Hell’. Within it lies the slough of a slumbering mud volcano, half hidden by rolling clouds of sulphurous steam, and surrounded by the charred remains of devastated vegetation. The foot-track crossing its half baked surface winds by tiny pools of many varying hues, in which the seething water bubbles ceaselessly: on either side a stick thrust into the ground ensures an instant upburst of mephitic vapours, and to step from off the track may break the crust and plunge the adventurer in the boiling mud beneath. And yet from here the vestal form of Fuji-yama may at times be seen pillowed in smiling bliss upon the peaceful heavens, and all-oblivious of the dismal scene below.

Mount Fujiyama from a garden at Mishima. – Fujiyama (the wild mountain of the wistaria blossoms) the far-famed ‘Sacred Mountain of Japan’, appears in the photograph to be merely an indistinct feature in the background of a charming little land - scape. But Fujiyama needs no photograph to bring to mind the beauties of its matchless form, for it has been made familiar throughout the world in works of native artists of the by-gone days, and in the decorations on the countless wares produced by the skilled craftsmen of to-day. Nevertheless, the full beauty of Mount Fujiyama must be seen to be realized. No rival moun - tains rise around its base to challenge its supremacy; it stands alone, thrusting its snow-white diadem to heaven in one majestic sweep of thirteen thousand feet, and thence, from its ethereal throne, with a resistless charm compels the admiration of all people of the land. Although it has slumbered through many generations Fujiyama is still ranked as a volcano, the sco - riae round the crater still afford evidence of an internal heat, and in medieval days, as the works of the artists of the period show, its smoke was a constant feature in the landscape.

Nihonbashi Street, Tokyo. – Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is a city of many varied aspects; within its area of 72 square miles it contains a million-and-a-quarter of inhabitants, and among the multitude of its buildings are 3,000 Buddhist and 234 Shinto temples. It is a city of crowded industrial quarters, of tree- bowered parks, and of private wide domains. In its centre lies the Imperial Palace guarded within walled and moated grounds, and around are grouped the fortified hostels which were occupied by the great feudal lords and their retainers in by-gone days when they had to attend the Court as vassals of the Shoguns. The river Sumidagawa and canals, crossed by numerous bridges and crowded with an infinite variety of boats and sea-going craft, form a salient feature of the scene. The beautiful bay which bounds it on the south still retains the ancient name of Yedo, by which the city itself was formerly known.

Drum Tower, Mausoleum of the Second Shogun. – A drum is sometimes used in Japan in place of a bell, and the elaborate structure seen in the photograph contains one of unusual size, standing in an outer court of the famous series of buildings at Shiba which are dedicated to the memory of Hidetada, the second Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. The exceptionally lavish enrichments of the buildings erected around the tombs of the Shoguns of this powerful race bear evidence of the dominant position which these rulers held. Prior to their usurpation of the supreme sovereignty, the various clans from which the Mayors of the Palace (or Shoguns) were elected, had united, for a period extending over many generations, in gradually forcing the Mikados (the legitimate sovereigns) into a position of depend - ency, and each clan had meanwhile endeavoured (and with varving success) to seat its own champion in power as Shogun. This rivalry was accompanied by incessant feuds and intermit - tent raids and strife, a condition of affairs which ranged from the twelfth century down to the seventeenth. But when finally the Tokugawa clan, under the leadership of the Shogun Ieyasu gathered all authority into its own hands there followed for two hundred years a period of profound peace that lasted unbroken until the revolution which resulted on the re-opening up of Japan to European commerce in the year 1868. The Shogunate was then definitely abolished, and the supremacy of the ancient line of the Mikados reinstated in the person of His Imperial Majesty, The Emperor Mutsuhito, the present monarch. His Majesty is the 121st sovereign of his race, and his lineage is claimed to date back to the year 660 B.C.

Interior of the Chapel, Mausoleum of the Second Shogun, Shiba. – This little chapel is another of the series of shrines at Shiba dedicated to the memory of the Shogun Hidetada. Its floor, instead of being covered, as is usual, with matting, has a surface of jet black lacquer, and this reflects light with a pecu - liarly mystic effect upon the two large gilded pillars (the daijin-bashira ) which bear the vaulted roof. The roof itself, which is a very fine example of the elaborate bracketings and carvings, characteristic of Japanese architecture, has its ceiling coffers filled with fretwork, lacquered in the same golden hue as the pillars, while the upper portions of the walls are covered with coloured carvings in high relief. The tables at which the priests are sitting, and the shrine seen indistinctly in the back - ground, are exquisitely fine examples of seventeenth century gold lacquer work.

