A Fantasy of Far Japan Part 16

They were discovered when a real j.a.panese addressed them in his language, to which they were unable to reply. I have heard of another incident which took place in a town in the north of England. A foreigner, professing himself to be a j.a.panese, tried to take an apartment. The landlady, who had had some j.a.panese lodgers before, somewhat suspected the nationality of the man from his way of bargaining for the rent. She asked a j.a.panese to call in on her, and the foreigner was soon discovered to be a European whose nationality belonged to a country where the climate is very hot, and whose complexion alone bore resemblance to the j.a.panese.'

--'What is the j.a.panese climate like?' asked another.

--'Well, that is a question I am asked so often. You see j.a.pan is a long, narrow country running from north to south-west; therefore, if you take the northern and southern extremities, there is much difference of climate, but as to j.a.pan proper, that is to say, the middle part, the climate does not much differ from yours. The lat.i.tude there is much lower than England or France. The lat.i.tude of London is fifty-one degrees, one minute north; that of Paris, forty-eight degrees, fifty minutes north; whilst that of Yokohama, which is the port of Tokio, and about twenty miles south of the latter, is thirty-five degrees, twenty-six minutes; and, therefore, people taking an a.n.a.logy from Egypt or Algeria often wrongly imagine that j.a.pan is a tropical land, but it is not so. We have our seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, at the same time as you. We have snow, frost, even hailstones, much similar to you. We have occasional rain and showers also, as you have, or perhaps a little more frequent. We have a rainy season in June, although we do not have so much fog as in England. The weather is generally fine; our summer lasts longer than yours, and is somewhat hotter, but not so hot as people generally imagine. Our autumn lasts longer and is finer than yours, because you seem to jump almost from summer to winter, and winter to summer. In fact, in j.a.pan, we almost doubt which is the better season of the year, spring or autumn. In autumn, in many parts of the country, almost all the foliage, as well as the maples, turn to all shades of red and scarlet intermingled with yellow. It is the result of the brilliant sun s.h.i.+ning on the frosted leaves--a grand sight, which you seem not to have in this quarter of the world.'

--'The chrysanthemums are also very fine too, I think,' said another.

--'Yes, but in that respect we cannot now boast so much, as it is cultivated so extensively in the West, and the blossoms are, as a rule, much bigger than ours. Everywhere in society nowadays chrysanthemums are plentifully used for table decorations. Indeed, people say the introduction of that flower was a great boon to the florists of Europe, as the chrysanthemum season happens to fall just at a time when the scarcity of flowers is most felt. There is, however, one difference in its cultivation between the Occidental and j.a.panese horticulturists. The latter strive to keep all the leaves fresh and green from the bottom of the stalk to the top, which is no easy matter, and do not trouble to produce very large blossoms, but in the West the size of the flower appears to be almost the only care, in consequence of which I have seen almost all the flowers exhibited at shows without any stalk at all. I may add a word concerning the rain in j.a.pan, especially in Tokio. The shower is often very heavy, and falls in a slanting direction on account of a strong wind, which often prevails in j.a.pan; therefore, the roofs of the buildings have long eaves; even the buildings in European style must have eaves and windows specially designed, differing from the ordinary Western architecture, otherwise the rain would soak through. The reason why the climate of j.a.pan is temperate in comparison with its lat.i.tude is chiefly due to the effects of two great currents, one coming from the Behring Strait and the other coming from the south, one cold and the other warm; and between those currents is produced the climate of j.a.pan.

Strangely enough, in Manchuria and the northern parts of China proper, that is to say, the regions surrounding Pekin, the summer is excessively hot and the winter extremely cold.'

--'Do you say the climate in every part of j.a.pan proper is pretty much the same?' asked one.

--'Pretty much, but not exactly. You see j.a.pan proper has a range of mountains, which divides the country into two parts, one side facing the Pacific Ocean and the other the Sea of j.a.pan. The former is more bright and cheerful, and conversely the latter is less bright and less cheerful. Perhaps, owing to that disadvantage in climate, the j.a.pan Sea side is less advanced in all respects. Then, again, the development of j.a.pan seems to have proceeded from west to east, beginning at the north-western part of Kiusiu, thence along both sides of the Inland Sea, thence along the Pacific Ocean on toward the Plain of Kwanto, where Tokio is situated. All travellers can discern this very easily by the general development of these regions in comparison with other parts of the country.'

--'Is the summer so hot as to be unbearable?' asked another.

