奈良とその周辺

34. Nara and its Environs.

Nara (pop. 33,000, with 6843 houses), one of the most picturesque, restful, and thoroughly Japanese of all the cities of Japan, stands on a wide and beautiful plain (consult the accompanying plan) delimited by fine mts., 26 M. S.E. of Kyoto, and in practically the same latitude (3° 56' W. of Tokyo) in Nara Prefecture, near the extreme N. border of Old Yamato — one of the original Five Home Provinces (a reproduction in Japan of a prominent feature in the administration of the Middle Kingdom of China).

Arrival. Travelers from Kyoto and the N. arrive at the Nara Station, near the W. edge of the city (Plan A, 3), 10 min. walk from the hotel. The hotel motor-car and runners meet trains.

Travelers arriving from Osaka by the (frequent, fast, cheap) trains of the Osaka Electric Rly. (Osaka Denki Kido Kwaisha) disembark near the Park and Hotel. See page 600.

The *Nara Hotel (Tel. add. 'Hotel Nara') with large, airy, comfortable, well-furnished (private baths, telephones, etc.) rooms, good food and service, and superb views, stands near the Park (Pl. C, 3), is one of the best hotels in Japan, and is under the direct management of the Imperial Gov't Rlys. Rates from 10 yen a day, American Plan. Reduction for a long stay. English spoken. Ably managed. Recommended.

The Hotel manager knows intimately the neighborhood and all its beauty spots, and can be of great assistance to stranger planning excursions. The hotel motor-cars are at the disposal of guests at all times. Cheap excursions to many points.

Nara is one of the most interesting cities in Japan and it should not be omitted from the traveler's plans. Founded in a.d. 710 as the capital of Japan, it so remained (excepting for 2 years) until 784, when, owing to the militant character of the monks of the great monasteries, it was moved to Nagaoka. After that it was called Nanto, or southern capital. It was the cradle of Japanese art and literature. The first written histories (see p. 264) were begun here in the 8th century (Nara Epoch) and here the Buddhist priest Gyogi gave the first impetus to the clay-ware industry (Gyogi-yaki). Its ancient temples, superbly endowed museum, splendid walks, magnificent park, excellent hotel, and its well-mannered people are peculiarly pleasing to the tourist, for whom its manifold charm holds unfading attractions. While a cursory view of Nara’s main * sights' can be had within two days, weeks, and even months can be spent pleasantly in its charmed atmosphere. To the student of ancient Japanese history almost every foot of Yamato is classic ground, heavy with memories and the bones of long-dead emperors and their glittering trains. In addition to the excursions noted hereinafter, the Koya-san trip described at p. 511, and many minor jaunts can be planned with Nara as the center.

They have been grouped with the aim of saving the busy traveler as much time as possible. All are subject to variations in route; if Horyu-ji and Hasedera are eliminated, then one morning can be devoted to the city temples and the museum, and the afternoon to the Temples of the Plain. If the latter are rejected, Horyu-ji can be visited in one morning and Hasedera in the afternoon. Yoshino loses much of its interest and beauty with the fading of its wonderful cherry blossoms, while Horyu-ji acquires charm in Nov. by its maples, and Hasedera in May by its peonies. Many foreigners make Nara a meetingpoint during the Christmas holidays, at which time the hotel management plans dances, etc., and rooms should be spoken

for well in advance. — A specialty of the Nara region is a grass-cloth of superfine quality called Nara Jofu, a sort of hemp linen (asanuno) of which many fabrics are made. (Hemp is the oldest cultivated textile plant in Japan, and the clothing of many of the country folks is made of a coarse hemp fabric dyed with indigo.) The main street of the city, Sanjo-dori, leads from the Nara Rly. Station, at the W. end, to the entrance to the Park at the E. At right angles to it, near the center, is the Mochii-dono, the chief shopping-street of the natives. The pond at the N. of its junction with Sanjo-dori is the Sarusawa (Monkey Swamp) Pond, associated with the ancient history of the region. That just below the hotel is the Ara-ike.

The Kasuga no Miya, or Kasuga-jinja (Pl. D, 3), a historic Shinto shrine founded in a.d. 710 by Fujiwara Fuhito, stands in the famous Nara Deer Park, on the slope of Kasuga-yama *at the E., and is dedicated to Ame-no-koyane no-mikoto (or Kasuga-daimyōjin) — a retainer of Amaterasu, and the original ancestor of the Fujiwara family. After Ise and Izumo it is one of the most ancient and venerated sanctuaries in Japan. Like all purely Shinto temples, it has been repeatedly rebuilt and is noteworthy for architectural simplicity, albeit in the matter of exterior decoration the customary decorum has been deviated from: painted a glowing vermilion, it flames out of its green environment like one of the gaudy shrines to Inari, In parts it retains the decorative richness acquired during its association with Buddhism before its disestablishment, and recalls certain of the hybrid shrine-temples of Kyoto. The approach to it is charmingly picturesque; the great red wood torii or front gate (Ichi-no-torii) marks the outer entrance to the park 1/2 M. from it.

The * Nara Park (Pl. C-D, 2-3), a magnificent stretch of woodland comprising some 1250 acres, on a gentle hill-slope, crossed and re-crossed by noble avenues overhung with lofty evergreens and deciduous trees of many varieties (cryptomerias, pines, oaks, plums, Salisburias, etc.), is perhaps the finest cultivated park in the Empire, and it strongly recalls the splendid groves which stretch away from the rear of Chipullepec, in the Valley of Mexico. These superb trees (60 or more of which were unfortunately wrecked by the devastating typhoon of Sept., 1912), are interspersed with fine old cherry trees which are a glory in April, and maples which are of such unexampled beauty in Nov. that thousands of pilgrims repair hither to drink in the beguiling beauty of the sight. The underbrush beneath the forest monarchs has been cleared so that the rich greensward comes up to the very trunks and makes one think of a well-kept English park or a stretch of cultivated woodland in the Blue-grass region of Kentucky. Through this Elysian zone there wander at will hundreds of quasi-sacred, dappled fallow-deer (Cervus sika — Jap. Shika) so tame that with their adorable little fawns they eat from one’s hand and do not shrink from inserting their velvety but cold and moist noses into the stranger’s pocket in search of goodies. From this protected reservation they wander all over the town and the adjacent hills; usually returning at nightfall and sometimes bringing wild deer with them. One of the most famous Nara festivals (Oct. 15 or thereabout) is the Deer-Horn Cutting^ Festival (Shika no Tsunokiri), an occasion which delights the country bumpkins, but for which the deer have such a deeply rooted deeply rooted

distaste that about the time for it many of them flee to the distant hills and there remain until they deem it safe to return. The occasion is treated as a sort of round-up; skillful natives take the place of cowboys and lasso the leaping and dodging deer with commendable skill. One hundred or more of the (approx.) 700 animals are dehorned each year, amid considerable excitement. The horns (tsuno) are made up into a host of curios and sold at the local shops. Prior to 1868 to kill one of the Nara deer was considered a capital offense. — Scattered through the spacious park are museums, temples, shrines, shops, etc. Flanking the wide central avenue are said to be 3000 stone and metal lanterns (tōrō), many moss-covered or displaying the fine patina which centuries only can give. On or about Feb. 2 of each year, at the period (setsubun) when winter merges into spring, the lanterns are all lighted and the park presents a fairy-like aspect. The illumination is repeated on special occasions, and tourists desirous of witnessing the sight can (through the hotel management) arrange for it on payment of a certain sum.

It is through this pleasing avenue that the traveler approaches the Kasuga Shrine; the attractive building at the left, not far from the torii, is the Nara Museum, and the one beyond it is the Nara Products Bazaar (Buppin Chinretsu-jo: open free, from 9 to 4) with a permanent and varied exhibit of local products for sale and marked with fixed prices. The surroundings are beautiful when the wistaria for which the park is noted festoons the great trees. As one advances the upward-sloping avenue narrows and the lanterns become more numerous. At the foot of the stone steps to the terrace on which the shrine stands is a big bronze deer, couchant, serving as a fountain (izumi). The path which branches off toward the right leads to the small Shira-fuji-no-taki (white wistaria fall); the structure at the left is where Imperial messengers to the shrine register their names, A huge vermilion gateway (left), flanked by long corridors which form an interior square and are hung with hundreds of metal lanterns, marks the entrance to the inclosure. The ramshackle old building at the left (inside) is the Haidenf remembered by the country yokels for the rusty old iron lantern suspended at the near corner. The hook, of rusted iron about 1 1/2 in. long, is locust-shaped, and when the lantern swings and creaks, the locust or semi (whence the name, Semi-no-toro), is supposed to be singing! The open oratory at the right is very animated on the night of setsubun, when many of the townspeople foregather here and scatter beans about to expel the evil spirits. In June 'when the wistaria on the near-by arbor is in bloom the sight is a lovely one. An attraction which draws the clodhoppers hither is the flight of 15 covered steps at the left of the main shrine; the gallery formed by them, called Negiriro or Sujikaino-ma, is set at an angle instead of being straight, and is attributed (a crude and manifest deception) to Hidari Jingoro. At the left is a much-grafted tree (a species of banyan) to whose decaying trunk have been added slips of wistaria, nandina, camellia, elder, cherry, and maple.

The Kasuga-no-Mij/a Festival attracts many visitors about March 15, but ia not as interesting to foreigners as the spectacular On Matsuri, which

falls on Dec. 17, and is a sort of thanksgiving procession commemorating an episode in the life of the Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. Great preparations are made far in advance, and foreign visitors (special seats reserved, 50 sen) endeavor to be present. Hundreds of men in queer habiliments, playing mediaeval musical instruments, and carrying bizarre accouterments form the long procession, which winds up through the park. Later there is wrestling and horse-racing. The latter appeals strongly to countrymen, who train their fleetest nags with the hope of wresting prizes from the ‘city fellows.’ For several nights after the festival the park is gayly illuminated, and scores of fakirs, peddlers, and other artful dodgers assist the ‘movies’ and others to annex the farmers’ cash. — The annual festival commemorating Shōmu-tenno, founder of the Daibutsu, is celebrated May 8.