Exterior of the Gardener’s House, Shiba. – As is well known the production and training of dwarfed trees as ornaments for gar - dens and the interior of houses is an industry peculiar to Japan. It has, indeed, well-nigh attained to the dignity of a specialized School of Art in which its exponents are trained to work within well recognized and rigidly prescribed rules. The dainty little trees need many years of careful trimming and attention to bring them to perfection. Numerous specimens have of late years been brought to Europe, and their peculiar form and char - acteristics are now familiar to the Western world, but the rarer kinds are seldom to be seen owing to the fabulously high prices they command from native amateurs. The appreciation in which these triumphs of the gardener’s art are held in Japan is so general that in almost every house a recess is devoted to their display. A visit to the gardens and houses in which these trees are trained and tended is full of interest.

Interior of the Gardener’s House, Shiba. – Untiring patience and skill are devoted not only to the artistic training of dwarf trees and shrubs intended to be placed as decorative objects within the house, but the artistic values of line and grouping in the arrangement of cut flowers are studied with a care beyond any comparison with the attention given to the subject by any other nation. The name, ike-bana (or living flower), by which the art is known, explains its fundamental principle, that the flowers must be so arranged as to suggest actual life. The rules regulating the numerous styles and methods of arrangement are most strictly defined and are connected with an intricate system of aesthetic symbolism. All classes compete for proficiency; men of the highest social distinction are among the most enthu - siastic followers of the art, and ladies of the higher ranks are among its most efficient exponents.

Bronze Gates, Mausoleum of the Sixth Shogun, Shiba. – The handsome gates of solid bronze which guard the approach to the tomb of the Shogun Iyenobu, are notable as combining in an equal degree of excellence, dignity and boldness in design with perfection of finish in detail. They are said to have been mod - elled by a Japanese artist and wrought by Korean artificers, and as Iyenobu among his other exploits invaded Korea, the tradi - tion is probably correct. But, be this as it may, the Japanese themselves have from time immemorial excelled in the art of casting and modelling metals. Not only have they produced gigantic castings such as the bronze images of Buddha at Kamakura and Nara, but also the most minute and beautifully finished work, and in the most prolific abundance. The metal ornaments for sword trappings (the tsubas, kodzukas, etc.), and the innumerable other decorative objects for personal accou - trement designed and made by the retainers of the feudal chieftains, are unrivalled examples in originality in design, in the adaptation of design to definite requirements, and in deft - ness and perfection of manipulation. This traditional skill, although now diverted into widely differing channels, is never - theless still largely exemplified in the productions of the metal workers of Kyoto and Tokyo of to-day.

The Tomb, Mausoleum of the Sixth Shogun. – This remarkable tomb, designed as a casket in bronze, bears on its centre panel the crest of the Tokugawa family and contains in an upright position the body of the Shogun Iyenobu, who died in the year 1712. This mode of burial is unusual; interment is the general method, and cremation is adopted to a limited extent. In the former case the corpse is placed in a wooden coffin in a sitting position with the head resting on a pillow, and over the grave a tablet is placed bearing the name of the deceased and the date of death. A tablet similarly marked, flanked with vases filled with flowers, is placed upon the butsu-dan (a recess forming the domestic altar, which is found in every house). Visits are paid to the graves during the third and ninth months of every year.

Jinrikisha Coolie and Dwarf Tree, Shiba. – Although the little two-wheeled carriage known as a Jinrikisha (the man-carrying power) is one of the most familiar features in the streets and highways of Japan, it is said to have been invented within com - paratively recent years by an American (a resident missionary), although the Japanese themselves claim the honour for one Akiba Daisuke, of Tokyo. The coolies generally own the carriage, between whose shafts they take the place of a horse, and, as is well known, their powers of endurance are astonishing. With a European of average weight in the tiny carriage one of these sturdy little men will often run a distance of 30 to 40 miles in a day, and then, after a bath and change of clothes, wait upon his hirer with faultless attention during the evening meal. Before the introduction of recent police regulations the ‘Rik-sha coolies ran, during the summer months, without any clothing what - ever beyond a pair of sandals, a hat, and a loin cloth, and (among less questionable advantages) this afforded the hirer the oppor - tunity of studying the elaborately tattooed designs with which they delight to decorate their bodies and limbs.