--'I would not say "unbearable," but, of course, it would be far more comfortable if one went to good summer resorts. There are many places in j.a.pan suitable for spending the summer, and are visited by a large number of Occidentals, not only from all parts of j.a.pan, but also from most of the open ports of the neighbouring countries. For instance, Karuizawa, where I have a small villa, is over three thousand feet above sea level, and there nearly one thousand foreigners spend the summer every year. _Apropos_ to Karuizawa, I may tell you _en pa.s.sant_ an incident which occurred there a few years ago. Early one morning I discovered two foreigners had got into a corner of my garden and were cutting down branches of my favourite trees; they were not very refined, and evidently belonged to some irregular mission. On my asking for an explanation, they told me the branches were for the decoration of the house of G.o.d. They did not know to apologise, but appeared to a.s.sume that they could do anything in the name of their mission. I had to explain to them that they were doing what they ought not to, and that if they did the same thing in the grounds of less tolerant people, trouble might ensue. I then formally gave them the branches already cut down, in order to exonerate them from any possible infraction of the Ten Commandments. I mention this incident in order that other people engaged in similar missions might take it as a warning. But to return to my subject: well-to-do j.a.panese also resort to the mountains or to the seaside places for their summer holidays. For the people in general, however, spring and autumn are the best seasons of the year. It is then that countless groups of men and women indulge in innocent picnic parties to see all sorts of flowers and tinted leaves, and to visit places of interest, with which the country abounds; indeed, some of the people who are more aesthetic and poetic often travel great distances simply for those objects. The fire-flies also are a sight in many parts of j.a.pan.'

--'I have read some accounts of those excursions,' said one, 'and their fondness for hanging down from the branches of trees their quaint but simple and innocent effusions of poetic thought, written on slips of paper.'

--'But what are the general pastimes of the j.a.panese gentry at home?'

asked another. 'Are they fond of open-air sports as the English are?'

--'No, I am sorry to say they are not. In England, more than elsewhere, all sorts of open-air sports have been invented and played, perhaps owing to the condition of the climate. Mr. Balfour, the Prime Minister, as everybody knows, is a great golfer. Professor Balfour, his brother, was a great cricketer. His premature death years ago, by an accident on the Alps, was lamented very deeply by the scientific world; and I, for one, grieved much, for he was very kind to me when I went up to Cambridge, and smoothed my way considerably for the University study.

With us, however, outdoor sports have always been considered childish, and the rude sports of children have never been improved to suit grown-up men. In recent years, of course, Western open-air sports, such as base-ball or lawn tennis, are played by students very widely (at this moment some j.a.panese teams of base-ball players have gone to America to play against the Americans). But older people seldom indulge in that kind of sport. Billiards also is only of modern introduction.'

--'But surely you must have some kind of pastimes?'

--'Well, we have some, but before entering on that subject I will say a word about a letter written by an American on kindred subjects. It caught my eye accidentally in the _j.a.pan Times_. It is rather interesting and, therefore, I will recite it to you _verbatim_. The heading of it is "j.a.pan is a queer country."

'Such was the heading of an article in one of our American papers of recent date. As an example of the country being "queer" the writer stated among other things that "old men in j.a.pan fly kites and spin tops, while children look on." Now, I for one have been in j.a.pan a good while and have seen many flying kites and spinning tops. Yet I have never had the fortune of seeing the picture described above. It is easy to conceive how the kind-hearted Ojiisan might show his little grandson how to fly a kite or to spin a top while the little fellow looked on, but that is in no way peculiar to j.a.pan. The same thing might be seen in almost any country.

'Again the writer says, "j.a.panese writers use paint brushes, not pens, and write from bottom to top," in which he has gotten his ideas more topsy-turvy than the Land of Topsyturvydom itself. And further, "in j.a.pan there are no lawyers, and j.a.panese doctors never make any charges." Comment is unnecessary.

'These are only specimens of much that has for years flooded our Western newspapers about j.a.pan. Not a great while ago I saw an article in which it was said that j.a.panese babies never cried, and if a dog barked at night he was taken off next day and killed. It is high time that Western people were beginning to have a few sane thoughts about j.a.pan, and stop speaking of it as "an Oriental puzzle, a nation of recluses, a land of fabulous wealth, of universal licentiousness, or of Edenic purity, the fastness of a treacherous and fickle crew, a Paradise of guileless children, a Utopia of artists and poets." j.a.pan has some superficial oddities, but what country is there that has not? To be a bit humorous, if people wish to say ludicrous things about j.a.pan, it may not be so bad, but to put such things out as sober truth makes a false impression and does the people an injustice.

'Imagine a j.a.panese going to America, for example, and writing back something like this: "America is a queer country. The people clothe themselves with the hair and skins of animals. They fasten their clothing on by means of little k.n.o.bs hung in holes; the women go about with the arms and upper part of the body nude. Owing to the peculiar make of their shoes, they all walk on tiptoe. The people eat dead pigs, and drink a white, thick fluid called chichi, which they squeeze out of the body of a large animal. When eating they stick long iron instruments in their mouths. When moving about they are obliged constantly to set one foot out in front in order to keep from falling on their noses. Sometimes when there is a company of them together they open their mouths very wide at each other, utter loud, inarticulate cries, and jump about in a very curious manner, shaking from head to foot."

