Unbeaten Tracks In Japan

Bird, Isabella Bird

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781317727330
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

The author's account of travelling through Japan in 1878. This is a narrative of travels in Japan communicated via letters. First published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

INDEX.

ABUKAWA, 173; village forge, 173.

Abuta, Aino village, 306.

Adzuma bridge, 22.

Agano river, 102.

Aganokawa river, 120.

A Hiogo Buddha, 272.

Aidzu mountains, 103; plain, 106.

Aino farmhouse, 204; storehouses, 223, 247; lodges, 224; chief, 233 et seq. house, 234; millet-mill and pestle, 238; patriarch, 258; gods, 265; urns, 265, 266; house, plan of, 267.

AINOS, the hairy, 225; superb-looking, 232; huts, life in, 234, 235 at home, 235; model villages, 237; hospitality, 237, 278; politeness, 239, 250; witch-like woman, 239; reverence for age, 240; salutation, 240, 279; truthfulness, 240; chief’s wife, 242, 243; children, 244, 260; tenderness to a sick child, 245; occupations, 247, 248; women, 248, 258, 259; Pipichari, 249, 287; sick woman, 250, 251; fear of Japanese Government, 251; shrine, 252; handsome chief, 253; qualities, 254; no history, 255; physique, 255; of Yezo, 256; European resemblances, 257; savage look, 257; height, 257; tattooing, 259, 260; children, obedience of, 261; clothing, 262; jewellery, 263; houses, 263–265; household gods, 265; Japanesecurios, 265, 266; mats, 268; food, 268; bows and arrows, 269; arrow-traps, 269, 270; weaving, 271; no religion, 273; libations, 274; recitation, 275; solitary act of sacrifice, 275; bear-worship, 275; Festival of the Bear, 275, 277; ideas of a future state, 277; social customs, 277, 278; marriage and divorce, 278; amusements, 279; musical instruments, 279; manners, 279; health, 279, 280; intoxication, 280; uncleanly habits, 280; office of chief, 281; eldest son, 281; dread of snakes, 282; fear of death, 282; appearance of old men, 283; domestic life, 284.

Ainos, coast, 304, 305; Lebungé, 313.

Akayu, 132; horse fair, 132; sulphur springs, 134; bathing sheds, 134; yadoya, 134.

Akita farm-house, 204.

A kuruma, 35.

A lady’s mirror, 201.

A Lake Biwa tea-house, 20.

Amado, or wooden shutters, 71.

Amainu, or heavenly dogs, 27.