Tea Plantation in the Suburbs of Tokyo. – The cultivation of the tea plant and the preparation of the crop for distribution forms one of the most important industries in Japan, and tea, as a bev - erage, is the universal form of refreshment. The interesting social ceremonial connected with tea-drinking, known as the Cha-no-yu , is an essentially Japanese cult, which originated with a brotherhood of Buddhist priests in the twelth century, and something of the religious element still adheres to it. It was at first confined to a rigidly select circle, but in course of time a stage of greater laxity developed, until, in the fourteenth cen - tury, the warrior Hideyoshi is said to have given a tea-party to which all lovers of tea in the Empire were summoned. But now, and for centuries past, the ceremonial has again been restored to its original aesthetic simplicity. The number of guests is strictly limited; the tea is made and drunk in a most scrupulously defined manner; each action and gesture of host and guests is fixed by an elaborate code of rules, and every article used, both in connection with the tea-making and tea-drinking, is handled in the most exact way and admired in duly prescribed phrases. On these occasions the tea used is of particularly choice growth, and the leaves after being dried are ground into a fine powder. The exacting rules connected with the ceremonial of the Cha- no-yu are regarded as an important means of training the young in the observance of the laws of etiquette, and it is even claimed that the modest bearing and refinement of manner which dis - tinguishes the women of Japan is largely due to the influence of this quaint and esoteric institution.

Stone Image of Binzuru, Suburbs of Tokyo. – Binzuru , according to Buddhist tradition was a member of a brotherhood of saintly anchorites known as the Rakan, from which he was excommunicated for having violated his vow of chastity by remarking upon the beauty of a woman. His image, therefore, is never admitted into a temple, though it is often to be found in an outer court, as, in token of divine forgiveness, Buddha is said to have conferred on him the power to cure all human ills. The strips of paper seen hanging from the image in the photograph have written upon them prayers for the relief of various kinds of bodily ailments; the suppliant before affixing them rubs the image with his finger on the exact spot where his malady is located, and then with the same finger rubs his own body in the corresponding place.

A Coolie and Votive Offerings, Suburbs of Tokyo. – Thewooden frame hung with sandals, which is the main feature of interest in this photograph, stands near the image of Binzuru shown on the preceding page, and is one of many others in the same court filled with similar offerings made by the ‘Rik-sha coolies to the erring saint – for the boon craved for beyond all others by a coolie is to possess strong feet – and the gigantic size of some of the sandals is mutely expressive of the measure of the donor’s need. These sandals (or waraji, as they are called) are made of rice straw, and, when of normal size, cost only a few farthings a pair, but they are nevertheless items of considerable importance in a coolie’s expenditure, as when running over long distances three or four pairs may be worn out in a day. It is the custom directly they are found useless to kick them off into the roadway, and the number of warajis discarded in this unceremo - nious manner is so great that the main roads near the towns and cities are littered with them in all directions. In remote dis - tricts, indeed, where the path tracks are indistinct the way may often be found by tracing the occasional remains of the cast-off foot-gear.

Corner of a Temple Court, Enoshima. – The island of Enoshima, which is noted for the abundance of rare shells, and curious marine products found around its shores, lies in a picturesque bay within an easy ‘Rik-sha ride of Tokyo. According to an ancient legend, it was once the lair of a gigantic dragon, which, from time to time, issued forth to devour the little girl children in the villages on the neighbouring mainland, and all human efforts failed to stay these ravages. Ultimately, however, they were brought to an end by the direct intervention of the Goddess Benten (the Japanese Venus) – who is said to have risen suddenly from the waves and charmed the monster with the sight of her celestial beauty, and the story goes on to relate that not only was the dragon enamoured and converted from his evil ways, but that the goddess herself fell in love with her admirer and married him. The stone carving seen in the photograph in front of the sago palms, represents the mythical animal known as a Shishi , or ‘Heavenly dog’. These ‘Heavenly dogs’ are of two sexes, distinguished respectively as the Koma-inu and the Ama- inu, and are generally placed in pairs at the portals of sacred fanes. The stone cistern contains holy water for the use of the devout before entering a neighbouring temple.

