The Four Corners in Japan

by Amy Ella Blanchard

  CHAPTER V

  AN EVENING SHOW

  "Speaking of dolls," said Mr. Montell to Nan, when they all met atdinner, "we Westerners have no idea of their value nor of the sentimentwith which they are regarded here in Japan. Did you know that there wasonce a doll so human that it ran out of a house which had caught onfire?"

  "Oh, Mr. Montell!" Nan looked her incredulity.

  "If you don't believe it I refer you to that wonderful writer uponJapan, Lafcadio Hearn. It is a belief in this country that aftergenerations of care and devotion, certain dolls acquire a soul; as alittle girl told Mr. Hearn, 'they do when you love them enough.'"

  "I think that is perfectly charming," cried Nan. "Tell me somethingmore about the dolls. We were deeply interested in those we saw thisafternoon, but we hadn't time to examine them all to see if there wereany among them who had gained a soul through love. Have you been to aDoll Festival, Mr. Montell?"

  "Oh, yes, and to several other festivals, for I have been here sincethe first of January."

  "And which was the first festival you saw?"

  "The feast of the New Year which lasts about two weeks. It is somethinglike our Christmas holiday lengthened out, for during the whole monthevery one wears his, or her, best clothes, gifts are exchanged, andthere is much visiting back and forth; besides, the Japanese homesoverflow with dainties, at least with what they consider dainties.There is a cake made of rice flour, and called _mochi_, which isn'thalf bad."

  "I rather like the rice cakes, and I have always liked rice, but whenit comes to raw fish and such things I draw the line. Imagine seeing aperfectly good live fish brought to the table and then seeing your hostcalmly carve slices from its writhing sides! Ugh! I hate even to thinkof it. Were you ever present when such a thing was done?"

  "Yes, I was on one occasion, and I cannot say that the vision increasedmy appetite. I had the good fortune to be given letters of introductionto one or two prominent Japanese families and have been able to seesomething of the home life of the people. It is really charming whenyou know it. I never knew a more beautiful hospitality, nor a sweeterspirit of gentleness shown."

  "They do seem a happy race, for they are perpetually smiling."

  "And yet we would think the lot of most a most unhappy one."

  "Except the children's and some of the old people's. I have beenshocked to see what terrible burdens some of the poor old women carry.I had an impression that all old people in Japan were revered and weretreated as something very precious."

  "On general principles it is so, but among the lower classes the womenare treated with little respect and have duties imposed upon them whichmake one fairly groan to think of."

  "I have learned that women have not a price above rubies in this land,although they are much more fascinating than I imagined. Mrs. Otamurais the most delicate, doll-like little creature, really very pretty andwith such an exquisitely gracious and graceful manner. That reminds meagain of the dolls. Is it real food they offer them? I wasn't quitesure and I didn't like to ask."

  "Oh, yes, it is real rice and _sake_ and all that which you probablysaw. It is a great pleasure to the little girls to set a meal beforetheir dolls whenever one is served to themselves."

  "Such beautiful little lacquered and china sets of dishes they were,too; I felt like playing with them myself. When is there anotherfestival, Mr. Montell?"

  "I think the feast of the Cherry Blossoms will be the next importantone, but there are little shows all the time, small temple festivalsrather like a fair, such as one sees in Europe in the small towns."

  "And can one buy things at them?"

  Mr. Montell laughed. "The difficulty will be not to buy, for you willbe pestered with persistent venders of all sorts of wares."

  "We bought such a funny lot of little bodyless dolls to-day; we feltthat we must have some, such dear little faces with downcast eyes andsuch a marvelous arrangement of hair. They were only five _rin_ apiece.I am just learning the value of the coins, and only learned to-day thatthere was such a thing as a _mon_. I have it written on the tablets ofmy memory that ten _mon_ make a _rin_ and ten _rin_ make a _sen_. Fiverin, then, is about half a cent, so our dollies are very cheap."

  "I recognize your little doll at once; she is O-Hina-San. You see herfrequently, though, as you may have observed, no O-Hina-San looksexactly like another."

