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Barring the total absence of any sign of man, it might have been taken for Japan, in the neighborhood of Miyanoshita, without, however, any trace of Japanese atmosphere.
There's my number. Don't forget now. Shiba 1326. What do you think of Japan, now? Beautiful country, I think. And you have not yet seen Miyanoshita, or Kamakura, or Nikko temples. You have not yet got automobile, I think. Indeed, I am sorry for you. That is a very wrong thing! I shall at once order for you a very splendid automobile, and we must make a grand trip.
The ride across the lake is pleasant, the castle an interesting feature, and by taking it, one discovers a different way to return to Miyanoshita, but I preferred the route of the morning, as the reverse views are always reinforcingly interesting. There were pleasant short walks from our hotel and many very easy excursions, so one naturally lingers, as long as possible.
From the earliest ages the island was sacred to Benten, the Buddhist goddess of love. Nearly all of the temples are dedicated to Shinto goddesses. The most sacred spot is a cave on the far side of the island, one hundred and twenty-four yards in depth, the height at the entrance being at least thirty feet. We next took the train for Yumoto, the point of departure by jinrikisha for Miyanoshita.
A few days ago I saw a somewhat different agricultural area 280 miles of great rice-farming land between Miyanoshita and Kyoto. But when such effort is necessary in Japan, it is sure to be made. The population is so dense that every one realizes the essential criminality of soil-waste, of the destruction of the one resource which must support human life as long as the race shall last.
The "divine symbols," of which such constant mention is made in the tales, are the inao or whittled sticks frequently described in books of travels. Basil Hall Chamberlain. Miyanoshita, Japan, 20th July, 1887. i. An owl had put by for next day the remains of something dainty which he had to eat.
The dams of bamboo-bound rocks that I found men building near Nikko and Miyanoshita by way of remedy may not amount to much; but there is much hope in the general programme for reforesting the desolated areas, which I found the Japanese Department of Agriculture and Commerce actively prosecuting. Here is a good lesson for America.
The willingness to give up one's name in adoption, viewed in the light of the excessive devotion to one's own ancestors and family name, is only another illustration of Japanese contrariety. It is a land of surprises. Miyanoshita, Japan. "What is a Japanese city like?" Well, let us "suppose," as the children say. You know the American city nearest you, or the one you live in.
The train ride to Yumoto was most unusual, as the line lay through a succession of small villages, the road sometimes being so narrow that we could see into the homes or look into shop windows as we went through a business street. At Yumoto we took a jinrikisha for the ascent to Miyanoshita; the route was picturesque.
One of our excursions carried us to the Hakone Pass. Miyanoshita is a little hamlet, lost as it were among the hills, yet famous for its beautiful scenery and natural hot-baths, accessible only by a difficult mountain-pass which, having become belated, we ascended by torch-light.
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