Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1875 — A Mammoth Japanese Idol. [ARTICLE]

A Mammoth Japanese Idol.

A correspondent of the New York Tribune thus writes from Japan : We started from Yokohama at 5:30 in the morning, a party of sit, in what is called here a traveling carriage—a hardseated, stiff-springed vehicle, but one strong and well fitted for rough country roads. We jolted along tor nine miles before stopping for breakfast, the road for that distance running through small villages that were so close together that they really formed one long, straggling town, having districts bearing different names. The houses are mostly mean and dirty, and a state of almost complete nudity is the prevailing habit of both sexes. At Totska, one of these many villages, we halted at a tea-house to refresh ourselves for the long journey still before us. In making these country trips it is necessary to go well provided with eatables, as the tea-houses supply only Japanese “ chow,” snch as teh, rice, eggs and fish, the last being served in such a state of decomposition as to disgust even the hungriest traveler. So we only accepted the plates and bowls offejed us by the young girls of the house, aijd settled ourselves in comfort on the floor-mats, while our servant prepared and we ate a civilized meal. Then into our carriage again and on to Katase, beyond which the roads are too narrow and rough for carriages to pass. The drive so far was little diversified in scenery, and rather uninteresting ;though I must except the amusement derived from the beggars by the roadside, for whom we had provided a number of “tempos”—copper coins of somewhat less vahe than our pennies. These beggars, some of them real objects of pity, owing to their deformities, knelt in the most supplicating attitudes, and the scramble among them the “ tempos” we threw in passing was laughable to witness. At Katase jinrikshas were necessary for the completion of our journey, and here its real interest began. After leaving the village our course for over a mile was along a lovely sea beach—the finest one I have ever seen. It had a stretch of soft, shining sand two or three times the width of that at Newport. The roll of our jinrikshas over this and the gentle murmur of the surf in our ears made a charming contrast to the thorough shaking-up we had previously undergone. From this beach we turned abruptly up a narrow road leading inland, and along this we were jolted for several miles. These coolies never abate their speed for such trifles as mud-holes, ditches or other obstacles in the road. They jump lightly over the holes or ditches, carrying with them the jinrikshas, the occupants of which are supposed to look out for themselves. This ride brought us within a short distance, of the object of our trip, namely, a sight of Daibutz, the largest and most famous of the many gods of Japan. This idol is in the midst of a plain, once the site of a large city. Now it is surrounded only by a thin grove of trees, which have outlived the more perishable temples and shrines once included in these sacred grounds, and of the city only the small, straggling village of Kamakura remains. The approach to' the statue is by a broad walk of flagstones, and I almost dreaded the moment when it would be in full view, for fear of a disappointment with regard to its wonders, of which I had heard so much. But a single glance dispelled the idea, for its size and grandeur were far beyond what I had pictured in my mind. Daibutz, meaning the “ Great Buddha,” is about seventy feet in height, entirely of bronze, and represents the god in his usual state of profound repose, sitting cross-legged, the eyes closed and hands clasped, with thumb-nails meeting. It rests upon a stone foundation and in front of it upon a stone altar are two large bronze vases, each containing blossoms and leaves of the lotos, a sacred plant cf the Buddhists, perfectly carved in bronze, and in front of both is the inevitable cash-box. Climbing up the folds of the god’s garment, which form safe foot-holds for some distance, we sat down on his immense thumbs, and some idea may be formed ot the size of this statue by the fact that three grown persons can sit comfortably on one thumb, between its end and second joint. This majestic idol, perfect in its proportions and sublime in its expression of an eternity of repose, was placed in its present position many centuries ago—so many that the exact date of its erection is unknown. Two wire-guarded windows are cut in the back near the shoulders, and a door cut on one side admits visitors. Here we found a goodsized room with imagesof various saints on two rough altars, and incense burning before them. Cut in the wood-work of the altars and written in Japanese ink anywhere and everywhere about this interior of the statue were mnu nierable names and addresses of visitors, most of them, I regret to say, of our own countrymenThis name-writing propensity of Americans never appeared to me more obnoxious than on this occasion, when I saw an object that had been revered by generations of people desecrated by the puerile vanity of travelers. We took jinrikshas back to a tea-house in Kamakura, where we had a substantial lunch. Then.retracing the road previously traveled we had another pleasant drive over the sea-beach, the waves now dashing ‘over the legs of our coolies and sending refreshing showers of spray into outfaces. Children entirely naked ran after us, begging for “tempos” in such a. winning manner that we -would have found it hard to resist them if we had wished to do so, for their requests were always prefaced by charming iittle courtesies and the salutation “ Ohayo,” or “ Good morning.”