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Shades of the Past

Page 26

by Harold Williams


  Mason, W. B. Came to Japan in 1875 and for over 25 years was in the service of the Japanese Government in Departments of Communications and Education. Collaborated with B. H. Chamberlain in producing Murray's Handbook for Japan. Killed in earthquake 1st Sept., 1923.

  Meiji Era The era of the reign of Emperor Meiji (1868-1912).

  Mexican Dollar Japan had no currency of a well determined value when trade was opened in 1859, and so the foreign traders brought in Mexican $ which passed as currency in the Foreign Settlements. A reputable silver yen also referred to as a $, of 416 grains and 900 fineness was minted in 1879.

  Mikado Term once used in foreign circles to designate the sovereign of Japan. In prewar years the Japanese normally used the expression Tenno Heika (Divine Emperor) when referring to their Emperor. Nowadays Tenno often suffices.

  Mitford, A. B. (later Lord Redesdale) 1837-1916. Attache in Japan 1866-70.

  Mon A Japanese farthing of former days. A copper coin with a square hole in the centre.

  N

  Namu Amida Butsu Buddhist ritual prayer or chant—Hail to Amida the Buddha.

  Nippon Same as Nihon, meaning Japan.

  Norimono See palanquin.

  O

  Obasan An old woman, a grandmother.

  Obi Ornamental sash with bow at back. Worn by women. When the bow was tied in the front it was the mark of a professional prostitute in the old days.

  O-bon Buddhist festival in July when the ancestral souls or spirits of the dead are said to return to earth for three days.

  Oiran In feudal days a high class prostitute, generally depicted with many large bamboo hairpins in her hair.

  P

  Palanquin A curtained box-like conveyance, suspended on a pole and carried by four men, in which a person rode in a sitting or semi-recumbent position. Used by higher classes. In Japanese—norimono.

  Parkes, Sir Harry (1828-1885) Appointed British minister to Japan in 1865, which post he held for 18 years.

  Pom-pom girls Name coined by G. I.' s in the early stages of the Occupation for streetwalkers.

  R

  Rickshaw)

  Rikisha) See jinrikisha.

  Ronin Literally "wave-man," a term applied to samurai who were not attached to any clan one who had given up or had been dismissed from the service of his feudal master, and for the time being was his own master.

  S

  Sake An alcoholic beverage obtained by fermenting rice. Generally served after warming to about 43 degrees centigrade.

  Samurai A member of the military class, entitled to wear two swords, a longer and shorter one, the latter like an over-grown dirk.

  Saris, John English merchant and sea captain who made first voyage to Japan (1612) on behalf of English East India Company and obtained permission for English to settle in and to trade in Japan.

  Satow E. M. (1843-1929) Attache and later (1895) British Minister to Japan.

  Satsuma Name of a clan whose territories comprised a portion of Kyushu island.

  Settlement That section of land, generally waste land outside the Japanese town, that was originally set aside as the place of trade and residence for foreigners.

  Shinto "The Way of the Gods," the name given to the mythology and vague ancestor and nature worship which preceded the introduction of Buddhism into Japan. Latter developed to include State Shinto, Sect Shinto and popular Shinto.

  Shogun Literally "the general commanding an island." Term applied to the administrative or de facto rulers of Japan in feudal days, as distinguished from the sovereigns who were kept in seclusion in Kyoto. Also known as Taikun (Tycoon).

  Shogunate The government of the Shogun.

  Shoji Sliding doors fitted with paper, or paper and glass, to enable light to penetrate a Japanese room from the outside.

  Shroff Originally men employed by banks and merchants in the East to examine coin and see whether it was genuine. Now often a cashier or clerk in accounts department.

  Siebold, Dr. Philipp Franz von (1796-1866) Arrived in Nagasaki in 1823 as physician attached to Dutch East India Company. Banished from Japan in 1830 for making a map of Japan. Returned in 1860 on a semi-official mission.

  T

  Taikun (also Tycoon). Literally "great lord," and the term employed by the Japanese in earlier treaties, and in their official correspondence with foreigners, to designate the Shogun.

  Taipan A word borrowed from early trading days in China, meaning the manager or "big boss," as distinct from assistants, in foreign firms.

  Tatami Straw floor mats, 3'x6', found in houses, temples and other Japanese style buildings. Two such mats represent the unit of area known as a tsubo.

  Teahouse The word is used to denote the modest little rest-houses which are situated alongside country roads, and also the elaborate Japanese style restaurants in the cities, which also serve as places of entertainment, to which geisha may be called.

  Thunberg, Charles Peter (1743-1828) Swedish physician, naturalist and traveller appointed physician to Dutch East India Company at Deshima.