Shore and Fishing Boat, Enoshima. – The little boat seen beached upon the shore is of a build peculiar to Japan, and recalls the restrictions which for so many generations were imposed on the construction of all seagoing craft in the country. Prior to these imperious restrictions vessels were built of a size and stability which enabled them to go as far as Europe, and several such voyages were made during the sixteenth century; but in the seventeenth the Shogun Iyemitsu issued his historic edict commanding all ships of distant voyaging capacity to be destroyed and forbidding any others to be built. These drastic measures, which were issued in the year 1634, were, as is well known, designed expressly to prevent all intercourse with other countries – and they remained in force for over two hundred years. It was only on the re-opening of the country to commerce with other nations in the year 1868, that this remarkable edict was revoked and that the Government commenced building the powerful Navy which, within the space of fifty years, has won for Japan a foremost position among the maritime powers of the world.

Bronze Image of Amida, Kamakura. – The bronze image of Amida, generally known as the Daibutsu (i.e. the Great Buddha) of Kamakura, is one of the most remarkable statues in the world, whether regarded in relation to its phenomenal size, its dignified design, or the perfection of its workmanship. Although modelled on gigantic scale, the figure symbolises with the most subtle and delicate skill the central idea of Buddhism – ‘the subjugation of all human passion and the intellectual calm attainable by perfected knowledge’. The weight of the bronze contained in this colossal work is esti - mated at 450 tons, and its dimensions are (approximately) a circumference of 97 feet and a height of 49 feet; the eyes are of pure gold, and the silver boss on the forehead weighs 30 lbs avoirdupois. It is said that the statue was originally enshrined within a temple which covered an area of 22,500 square feet, and that this enormous building was swept away by a tidal wave in the year 1494. Since then, that is for upwards of 400 years, the figure has remained exposed to all weathers without suf - fering any hurt. The erection of this stupendous image was undertaken as a thank-offering by the warrior Yaromoto, and on his death the work was continued under the direction and at the cost of his widow. It was completed in the year 1252.

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Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite, 103 Central Hotel, Tacoma, 79 Ainu, 81, 104 Ceramics, 102, 124 Akamatsu, Renjo (‘Professor Akamatz ’), 95 Chamberlain, Basil Hall, xxv, 91, 97, 99, 101 Albert Canyon, British Columbia, 84 Cha-no-yu (tea ceremony), 6, 92, 196 Arima (Yunoyama), xvii, 14 –17, 93 China, xv, xvii, 57, 77, 95, 99, 100, 148 Asakusa temple, Tokyo, 29 Chionin, Kyoto, 3, 91, 112 Asamayama, Mount, 168 Christian, 47, 86, 99, 156 Ashikaga, Yoshimitsu, 114 Chuzenji, 44 –5, 98, 100, 158, 160, 162 Ashinoyu, 55, 101 Clarendon Hotel, Winnipeg, 89, 105 Assiniboine River, Manitoba, 89 Clark, Galen, 103 Cliff House, San Francisco, 71, 103 Beardsley, Aubrey, Pl. 1 Cloisonné , 26, 32, 37, 95 –6, 102 Beaver , 104 Columbia River, 78 Benkei, 5, 92 Conder, Josiah, xix, 95, 97 Benten, 47 –8, 100, 202 Benton, Clara, 47, 100 Daibutsu Buddha, Kamakura, 22, 48 Bierce, Ambrose, xxiii Daibutsu Buddha, Nara, 22, 48, 94 Bierstadt, Albert, xxiii Dainichi-do, Nikko, 152, 154 Bing, Siegfried, xx Daiyagawa, River, 138, 158, 160 Bird, Isabella, xvii, 23, 42, 95, 96, 99 Danjuro, Ichikawa, 36, 98 Biwa, Lake, 4 –5, 8, 22, 24, 91 –2, 95, 128 Deer Fountain, Nara, 122 Bonsai (dwarfed trees), 102 Derby, Derbyshire, xv, 103 Boulton & Watt, 83, 104 Derwent, River, 75, 103 Branus, Dr, 62 Divers, Dr, 66 Brentnall, Ann, 104 Dogashima, 53 –4, 101, 170, 172 Brentnall, Martha, 104 Dresser, Dr Christopher, xv, xvii –xviii, xx, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, 74 xxii, xxiv, 23, 91 –2, 95, 96 –7, 99, 102 Brinkley, Captain Frank, xix –xxi, 29, 31, Dresser & Holme, xv, xviii, 97 37 –8, 66 –7, 96 –7 Dresser, Louis, xviii Brown, Mr, 81, 82, 104 Driard Hotel, Victoria, 80, 104 Buddha/Buddhism, 19 –20, 22 –3, 47, 48, Driard, Sosthenes, 104 55, 56, 91, 92, 94, 95, 99, 100 –101, 108, 112, 114, 124, 138, 150, 156, 174, 180, East, Alfred, xvi, xvii, Pl. 1, Pl. 9, 4, 7, 24, 190, 196, 198, 206 32 –3, 38 –9, 59, 66, 91, 97, 99 Burne-Jones, Georgiana, 99 Ekoin Temple, Tokyo, 101 El Capitan, Yosemite, 74 Calloway, Stephen, xiii, xxiv Enoshima, 46 –8, 100, 202, 204 Canadian Pacific Railway, xxiv, 82 –3, 104 Esquimault, British Columbia, 81, 104 Canton River, China, 79 Carew, Captain, 27 Farsari & Co., 62, 102 Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite, 74 Fenollosa, Ernest, xix, xxi, 37, 94 212 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