'Now what would the j.a.panese people think of such a story, and what kind of impression would they get of the American people? But this is a fair specimen of the style in which many have written about this country. We cannot quite speak of it as lying, yet it amounts to the same in that it deceives and makes a false impression. The people of j.a.pan are much the same as the world at large.

'And finally, what is true of the customs of j.a.pan is also true of the j.a.panese language. A Westerner, for instance, will poke fun at the expression, "For the first time, I hang upon your honourable eyes," and perhaps with the next breath say, "I knew him as soon as I laid eyes on him." Literally speaking it is hard to tell which is the more "okas.h.i.+" (ridiculous), to hang upon the honourable eyes of another, or to lay your eyes on somebody else. Or which is worse, to "stick" to the end of the street in going to your business, or to "stick to it" when you get there? All languages must be explained and understood in the light of their idiomatic use and meaning, otherwise they become idiotic, and in this the j.a.panese language is no exception.

'There is one point in that letter to which I must take exception, as is remarked in the editorial notes, too, but otherwise I quite concur with the writer. The matter I refer to is that of the kites. On that point neither the writer of the original article nor the writer of the letter hit the mark. As a general rule, of course, kites or tops are played with by children as in the West, but there is one particular method of flying special kites which is indulged in by grown-up men. It is done in Nagasaki. The kites are made in a particular shape so that a slight pull or loosening of the line makes a rapid movement, and if one pulls when the kite is not in the right position it falls to the ground with lightning-like rapidity. It requires great skill to manage, and therefore cannot be done by mere boys. Those kites are well known by the name of Nagasaki kites. In that town people fly them in a certain season of the year, making the kites fight one against the other high up in the air. The method is as follows: A certain portion of the line is gummed over with a mixture containing fine particles of gla.s.s, so that it would cut another line which might come in contact with it. A skilful flier manages his kite in such a way that his line will cut the line of others without hurting his own, and, therefore, during the compet.i.tion all the kites are making rapid movements to and fro high up in the air. In recent years Nagasaki men, a large number of whom are residents in Tokio, have inst.i.tuted a display of kite-flying of their method. The performance takes place on a certain day in spring in a suburban park of the capital.

'But to return to the subject of the pastimes of the j.a.panese gentry in general. Some are fond of handling Kakemono. Some are fond of collecting old curios. There are, therefore, a far greater number of curiosity shops in j.a.pan than in any other country. Some are fond of performing orthodox tea ceremonies, but by far the greater number are fond of playing at the game of "go," and "j.a.panese chess."'

--'What are they like?'

'"Go" is a game which you have not in the West. Our chess is different from yours, but the principle is similar. With us "go" is considered more refined than chess, and in consequence "go" is more generally played by the upper cla.s.ses, and chess by the lower cla.s.ses. In such games, ours seem to be more scientific and complicated than those in the West. I do not like to appear to boast of our own "things," but my conviction, founded on fact, enforces me to tell the truth.

'I will begin with "chess." In all parts of the world the game of chess exists in some form or other. They must have descended from a common origin: we profess to have derived our game from China. It seems there have been several kinds of chess in China. In j.a.pan also there were three kinds in earlier days--the great, the middle, and the ordinary.

The last is the one which has survived and has become a national game.

Many improvements have been made since its introduction into j.a.pan, so that it now differs considerably from that of China. We all know of improvements which have been made on the Western guns and rifles, because they belong to our own day: but we do not know when and by whom the improvements in chess were made. It is said, until some hundred years ago, there was an extra piece on either side called the "drunken elephant," having almost omnipotent power--I suppose something like your "queen." The experts of that time agreed that the problems of the game would become much more interesting without that particular piece, because its omnipotency overshadowed the action of other figures, and it was accordingly abolished by Imperial sanction. We consider our game more scientific and complicated than any other of the kind. A single fact will go far to demonstrate my a.s.sertion. Bring together at random a number of ordinary j.a.panese chess players and the same number of ordinary European players. Let the movements of the "men" of the European chess be shown to the j.a.panese, and let the Europeans and the j.a.panese play the European chess, you may be sure that after the second game, the j.a.panese will be on the winning side. When I was staying at Munich over twenty years ago, I learned the European moves from a lad living in the next flat; after the second game I won continually, and the lad gave up in despair. Mind, I am not at all a good player as I play rarely, and, when I do play, I prefer to play "go." On the way to Europe last year, I played European chess on board the mail steamer, learning again the movements of the figures, which I had not practised since my Munich days. After one or two games, I became one of the best players among the pa.s.sengers. This was not the case with me only, for there were several other j.a.panese on board, and they also became excellent players. The same is the experience of all the j.a.panese travellers.'