  Tokaido The great highway of Eastern Japan from Yedo (Tokyo) to Kyoto.

  Tokio Previously the commonly accepted Romanised form of spelling for Tokyo.

  Tokugawa The family and line of Shoguns founded by Tokugawa Iyeyasu in 1603 which controlled Japan for a period of about 250 years.

  Torii Gateway to a Shinto shrine.

  Tosa The name of a province and clan on the island of Shikoku.

  Townsend Harris See Harris.

  Trade Dollar In 1875 the Japanese Government commenced minting a silver coin stamped "Trade Dollar 420 grains 900 fine" which it was intended should take the place of the Mexican Dollar. In 1879 it was substituted by a new Silver Yen of 416 grains and 900 fineness.

  Tsubo Unit of area, about 36 sq. feet, equivalent in area to two tatami (Japanese mats).

  Tycoon See Taikun.

  U

  Ukiyoe A wood-block colour-print of popular school, depicting the life of feudal Japan.

  V

  Viaud, Julien See Loti.

  Y

  Yedo Old name for Tokyo; capital of Tokugawa Government.

  Yen Japanese monetary unit. Originally equivalent to 50 U. S. cents at par. In pre-war 1941 the official rate of exchange was about 22 but the unofficial and open market rate was much lower. In 1958 the value of the yen is a little more than 1/4 €, or 360 yen to US $.

  Yoshiwara Licensed quarter in Tokyo, but applied loosely by foreigners to any licensed quarter. Abolished by law April 1957.

  INDEX

  Adams, Will, 99; arrives in Japan, 277; death of, 325; flies Cross of St. George, 31; visits Osaka, 277

  Airmail in Japan, effects of, 286

  Alcock, Sir Rutherford, 22; arrives in Japan, 178; climbs Fuji, 313; "scum of the earth" episode, 214, 250

  "America," wooden steamer, burning of, 147

  Assassinations in Yokohama, 179

  Attack on British Legation in Yedo, 179

  "Auckland," American brig, 163

  Australian convicts and bushrangers, 75

  Baedeker, Karl, 236

  Baldwin, Major G.W., 20th. Foot Regt., 94

  Beachcombers, 288

  Bell, Admiral, 335

  Biddle, Commodore, 146

  Birds, craze as pets, 274

  Biddle, Commodore, 146

  Bird, Lieut. R.N., 20th. Foot Regt., 94

  Bishop of Hongkong, (Dr. George Smith) 60, 215

  Bizen, Daimyo of Okayama, 106

  Black-Eyed Susan, 92

  "Bombay," P.&O. Steamer, 132

  Brinker, Hans, 311

  Brinkley, Capt. F., 211

  British Grenadiers (march), 268

  British Consulate at Nagasaki, 19; at Osaka, 280

  British Legation at Yedo, attack upon, 26, 65, 179

  British Phosphate Commissioners, 290

  Brotherhood of the New Life, 68

  Broughton, Capt., 327

  Buddhist pilgrims, 241


  Buddhist temples, 136, 241; offered as accommodation, 178

  Burials, 159

  Carew poisoning case, 184

  Cesarevitch (see Czarevitch),

  Chamberlain, Basil Hall, 221, 262

  "Charity," Dutch ship (see "de Liefde"), 277

  Chinese, 81; coffins, 150; gambling, 151; indentured labour 141; returning to China, 148

  Chonkina dance, 233, 296

  Chosen Corporation, 254

  Christianity—banned, 99; edict against, 78; persecution of, 33

  Christmas Days in Japan, 99

  Clark, E. Warren, missionary, 160

  "Clove," English ship, 236; arrives in Hirado, 297, 323

  Cocks, Richard, 300, 324; celebrates Christmas, 101

  Convict Settlements in Australia, 288

  Currency manipulations, 251

  "Cyprus," brig, 76

  Czarevitch, attempted assassination of, 168, 170

  Daibutsu at Kamakura, 94

  Daimyo's denial of slander, 213

  Daimyo processions, 107, 125, 336

  d'Anethan, Baroness, 199

  de Becker, Dr. J.E. 188, 193

  Decoration Day, 330

  "de Liefde," Dutch ship, 277

  Deshima, 102, 279; description of, 39

  "Diana," Russian frigate, 329

  "Dupleix," French cruiser, 115

  Dutch at Shogun's Court at Yedo, 43

  Dutch East India Company 296; periodical visits to Yedo, 37

  Eckert, Franz, 266

  Eifukuji (temple) Hyogo, 110

  Elgin and Kincardine, Earl of, arrives in Nagasaki, 52; arrives in Shimoda, 177

  Embassy, British, at Tokyo, 181

  "Emperor," yacht, 51, 60

  Emperor Meiji, 172, 282

  English East India Company, 297 at Hirado, 30, 100, 279

  English regiments in Yokohama, 94

  "Euryalus," H.M.S., 252

  Execution of eleven Tosa men, 119

  "Experiment," English ship, 34

  Fenton, Bandmaster William, 268

  Fire Brigades, foreign volunteers, 17

  Fitch, London merchant, 248

  Flag of Hachiman, 29; St. George's Cross, 28; Stars & Stripes, 53

  Fleas, 230, 314

  Foreign cemetery at Ono, Kobe, 331, 334; at Shuhogahara (Futatabi) Kobe 334; at Yokohama, 330