Fine Art Society, xvi Holme, Dora, Pl. p.1 Fine Arts School, Tokyo, xix, 94, 102 Holme, Geoffrey ??? Forty Seven Ronin , 36, 98 Holme, Gwendolen, Pl. p.1, Pl. p.2 Foster, Vere (‘De Veers ’), 92 Holme, Naomi ??? Fraser River, 84 Holme, Rathbone (Robin) ??? Fujisawa, 46, 100 Hong Kong, xvi, 44, 100, 102 Fujiya Hotel, Miyanoshita, 53, 57, 101 Honshu Province, 67 Fujiyama, Mount, 55, 128, 178 Hood, Mount, Oregon, 78 Futarasan Jinja, Nikko, 142 Hooper, Colonel, 55, 61 Hope, British Columbia, 84 Garden Shrine, Kyoto, 110 Horyuji Temple, Nara, 19, 94, 130 Geronimo, xxiii Hudson’s Bay Company, 80, 104 Ginssani, Mr, 57, 62, 68 Huish, Marcus, xvi Glacier House, Illecillewaet, 84, 104 Glacier Point, Yosemite, 76 Iemitsu, Shogun, 39, 40 –1, 98 –9, 136, 156 Glover, Thomas, xx, 33 –4, 38, 98 Ieyasu, Shogun, 40, 96 –9, 101, 136, 146, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, 71, 102 148, 150, 182 Golden Pavilion ( Kinkaku ), Kyoto, 12, 114 Ikao, 164 Gotemba, 58, 61, 101 Ike-bana , 188 Grand Hotel, Yokohama, 28, 46, 53, 102 Ikeda, curio dealer, Kyoto, 13 –14, 93 Grant, Ulysses S., 103 Imperial Museum, Tokyo, xvii, 94, 97 Great Glacier (Illecillewaet), 85, 104 Imperial Palace, Tokyo, 97, 180 Greenhill, Mr/Mrs, 61 Indians, American, xxviii, 80 –1, 84, 88 Griffiths, Dr, Pl. p.1 Insatsu Kyoku (Government Printing Gubbins, John Harrington, 66, 102 Bureau), 62, 102 Isayama, R., xxii Hakone, 55 –9, 61 –2, 99, 101, 174, 176 Iyenobu, Shogun, 190, 192 Hakone Hotel, 101 Hakone 7 Toh, 101 James, Captain, 34 Hart, John, xxiv James, Jesse, xxiii Haruna, Mount, 164 Japan Weekly Mail, The , xx –xxi, xxv, 96, 102 Hawes, A. G. S., 91 Japan Society London, The, xv, xxi, xxv, 92 Hayashi, Tadamasa, 7, 92, 102 Japanese leather paper (Japanese wallpaper), Hidari, Jingoro, 26, 96 102 Hidetada, Shogun, 35, 182, 184 Jenkinson, Mr, 80, 81 Hideyoshi, 118, 196 Jenkinson, Robert, 104 Higashi Honganji, Kyoto, 20, 94 Jewett, William Smith, xxiii High Bluff, Manitoba, 89 Jingu Kogo, Empress, 118 Hikone, 24, 95 Jinrikisha , 50, 91, 172, 194 Hill, Thomas, xxiii, xxiv Jiyutei Hotel, Osaka, 18, 94 Hishikawa, Moronobu, 33, 98 Jizo, 101, 138, 174 Hiroshige, 91 Jorgensen, Chris, xxiii, xxv Hodgson, George, 26, 96 Hokusai, Katsushika, xxv, 31, 38, 97 Kago , xviii, 91, 160 Holden, R., Pl. p.1 Kagura , 21, 94, 120, 142 Holme & Co., Pl. p.1, 96 Kamakura, 22, 48, 49, 94, 95, 100, 190, 206 Holme, Charles, xxiv Kanaya family, 42, 99 Holme, Clara (Benton), Pl. p.2 Kano, Masanobu, 114 INDEX 213

