THE NEW JAPAN

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7025, 13 January 1910, Page 2

THE NEW JAPAN

A DISENCHANTED VISITOR. WHAT HE DID NOT SEE. Ifc lias been' remarked that happenings of greatest import may spring from causes apparently trifling (writes Alex. M. Thompson in '"The Clarion”). The truth of this (remark is now no longer to bo questioned, for it is a fact that my letter from Kyoto might nevei have been written but for the seemingly accidental circumstances of our landing at Tsuruga instead of Yokohama. Had we approached Japan by the beaten way of European and American custom, our first impressions would have been derived not from Kyoto the ancient, but from Tokyo the modern; with the result that w© would have incontinently returned, by the quickest rout© to bnattesbury avenue, .and my fin© appreciation of Japan might never have delighted the grateful eyo of posterity! The same' letters that spell the name of Japan's ancient capital also spell tno name of her new metropolis; yet there is a difference in the spell that cannot be denoted by any letters, not even Kyoto is a precious relic of old tainted but not yet spoiled by jtto* gross/’ Its narrow streets are not the product of modern degradation, but or antique ideals. It wears its new factory chimneys furtively; it hides them behind' the glamour of its solemn t® m Pt es » I t' B hoary shrines, its majestic lulls, its mysterious woods, its rich profusion of artistic treasures. . . i But Tokyo flaunts its chimneys and hides its lingering charms. Its narrow streets are not survivals of an old-time-civilisation made venerable by ago, but squalid slums make doubly hideous by their Anierican-lik© newness. It has’ wide, spacious thoroughfares, too, and; great stores with plate-glass windows, and Government buildings of new red brick all in a row, and statues of the latest politicians, if you plase, sculptured Japan pigmies in preposterous .trousers and frock coats. Thesei are Tokyo's modern improvements on Kano and Hokusai; • these, hideous statues, of squat political pigmies in trousers are the newest substitutes for the delicately beautiful blossoms and flying storks and swallows that we have been used to associate with Japanese art. We came to seek a capital of, fairyland and discovered anOriental Manchester. We looked for chrysanthemums and found ironworks. We sighed for tripping mousmes dressed like butterfly under aureoles of painted delight,and saw grotesoue little gents in frockcoats of plain black cloth down to the knees and bowler hats down to the upper lips, shuffling along to business under fat black cotton ginghams. Instead of the gracefully drooping Wistaria of the pictures, the pagoda perch-, eri in. the clouds, the hillside temple peepinpr through palms and pines, we enoounterd dense avenues ol telegraph poles sheltering swarms of clattering tram-cars under their heavy network of wires. And after 0110 day of bitter disenchantment we unanimously reviled the name'of Lefcadio Hearn, and shook’ the dust of Tokyo from our feet. Yet, like the curate's- egg, Tokyo has redeeming spots. As a bawd in tawdry cast-off finery may yet betray glimpses of native grace and charm, so the capital of Japan reveals her© and there under. her frowsy, borrowed pretentiousness remnants.of that old-time beauty made familiar .to European eyes by the delicate colouring of lacquer, porcelain, and rice-paper. We came upon a lotus poud under a deep ayenuo of pines, surrounded by a stone balustrade of bizarre design and crossed by an ancient Willow Pattern Bridge. On the bridge, feeding tho drowsy tortoises and greedy goldfish, stood a pretty girl with (red roses in her shining black hair, under the shade of a blue umbrella garlanded with reel butterflies. The picture was perfect, and three cameras were hastily adjusted to take snaipshots at the opportunity, when suddenly the languid summer air was torn by the violent blare of a cornet and the thumping of a drum. Three cameras dropped in listless hands as three disconcerted amateur photographers wheeled round in wonder ami dismay. It was a Salvation Army, meeting! Immediately behind us, un-, perceived till then, the Blood and Eire Brigade bellowed and ranted. Japanese “officers” in the familiar darp cap with red ribbon and letter ' r S'' on their coat collars, frantically prayed and bellowed, in the old, familiar, fanatical way. It was all as English as the gin palaces. The only feature lacking to completethe discord was the Hallelujah lass; the; mouseme, it* happily has not, yet taken to hiding her shining raven hair and pretty combs under the Halleluiah hat, • / Yet the Salvation _Army is much in ( evidence here. In Kyoto,l had seen a, prosperous Salvation meeting held in the midst of a religious festival at an an-, cient Shinto shrine. * At; our hotel an| Englishwoman in Salvation garb constantly ' haunted the corridors harassingthe visitors for contributions. Even atthe theatre—of which I may tell you. more' in another letter —there whs an ir-, ruption of Salvation Army officers •'in. the pathetic scene to bring comfort, asj we surmised, ‘to a Japanese convict. How the blatant .methods of the Salvation Army have come to take root amongst the mystical rites of Japanese, .spirituality is a mystery I cannot attempt to explain; I merely record the Sheuomena of my hasty flight, and leave he leisurely philosophers of Worship street to expound and fructify. . Undermined by the Salvation meeting wo hurriedly returned to our rickshaws and demanded to be propelled to the nearest tea-house for needful recuperation. And there, happily, wo met the most Japanese' experience of our brief stay in Tokyo. The glowing picture of the’ books was -realised for'once beyond expectation. . Three demure little maids standing on tho threshold fell to their knees, and bobbed their fiat noses to the floor in respectful salutation as we approached. Deftly and quickly they slipped clean woollen covers over our dusty boots, and glidingly led the way through the traditional rooms of softly-sliding paper partitions, what time other mousmes, behind: other partitions, slyly peeped at tho handsome foreigners, and swiftly'disappeared with giggles., Erom end. to end of the series of rooms there was nothing to be seen — absolutely nothing—except the . spotless straw mats on the floor, the paper walls, and in each section the exquisitely-ar-ranged stand of ohryssanthemums. There was no furniture—not a sideboard, cabi- ’ net, chiffonier, table, or chair—absolutely nothing but the straw mats and the paper walls. Outside a wonderful miniature garden, a miniature lake, with miniature rocks and crags crowned as if all in a piece with a miniature dragon eud miniature trees dwarfed by. a process of which tho Japanese gardeners still preserve the secret. The preciousness of this dolTs-house landscape had created a perfect illusion, till three spotlessly whit© storks majestically stepped on the edge of the miniature lake. They were tho only real things in tho picture, yet they utterly destroyed its reality. Having selected a section of the vast room for our entertainment, wo wore secluded by a shifting of the noiseless paper partitions, cushions were placed on the floor, for our accommodation, giggling mousmes produced tea and multicoloured rice-cakes, and, like a row of extra-sized Buddhas, we knelt on our cushions to partake refreshment, face to face with three attendant little maids. The mousmes kneel in the most obsequious postures, but regard, our efforts to look happy under the influence of pins and needles and cramp in the calf with repeated giggles which grossly belie tho respectfulness of their attitudes. The charge for the tea was one shilling per head, but though X am satisfied that it was cheap at-the price, I still think the giggling mousmes had the cheaper and better entertainment.