The Waka-miya, a smaller shrine 2 min. walk to the right, faces a low, darksome hall adorned with pictures of the 36 famous poets, and enlivened by several dancing-girls who for one yen will go through the tedious motions of a so-called sacred dance (kagura), accompanied by chanting and deplorable music. A longer dance (a kind of attenuated monotony) costs more in proportion, as the priests join in and add to the discord. Beyond the shrine the forest thickens and many great twining and climbing wistaria may be seen crushing the life out of the big forest trees. The maples hereabout are specially charming in Nov. The tawdry shrine at the right contains thousands of small rice-paddles which credulous folks place here in the belief that their names will be taken note of by the gods. By continuing along the path and climbing the hill one may enjoy superb views over the city and the wide Nara Plain which spreads out beyond it.

Travelers interested in seeing the old Buddhist temples scattered through the park usually leave the Kasuga-no-Miya by the door at the left and continue down at the right through the pretty, tree-embowered lane with its numerous small shops devoted to the sale of spotted deer made of paper-pulp, and many objects made from deer-horns. The well-known Nara ningyo (Nara puppets) in the form of roughly chiseled wooden figures, 2 or 3 in. high, representing various familiar motives, are relics of a time when wood-carving was one of the most flourishing industries of Nara, and toy-making was in its infancy. The women shopkeepers are as insistent as Bowery barkers, and prices are flexible. — Crossing a small bridge and mounting the picturesque steps beyond it one passes (right) a rounded grassy hill (1126 ft.) called Wakakusa-yama (‘Young Grass Mt.’) from whose summit (seek the path that leads up under the pine trees near the Tamuke-yama no Hachiman-gu Shrine) one may command a splendid and sweeping panorama of the surrounding country. The annual ceremony of burning the grass from this hill (occasioned anciently by a dispute over the boundary line between the Todaiji and Kofukuji Temples) takes place about Feb. 15 and is ranked as one of the ‘sights.’ — The wide road overhung with conifers soon brings one to a red torii marking the

entrance to the Tamuke-yama no Hachiman-gu, a dilapidated old shrine with many pigeons, erected to the memory of Emperor Ojin, who is remarkable for having been carried to the throne on the day of his birth (a.d. 201) and carried from it on the day of his death (in 310), after having ruled 109 yrs.! The beautiful old maple trees which surround the shrine have caused it to be perpetuated in Japanese poetry. The lurid picture in the small edifice at the left symbolizes a classical tale called the ‘Ogre's Arm.’ — Continuing through the yard one soon comes to

The *San-gwatsu-do (‘Third Moon Temple'), a weatherbeaten but still sturdy old structure (Pl. D. 2,) celebrated for its fine wood sculptures (regarded as national treasures). If the traveler with credentials will present them to the bonze in the near-by office the (usually closed) doors will be opened. Like most of the early temples of the Nara Plain, this one is devoid of the glitter characteristic of many Buddhist fanes, and is plain to homeliness. The central shrine stands on a broad plinth round which runs a sort of ambulatory with a dirt floor; the great beams look as if they were hewn out during the Stone Age, and but for its collection of statuary, poorness like unto that of Job's lean but historical turkey could be the name for the temple. In the center of the wide platform is a grandiose Kwannon made of cloth and lacquer ascribed to Gyogi-bosaisu; at the right and left are Nikko, a Buddhist divinity that resides in the sun; and Gwakho, a resident of the moon. The other two large, calm, pure figures are Bonten (the Japanese equivalent of Brahma) and Taishaku-ten (the Indra of the Vedic pantheon). The image at the left is Jizo; that at the right the vindictive Fudo. He is specially noteworthy, sitting with one leg doubled under him, brandishing a sword in his right hand, and his mouth contorted with violent vociferation as if the fire which flames about him were scorching him beyond endurance. The two small figures in front of him are said to be his children. Those at the front of the platform are (right) Kongo-rikishi, and (left) Mitsujiyaku-rikishi, The guardian gods in armor and helmets, who assert authority and divine power at the four corners of the plinth, are the Shitenno — masterpieces in their way, and by a hand but little less skillful than that of the great Unkei. — On a terrace reached by a flight of stone steps, one side high-perched, the other clinging precariously to the edge of the hillside, is the bizarre

Ni-gwatsu-do (neeng-aht-sue-doh'b or ‘Second Moon Temple' (or hall), almost filled by the hundreds of metal lanterns which swing from the overhead beams. From the gallery on the far side one gets a superb view of the wide plain stretching below and beyond to the distant mts. Conspicuous in the near foreground is the colossal Daibutsu-den, and nearer

still, at the foot of the hill, is the towering cryptomeria in whose long, horizontal branches an eagle (so the story runs) deposited the celebrated bonze Ryōben (b. 689; d. 773) — a writer, a painter, the sometime head of the Todaiji, and a prominent figure in the Ryobu-Shinto creed. — Founded in 752 but repeatedly destroyed, the temple is now about 200 yrs. old, and is dedicated to a well-known image of Kwannon, enshrined somewhere in the darksome interior and said to possess the peculiar property of curing anybody of anything, and of being always warm to the touch! So that one’s faith in it may remain warm it is never shown. The special services held at certain lunar periods in its honor give the temple its name. Most conspicuous of these festivals is the Taimaisu-e (1 Torchlight Assembly ’), a curious and picturesque affair held customarily about March 12. A torchlight procession of men, carrying buckets of water brought from Wakasa Province, wends its way to the shrine, and enters the sloping gallery or appentice (with 86 steps) called Taimatsu no Roka (l Flambeau Gallery’) behind the temple. The procession is of very ancient origin and the water is supposed to guard the structure against fire. Many devotees come from distant places and whosoever can, takes home a little of the water to sprinkle over the farm or garden as a talisman against insect pests. Near the foot of the steps, in a sma1! house at the left, is a sacred well that is opened only on the night of March 12, and is called Wakasa I because the water is supposed to come from Wakasa Province. To substantiate this the credulous throw rice-husks in the original spring in Wakasd and later find them here!

The *Big Bell (9 ft. 2 in. in diameter, 13 \ ft. high, and 10 in. thick at the rim), a colossal mass of metal (Pl. D, 2) weighing 48 tons, was cast in a.d. 732 and is the 3d largest in Japan (Osaka 1st; Chion-in 2d). For more than a millennium this melodious-voiced monster has stood here as a companion to the great bronze Daibutsu, both of which once were conspicuous adjuncts to the Todaiji (* Great Eastern’) Temple which burned years ago. The time-worn belfry dates from the Kamakura epoch. On payment of 1 -sen the traveler may strike the bell with the great beam which swings before it. The tiny models in bronze cost 10-35 sen.

The *Nara-no- Daibutsu (Pl. C, 1), a great bronze image

representing Roshana Buddha (Birushana-butsu), the God of Light, sitting on an open lotus bloom in an attitude of calm reflection, is the largest of its kind in Japan and is perhaps one of the greatest in the world. As a work of art it is inferior to the companion image at Kamakura and superior to that of Kyoto. It was erected in 749 at the instance of the (45th) Emperor Shōmu (718-58), and contains 500 lbs. of gold; 16,827 of tin; 1954 of mercury; 986,180 of copper; an unre-

corded quantity of lead; and is said to weigh approx. 500 tons. The gold and mercury were used solely for gilding. It is 53 1/2 ft. high; 18 ft. across the breast, with a face 16 by 9 1/2 ft.; mouth and nose, each 3 ft. 9 in. wide; eye, 3 ft. 11 in.; and ear, 8 ft. 6 in. The features are Negroid and suggest Hindu inspiration. Two years were required to cast it; the Emperor carried earth with his own hands to help make the platform, and after 7 unsuccessful attempts the idol was at last completed. The head and neck were cast in a single shell. The body was formed of plates 10 by 12 in. and 6 in. thick, built up in the form of walls and cooled a foot at a time. The temple erected the following year to shelter it was soon burned. The present colossal structure (one of a long dynasty) dates from 1913 — at which time the image was cleaned and renovated. The head was so badly damaged by one of the early fires that it was replaced in 1183 by a new one. The fine old octagonal bronze lantern of pierced and chiseled work dates from this period and is strongly suggestive of Assyrio-Byzantine art. Note the curious bronze slab (called Hokke-mandara), with its sometime thousand figurines of Buddha now badly disfigured by time. — The golden halo which backs the idol is enriched with numerous divinities of the Buddhist pantheon. — The two immense Nid in the loggia of the great gateway are marvels of anatomical fidelity and are instinct with martial vitality. They are often referred to as the best examples extant of the splendid sculpture of the early Nara school. They differ slightly from those one sees in other parts of Japan, and are perhaps authentic specimens of the work of Unkei and his master Kaikei. The absurd stone lions at the back of the loggias are (perhaps) 12th-cent. Chinese work. The whimsical Binzuru, who is here shown laughing like a toothless grandmamma, dates from the same remote era.

The Kaidai-in (Pl. C, 2), an ancient Buddhist temple in the old Nara style of architecture, with beams embedded in the plastered walls, and a superimposed roof bristling with scowling demon antefixes, stands on a hill a short distance at the left of the Daibutsu (temple office at the right near the Dai butsu gate, where application for admission must be made), and was founded about a.d. 740 by the bonze Ryoben. It underwent extensive reparation in 1912 but much of its primitive charm remains. The interior differs from all others in Nara in that from a narrow ambulatory which runs quite round it there rises a little terrace reached by numerous flights of steps, and above this a wide plinth or platform approached by other steps. The whole forms a curious ensemble and reminds one of the teocalli of the ancient Aztecs. In the center of the platform is a large and handsome mahogany-colored, stupa-shaped, double-roofed shrine (taho-to) richly embellished with ascending and descending dragons,

gilded recess two small seated figures of Shaka and Miroku — now dark with age and said to have belonged to Ryoben himself. Guarding the corners of this platform are curious Shitenno modeled in clay by Tori Busshi. Formerly on receiving the appointment of chief priest to the Todaiji, it was customary to ascend to this platform and fast in silence for 21 days!