  "Well, at all events she is a very cunning little person. I amsurprised to find what cheap and pretty things one can buy for so verylittle. Don't you think that in the countries where there are coinsof such small denominations one can always find cheaper things than athome? When I am in Europe I always think twice before spending fivecentimes and twenty-five seem a whole great big lot, yet they representonly five cents of our money, and who hesitates to spend a nickel? Ifwe had mills as well as cents I believe it would soon reduce the priceof things."

  Mr. Montell laughed. "That is a theory to present to our politicaleconomists who are trying to get at the cause of the high price ofliving. Will you write an article on the subject? I might place it foryou."

  Nan shook her head. "No, indeed. I will present you with the idea andyou can work it up for your paper. I could do better with an article onthe Doll Festival. Dear me, why didn't I come to Japan before I leftcollege? I love that theory of their gaining souls, and, indeed, someare so lifelike that it is hard to believe they are not alive, and someof them that we saw were over a hundred years old."

  "You know the dolls are never thrown away, but are given somethinglike honorable obsequies. The very, very old ones must, in due courseof time, become hopeless wrecks. They are not exactly buried, but aregiven to the god _Kojin_. A mixed person is _Kojin_, being neither aShinto nor a Buddhist deity. A tree is planted near the shrine wherehe lives, and sometimes the poor old worn-out doll is laid at the footof the tree, sometimes on the shrine; but if the tree happens to behollow, inside goes dolly."

  "Isn't it all entertaining and surprising?" returned Nan. "I supposeyou have seen and have learned many wonderful things."

  "More than I hoped to. I am going further up into the country after awhile, for in the isolated districts one can get at some very curiouscustoms which have not become modified by modern invasion."

  "Just as it is in Spain or any other country which is nottourist-ridden."

  "I am wondering if there may not be a temple festival to-night; I willinquire. If there is we must all go, for it is something that everyforeigner should see."

  "An evening affair, is it?"

  "Yes, and for that reason the more interesting, to my mind."

  "Do you hear that?" Nan turned to the others. "Mr. Montell is going topilot us all to an evening street show, a temple festival. Won't it befine?"

  "Is it this evening?" Miss Helen inquired. "If it is I am afraid youwill have to count me out, for I have about used up my strength forto-day."

  "Even after having had a reinforcement of food?" inquired Nan.

  "It won't prevent your going, dear child," said Miss Helen. "You knowwe agreed that we were not going to stand on the order of our going andcoming, and that any one who felt inclined should always be at libertyto drop out of any expedition she felt disinclined to make."

  "I think you young people would better undertake the show," put in Mrs.Craig. "Nell and Neal can chaperon you all, and we elders can stay athome and keep one another company. I have seen temple shows galore, soI shall lose nothing."

  This was agreed upon, and they all arose from the table, separatinginto groups, the younger people going to the front to look out upon thepassing crowd, while Miss Helen and Mrs. Craig seated themselves for atalk over the plans for the following day.

  Mr. Montell went off to make his inquiries. Nan and Eleanor Hardingpaced up and down the corridors, leaving Mary Lee with Mr. Harding.

  "We don't know a thing about Tokyo," said Mary Lee addressing hercompanion. "What is the name of this street, for instance?"

  "It is a part of the great Tokiado Road which is three hun
dred mileslong."

  "Gracious!" exclaimed Mary Lee. "Where does it end?"

  "It goes from Tokyo to Kioto and passes through many towns. It isreally a wonderful trip from one city to the other."

  "Have you taken it?"

  "Yes, I went with a party of six."

  "How did you travel?"

  "By _jinrikisha_."

  "Dear me, all that distance?"

  "Yes, indeed. The runners can travel six or seven miles an hour,sometimes even as much as eight, and it is really a most agreeable wayto go, for one has a chance of seeing the country as he would in noother way, unless he walked."

  "I wish we could do it."

  "There is no reason why you shouldn't. If you are good walkers you canrelieve the monotony by getting out once in a while; we did whenever wefelt inclined, and over the mountains it was a distinct advantage."

  "I am afraid that wouldn't appeal to Aunt Helen particularly. She isnot so ready as she used to be to endure discomfort, and we shallprobably have enough of that if we keep on beaten tracks. There arewonders in abundance to be found without doing any terrific stunts, andI reckon we may as well keep to them."

  "How long had you planned to stay?"

  "Oh, I don't know. We haven't planned at all. We will stay till wethink it is time to go. I suppose we shall get homesick for mother andthe twinnies in course of time."