--'What is the reason of that?' asked one of those present.

--'Because ours is much more complicated than yours. The only danger we have to watch against when we play your game is to be caught in an unguarded moment by a movement which is foreign to us. I mean, for instance, your knights move sidewards or backwards, and we are often caught by it, because our knights move only forwards.'

--'But what do you mean by saying, your chess being more complicated?'

asked another.

--'I will only outline the reason, for it is impossible to demonstrate it in the short s.p.a.ce of a _Summer Dream_.'

--'What!'

--'Well, I mean to say that it would take a long time were I to describe it in detail, but listen: In the first place, the squares of our boards are nine by nine, therefore there are seventeen more squares than yours: the number of our men are twenty in all on each side, two rows of nine each, and two extra, and, therefore, four more men than yours on each side. Then, again, in your game, when you take one of your opponent's pieces, you put it aside and never make any use of it except under one particular circ.u.mstance, which I need not describe. With ours, however, either side of the players can make use of any of the captured pieces of his opponent and add them to his own men, at any time and place, and under any circ.u.mstance, provided that he brings them on to the board, one at a time, in his turn of move.'

--'But how can you make any distinction between your own men and those of your opponent, if you put down the opponent's men as your own?' said another.

'Well, we have no difference of colour between friends and foes and our men are made flat _ab initio_, and are laid on the squares with their heads turned towards the enemy, so that one can easily distinguish friends from foes by the position in which they are placed.'

--'How can you turn the head towards the enemy?' asked one.

--'By the head, I do not mean the head and tail you use when tossing.

Our men are made in such a way that one of the four sides has a projected part; and that side is the head. In other words, the head does not mean the flat surface, but rather one of the sides of a flat object.

Call it the top, if you prefer.'

--'I see,' said one.

--'The methods of making use of the captured men makes the whole play much more intricate. As a rule, of course, if you take a man of your opponent, possessing greater power, it is better than taking one possessing less power, but this does not always follow, because according to the vicissitudes of the game a man which has less power may be utilised for some particular purpose to greater advantage than one of greater power. This is the point in which our chess has far more interest than yours. Then, again, in your chess one does not seek so much to take a man of one's opponent as one does in our chess, because with yours mere exchange of men is to be avoided as it does not affect the relative force of either side, but with ours one often plays in such a way as to capture a piece or two, even more, even though he loses similar or identical men of his own, in the same process, because by the cleverer use of the captured men a better issue can often be obtained.

Another peculiarity of our game is that, when a piece gets into the third row, or beyond, of the squares on the opponent's side, the player has the option of changing its power in certain ways. This is another source of interest. But remember, this method differs from one which is employed in your chess when a p.a.w.n gets into the last row of the squares on the opponent's side. As a consequence of all this, you can easily see that there cannot be such a result as a drawn game in our chess.'

--'Can you describe the kind of men and the moves of your chess?' asked one.

--'Oh, that would take too much time; but I will tell you an incident connected with it. After a dinner party in England, I had some talk on the subject with a bishop, who happened to be present. He asked me what our "castles" (_tours_) were like. I answered we had no castle, because we did not believe a castle could move about on land. We call our corresponding figures "light chariots," or, more commonly, "lances." He next asked me what our queen was like. I answered, we have no queen, because we do not believe in the advisability of making a queen work hard, not only harder than the king, but than all other subjects. You may call it "keeping a woman in seclusion," but we think it respect and consideration for the fair s.e.x not to expose them to such a task as fighting. We have two generals, between whom the power of your queen is divided. One is called "diagonal dasher," and the other "flying chariot." He then asked me what our bishops were like. I answered, we have no bishop, because we do not consider it good taste to make a venerable bishop fight a sanguinary battle, besides, the same moves with which your "bishops" are empowered are bestowed on our "diagonal dasher."'

--'You fabricate the story,' said one.

--'Not at all,' I answered. 'It was a true and genuine incident. In fact, I do not think the names of most of your "men" very commendable.'

--'Well, then, what are your names, and how do you arrange the position of the men at the commencement?' said another.

--'We place the king in the centre of the last row. We can do so because our squares are nine and not eight, as yours. On each side of the king we have the gold general, silver general, knight, and lancer respectively. On the second square of the second row from the left we have the diagonal dasher; and in the second square from the right in the same row we have the flying chariot. The third row is allotted to the p.a.w.ns, which we call foot-soldiers,--the same signification as yours.

Thus you can see the starting position is entirely identical on both sides, which is not the case with yours, because your squares being eight, you cannot place the king in the very centre of the row.'

--'But how do you manage when a weaker hand plays with a stronger hand?'

interposed another.

--'Well, in that case, the stronger hand takes off one or more men from the board at the beginning, just as you do, and thus equalises the relative strength.'