The *Shoso-in (Pl. C, 1), a unique depository of ancient and valued relics belonging to the Japanese Imperial Household, stands in an isolated position 1/2 M. N.W. of the Daibutsu, in the Todaiji grounds, guarded by military and unapproachable even by the medium of weighty tips. Unfortunately it is closed to all except persons of the highest rank, and then only in Oct. when the treasury is opened for the purpose of airing the contents. Though tawdry and humble in appearance, and bearing a strong resemblance to a rambling old bam, it is one of the oldest and most remarkable museums of the world. It is, as the name implies (Shoso — solitary; in — building), the single, or Chief Depository, albeit at first it consisted of two separate buildings, called the Two Depositories. Subsequently a connecting apartment was made to join them, and the three, before they were thrown into a single structure, were called Mitsugura, or the Three Depositories. The critical eye of the architect will not fail to note the somewhat curious inner construction, and the absence of the triangular timbers of the middle section. The date of the erection of the first building is not known, but it is believed to have been completed as a temple storehouse coincidently with the original structure which housed the great Daibutsu (see above). The northern and middle apartments originally contained the treasures donated to the Buddha of the Todaiji by the Imperial Household (to which it belonged), and from which permission had to be obtained before the treasures could be inspected or removed. The doors were sealed with slips of paper on which the Imperial name was written, as a sort of sign manual in the handwriting of His Majesty the Mikado, and when an examination was made, or the relics aired, Imperial messengers or ambassadors were dispatched for the purpose (a custom which still obtains). The S. department was used by the ecclesiastics for other and less valuable temple treasures and ornaments, and the door thereto was sealed by slips of paper signed by the chief priests. Many years sometimes passed without the Imperial seals being disturbed, and the Imperial records contain minute details concerning the function or ceremony of opening the building. When the Imperial Household terminated its relations with the Todaiji officers, the structure and its contents passed under the sole care of that department of the Gov't.

Although repeated fires have scourged the buildings in the Todaiji compound, and sanguinary battles between priests

the Shoso-in inclosure, the inviolability of the sacred seals has never been broken. In this it is perhaps unparalleled in the annals of the world. The fact that this flimsy wooden building, in a relatively isolated position, could pass through the vicissitudes of more than 1160 vrs. and be protected solely by a few soldiers and a paper seal Bearing the signatures of a long dynasty of emperors, is unique. Equally significant is the fact that after so great a lapse of time the precious relics of the early life-history of the nation should be preserved intact, and agree in the minutest detail with the list that was made of them more than a millennium ago. The thought suggests a special sort of phenomenon peculiarly applicable to Japan — but one indubitably aided by the fact that no iconoclastic aliens have ever successfully invaded and overrun the country. The date of the most ancient airing and examination of the relics occurred in a.d. 787 and is confirmed by documentary proof. The building was opened again in 793, 811, and 856, and then no record is had of any opening until 1090. It was repaired in 1193, and opened again for inspection in 1230-37- 39, and in 1242. Lightning struck the N. end in 1254 and some of the underpinning was scorched; according to the records kept by the Todaiji, a dragon-god appeared and extinguished the fire, and in appreciation thereof the dragon-shrine called Sugimoto was erected within the compound. In 1258 the exhibit again saw the light of day, and in 1261 the Ex-Emperor Go-Saga inspected the lot and took out a priestly robe. Tradition avers that he was severely reprimanded in a dream and that, conscience-smitten, he returned it. It was not until the 15th year of Meiji that the articles were arranged systematically, on shelves and in cases. Certain damaged ones were repaired about this time, and facsimiles of some of the oldest and best objects made.

The wooden, tile-roofed structure faces E., is 9 ft. above the. ground, 30 ft. high, measures 108 ft. 10 1/2 in. from N. to S., and is 31 ft. 2 1/2 in. wide. The interior is divided into three socalled departments (with an attic), the North, Middle, and South; each has its own entrance, with double swinging doors that open inward or outward. The N. and S. sections are constructed in the style of an azekura (granary) with triangular timbers (squared balks cut diagonally) laid lengthwise and crossed at the corners. When the building is opened for the purpose of airing the contents, a temporary portable balcony is erected alongside the three rooms, and a short flight of steps made to reach it; both are removed when it is closed and sealed. The roof is visible above the low fence which girdles the inclosure. The ancient document (Kemmotsucho, or Memorandum of Things Donated) recording the establishment of the reliquary and containing other important matters of the remote epoch, is supplemented by numerous additional papers

in the possession of the Household Department of the Imperial Gov’t. Here also may be seen the official catalogue (Toyei Shuko), published by the Shimbi Shoin, of Tokyo. A few facsimile specimens of the articles preserved in the Shoso in are on exhibition at the Imperial Museum in Uyeno Park. Tokyo.

The Relics cover a wide range of artistic endeavor. Time has not dealt kindly with many of them, and few are as beautiful as the objects produced by present-day craftsmen. The most highly prized are those left by the Emperor Shōmu, collected by the Empress Komyo at his death and presented to the Todaiji Buddha. The prayer and the list which accompanied the gift are curious documents, with the date 26th day, 6th month, and 8th year of the Tempyo-shoho, signed by the Empress and bearing 489 impressions of the Emperor’s Seal, beside a long list of signatures of temple officials. Interesting among the objects are the round, hexagonal, octagonal, and 12-sided mirrors in white bronze, silver, and iron; decorated with birds, dragons, and other mythological beasts, flowers, landscapes, human figures, and the like. Some have madreperl inlaid in the polished backs (Korean work); others cloisonno and lacquered figures. Certain of those which have been excluded from the light and moisture during a thousand years are as sharp and clear in outline as when they came from the mould! Some are of Chinese origin and date from the Sui (589 to 618) and Tang (618 to 908) Dynasties. Those with the grape designs are almost exact copies of the mirrors of the Han Dynasty (b.c. 202 to a.d. 221), but date probably from the time of the Tang Princes. Those with the gold and silver designs on the backs are heidatsu- work, and those with the backs covered with thin plates of silver on which delicate images are traced, gin-hai. The cloisonne backs are not to be found now, and undoubtedly are exclusive products of one of the most ancient of the Japanese arts.

The Musical Instruments are chiefly of Chinese origin, excepting the few Korean harps (koto, or Shinra-kin, from Shinra, one of the four contemporary kingdoms of ancient Korea) made of Paulownia wood with decorative figures done in cut-leaf of gold — but now so badly worn and time-stained that only a faint trace of their former beauty is visible. Among the Chinese instruments are some seven-stringed koto, 4- (or 5-) stringed biwa, 4-stringed genkan (or Gekkin, from the name of its originator), several kinds of flutes (the ones with a cluster of reeds are called Sho, those made of a single piece of bamboo and blown at the end are Shakuhachi), harps, drums with porcelain bodies, plectrums for the biwa (lute), and so on. Certain of the latter are made of sandalwood and are decorated with figures of nacre inlaid; others are of maple dyed (red) with sapan-@@f pdfedecorated with madreper) jnajptSj while

still others are of mulberry. Those which carry ornaments of tortoise-shell glued to the body are skillfully made and attractive. One of the plectrums is made of ivory dyed crimson and engraved so as to produce effective figures in white (termed Bachiru engraving), while another is of sandalwood carrying figurines formed of gold and silver paint. The flutes are usually of Chinese and spotted bamboo, covered with black lacquer and not unfrequently decorated with heidatsu figures in gold and silver; the long mouthpieces are relics of early times and are now not employed. Quite unusual are the decorations on the stone, ivory, and bamboo flutes of curious models, with floral designs skillfully and painstakingly engraved. It is believed that certain of these instruments are unique survivors, since they are not to be found in any other part of the world. Even the models seem to have been destroyed.

The old Masks, of which there are upward of 160, date from the Nara epoch and many were perhaps used at the ceremonial inauguration of the Great Bronze Buddha; on the inside of certain of them are the names of the artisans who made them, the date, the uses to which they were put, etc. Some are made of carved wood, others of hemp fiber compressed and dyed; both styles are decorated with polychrome designs, and some have hair, eyebrows, and beard inserted. A wonderful fidelity to nature and an extraordinary variety of expression characterize the collection, which was manifestly made by half a score or more different artisans, since as many names are inscribed on them and as many differences in skill are apparent. Side by side with demon masks, with long noses, impossible ears, and ferocious, glowering faces, are others of amiable priests, laughing boys and girls, garrulous crones, whistlers, puling infants, and angry gods the veins of whose suffused faces stand out like whipcords, and from whose lifelike eyes dart beams of withering wrath. Many of them bear some allusion to Buddhism, and not a few picture Hindu divinities with Japanese attributes.

The Games played in the early Nara period are illustrated by various boards and accessories. At that time sugoroku (a kind of backgammon) was more popular than the present go, and certain of the boards are beautiful examples of madreperl inlay; the disks are of ivory. The {^-boards, of mulberry sandalwood, are marked out with ivory and decorated with ivory, tortoise-shell, nacre, etc. Conspicuous among the costumes are the ceremonial robes and moleskin belt of the Em peror Shōmu, with numerous theatrical robes of the period. The Imperial shoes were of the Chinese style decorated with gold, pearls, and precious jewels. In one section there is a miscellaneous collection of brushes, India-ink, ink-stones, scepters, carpets, pillows, some sword-canes, an assortment of small swords and sheath-knives and a familial* ^brnprising several

blades, a file, a gimlet, and a chisel. The assortments of incense-burners and fire-bowls differ but little in shape and materials from those of modern times, but the folding screens embellished with the feathers of birds bear a singular likeness to Hawaiian and Aztec work. The faces and hands of the human figures are painted in colors, the feathers being used to depict the clothing. The art came to Japan from China in the 7th cent., and Hernan Cortez found it developed to a high degree of perfection by the Purapecha Indians of Michoacan State, when he invaded Mexico in 1519-20. One of the screens dates from the 8th year of the Tempyo-shoho (a.d. 757). Among other prized relics of this era are two bronze statuettes of Buddha; a curious bosatsu painted in monochrome on hemp cloth; some lotus flowers of leather each with 32 petals painted with resplendent human figures, flowers, and birds; and numerous articles of gold, silver, white bronze, copper, brass, sahari (a bell-metal compounded of copper, lead, and tin), iron, tin, etc. Some are hammered, some cast, and not a few skillfully and attractively finished. Certain of the bowls, plates, drinking-cups, incense-burners, flagons, etc., are decorated with precious jewels set in, and a tracery so fine and delicate that they equal modern work.