Kano, Motonobu, 12, 23 Mariposa County, California, 72 Kano School, 93, 112 Mariposa Grove, Yosemite, 76 Kano, Tanyu, 93 Markino, Yoshio, xxii, xxv Karasaki, 6, 92, 126, 128 Maruyama, Kyoto, 91, 108 Kicking Horse Pass, British Maruyama, Okyo, 93, 95 Columbia/Alberta, 87 Matlock, Derbyshire, 15, 75 Kiga, 51, 54, 101 Matlock High Tor, Derbyshire, 74, 103 Kinkakuji, Kyoto, 12, 114 Matsuo, Gisuke, 102 Kipling, Rudyard, vii, xvii, 43, 45, 91, 93, Mawe & Co., xvi, 28, 96 96, 99, 100 McBain, Mr/Mrs, 54, 55, 61 Kipling, John Lockwood, 99 Meiji, vii, 92 –3, 96 –8, 102 Kiryu (Kiritsu) Kosho Kaisha, 66, 102 Meiji (Mutsuhito), Emperor, 97 Kiyomizu Hotel, Arima, 15 –16, 93 Menpes, Mortimer, xxii, xxv Kobe, xv, xvii, xviii, 14, 18, 32, 93, 96, 97 Metcalf, Captain, 69 Kobe Hotel, 15 Mexico, 79, 103 Kobo Daishi, 101 Miidera Temple, Otsu, 5, 91 Kodaiji Monastery, Kyoto, 118 Mikado, 29, 108, 116, 136, 142, 156, 182 Koishikawa Korakuen garden, Toyko, 102 Mikado’s Garden, Kyoto, 7, 92 Komai family, Kyoto, 14, 93 Minamoto, Yoritomo, 100 Korea, 20, 100, 118, 190 Miogisan, 132 Kose no Kanaoka, 20, 94 Mirror Lake, Yosemite, 75 Kozu, 50, 61, 101 Mishima, 178 Kwannon/Kannon, 49, 91, 97, 100, 114, Mitford, A. B. F., Lord Redesdale, 36, 98, 118 99 Kyosai, Kawanabe, 33 –4, 38, 66, 98 Mito family, 64, 102 Kyoto, xvi, xvii, xxii, 3 –8, 14, 18, 20 –6, 32, Miyanoshita, 43, 50 –1, 53 –6, 58, 61, 99, 33, 37, 55, 91 –3, 95, 108, 110, 112, 114, 101, 170, 174 116, 118, 156, 190 Morimoto, 26 Kyoto Exhibition7, 92 Morris, William, xxi, xxii, 95 Kyoto Municipal Painting School, 92 Moshimiau, 57 Moto-Hakone, 55, 57 Lacquer-work, xxi, 18, 22 –3, 26, 31, 33 –6, Mukojima, Tokyo, 30, 97 43, 64, 66, 94, 102, 148, 184 Murray’s Handbook for Travellers in Japan , Leanchoil, British Columbia, 87 xviii, xix, xxv, 5, 36, 91, 93 –6, 99, Liberty & Co., xv, xvii, 93, 94 101 –102 Liberty, Arthur Lasenby, xv, xviii, xx, xxi, 7, Museum of Arms, Tokyo, 65, 102 8, 10, 14, 25, 29, 32, 35, 37 –9, 42, 45, Mushiyu, 101 62, 66 –7, 70, 78, 80, 82, 86, 89, 97, 99 Musical instruments, 5 Liberty, Emma, xvi, xxiv, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 21, 31, 32 –3, 35 –6, 37, 42 –3, 57, 66, Nagahama24, 95 75 –6, 78 –9, 82, 89, 132 Nagao Pass, 58, 59, 101 Linthorpe Art Pottery, 32, 97 Nagasaki, xvi, xvii, 96, 97, 98 Llewellyn, John, xvi Nagoya, xvii, 24 –7, 32, 37, 93, 95, 96, 134 Londos and Company, 102 Nagoya Maru, 27 Loomis, Rev. Henry, 49, 100 Namikawa, Sosuki (‘Tokyo ’), 26, 31 –2, 37, 97 MacDonald, Alice, 99 Namikawa, Yasuyuki (‘Kyoto ’), 96 Maple Club ( Koyo-kan ), 66, 102 Nantaizan Mountain, 100, 158, 160, 162 214 THE DIARY OF CHARLES HOLME’S 1889 VISIT TO JAPAN