  French sailors massacred at Sakai, 115, 335

  Fryke, Christopher, 326

  Fuji, Mount, 312

  "Furious," British war-vessel, 51

  Garter Mission to Japan, 35

  Geisha, 310

  Geisha, The (light opera), 232

  George, Prince of Greece, 170,175

  Gilbert & Sullivan, 25, 232

  Goble, Jonathan, 165

  Gold—coins, 249; exported from Japan, 249; parity in Japan, 249

  Graves of British seamen at Muroran, 327; of U.S. personnel at Shimoda, 328; of Russian seamen at Shimoda,

  329 Griffis, Dr. W.E., 217

  Guide books 229

  Harakiri, 106, 113

  Harris, Thomas Lake, 62

  Harris, Townsend, 20, 54, 56, 79, 178, 309; extracts from diary, 38, 82, 214; journey to Yedo, 85; celebrates Christmas, 103; at Shimoda, 80; describes his accommodation at Shimoda, 329

  Hearn, Lafcadio, 221, 262

  Hepburn's system of spelling (Japanese words), 232

  Heusken, Henry C.J., 54, 81; murdered in Yedo, 178

  Hideyoshi's Kitano tea-party, 248

  Hirado, 30; burials at, 324

  Hitachi Dockyard, 285

  Hojuji (temple), graves of Tosa men, 122

  Holly for Christmas, 100

  Hyogo, 100; opened to foreign trade, 280

  Hunter, E.H., 285

  Ichibu, exchange, 249

  Ichinotani, foreign residents at, 260

  Iemitsu, Shogun, closes Japan, 78

  Ieyasu, Tokugawa Shogun, 277

  James Estate, Shioya, 260

  Japan closed to Western world, 78

  Japanese—banquets, 56; Embassy to Europe, 66; Emperor in Kyoto, 60, 84; first Embassy to U.S.A., 267, 300; national anthem, 266; naval vessels in 1868, 283; regulations re dress, 302; servants, 32; atrocities, 290, 332;

  Japan Herald; obituary notice of, 211

  Japan Mail, 193, 197, 211

  Japan Times & Overland Mail, 114

  Japan Tourist Bureau's Official Guide, 231

  Jardine Matheson & Co., 18, 264

  Jinrikisha (see Rickshaw)

  Jonas case in Osaka, 302

  Kaempfer, Dr. Engelbert, 38, 80, 267

  Kawaguchi Foreign Concession (Osaka), 280

  Kimigayo, 266

  Kimono, novel by John Paris, 233, 296

  Kobayashi Beika (see de Becker)

  Kobe Foreign Concession attacked, 107

  Kobe Hills, 272

  Kobe Women's Club, 223

  Kobo Daishi, 104

  Korean national anthem, 270

  Kukai (see Kobo Daishi)