Among the Weapons of quaint designs are many antique bows (yumi) with quivers of feathered arrows, the feathers being tipped with the wings of iridescent beetles. Some of the bows are made of catalpa (the American Indian term for the species cultivated in Japan under the name azusa)f and are called Azusa-yumi (a word often used in connection with the fidelity and fortitude of samurai). The arrows with ball heads are called kabura (turnip) from their resemblance to this vegetable. Among the many swords are straight ones, of a Chinese type, beautifully inlaid with gold, silver, and copper. The scarcity of iron in Old Japan caused it to be ranked with the semi-precious metals, and it is seen here superimposed on many brilliant surfaces. Rhinoceros-horn, aloe- and sandalwood, and shark-skin form the covering of many of the swordhilts, the sheaths being coated chiefly with lacquer with litharge paintings of birds, flowers, etc. The collection comprises many javelins (teboko) with straight heads and staffs wound with cord. Those with the oddly curved heads were peculiar to the time, and are not seen now. Among the host of boxes of all sizes are many of Korean workmanship differing but little from that of the present. As a rule they are stiff and awkward and not unlike certain 12th- and 13th-cent. reliquaries of European make, except that the tops are flat instead of being arched, and the madreperl and other embellishments are set in instead of showing in low relief. The gold and silver designs stamped on the leather-work on certain of the boxes are curiously like the early Spanish-Moorish work, the archaic figures accentuating^the resemblance. Note the fiae and delicate

mirror-box made of lacquered leather adorned with tortoiseshell and further embellished with heidalsu figures in gold and silver. A box made of aloe-wood is inlaid with wood figures; another shows such a skillful manipulation of litharge that a millennium has not dimmed it. A bizarre specimen of early Hindu work is a box of aloe-wood painted and covered with a thin sheet of crystal, on an ivory stand with incised floral designs. Near this is one ornamented with the carapace of a tortoise with outlines of gold and silver, and with tiny lozengeshaped wood plates, resting on an engraved ivory stand. One of the most striking in the collection is a small box of petrified wood with gold-dust painting, the grain of the wood being outlined with fine gold pencilings. Many of the boxes have gold or silver locks, and rich brocade linings, and were made manifestly to hold articles of priestly craft — the peculiar baton (often of jadeite) carried by Buddhist priests and called nyoi; the shubi, or ceremonial brush, the trident symbolical of condign punishment, etc. Curious among these are some of sharp and wonderfully preserved iron, larger than those used at present, made at a period when they were used as material as well as spiritual weapons.

The Buddhist Sutras are inferior to other collections in the Empire, and are much less attractive than those preserved at Koya-san. The Buddhist images carved of wood or cast in bronze differ from modern work only in the Hindu or Chinese features — indicative of their foreign origin. The many bells of an alloy of copper and gold are said to have formed part of the decoration of the Daibutsu at the time of the inaugural ceremony. Noteworthy among the numerous altar fitments is an unusually fine silver bowl (one of the choicest pieces in the museum) portraying a hunting scene, the delicate engraving of which is carried all over the outer surface. The constant recurrence of rhinoceros-horn as the medium out of which so many of these ancient articles were fashioned points as much to the taste of the epoch as to their Indian origin. Agate, crystal, and plain glass figure largely in the materials composing the cups, jugs, flasks, sa/ce-cups, and what-not displayed in one case, where there are also a number of bizarre flagons with big bodies and small mouths, and foreign bottles in braided cases, lacquered or decorated with birds, beasts, or flowers. Among the archaic jugs and pitchers are some of dark bronze covered with the fine patina of a thousand years. The lifeless conventionalism in the antique style of decoration of certain of these objects is very striking; the mouth of one of the pitchers is that of the human face, with a further resemblance worked out in a crude way. Another shows the heavy beak of some bird of prey, and still another the imperfect conception and the unskilled handling of both tools and medium in an art far from4ts present development. nai from

The collection of Ancient Pottery embraces more unique and uncopied specimens than any other in Japan. Age and ugliness are their most striking characteristics. Here one may see genuine specimens of very early Korean and Chinese wares, certain of the latter covered with a green spotted enamel popular in the opening years of the Christian era. The specimens of unpolished cloisonne (nagashi-jippo) date from the 8th cent, and are among the earliest known pieces of cloisonno enamel preserved in Japan. Those with floral designs in colors separated by cloison outlines in fine gold wire, with brilliant green, reddish-brown, and indigo enamels, date from a later period. — The assortment of embroideries and woven stuffs has not improved with age. The brocades are chiefly Chinese, and are badly faded. The rarest among them is a tapestry (perhaps of Persian origin) depicting foreigners on horseback hunting lions. There are numerous fragments of priestly robes, Indian carpets, etc. The old horse-trappings bear all the ear-marks of Chinese influence, and the saddle is indisputably Mongolian. The latter is decorated with cloud shapes painted in gold and silver dust, the seat is covered with a silk brocade cushion, and the queer old stirrups, of black iron with silver inlays of birds and flowers, are shaped to fit Chinese shoes. — In one apartment is a collection of crude agricultural implements, and tools used in various industries. The plough was evidently made for a museum, since it is of wood and iron, with crimson handles and floral adornments amid gold and silver clouds. The specimens of calligraphy near by, as well as the old flags and other articles, are preserved purely for their historic associations. The lacquer pieces are of interest chiefly because the heidatsu method employed in their decoration is much superior to present-day work. It consisted of laying pieces of gold or silver foil upon the surface of the lacquer, coating them, then rubbing the lacquer until the metal reappeared near the surface. The thin sheets were often embellished with hair-line drawings executed with astonishing skill. The many relics showing this form of art-work are highly prized.

The articles at once best preserved and of the greatest intrinsic beauty are those fashioned of Semi-precious Stones (gyoku), many of cryptocrystalline quartz, and all perhaps of Chinese origin. Chalcedony flutes, tall chalice-shaped drinking-cups, many beautiful trays, sard cups, and objects engraved with refinement and skill, characterize the collection, which, because of the beauty of the medium and the archaic designs, appeals strongly to the lover of glyptics. Accompanying the exhibit is a lot of early European glassware — drinking-cups, bottles, dishes, etc., white and colored. Certain of the bowls carry incised figures like the patterns on a tortoise-shell, while the cups are adorned with leaves, fishes, and the like. It is

thought that this rare and perhaps unique 7th- and 8th-cent. Roman work was brought to China by Persian trading-ships, or from Central Asia by caravan. The white agate articles are Chinese, as are also the amber objects and the fish-shaped toys. The Japanese crystal balls, several of which are unfinished, are not noteworthy. Beside the above there are hosts of minor articles too numerous to catalogue.

The Kdfuku-ji (PL B, 2), a Buddhist temple (Hosso sect), long known as one of the richest reliquaries of wood sculpture in Japan, is now but a melancholy simulacrum of a one-time powerful and perhaps splendid institution. It was founded originally (by Nakatomi Kamatari in 710) as the Yamaskinadera, at Yamashina, near Kyoto. Fujiwara Fuhito caused it to be transported bodily to Nara, where in due time it acquired fame and wealth. In the Middle Ages it possessed a small army of hired mercenaries who on more than one occasion carried disorder and confusion as far as the Palace gates at Kyoto. The original structure was burned along with many of its art treasures in 1717, some of the statues that were saved being taken at the time to Kyoto, Tokyo, and to other places in Nara. While those which remain are masterpieces, time has dealt no less leniently with them than with the militant brotherhood that once prayed to them. Tiie Rondo, a dumpy, ugly building with a superimposed roof smaller than the under one, has an interior so humble that the ambulatory is of plain dirt, and the beams are merely rough-hewn. The images occupy a sort of granite plinth 3 ft. or more above the floor, and are so large that they leave scant room for aught else. The immense gilded and seated image of Shaka is flanked by the customary group of inexorable demon-quelling guardians, conspicuous among them (right) a Senju-Kwannon in the act of benediction, and at the right of this a Yakuo-bosatsu. The smaller Amida at the left is flanked by Yakujo, a companion figure to that at the right. The gayly decorated, enshrined figure is Benten. The extraordinarily expressive martial statues of the Shi-tenno at the 4 corners of the platform are ascribed to Unkei. The two colossal sculptured heads in the natural wood, representing Indra and Brama, though accredited by the priests to an unknown 7th-eent. Korean carver, are unmistakably Japanese, and are more likely the work of Unkei' s adept pupil J okaku. The smaller images of Jizo, Z/onen Shonin, etc., are mediocre.

The Nanen-do (PL B, 2), an octagonal shrine (9th in the list of the 33 holy places sacred to Kwannon) with a tiled roof, demon antefixes, and a hoshu-no-tama, contains some notable statuary, conspicuous among which is a huge seated Kwannon (attributed to Kokei, a contemporary of Unkei) on a platform said (erroneously) to have been erected by Kdbo-Daishi. The Gods of the Four Directions are worth looking at, but

they are less noteworthy than the six images (perhaps by Kwaikei) of seated priests who 1 in ample robes, which spread about them in supple folds, holding censers in their hands, carry on their meditations and their prayers in the shadow of this retreat. Their faces have a very individual force of expression, their glass eyes all the intensity of life. The lines of the mouth show such a resigned bitterness, the veins of the forehead so much knowledge, that it makes one uneasy to feel all these keen looks encountering one's own, penetrating one with all the mute interrogation which the meditation of centuries has enriched with such profound thought. One of them has a proud, energetic countenance, calm and steadfast, envisaging life with a direct gaze; another, with clasped hands, is a sublime representation of fervent prayer in his intense concentration of all the powers of thought; yet another, with painfully contracted features, is pathetic, a poor, distracted soul, seeking some moral standpoint earnestly desired and fervently implored. All these statues are haunting in their expressive beauty and plastic nobility. They are among the purest and most beautiful sculptures in the world, the most grandiose in their breadth and simplicity, the most touching in their intimate sincerity. They show us that prior to the Kamakura period an admirable art flourished in Japan under the Fujiwara of the 11th and 12th centuries.' (Gaston Migeon.) — Facing the Nanen-ddf across the park, is the weather-beaten old

Tokon-do, dedicated to V akushi-N yorai and containing a figure of this divinity backed by a strikingly handsome gilded mandorla enriched with a host of figurines sculptured in low relief. The flanking images are the Indian goddess, Benzaiten, and Taishahu, the Brahman Indra. The excellently carved Shi-tennu, and the two huge figures of Amida-butsu against the wall, are too good for their tawdry environment. Facing this edifice is a curious old pine tree (called the Hana-no~matsu, or flowering pine) said to have been planted by Kobo-Daishi nearly 1100 yrs. ago! The wide-spreading branches, nearly 100 ft. long, are upheld by stout poles, and the tree is a worthy rival of the Karasaki Pine which overlooks Lake Biwa.

The big neutral-tinted, 5-storied Pagoda, 165 ft. high, which rises near by from a granite plinth 54 ft. sq. and which is surmounted by a bronze demon-arrester, dates from 1462 (30 yrs. before Columbus discovered America) and occupies the site of an ancient one erected sometime during the 8th cent. The peculiar architectural features of its prototype have been followed in this one, which, with its rakish uptilted roof corners, its double demon antefixes, bronze wind-bells, and the like, possesses a jaunty air which belies its great age. The smaller, 3-storied pagoda, near by, was erected at a much later period.