Nanzenji, Kyoto, 95 Red Lacquer Bridge ( Shin-kyo ), Nikko, Napier, The Hon. W. J. G., xx, 29, 66 –7, 97 41 –2, 99, 136 Nara, xvii, 18, 20 –2, 48, 94, 122, 124, 190 Rocky Mountains, 83 Naraya Hotel, Miyanoshita, 50, 54, 101 Rokkozan, 17, 93 Nevada Falls, Yosemite, 75 –6 Rokumeikan, 32 –3, 98 New Mexico, 103 Roosevelt, Theodore, 103 Nikko, xvii, 35, 39, 43 –5, 51, 97, 98, 99, Rottmann, Strome and Company, 102 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, 150, 152, 154, Royal Academy, 41 158, 160 Royal Museum of Economic Botany, Kew Nikko Hotel, 39, 45, 99 Gardens, xviii Nishi Hongwanji, Kyoto, 23, 95 Russell, Dr, 76 North Dome, Yosemite, 75 Russell, Mr, 72, 76 Northern Pacific Railroad, xxiv, 78 Ryogoku Kokugigan Sumo Hall and Museum, 101 Oceanic , 68, 69, 82, 102 Odawara, 53, 101 Sacramento, California, 72 Ohashi (‘D’Oash’), curio dealer, Kobe, 14, Sagami Bay, 100 93 Sakamoto, 132 Ojigoku (Big or Grand Hell), 52, 56, 58, Sake , 15, 29 –30, 34, 66, 93 101, 176 Sale & Co., 96 Okakura, Tenshin, 94 Sale, Charles V., 46, 96 Oklahoma, xxiii, 79, 103, 104 Sale, George, xvi, 28, 30, 46 –7, 49, 53, 68, Okubo, Toshimichi, xviii, xx, xxv 96 Okuma, Shigenobu, xxi, 67, 102 Sale, Mrs George, 28, 68 Osaka, xvii, 14, 18 –20, 22, 91, 93 –4, 96 San Francisco, California, xviii, xxiii, 69 –70, Otsu, 5, 6, 24, 91, 120, 128 75, 77 –8, 81, 102 Owakudani, 101, 176 San Francisco Bay, California, 102 Oya, 99 Sanda Hills, 17, 93 Sannomiya, Yoshitane, xxi, 42, 67, 102 Pacific Ocean, 69 Sano, Countess, 33 Palace Hotel, San Francisco, xxiii, 70 Sano, Tsuneha, 95 Parquetry, 101 Sano, Tsunetami, Viscount, xix, xxi, 25, 29, Peak District National Park, 15, 103 32 –3, 65 –7, 95, 98, 102 Poesnecker, Lorenz, 45, 100 Satow, Ernest, 20, 91, 94 Porcelain, xx, 23, 26 –7, 31, 38, 95 Satsuma rebellions ( Seinan Senso ), 5, 92, 98 Port Moody, British Columbia, 104 Satsuma ware, 38, 99 Portland, Oregon, xxiii, 78 School of Art, Ueno, xviii, xx, 37 Prospect Point, British Columbia, 104 Scott-Gatty, Alfred, 100 Puget Sound, Washington, 78 –9 Seattle, Washington, xxiii, 79, 104 Seiyoken Hotel, Tokyo, 31 Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Sette of Odd Volumes, Ye, xxi 81 Shakespeare, William, 49 Shanghai, 54 Ragusa, Vincenzo, xix Shiba, 34 –5, 37, 40, 66, 98, 102, 182, 184, Rakan , 198 186, 188, 190, 194 Raku , 6, 92 Shinachu Hotel, Nagoya, 25, 95 Raymond, California, 71, 77, 103 Shinto, 38, 47 –8, 94, 99 –100, 108, 110, Red House, Bexleyheath, xxi, 95 120, 122, 130, 140, 142, 150, 156, 180 INDEX 215