  Kwannon, Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, 238

  Leprosy, 290, 332

  Licenced quarters, 143, 225

  Livers, human, superstition re, 332

  Loti, Pierre, 229, 306

  Madame Butterfly, 232, 306

  Madame Chrysanthemum, 229, 306

  Mamiya Hajime, ronin assassin, 94

  Marco Polo's account of Japan, 247

  "Maria Luz," Peruvian barque, 140

  Mavourneen, Kathleen, 268, 300

  Meiji, Emperor, 172, 282

  Meriken Hatoba, Kobe, 223

  Mexican dollars, exchange value, 249

  Meylan, G.F., 49

  Mikado, The, (light opera), 232

  Mikado's decree against assassination of foreigners, 109

  Mitford, A.B., (description of harakiri), 111

  Miura, Tamaki, 233, 307

  Morrison, Consul Geo. S., 19

  Murray's Handbook for Japan, 223, 230

  Myokokuji (temple), 118

  Nagasaki, 306

  Nanten berries, 100

  Nauru Island, 290

  Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 169

  Nio, guardian gods at temple gates, 245

  "Number Nine," Yokohama, 233

  Oliphant, Laurence, 64

  "Oneida," U.S.S., sinking of, 129

  Ono Foreign Cemetery, burial of French sailors, 116

  Order of Merit, conferred on Japanese, 36

  Osaka, 277; description of, 42; opened to foreign trade, 280

  Osaka Castle, 277, 281; burnt and sacked, 127

  Osaka Foreign Concession at Kawaguchi, 280

  Osaka Station, gift shops, 241

  Otsu, attempted assassination at, 170

  Pacific Mail Steamship Co., 146

  Pacific Phosphate Company, 290

  Page, Asst. Surgeon, C.H. 103

  Paris, John, author, 233, 296

  Parkes, Sir Harry, 181, 280; attacks Bizen troops, 108; climbs Fuji, 314; valedictory notices in Japanese Press, 219

  Patch, Sam, 163

  Penal settlements in Australia, 74

  Pentonville Prison, 272

  Perry, Commodore, 54, 146, 328

  Phallic worship, 261

  Photographs, 258

  Pilgrimages to temples and shrines, 238

  "Pillow" books, 296

  Pleasant Island, 290

  Prostitutes as artist's models, 225, 295

  "Providence," H.M. Sloop, 327

  "Retribution," British warship, 51

  "Return," English ship, 34

  Richardson, Charles Lenox, murder of, 91

  Rickshaw, 165, 283

  Rickshaw-men, 170

  Rodin's "The Kiss," 299

  Rubinstein, Serge, 253

  Sailing ships, foreign, in Japanese harbours, 323

  Sakai, massacre of French sailors, 115

  Saris, Capt. John, 31, 236, 323; collection of Japanese curios burnt, 297

  Satow, Sir Ernest, 120, 195

  Sentar
o (see also Patch), 164

  Shaw, George Bernard, 309

  Shimazu, Daimyo of Satsuma, 90

  Shimidzu, Seiichi, ronin assassin, 94

  Shita-ni-iro, 90, 107

  Shioya 101; James Estate at, 260

  Shoes, removing, before entering Japanese house, 309

  Shogun's Court, Yedo, Dutch at, 43

  Shuhogahara (Futatabi) Foreign Cemetery, 120, 334

  Silver, 249

  Smith, Dr. George (Bishop of Hong Kong), 60, 215

  "Spring" books, 296

  St. George's Cross, 28

  Strip tease, 294

  Superstitions re human livers, 332

  "Susquehanna," U.S.S., 164

  Taki, Zenzaburo, 107, 113

  Tamaki, Miura, 233, 307

  Temples for accommodation of foreigners, 53, 178

  Terry, T. Philip, Guide to Japanese Empire, 44, 230

  Thirty-three Holy Places of Kwan-non, 238

  Thunberg, Dr. 48, 296

  "Tiger," English ship, 29

  "Tiger's Whelp," English ship, 29

  Tokaido, description of, 86, 89

  Tokio Times, 213, 219

  Tokudo Shonin, Buddhist abbot, 238

  Tokugawa road near Kobe, 107, 125, 336

  Tourist traffic in Japan, 229

  Treaties with Japan, 58, 80

  Trust & Loan Agency Co., 263

  Tsuda, Sanzo, 170

  Turnor, Lieut. A.H. 103

  Ukiyoe, 224, 295

  von Siebold, 48

  van Kieboom executed, 275

  Viaud, Julien (see Loti)

  Whaling ships, 145, 327

  Wheeler, Dr. E., 187

  Woodcut prints, 224

  Yacht "Emperor," present from Queen Victoria, 51, 60

  "Yedo-Mail" four-horse coach, 92

  Yen minting commenced, 253

  Yokohama Foreign Cemetery, 97, 200

  Yokohama United Club, 184

  Yoshiwara licenced quarters, 223, 295

  Other TUT BOOKS available:

  BACHELOR'S HAWAII by Boye de Mente

  BACHELOR'S JAPAN by Boye de Mente

  BACHELOR'S MEXICO by Boye de Mente

  A BOOK OF NEW ENGLAND LEGENDS AND FOLK LORE by Samuel Adams Drake

  THE BUDDHA TREE by Fumio Niwa; translated by Kenneth Strong

  CALABASHES AND KINGS: An Introduction to Hawaii by Stanley D. Porteus

  CHINA COLLECTING IN AMERICA by Alice Morse Earle

  CHINESE COOKING MADE EASY by Rosy Tseng

  CHOI OI!: The Lighter Side of Vietnam by Tony Zidek

  CONFUCIUS SAY by Leo Shaw

  THE COUNTERFEITER and Other Stories by Yasushi Inoue; translated by Leon Picon

  CURIOUS PUNISHMENTS OF BYGONE DAYS

  by Alice Morse Earle

 

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