The traveler with time to spare may elect to obtain a card

of admission from the hotel manager and visit Mr. T. Sekki’b attractive little Landscape Garden, not far from the museum. There is an upper and lower pond, quaint bridges, a tea-house in the sedate cha-no-yu style, a lotus-pool, iris-bed, banks of azaleas, a host of lovely cnerry blooms in April, and scarletcoated maples in Nov., and a near-by rose-garden which is a delight to lovers of such. It is a delightful retreat, with tasteful walks and vistas, and a charm in harmony with every season. The genial owner dwells on the premises in an adorable little house to which foreign visitors are welcome, providing they will sip a cup of tea in a pretty little room in the formal Japanese style, the while enjoying from the balcony a view which the average Occidental would not deem possible in so restricted a space.

The *Nara Museum (Hakubutsu-kwan) is housed (Pl. C, 2) in a new building (open from 9 to 4; fee, 3 sen) erected specially for the purpose in the park (10 min. walk from the hotel) and contains a small but choice collection of genuine antiquities which the traveler — particularly if he be interested in glyptic art — will not wish to miss. It has been referred to by art critics as one of the richest treasuries of wood sculpture in the world, and albeit some of the wonderful old masterpieces of Kobo-Daishi, An-namiy Kobenf the great Unkei and his talented son Tokei, etc., and of certain Chinese and Indian sculptors who died more than a millennium ago, are badly vermiculated and are falling into decay, they have not lost all their extraordinary charm.

Nara stands in the front rank as the shrine of sculpture in Japan, for it was in and near the old capital that the first workshops of the great woodcarvers and bronze-founders were set up, not a few of them in the shadow of temples and monasteries, or under Imperial protection. As the treasures turned out of them were mostly hieratic, they gravitated naturally into the hands of priests or emperors, which accounts for the fact that those which have come down to us to form the nucleus of the present collection have been obtained from, or loaned by, some temple, or form part of some royal collection or group regarded as national treasures. Many of them are superb and satisfying examples of a unique art in which the Japanese have ever been preeminent, and in which the early masters endeavored to give form to the noble visions which the new religion of Buddha opened to them. So perfect was the skill of these old masters, so subtle their imagination, and so speedy their execution, that the museum (one of the throe greatest in Japan, possesses in its storerooms ten times as many sculptured wood images as they have room to display, and 30 times as many kakemonos as are shown in the space devoted to them. While the display of statuary is practically permanent, the kakemonos and other paintings are changed about every 60 days — not only to present a more varied assortment, but also to prevent their ruin by strong sunlight, and other atmospheric agencies.

At rare intervals certain of the statues or other relics are sent to the Kyoto or Tokyo Museums, thus to give them a wider circulation; and sometimes special ones are returned to the temples to which they belong. Again, certain public-spirited men place private collections of different kinds in the museum for a time, bo that the public may enjoy them. The collection of paintings, in kakemono and mikemono form, by artists of the various Chinese and Japanese schools, is less valuable than those in the Kyoto anel Tokyo Museums. Some of the bronzes date from times as early as the Suiko poriod (540-

645), and are excellent and well-preserved specimens of an art that evidently sprang up soon after Japan’s definite establishment as a nation. The collection is practically free from forgeries, and where there is uncertainty about the authenticity of an exhibit it is carefully noted. The classification in both Japanese and English is of particular benefit to the bi-lingual scholar, for purposes of comparison, etc. In rooms set apart for it is a small but excellent collection of early porcelains, and some beautiful little gem-like shrines well worth looking at. At present the first three of tne 13 groundfloor rooms are devoted to wood, bronze, lacquer, and allied sculptures, and they are by far the most interesting. A number of skilled wood-carvers (some of them the direct descendants of the old-time workers) still pursue their profession at Nara, and they are referred to at the end of this article. — The museum officials are usually willing to show special kakemonos, etc., to interested persona with credentials.

The First Room contains a number of glass cases in which the ancient sculptural art of Yamato is seen at its best; the most striking figures (among the best in the museum) are those in the huge central case, as they command and hold the attention by their oddity. Certain of them arc frankly Hindu in char acter, with long, straight bodies, flattish faces, pointed ears, blunt features, thick lips, and with torsos girded with strikingly graceful drapery that falls in straight folds to the:eet. Some hold vases with lotus flowers in their hands, arid the imagination easily pictures them the prototypes of the original teachers who came to Japan from India to implant more firmly the teachings of Buddha; their names indicate that they were saints (bosatsus) and the tall, oddly shaped pierced mandorlas which rise at the back of their heads confirm this. The most singular figure in the motley group is the Kwanzpon-bosatm (a Buddhist saint) loaned by the Horyu-ji; a tall, willowysylph-like figure resembling an Egyptian goddess, of carved wood (sculptor unknown) with excellently chiseled drapery that falls below the feet. Of almost equal merit is the Kokuzb bosatsu (a Buddhist deity that resides in space; one of the personifications of wisdom) at the left, manifestly by the same artist and, like its companion, more than 1200 yrs. old. The splendidly vigorous and imposing images at the corners, Ko~ moku-tenyJikoku-teni Tamon-ten, and Zocho-ten, the four great kings that protect the world at the cardinal points, are instinct with fierce energy and implacable purpose, and along with the tall figure of Fukuken saku are the sole survivors of a bizarre style of sculpture popular during the 8th cent. The full-length statues, in the flat wall-cases, of the disciples of Shaka, are manifestly Hindu and are ascribed to Mondoshi, an 8th-cent. sculptor of Indian origin. They are noteworthy examples of a style commonly employed prior to the 12th cent. After carving a figure in wood, or building it upon a skeleton framework (one of which is shown in the case) it was covered with strong canvas, then lacquered, the resulting image being light and practically imperishable. The statues in one of the cases wear helmets and armor, and some have scarves about their loins. Some are painted and lacquered in black and old

gold in low, rich tones, to which time has added a harmonious patina. Ashura-o, with 3 faces and 6 slender arms, is very striking, while Kakura-o (the Indian bird-god, Garuda), with a beak like a vulture, is strangely like certain of the old Aztec gods. Kinara-o has Mongoloid features, and Hiba-Kara-o is distinctively 15th-cent. Spanish. All the figures are curious survivals of a period when the virile martial spirit found frequent expression in these guardians of the cherished doctrines of Buddha.

The figures in the opposite case are much less warlike; 1 Rakora, a gentle and ingenuous figure, with closed eyes and folded arms, is draped in an ample cloak with black stripes, falling in supple folds over a red skirt; he wears wooden shoes turned up at the toes. Furona is a figure in which the antique sentiment of the finest Greek statues appears: the mouth is somewhat full, the eyes.widely opened, the naked feet display their admirable modeling in plaited wood sandals, the breast is bare, the ribs well indicated and also cunningly modeled; a mantle passes over the left arm in superb transversal folds. Subodai, with aground head, chubby face, and bare feet in sandals, is draped in a full striped mantle, from which the supple left hand emerges. Kasen-en is the most expressive of all: he is speaking with a very mournful air; the teeth are visible between the parted lips; his mantle has slipped from his bare shoulders, and, passing from the hip over the left wrist, falls in folds no sculptor has surpassed in nobility. These statues are strangely moving in their grand simplicity, achieving as they do the expression of spiritual life, beauty of drapery and attitude, and a general verity so absolute that no ethnic barriers interpose between our emotion and theirs.’ (Gaston Migeon.) — Mokkcuren, in the same case, is sadly mutilated, but is expressive. The curious bronze slab (H okke-mandara) in one of the cases (a precious relic which dates from the 7fch cent, and belongs to the Hase-dera Temple), is one of the earliest examples of religious bronze work, displaying in basrelief a Buddhist temple, figures of the Shi-tenndf and (formerly) a thousand tiny Buddhas — some of which are now effaced. The lower right-hand corner has been broken and replaced by a strip of wood quite like the main body. The old wood masks in this room are 8th-cent. work and are worth looking at. The model of the 5-story pagoda shows the early Nara style of architecture, with beams sunk in the plaster. The clay figures in one of the cases belong to the set in the pagoda at Horyu-ji and are by Tori Busski (7th cent.). One of the bronze statuettes of Kwanzeon-bosatsu in a case dates from the Suiko period. Another bronze considered of great worth is the small figure of Buddha when born (rather a virilelooking infant) standing by a big bowl in the central case. The seated figure of the priest Gwn, made of incense-wood lac-

quered, carved by his own hand in 728, and occupying a seat in a wall-case, is an excellent example of Tempyd work; as is also the seated figure (in the same case) of Yuima, which came from China and belongs to the Koklce-ji. There are many other statues, etc., in this room but they are surpassed by those of

The Second Room, which contains some of the great priest Kobo-Daishi’ s best work in the form of 10 pierced wood slabs (the remaining 2 of the set are in the Imperial Museum at Tokyo) of guardian deities in low relief so arranged as to be adjusted to a background; they are demoniac figures, convulsed in their movement, but so charged with virility and emphasis that their very hideousness attracts. Chief among the other statues here is a terrifying one of Jikoku-tenno (by Kobo-Daishi) in armor, brandishing a sword and with threatening eyes that seem to eject malignity like forked lightning. Noteworthy also are the two Deva ‘Kings in gilded and lacquered wood, trampling on demons that squirm mightily beneath their huge feet. One can scarcely imagine how a sculptor could make wood images expressive of more irresistible strength and latent force than these short, massive, and amazingly muscular giants seem to possess. Their powerful outstretched arms, swelling muscles, and clenched, sledge-hammer fists make the timid recoil involuntarily at sight of them. They date from the Jogwan period (791-887) and are perhaps by Kobo-Daishi. The always benevolent Buddha, in a glass case here, is ascribed (perhaps too hastily) to the master Jocko (son of Kosho), whose genius made the beginning of the 11th cent, one of the most notable epochs of Japanese sculpture. The greatest of his works (the efforts of a life-time) perished with the destruction of the H djb-ji built by the Fujiwara Regent Michinaga. The figure is shown with the right hand upraised in benediction, the breast bare under a robe that falls in harmonious curves, and with that admirable expression of abstraction and neutrality which every sculptor of Buddha’s images has always striven to produce. In the same case is a strikingly archaic Monju-bosatsu seated on a lion; an old image dating from the Jogwan period. A Fugen-bosatsut seated on an elephant, in another case, is very old and dates from the early Fujiwara times. Of considerable historic interest (in that they show the costumes of their era) are the small carved wood images of the Fujiwara Empress Jingo- Kogo, and of Nakatsu- Hime (a companion figure), belonging to the Yakushi-ji. The Negroid figure at the right, of Monju, once belonged to the bonze Ryoben. The immense seated figure of Dainichi- Nyorai (Jogwan period) has been unskillfully repaired, and it show’s the method of making such images of cloth and lacquer. The handsome Eleven-faced Kwannon of sculptured wood, on a gilded base, belongs to the Yakushi-ji, dates from the Fujiwara epoch, and is unusually graceful and well executed.