Shippo (enamel work), 26, 96 Uramigataki (Ourami Waterfall), 41, 99 Shogun, 35 –6, 39, 40, 91, 92, 95 –6, Utsunomiya, 39, 45, 46, 99, 100 98 –100, 108, 136, 140, 144, 146, 148, Uzutoge Pass, 168 150, 152, 156, 180, 182, 184, 190, 192, 204 Vancouver, British Columbia, xxiv, 62, 81, Shuswap Lake, British Columbia, 84 82 –3, 104 Sisson (Mount Shasta City), California, 78, Victoria, British Columbia, 78 –83, 104 103 Victoria and Albert Museum (formerly South Society of Arts, xvii Kensington Museum), xxiv, 94 Society of California Pioneers, xxiii, 77, Victoria, Queen, xxii 103 Vienna World Exhibition, xix, 33, 95, 98, Sokokura, 101 102 Sosen, Mori, 31, 97 Southern Pacific Railroad, 78 Wagener, Gottfried, xix, 96 Stoneman House, Yosemite, 75, 103 Wainwright, Arthur S., Pl. p.1 Strome, C. J., 64, 102 Wakai, Kensaburo, 102 Strome and Co., C. J., 102 Ward Howe, Julia, 101 Studio, The , xv, xxii, xxiv –xxv, Pl. 6, Pl. 7, Warrington Museum, 92, 100 94 Wawona, Yosemite, xxiv, 72 –3, 76 –7, 103 Sumidagawa River, 101, 180 Wawona Hotel, Yosemite, 77, 103 Sumiyoshi, 17, 18, 93 Whistler, J. M., xxii Sumpu (Shizuoka City), 101 Winnipeg, Manitoba, xvi, 87, 89, 105 Sutro, Adolph, 103 Wrestlers (Sumo), 61 –2, 101

Tacoma, Washington, 78 –80, 104 Xavier, Francis, 156 Takumi, Castle of, 36, 99 Tale of Genji , 91 Yaami’s Hotel, Kyoto, 3 –4, 22, 91 Tanabe, Sakuro, 91 Yale, British Columbia, 84 Tiffany, Louis Comfort, xviii Yamanaka, Sadajiro, 18, 94 Todaiji Temple, Nara, 94, 124 Yaromoto, 206 Tokaido, 4 –6, 55, 91, 101 Yasaka Pagoda, Kyoto, 116 Tokugawa, 39 –40, 95 –9, 101, 146, 156, Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo, 102 182, 192 Yechigo, 120 Tokugawa, Mitsukuni (Mito Komon), 102 Yodogawa River, 93, 95 Tokugawa, Yorifusa, 102 Yokkaichi, 27, 96 Tokyo (Yedo), xvii, xix –xx, xxii, xxv, 4, 26, Yokohama, xv, xvii –xviii, xxv, 14, 27 –8, 29 –32, 34, 39, 43, 46, 55, 61, 62, 66, 30 –1, 33, 39, 45 –6, 48 –9, 53, 56 –7, 91 –3, 97 –102, 108, 144, 156, 180, 190, 61 –2, 68, 70, 96 –7, 100, 102 194, 196, 198, 200, 202 Yosemite, xxiii, 71, 74, 103 Torijigoku [Tori-jigoku] (Bird Hell), Arima, Yosemite , 82, 104 16, 93 Yosemite Falls, 74, 76, 103 Treaty Ports, 96 Yoshizumi, cabinet maker, 18 Turner, Mr/Mrs, 76 –7 Yoshitune, 92 Twain, Mark, 81 Yumoto, 45, 54, 100, 101 Yumoto, Lake, 162 Ueno, xx, 29, 31, 33, 37, 67, 94, 97 Upper Soda Springs, California, 78