  "You'd better do as much of your sightseeing as possible before therainy season begins."

  "And when may we expect that it will?"

  "It is liable to start in almost any time during the spring, butusually extends through late spring and early summer."

  Just here Mr. Montell returned with the news that he was correct in hissurmise and that there would be a night festival in another part of thecity. "It is over by ten o'clock," he told them, "so we'd better be offif we want to enjoy it."

  The girls rushed to their rooms to prepare themselves for the outingwhile the young men hunted up the _jinrikishas_ which were to take themto the spot.

  "We shall be tired enough after an hour in that jostling crowd," Mr.Montell replied when it was proposed by the girls that they shouldwalk one way.

  "And besides," put in Mary Lee, "we have been going all day, and wemust not get tired out in the very beginning, for we want to save upfor all the rest there is to see."

  So off they set in the _jinrikishas_, to arrive at last before thetemple which was supposed to occasion the gathering of the crowd whichjostled and clattered within a small radius. Just now it was at itsgreatest. At first the arriving party merely stood still to see thevarying scene. A few turned to look at the foreigners, but such wereby no means rare in this huge city and they did not arouse as great aninterest as did the booths and the flower show.

  "Isn't it the weirdest sight?" said Nan to Mr. Harding who had her incharge while Mary Lee and Eleanor were under the care of Mr. Montell.

  "It is certainly different from anything we have at home," he returned."Shall we see the flowers first? I think we may as well move with thecrowd, as it will be easier than standing still where one is liable tobe shoved and pushed about."

  They slowly made their way toward the spot where there was amagnificent display of flowering plants, young trees, and shrubs liningboth sides of the streets. The only lights were those of torches,which flickered in the wind, and of gay paper lanterns swung aloft.

  "Before you attempt to buy anything," Mr. Harding said, "let me warnyou not to pay the price first asked. The system of jewing down is theorder of things here and you will be cheated out of your eyes if youdon't beat down your man."

  "I am afraid I don't know enough of the language to do anything morethan pay what they ask, unless you will consent to do the bargaining,that is, if your proficiency in the language will allow."

  "I think I can manage that much," he replied cheerfully.

  Nan paused before a beautiful dwarf wisteria. "What wouldn't I give tohave that at home," she said, "but when one considers that it wouldhave to be toted six thousand miles, it doesn't encourage one to add itto one's impedimenta. I am already aware that I shall have the hugestsort of collection to take home with me, and my sister is continuallywarning me not to buy everything I see. I think, however, I shall haveto get just one little lot of cut flowers to take back to Aunt Helen.Oh, those are cherry blossoms, aren't they? The dear pinky lovelythings! I shall have to get a branch of those". They paused before thebeautiful collection of plants and flowers whose charms were being madeknown vociferously by the flower dealer. Foreigners are easy prey ofcourse, so at once the price was put up beyond all reason.

  Mr. Harding shook his head. "Too much," he said in the vernacular,and immediately the price dropped perceptibly, but it required morehaggling before it came within the limits of reason. But finally Nanbore off her treasure in triumph, holding it carefully above the headsof the crowd. This was rather an easy matter as she was much tallerthan the general run of those who constituted the throng, and more thanonce was regarded with amusement. She could not leave the flower show,however, without one more purchase, this time a beautiful little dwarftree in full flower, for Mrs. Craig, "who," explained Nan, "has a placeto keep it."

  Mr. Harding assumed the responsibility of carrying this purchase, and,leaving the flowers, they pressed their way toward the booths wheremyriads of toys were for sale. "Things unlike anything in the heavensabove or the earth beneath or the waters under the earth," exclaimedNan pausing before a booth which attracted her and which was surroundedby children looking with eager longing at the toys. Most of them, tobe sure, would be certain not to go home empty-handed, for the parentsof these were seldom too poor to spend half a cent to please a child.But there was one little pale-faced creature with the inevitable babyon her back who did seem destitute of a _sen_ or even a _rin_.

  "There is an example of womanhood's burdens," said Mr. Harding,watching the slight figure in its gay kimono. "The little girls areseldom without a baby on their backs, it seems to me; no wonder theylook old and bent and wizened before their time, yet they are the mostcheerful, laughing creatures in the world, and do not seem to mindbeing weighted down with a baby any more than American children wouldwith a hat."