Andon, the, or native ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Preface
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Letter I. First View of Japan—A Vision of Fufisan—Japanese Sampans—“Pullman Cars”—Undignified Locomotion—Paper Money—The Drawbacks of Japanese Travelling
• Letter II. Sir Harry Parkes—An “Ambassador’s Carriage”—Cart Coolies
• Letter III. Yedo and Tôkiyô—The Yokohama Railroad—The Effect of Misfits—The Plain of Yedo—Personal Peculiarities—First Impressions of Tôkiyô—H. B. M. ’s Legation—An English Home
• Letter IV. “John Chinaman”—Engaging a Servant—First Impressions of Ito—A Solemn Contract—The Food Question
• Letter V. Kwan-non Temple—Uniformity of Temple Architecture—A Kuruma Expedition—A Perpetual Festival—The Ni-ô—The Limbo of Vanity—Heathen Prayers—Binzuru—A Group of Devils—Archery Galleries—New Japan—An Élégante
• Letter VI. Fears—Travelling Equipments—Passports—Coolie Costume—A Yedo Diorama—Rice-Fields—Tea-Houses—A Traveller’s Reception—The Inn at Kasukabé—Lack of Privacy—A Concourse of Noises—A Nocturnal Alarm—A Vision of Policemen—A Budget from Yedo
• Letter VI.—(Continued.) A Coolie falls ill—Peasant Costume—Varieties in Threshing—The Tochigi Yadoya—Farming Villages—A Beautiful Region—An In Memoriam Avenue—A Doll’s Street—Nikkô—The Journey’s End—Coolie Kindliness
• Letter VII. A Japanese Idyll—Musical Stillness—My Rooms—Floral Decorations—Kanaya and his Household—Table Equipments
• Letter VIII The Beauties of Nikkô—The Burial of Iyéyasu—The Approach to the Great Shrines—The Yomei Gate—Gorgeous Decorations—Simplicity of the Mausoleum—The Shrine of Iyémitsu—Religious Art of Japan and India—An Earthquake—Beauties of Wood-carving
• Letter IX. A Japanese Pack-Horse and Pack-Saddle—Yadoya and Attendant—A Native Watering-Place—The Sulphur Baths—A “Squeeze”
• Letter X. Peaceful Monotony—A Japanese School—A Dismal Ditty—Punishment—A Children’s Party—A Juvenile Belle—Female Names—A Juvenile Drama—Needlework—Caligraphy—Arranging Flowers—Kanaya—Daily Routine—An Evening’s Entertainment—Planning Routes—The God-shelf
• Letter X.—(Continued.) Darkness visible—Nikkô Shops—Girls and Matrons—Night and Sleep—Parental Love—Childish Docility—Hair-dressing—Skin Diseases
• Letter X.—(Completed.) Shops and Shopping—The Barber’s Shop—A Paper Waterproof—Ito’s Vanity—Preparations for the Journey—Transport and Prices—Money and Measurements
• Letter XI. Comfort disappears—Fine Scenery—An Alarm—A Farm-house—An unusual Costume—Bridling a Horse—Female Dress and Ugliness—Babies—My Mago—Beauties of the Kinugawa—Fujihara—My Servant—Horse-shoes—An absurd Mistake
• Letter XII. A Fantastic Jumble—The “Quiver” of Poverty—The Water-shed—From Bad to Worse—The Rice Planter’s Holiday—A Diseased Crowd—Amateur Doctoring—Want of Cleanliness—Rapid Eating—Premature Old Age
• Letter XII.—(Concluded.) A Japanese Ferry—A Corrugated Road—The Pass of Sanno—Various Vegetation—An Unattractive Undergrowth—Preponderance of Men
• Letter XIII. The Plain of Wakamatsu—Light Costume—The Takata Crowd—A Congress of Schoolmasters—Timidity of a Crowd—Bad Roads—Vicious Horses—Mountain Scenery—A Picturesque Inn—Swallowing a Fish-bone—Poverty and Suicide—An Inn-kitchen—England Unknown!—My Breakfast Disappears
• Letter XIV. An Infamous Road—Monotonous Greenery—Abysmal Dirt—Low Lives—The Tsugawa Yadoya—Politeness—A Shipping Port—A “Barbarian Devil.”