The Third Room contains some of the finest carved statuary that the immortal Unkei has left to a wondering posterity. Nowhere can the extraordinary work of this master be studied to better advantage, for the pieces here are unrivaled in their impressiveness and seductive charm. The student who has laboriously traced the handiwork of this 12th-cent. master in the maze of temples and mausolea throughout the length and breadth of Japan, and has more than once with difficulty repressed his indignation at the tawdry carpenter-work fatuously ascribed to him by ignorant priests and bonzes, realizes with a quiet, vindicated joy that here, at last, he stands in the presence of indisputable masterpieces — grandiose works fashioned with infinite patience and loving care by one whose soul belonged to Buddha, his master, and whose whole life was spent in giving tangible expression to his images or to those of his guardians and teachers. Some of the figures are marvels of animated expression, marred neither by carelessness, insipidity, nor exaggeration in form; there are no defects, no conventional stiffness, no cunningly contrived subterfuges. Had time dealt as gently with them as did Unkei' s marvelous chisel, they would be to the Nara Museum what the Venus de Milo is to the Louvre, or the Apollo Belvedere to the Vatican — imperishable records of an art that faded with the master whose shadow only has since been thrown across the Land of Yamato.

Of the several figures from Unkei's chisel, extraordinarily expressive ones (attributed by some authorities to Kokei), are Anteira-tai-sho, of colored wood, with a tiny horse’s head peering out of the backward-flowing masses of his red hair; and the companion image, Santeira-tai-sho, in the act of sighting an arrow, with a tiny monkey peering from amid his equally fiery hair. The remaining eight of the original ten figures are now scattered. Two of Unkei' s most admirable pieces are unmarked because no records exist to prove they were his. One, Muchaku-bosatsu, is distinctively Unkeicsquc and shows the marks of genius in every line of his magnificent head and wise old face; the thick but fine features, the prominent forehead lined with profound thought, and the togadraped robe with the ancient colors showing dimly, might well allow him to pass for a Roman centurion in priestly garb. The other, one of the most splendidly realistic bits in the museum, shows Vimaia-Kirti (sometimes called Yuima, a Chinese doctor, and ascribed by some to Tokei, Unkei' s son) seated tailorfashion on a fine old temple chair, in an attitude of amiable argument, the right hand outstretched with two fingers extended, as if emphasizing something that he has said; the left holding up a corner of his flowing robe. The whole smiling genial figure radiates intense vitality and tolerant conviction, the one marring feature being the glass eyes, which are set so

closely together that they give rise to the suspicion that the original was cross-eyed. The polychrome statues in the same case, the embodiment of unrestrained anger and power, are of Kongd-rikishi, and are perhaps authentic specimens of Tokens best work. The near-by life-size image of Gigei-ten, with a graceful body (Tempyo period work of lacquer and incense) draped in clinging polychrome stuff, marked by an amused, incredulous expression, is curious in that the torso was carved by Unkei to fit the head. The companion statue of Borden (carved by An- Nami during the Kamakura epoch) is decidedly feminine in suggestiveness. The wine-red face with which this Hindu divinity (with Vishnu and Siva comprising the Hindu Trimurti) is customarily shown, surmounts a graceful body adorned with anklets and enveloped in rich polychromatic drapery held in place by a knotted scarf and girdle. Like its companion it stands on an upturned lotus, and it looks more like a well-fed, finery-loving princess than the personified Brahma. — Other admirable specimens of Unkei1 s work in this room are the warlike figures of Kwomoku-ten-b, Tamon-ten-o, Zoocho-ten-d, and Jikoku-ten-d. Very early Yamato work (8th cent.) are the sculptured, weather-beaten images (by Gyogi) of Haira-Taisho, and M eishira-T aishb (of the 12 warrior deities).

The wonderful old carved head with glass eyes in this case is by Tokei. The bizarre, life-size wood figure of Shubodai is attributed to An- Nami (who died in 1253). Note the fleeing figure of Zenzai Doji, also by him. The celebrated demon lantern-bearers (by Koben, Kamakura period) upholding lamps in the central glass case, are Tentd-ki and Ryutb-ki; both are owned by the Kojuku-ji, and in the throat of each (detachable heads) are rolls of paper giving their history. Note the savage perplexity of one of the imps, and the vacuous stolidity of the other. The dumpy image of the immortal Gyogi-bosatsu was perhaps carved by his own hand and is one of the few of this really great man that the traveler will see in Japan; it is owned by the Tosho-dai-ji. The awe-inspiring seated figure of Emma-o, the King of Hell, with an enormous body, vociferating terrible words from a mouth twitching with vindictiveness and emphasized by terrifying glass eyes, chills the marrow in one's bones and haunts the vision; it dates from the Kamakura period and is by.some unknown but masterly hand (perhaps Koun). There are many other distorted demons and divinities in this room, some of them badly mauled by the hand of time, but all representative of the greatest artistic epochs in Japan's history. One can scarcely overlook the two prodigious Nib (12th-cent. work) of carved and

Eainted wood — half-naked figures with salient muscles and reast-bones, magnificent examples of learned anatomy, the faces and hands — the former resembling those of the Furies — marked by unusual vivacity of expression. Almost as

striking are the chiseled wood images (by An- N ami, whose name is carved on the bottom of the feet of the figures) of Shinja-Daid, Jizd-bosatsu, and Shi- Kong 6-jin.

The Succeeding Rooms contain collections of makemono and kakemono by various artists, chiefly of the Tosa school (MitsunobUfYoshimitsUy Mutsuhigef and others); some are noteworthy, but they are always liable to change in position or to be withdrawn and sent to other museums. The several paintings of the Sixteen Rakan are executed in rich, low tones in pleasing contrast to certain others here. Conspicuous among the historical objects (and by which the people set great store) are some examples of the chirography of famous emperors and bonzes, and some excellent pieces of llth-cent. armor, equestrian trappings, and the like. Choice bits are the little religious symbols, veritable gems of early craftsmanship, in the form of pagoda-like shrines (of the style called Shari-lo) dating from the 13th cent, and bedecked with jewels and gold foil; the inner surface of the tiny doors is enriched by a host of delicate figurines like the painted graces on an ivory fan. Some are of wood, wonderfully carved; others of brass, bronze, or lacquer. The one of glass with the tiny pebbles inside has some legendary association with Buddha’s early life. The bronze shutter of a lamp which anciently adorned the Nanen-do is said to be more than a thousand yrs. old. The diminutive wood towers in the glass case are a part of the lot preserved in the reliquary at the Horyu-ji.

Porcelainists will be interested in the miscellaneous collection of pieces exhumed in different parts of Yamato — the cradle of the Japanese race. Noteworthy among the bronze pieces is a much-copied group called Kwagen-kei, from the Kofuku-jiy formed by a lion supporting a stem composed of squirming dragons which terminate in a circle that girdles a shapely gong; Critics disagree as to its origin — some proclaiming it Chinese, others Japanese work of the Tempyo period. Certain curio-dealers make a business of selling what purports to be the original (worth 15,000 yen) to credulous foreigners. Among the Imperial treasures are some fragments of stuff worn by Prince Shotoku (in the 7th cent.), and 3 handsome black-lacquered shutters embellished with gold and silver characters, and gold lotus leaves and stems — a gift to one of the temples by Minamoto Yoritomo, in 1199. Noteworthy among the other bronze objects is a strange piece of 13th-cent. work (by Koben) in the form of a demon with a lantern on his head, and about whom a serpent is coiled.

In a detached building not far from the museum is a Workshop (Sugimura-Tekko) where expert sculptors may be seen duplicating some of the most famous wood statues exhibited in the museum. Visitors, particularly curio-lovers, should see the display in the showroom here if for no other reason than to convince themselves of the astonishing fidelity

with which old Japanese statuary can be duplicated by modern workmen. Various reasons are given for these authorized reproductions; one being that they diminish the number of spurious antiques sold by Nara dealers as originals ‘removed from such and such a temple.’ Another, that art-lovers can thus enjoy by purchase duplicates of pieces that no money could buy. Certain figures are carved out of well-seasoned sandalwood (byakudan), or camphor-w ood (kusu-no-ki); or made lightly, strongly, and in an almost imperishable manner of a compound of cloth and lacquer. Great skill and considerable time are required for sculptured wood figures. Prices range from 25 to 1000 yen, according to size, etc. A complete pair of Shi-tenno, made with such embarrassing fidelity to the originals that experts only could detect the fraud, require the attention of 10 or 15 workmen for 6 months or more, and sell for about ¥1000. Reproductions in cement of the clay figures in the Horyu-ji pagoda are also made.

Excursions. The admirer of ancient Buddhist temples, or the treasures which they often enshrine, will feel amply repaid by a visit to the Hokke-ji, the *Toshodai-ji, Saidai-ji, and * Yakushi-ji, a chain of tottering old relics scattered over the Nara Plain, and celebrated for their fine statuary. (Comp, the plan of the Environs of Nara.) By making an all-day excursion of it one may continue past the Yakushi-ji to Kori yama, inspect the goldfish hatchery (about noon) and the ruins of a sometime famous castle there; proceed thence (by rly.) to * Horyu-ji and return to the hotel late in the afternoon. Jinrikis are available (at about ¥1.25) as far as Koriyama Station, but on a bright day the walk is so delightful that few will wish to resort to this infantile mode of locomotion. If one does the first part of the journey on foot it will be a good plan to take one of the hotel-boys along to act as guide (as the footpath across the rice-fields between Hokke-ji and Toshodai-ji is a bit twisty). He will be useful to carry the lunch-basket, and to act as interpreter at the temples. This is almost a necessity at the Hokke-ji, which is a nunnery where men are supposed to be conspicuous by their absence. Grandiose is the fitting word in the description of the colossal statues of bronze, gilded wood and lacquer that one finds in these sometime rich and powerful old fanes, and they are strongly suggestive of a period when Buddhism had a hard-and-fast grip on the native imagination and great wealth was lavished on the graven images of the ‘Enlightened One’ and his saintly retinue.