  "But this seems a particularly small girl and a particularly big andlusty baby," returned Nan, eyeing the little motherly creature. "Do yousuppose I might make her a present? I wonder what she would like bestof anything on this stall."

  "Shall I ask her?"

  "Oh, will you?"

  Mr. Harding put the question, but beyond the answering smile, therewas no reply from the shy little maid, though her interest in theforeigners was immediately awakened.

  "There is a lovely O-Hina-San," whispered Nan. "Do you suppose shewould like that?"

  "I am sure it wouldn't come amiss, and would be worth the guess."

  "Then I will get it at the risk of a whole half cent." She laid downher five _rin_ and took up the queer little figure, a flat stickcovered with a gay kimono made of paper, and surmounted by a prettylittle head. Nan held out the gift smilingly, but the little girllooked at her wonderingly, making no effort to take it. Nan opened thesmall fingers and clasped them around the doll. The child smiled andlooked at Mr. Harding.

  "For you," said he in the child's own language.

  The smile brightened and down went the child, unmindful of the baby,her head touching earth while her tongue was unloosened to say "Arigatogozaimasu," which meant "honorable thanks."

  "Now I must get something for the baby," declared Nan; "that is, ifI can get any idea of what these things are for. There is a mostfascinating red and blue monkey clasping a stick; that strikes me asappropriate. Will you ask how much it is?"

  Mr. Harding put the question. "One-eighth of a cent," he told her, "andthis is 'Saru,' the 'Honorable Monkey'; why honorable, I cannot say."

  The toy dealer picked up one of these toys, pressed a spring and lo!the monkey ran up the stick. "I must have him. All that for one-eighthof a cent! Surely this is a Para
dise for children." She placed themonkey in the baby's little fat hand. He regarded it gravely, but hislittle sister again prostrated herself to offer her "honorable thanks,"and rising, looked at Nan with as adoring an expression as her smallwan face could assume.

  "And all for less than a cent," said Nan. "I should like to spend therest of the evening buying toys for these poor little mother-sisters. Icould buy thousands for a dollar."

  But by now the little girl had moved away, probably to go home with thewonderful tale of the foreign lady, who had given her an experiencewhich was quite as delightful as the presents themselves; and Nan withher escort followed along with the crowd, stopping to examine the toysand have their meaning explained whenever possible.

  "Many of these toys have a religious meaning," Mr. Harding told her."All these queer little images represent some god. Fukusuke looks likea jolly sort of a boy, and Uzume who is the god of laughter, I takeit, is a most merry personage. That one with a fish under his arm isEbisu, the god of markets and of fishermen."

  Seeing their interest, the dealer picked up a figure representing ahare sitting on a sort of handle of what Nan took to be a bowl of somesort. "Usagi-no-kometsuki," said the man.

  "Aha! this is Hare-in-the-Moon," exclaimed Mr. Harding. "He is cleaninghis rice."

  "Oh, is that what the pestle is for? I have seen them cleaning rice;they do it by stepping on the handle."

  "The next time you see the moon, look up and try to discoverUsagi-no-kometsuki. Will you allow me to present him to you?" He boughtthe little toy and handed it over to Nan who laughingly accepted it,and they went on past the booths showing more toys, or sometimes quaintlittle ornaments, strange compounds of confections or fans, goldfishand such things, all entertaining enough to one unaccustomed to such adisplay.

  Presently the crowd began to thin out, the torches flickereduncertainly, paper lanterns bobbed off in different directions asindividuals took their way home; the clatter of the wooden clogs grewless noticeable. Nan suddenly came to a realizing sense that the showwas over "Oh, is it time to go?" she asked. "I wonder where the othersare. We have not once seen them. I forgot everything in my interest inthe show."

  Her companion smiled. "It is easy to see that you are a person whohas not worn out her enthusiasms," he said. "We will hunt up a_jinrikisha_, if you say so, for the flower dealers are packing uptheir wares, and it is after ten o'clock."

  Stowed away in a _jinrikisha_, they were borne away from the fastdimming scene, and after what seemed a labyrinthine journey throughstrange streets they stopped at the door of the hotel.

  CHAPTER VIAT KAMAKURA]