• Letter XV. A Hurry—The Tsugawa Packet-boat—Running the Rapids—Fantastic Scenery—The River-life—Vineyards—Drying Barley—Summer Silence—The Outskirts of Niigata—The Church Mission House
• Letter XVI. Abominable Weather—Insect Pests—Absence of Foreign Trade—A Refractory River—Progress—The Japanese City—Water Highways—Niigata Gardens—Ruth Fyson—The Winter Climate—A Population in Wadding
• Letter XVII. The Canal-side at Niigata—Awful Loneliness—Courtesy—Dr. Palm’s Tandem—A Noisy Matsuri—A Jolting Journey—The Mountain Villages—Winter Dismalness—An Out-of-the-world Hamlet—Crowded Dwellings—Riding a Cow—“Drunk and Disorderly”—An Enforced Rest—Local Discouragements—Heavy Loads—Absence of Beggary—Slow Travelling
• Letter XVIII. Comely Kine—Japanese Criticism on a Foreign Usage—A Pleasant Halt—Renewed Courtesies—The Plain of Yonezawa—A Curious Mistake—The Mother’s Memorial—Arrival at Komatsu—Stately Accommodation—A Vicious Horse—An Asiatic Arcadia—A Fashionable Watering-place—A Belle—“Godowns.”
• Letter XIX. Prosperity—Convict Labour—A New Bridge—Yamagata—Intoxicating Forgeries—The Government Buildings—Bad Manners—Snow Mountains—A Wretched Town
• Letter XX. The Effect of a Chicken—Poor Fare—Slow Travelling—Objects of Interest—Kakké—The Fatal Close—A Great Fire—Secutity of the Kuras
• Letter XX.—(Continued.) Lunch in Public—A Grotesque Accident—Police Inquiries—Man or Woman?—A Melancholy Stare—A Vicious Horse—An Ill-favoured Town—A Disappointment—A Torii
• Letter XX.—(Concluded.) A Casual Invitation—A Ludicrous Incident—Politeness of a Policeman—A Comfortless Sunday—An Outrageous Irruption—A Privileged Stare
• Letter XXI. The Necessity of Firmness—Perplexing Misrepresentations—Gliding with the Stream—Suburban Residences—The Kubota Hospital—A Formal Reception—The Normal School
• Letter XXII. A Silk Factory—Employment for Women—A Police Escort—The Japanese Police Force
• Letter XXIII. “A Plague of Immoderate Rain “—A Confidential Servant—Ito’s Diary—Ito’s Excellences—Ito’s Faults—A Prophecy of the Future of Japan—Curious Queries—Superfine English—Economical Travelling—The Japanese Pack-horse again
• Letter XXIV. The Symbolism of Seaweed—Afternoon Visitors—An Infant Prodigy—A Feat in Caligraphy—Child Worship—A Borrowed Dress—A Trousseau—House Furniture—The Marriage Ceremony
• Letter XXV. A Holiday Scene—A Matsuri—Attractions of the Revel—Matsuri Cars—Gods and Demons—A Possible Harbour—A Village Forge—Prosperity of Saké Brewers—A “Great Sight”
• Letter XXVI. The Fatigues of Travelling—Torrents and Mud—Ito's Surliness—The Blind Shampooers—A Supposed Monkey Theatre—A Suspended Ferry—A Difficult Transit—Perils on the Yonetsurugawa—A Boatman Drowned—Nocturnal Disturbances—A Noisy Yadoya—Storm-boundTravellers—Hai! Hai!—More Nocturnal Disturbances
• Letter XXVII. Good-tempered Intoxication—The Effect of Sunshine—A tedious Altercation—Evening Occupations—Noisy Talk—Social Gatherings—Unfair Comparisons
• Letter XXVIII. Torrents of Rain—An unpleasant Detention—Devastations produced by Floods—The Yadate Pass—The Force of Water—Difficulties thicken—A Primitive Yadoya—The Water rises
• Letter XXVIII.—(Continued.) Scanty Resources—Japanese Children—Children’s Games—A Sagacious Example—A Kite Competition—Personal Privations
• Letter XXIX. Hope deferred—Effects of the Flood—Activity of the Police—A Ramble in Disguise—The Tanabata Festival—Mr. Satow’s Reputation
• Letter XXX. A Lady’s Toilet—Hair-dressing—Paint and Cosmetics—Afternoon Visitors—Christian Converts