The road to the Hokke-ji (E, Pl. B, 2) leads past the red torii at the entrance to the Nara Park, thence on to the Kage kiyo-mon, or gate to the Daibutsu Compound (E, Pl. C, 2), where it turns abruptly to the left and follows the Kyo-kaido, or old Imperial highway to Kyoto. A 5 min. walk along this carries one past the base of a hill w’herc a fence bars ingress to a care-

fully kept gravelled walk leading up to the (right) inclosed tomb of the Emperor Shōmu. Beyond this (35 min. from the hotel) one passes (right) the Gov’t Agricultural Experiment Station, and after crossing (10 min.) the rly., soon reaches the temple. According to tradition it was constructed (about a.d. 735) by the order of Shōmu’s consort, as a retreat for women, inasmuch as when this emperor caused the Todai-ji to be erected no women were allowed in it. Having thus been constructed by an Imperial edict, the dynasty of abbesses has been of the royal blood. The Imperial crest is in evidence on the tiles of the surrounding wall and the buildings, but everything about the place excepting the rosy-cheeked nuns is fast falling to decay. A buxom lass radiating good health and shyness opens the creaking doors of the old honden and points out the modest treasures. Inside the queer old black-lacquered shrine on the main altar is an unusually graceful Eleven-faced Kwannon of carved wood — a voluptuous figure, somewhat Hindu in type, with attractive flesh folds that seem to rebel against the restraint of the draperies and the airy banderolas that scarcely hide them. The slender right hand holds up the salient curves of this daintily sculptured drapery, while the left holds a vase from which springs a lotus in bloom. The bizarre mandorla is composed of chiseled lotus leaves suspended from the ends of graduated wires. According to the tradition referring to this figure, Kōmyō-kōgō> wife of the Emperor Shōmu, was such a beautiful and saintly character that she was regarded by some as a material incarnation of the Goddess Kwannon. A celebrated Hindu sculptor sojourning in Japan fell madly in love with her and wanted to carve her image, but as her Imperial person w'as too sacred to be touched he was obliged to content himself, for his model, with her image as reflected from the surface of the adjacent lotus-pool — whence the background of lotus leaves. More than one of the temple relics hint at the forbidden subject of love. The next most precious possession belongs to this class and is represented by a pathetic kneeling figure of a shaven-headed nun with delicate hands emerging from ample sleeves. The body is of pounded and amalgamated paper riddled with tiny insect holes — true vermiculated work. According to the story it is the image of the unfortunate Yokkohuye, a dashing Court beauty of the 12th cent., who was loved by a gallant samurai whom she loved madly in return. As his parents refused to permit him to marry her, he retired to a monastery at Saga and became a bonze. Hearing of this the distracted maiden followed him and sought to have him withdraw’, but the disappointed lover had already taken the oath and in obedience thereto was obliged to disavow her. Broken-hearted, she returned to Nara, shaved her head, and entered the Hokke-ji nunnery. Many passionate letters were exchanged during the years that followed,

and before she died she took these, pounded them to a pulp, moulded them into a statue of herself, and sent it to her lover as a proof of undying fidelity!

Hard by this image, which is tenderly enshrined in a glass case, is a seated and very lifelike figure of Kobo-Daishi, said to have been carved by the hand of the great master himself. At the right of the room, in a recess, is a striking statue of Monju seated on a big lion. In the same reliquary is a curious Eleven-faced Kwannon (of Indian origin) noteworthy for technic, truth, and vigor; surrounding the figure are 11 white disks on each of which is a gold letter in Sanscrit. In an adjoining room is a Fudo with both legs doubled under him, and with imitation jewels on his breast. — As one leaves the compound with its group of low buildings behind its defensive wall, one is impressed by the calmness and serenity of the place; some fine old cherry trees and a few languid bananas show their heads above the garden wall as if startled at the temerity of the visitor. Far across the plain the spires of Nara glisten brightly at the foot of the mts.

The road to the Saidai-ji (E, Pl. B, 2) follows a devious course across the paddy-fields, with a S.E. trend; the main road to the Toshodai-ji is reached in about 1/4 hr., where the Yakushi-ji pagoda is seen at the far left, and the Saidai-ji among the trees about 1 M. to the right. As the images in this temple differ but little from those to be seen in the temples yet to be visited, the traveler will not lose much by omitting it. Conspicuous among the treasures is a huge, gilt Kwannon of a plump Hindu woman type, with the slight curling mustachio one often notes on similar images; a Monju mounted on the customary lion led by an armed guard; a big Shaka carved in the natural wood and backed by a huge pierced mandorla covered with figurines; and a number of minor idols. The bronze images of the Shi-tenno are celebrated, but not so much so as those in the Yakushi-ji. Returning to the main road (the one-time populous highway from Koriyama to Kyoto, and along which the powerful daimyos went on their annual pilgrimage to the Yedo Court) we follow it for 15 min., then turn up at the right to a neglected park crowded with old temples, said to date from the Tempyo era.

The *Tōshōdai-ji (E, Pl. B, 2) was established by Ganjin, a Chinese bonze who on his voyage from China was shipwrecked and blinded by the salt water. The admirably carved wood image of him is considered so valuable that it is kept in a sealed godown forbidden even to the head priest, who cannot show it without written instructions from the chief of the Nara Prefecture. One well-known critic writes rapturously of the image, which though fine is scarcely equal to Unkei's best work. 'This supreme masterpiece is preserved in a niche inclosed by curtains of old silk. When they are drawn aside,

the spectator is face to face with a startling apparition. He is seated with clasped hands, his thumbs pressed together; his robe is crossed in two large black and red folds upon his breast; his shaven forehead is deeply wrinkled, and under the closed eyelids the pupils are suggested with extraordinary vivacity and sensibility. He was blind, and the veiled eyes are evidently those of a being whose whole life was internal, and who, in the obscurity of this mysterious retreat, placidly prolonged the unfathomable dream, the intoxications of which he had been spared. There is a strange calm on the face, which no earthly emotion seems ever to have ruffled. One has a sense of uneasy shame at having laid a profane hand upon the curtains of the shrine, disturbing by an indiscreet curiosity the touching and eternal dream of the sage/ — The old godowns (8th-cent. work) in log-cabin style, with overlapping beam-ends and resting above the ground on sturdy posts, look as primitive as the ark, — recalling in fact the lacustral abode of some prehistoric patriarch. The fine lotus-bloom bronze fountain, over whose dimpled edges tiny streams of crystal water well and fall with a musical tinkle, is the only animate thing in the great, solemn, deserted court. When the old bonze ambles into view carrying his bunch of dangling, rusted, prisonlike keys, he seems like some queer, wrinkled old sprite from the dim past, returning to a home deserted by him a thousand yrs. agone. The robust wood columns which support the massive buildings are bound with rusted iron bands, and the beams and joists are embedded in the plaster, in the old Yamato style. The great draughty Kodo with its frigid cement floor and the musty odor which time gives would resemble a prison were it not for the huge and splendid old gilded image of Miroku-bosatsu, backed by a superb mandorla covered with carved and gilded figures that recall the florid exuberance and the wanton capriciousness of Borromenisco work. At the topmost point is a small gold Buddha carved in low relief, and trailing down the sides in beautiful, sinuous curves are lines of flying iennin that express in every attitude the rich flowering of an unrestrained art. So much is the work like the best efforts of Churriguera that, were it not for the Japanese environment, one could readily imagine one’s self in some vast, forgotten cathedral of Southern Spain: nothing of the kind in Nara is finer in composition and execution. Two guardian figures with martial air stand at the right and left, but they pale into insignificance before the striking and unusually tall lion at the end of the room, polychrome in color, and dating from the Kamakura period. It is decidedly Persian in character, and when surmounted by the Monju which was stolen from it back some 300 yrs. ago it must have been a resplendent work of art.

The Kondo, across the court from the Kodo, contains

a large and curious Rushana, or Birushana-butsu (God of Light, as typified by the Nara Daibutsu).

It is referred to locally as the 16-foot Buddha. It is made of bamboo lacquered and gilded over and is backed by an immense mandorla embellished by 3000 tiny Buddhas. At the right is a huge standing Yakushi-Nyorai, and at the left a Thousand-handed Kwannon of overwhelming proportions; scores of the larger hands hold scepters, lotus flowers, and various Buddhist symbols, while others make the gesture of benediction with golden fingers. On and about the platform are various masterly figures: four Shi-tenno in armor and helmets, watching with menacing gestures and contracted faces; statues of Indra and of Brahma, both with heavy, voluptuous features that betray their Hindu origin, and both enveloped in revealing robes that fall in straight folds from the waist, festoon over the feet in front, and curve out in trains behind. The old coffered ceiling with its polychrome decorations shows traces of former beauty, and the great bronze bell in the outer yard has a voice strangely sweet to be so old — more than 1200 yrs.! The graceful Drum-Tower near by, which is opened only on special occasions, enshrines a delicate Monju on a lion — a national treasure, with a gilded crown and sword dating from the Tempyo period. — Leaving the extraordinarily attractive old court with its masterpieces and its saddening memories, and passing through the E. gate, first to the right, then to the left, we come, in about 10 min. to

The *Yakushi-ji, (E, Pl. B-C, 2) founded by the (40th) Emperor Temmu sometime between 673 and 686, removed hither between 708 and 715, and at present one of the oldest temple structures in the Nara region. Formerly one of the richest and most brilliant of the Yamato fanes, it long since fell from its high estate, and is now a crumbling and melancholy reminder of a golden past. It stands in what was once a magnificent park where the remaining trees are centuries old, and though sadly neglected it is celebrated far and wide for its unique art-treasures in the form of gigantic bronze images that date from the early years of the 7th cent. The custodian dwells at the left of the entrance to the unkempt yard. We enter first the Kodo, where, sitting on a wide quartzite platform (called white agate and said to be from China) is one of the most extraordinary examples of early bronze statuary in Japan — a superb green bronze Yakushi-Nyorai, of majestic and noble proportions, 9 ft. high, fashioned with original vigor and grace, and shown in the attitude of making the gesture of benediction. The flight of steps which leads up to the pedestal is adorned with delicate bas-reliefs, while behind is a (new) richly gilded mandorla embellished with Sanscrit characters in gold. Flanking this central figure are colossal bronze upright statues 13 ft. high of (right) Gwakko-bosatsu, and Nikko-bosatsu — all reputed to have been cast at Okamoto upward

of 1300 yrs. ago! The head of the Gwakko was melted off by the fire which scarred his skirts 200 yrs. ago, and was replaced. According to one art critic ‘there is an elegance in their grandeur and a character in their beauty which have been attained. only in the great epochs of bronze statuary in ancient Greece and in the Italy of the Renaissance. Around these majestic divinities of somber bronze, the rich patina of which envelops them in soft reflections, the four Shi-tenno of green-lacquered and gilded wood, in their rich armor, add a picturesque note of the happiest harmony/ The sculptured wood figure of Yakushi at the left of the bronze figure dates from the Fujiwara period and is noteworthy for fine carving. A jarring note is imparted by a stack of disabled wood demons near by and which remind one strongly of modern cigar-store Indians. — • Crossing the yard between the twin lotus-ponds we come to

The Kondo, misnamed the Golden Hall, where there are reproductions in a highly polished black copper alloy of the images in the Kodo; here the benevolent Yakushi, God of Medicine, and mitigator of man’s sufferings, is seated on a great square bronze base of unique design and Indian workmanship — one of the most striking examples of its kind in Japan. Traces of gold foil shine out in certain spots, and the intricate bas-reliefs and tracery are relics of a skillful hand. Beneath a shallow arcade divided by a caryatid crouch two naked figures with loin-cloths, in the midst of serpents; their strangely dressed hair and their gnome-like ugliness suggest alien origin. They are unlike anything else in Japan and are representative of an art (perhaps Dravidian) which happily has not been extensively copied. The Shi-tenno in their green robes and gilded armor are handsome examples of the best work of J bcko.