• Letter XXXI. A Travelling Curiosity—Rude Dwellings—Primitive Simplicity—The Public Bath-house
• Letter XXXII. A Hard Day’s Journey—An Overturn—Nearing the Ocean—Joyful Excitement—Universal Greyness—Inopportune Policemen—A Stormy Voyage—A Wild Welcome—A Windy Landing—The Journey’s End
• Letter XXXIII. Form and Colour—A Windy Capital—Eccentricities in House Roofs
• Letter XXXIV. Ito’s Delinquency—“Missionary Manners”—A Predicted Failure
• Letter XXXV. A Lovely Sunset—An Official Letter—A “Front Horse”—Japanese Courtesy—The Steam Ferry—Coolies Abscond—A Team of Savages—A Drove of Horses—Floral Beauties—An Unbeaten Track—A Ghostly Dwelling—Solitude and Eeriness
• Letter XXXV.—(Continued.) The Harmonies of Nature—A Good Horse—A Single Discord—A Forest—Aino Ferrymen—“Les Puces! Les Puces!”—Baffled Explorers—Ito’s Contempt for Ainos—An Aino Introduction
• Letter XXXVI. Savage Life—A Forest Track—Cleanly Villages—A Hospitable Reception—The Chief’s Mother—The Evening Meal—A Savage Séance—Libations to the Gods—Nocturnal Silence—Aino Courtesy—The Chief’s Wife
• Letter XXXVI.—(Continued.) A Supposed Act of Worship—Parental Tenderness—Morning Visits—Wretched Cultivation—Honesty and Generosity—A “Dug-out”—Female Occupations—The Ancient Fate—A New Arrival—A Perilous Prescription—The Shrine of Yoshitsuné—The Chief’s Return
• Letter XXXVII. Barrenness of Savage Life—Irreclaimable Savages—The Aino Physique—Female Comeliness—Torture and Ornament—Child Life—Docility and Obedience
• Letter XXXVII.—(Continued.) Aino Clothing—Holiday Dress—Domestic Architecture—Household Gods—Japanese Curios—The Necessaries of Life—Clay Soup—Arrow Poison—Arrow-Traps—Female Occupations—Bark Cloth—The Art of Weaving
• Letter XXXVII.—(Continued.) A Simple Nature-Worship—Aino Gods—A Festival Song—Religious Intoxication—Bear-Worship—The Annual Saturnalia—The Future State—Marriage and Divorce—Musical Instruments—Etiquette—The Chieftainship—Death and Burial—Old Age—Moral Qualities
• Letter XXXVIII. A Parting Gift—A Delicacy—Generosity—A Seaside Village—Pipichari’s Advice—A Drunken Revel—Ito’s Prophecies—The Kôchô’s Illness—Patent Medicines
• Letter XXXIX. A Welcome Gift—Recent Changes—Volcanic Phenomena—Interesting Tufa Cones—Semi-strangulation—A Fall into a Bear-trap—The Shiraôi Ainos—Horsebreaking and Cruelty
• Letter XXXIX.—(Continued.) The Universal Language—The Yezo Corrals—A “Typhoon Rain “—Difficult Tracks—An Unenviable Ride—Drying Clothes—A Woman’s Remorse
• Letter XL. “More than Peace”—Geographical Difficulties—Usu-taki—Swimming the Osharu—A Dream of Beauty—A Sunset Effect—A Nocturnal Alarm—The Coast Ainos
• Letter XL.—(Continued.) The Sea-shore—A “Hairy Aino”—A Horse Fight—The Horses of Yezo—“Bad Mountains”—A Slight Accident—Magnificent Scenery—A Bleached Halting-Place—A Musty Room—Aino “Good-breeding.”
• Letter XLI. A Group of Fathers—The Lebungé Ainos—The Salisburia adiantifolia—A Family Group—The Missing Link—Oshamambé—Disorderly Horses—The River Yurapu—The Seaside—Aino Canoes—The Last Morning—Dodging Europeans
• Letter XLII. Pleasant Last Impressions—The Japanese Junk—Ito Disappears—My Letter of Thanks
• Letter XLIII. Pleasant Prospects—A Miserable Disappointment—Caught in a Typhoon—A Dense Fog—Alarmist Rumours—A Welcome at Tôkiyô—The Last of the Mutineers
• Letter XLIV. Fine Weather—Cremation in Japan—The Governor of Tôkiyô—An Awkward Question—An Insignificant Building—Economy in Funeral Expenses—Simplicity of the Cremation Process—The Last of Japan
• Index