The Pagoda (p. 183) is extraordinarily well preserved for its age — about 1200 yrs. The 3 stories rise one above the other in pairs, the 6th being surmounted by a bronze demonarrester 115 ft. above the ground. The style of architecture is distinctively that of the remote Nara period — emphasized in the curious manner in which the compound brackets are supported by the beam-ends, and in the host of intercommunicating beams themselves. The demon antefixes are the prototypes of those which one sees in many parts of Old Yamato.

The To-in-do, hard by, contains a curiously decorated shrine with a very graceful and womanly bronze Kwannon, 7 ft. tall; the carefully modeled drapery, and the barbaric girdle with pendants that falls over and clings round her thighs, the high chignon with tendrils, the wide scarves which undulate from her arms to her shapely legs, and her general foreign attributes place the image in a class apart. Tradition avers that it came from Korea over a millennium ago. The gem on the forehead is said to be a diamond; the decoration of the shrine is

strangely out of keeping with the excellence of the figure. The odd Fudo near by, with the heads of birds showing in his flaming aureola, is ascribed to Kobo-Daishi. — Crossing an arched * stone bridge spanning a neglected lotus-pool one enters

The Busoku-dō, a small building (usually locked) enshrining a much venerated and oddly chiseled stone on whose upper surface, elaborately incised in geometrical fashion, are the outlines of two human feet 19 in. long and 9 in. wide — said to be the impress of the feet of Buddha! According to the unctuous old bonze who unlocks the sacred inclosure, this stone came from India, and is the original one on which Buddha stood — the spurious copy having been retained at the point of origin! The inscription on the upright stone behind it was made by the Emperor Shōmu.

Leaving the temple grounds through the near-by gateway, one turns first to the right, then to the left; a 30 min. leisurely walk brings one to the entrance to Count Yanagisawa's Goldfish Garden, where the custodian (fees unnecessary) conducts the visitor to a pretty summer-house in the midst of a dozen or more small intercommunicating ponds. These form a thriving hatchery where thousands of goldfish (p. 104) from very tiny ones to big fellows 6 or more yrs. old are reared and sold. While one eats one’s luncheon in the rest-house (table and chairs provided) bowlsful of wriggling little golden, sprites are captured and placed near for one’s enjoyment; the fish with broad, bulbous heads are called shishi-ga-shira, or lion-heads. — On the way to (20 min.) the Koriyama rly. station, one traverses the old castle grounds and sees the vast moat and massive, crumbling walls of the fortress erected by Odagiri Harutsuga in 1565. Hideyoshi wrested it from him in 1585 and gave it to his brother Hidenaga along with the provinces of Kii, Yamato, and Izumi. At the time of the Restoration (in 1868) it belonged to the Yanagisawa family. The upper terrace is now crowned by the Middle School, where excellent English is taught by native professors. Many boys from Nara come hither daily to attend the school. A short walk through the town of Koriyama (pop. 15,000) brings one to the station, linked by rly. to (4 M. distant) Horyu-ji (E, Pl. B, 2), at the S. Consult the rly. time-table. A good walker can easily compass the distance (follow the track) in an hour. Jinrikis are available.

The *Horyu-ji Temple (called also Ikaruga-dera), a Buddhist fane (oldest extant in Japan) founded in a.d. 607 by Prince Shotoku (or Shotoku-taishi, the 2d son of the (31st) Emperor Yomei (586-87), now hoary with age and tottering beneath the weight of centuries, is a celebrated Mecca for those interested in the dawn of Buddhism in the Japanese Empire, as well as the highly interesting architecture which came with it. Nowhere in Japan can one study, to better advantage

the masterful influences — artistic, ecclesiastical, and architectural — which, imported along with this pleasing cult, were destined to run like a red thread through the course of Japanese history; and nowhere can be seen a Buddhist temple constructed in a purer Buddhist style unenriched by later ideas, expedients, or decorations, and unaffected by Shintoism and its attributes. The student concerned in the virtual startingpoint of Japanese art while still intimately associated with the inspirational Hindu and Korean sources, will find the Horyu ji a mine of revelation. So close to the veritable fountain head is this bizarre old relic that the white-haired priests who totter about the park-like grounds, and unconsciously harmonize with the ancient character of the buildings, will even recount to the visitor how the very temples themselves are built after the lines of Buddha's face — the great Dai-Kodo and the two flanking structures forming his head; the Pagoda and the Kondo his eyes, and the huge Nid-mon his mouth!

The temples and their subsidiary structures stand within and without a walled inclosure, on the slope of a hill behind Horyu-ji village (Inn: Daikoku-ya, ¥2 to ¥3 a day), about 1/2 M. S.W. of the station (20 min. walk; jinriki, 40 sen for the round trip, with a wait of about 1 hr.), at the end of a wide highway. The gate here is the Nandai-mon (S. gate), and the one beyond — the main gateway — the Nid-mon, or Gate of the Two Deva Kings (one painted black, the other red). One can scarcely avoid employing one of the several local guides who loiter about the Nid-mon (25 sen for one

person or a small party is ample), since they sometimes carry the quaint kkkkkeys which unlock the mediaeval Chinese and Korean locks, and the long, slender hook with which to shoot the massive bars. An entrance fee of 2 sen is exacted at the gate, another of 20 sen to see the Kondo, and 20 more for the godown where the chief treasures are kept. If possible the interiors should be inspected on a bright day, as some of them are so stained and blackened by the incense smoke of centuries that they look gloomy even at midday. Twilight comes early in the winter, and at all seasons the doors clank and grind to at 4 p.m. The wide corridors of posts and palings which flank the ancient structures also inclose them. The method of viewing the several buildings varies according to whether visitors come in the ordinary way or bring special letters of admission to rooms closed customarily and opened only to them. We begin our inspection of the group with

The Pagoda, an antique 5-storied structure which stands at the left in the compound, a harmony of reds and yellows surmounted by a spiral, bronze demon-arrester. Barring the tiles of the roof the construction is in the old Nara style, with the beams sunk in the whitewashed plaster. The placement of these, illustrative of a period when the effects of thrust and strain were imperfectly understood, strikes the critical eye of the architect as very peculiar. Equally so are the squat demonlets (Oriental Atlases) which support the beams of the lower story, and the larger, sculptured wood images which uphold those above; the structure is low for the number of its stories (between which the customary spaces have been lessened), and its general massiveness and its air of snuggling closely to the ground suggest that it was constructed at a time

chapel on the lower floor are four curious grottoes (sometimes called Buddha's Grottoes) which the traveler will often see duplicated in other parts of the Empire. By means of groups of figurines made of white and polychrome terra-cotta mixed with vegetable fiber, and stalactites and stalagmites of the same materials, coupled with stucco, various scenes are depicted; one being Shumisen, a sort of fabled Hindu Olympus; Buddha's Death and Entombment; the Guarding of his mortal remains by his faithful adherents; His Entry into Nirvana; and Amida with Kwannon and Daiseishi. The attitudes of the small figures are surprisingly realistic, and they seem to possess a strong attraction for Japanese (perhaps because the work is that of Tori Busshi, or Kuratsukuribe no Tori, a famous painter and sculptor who lived during the reign of the Empress Suiko 593-628). Some are shown plunged in the deepest despair; others in the attitude of prayer or adoration; others on guard, like soldiers; and still others indulging in vociferous lamentation.

The Kondo, which stands at the right of the pagoda, is a bizarre, double (or triple) roofed structure with wide overhanging eaves, and roofs with a decidedly lower pitch than those of present-day Buddhist temples. It looks its great age and seems almost ready to fall by its own weight; the rooftiles, and the scowling demons, with minatory tusks and great hooked noses that form the antefixes, are not as aged as the building itself. Note the well-carved ascending and descending dragons of wood which are entwined about the four supporting posts of the upper roof, and the mythological animals which have the appearance of being crushed beneath the brackets of the porch-like extension of the ground floor. The supporting beams rest on great flat undressed stones, and the general appearance of the structure is of great strength coupled with mediaeval simplicity. The time-blackened interior, with

its rough-hewn beams, is a surprise to one accustomed to the blazing gold and the sprightly decorations of other Buddhist fanes, but the treasures enshrined offset the impression and gladden the eye of the antiquary. Among the score or more figures on the central platform, the most conspicuous is the strange central group beneath the smudgy baldachin. Sitting on a square pedestal and backed each by an aureola of the form called vesica piscis, is an inspiring image of Sakya-muni flanked by (left) Nikko-bosatsu, and (right) Gwakko-bosatsu — all strangely archaic and with a hieratic charm that differentiates them from any similar group in Japan. It is attributed to Tori Busshi, dates from a.d. 625, and is believed to be the most ancient copper-bronze sculpture in Japan. The voluminous folds of the drapery are characteristic of the most primitive Japanese art under Sino-Korean influences, while the unmistakable Hindu features point to the source of the inspiration. The

sculptured wood image at the right is Bishamon-ten, and the statuesque one at the left, Kichijo-tenno (his sister). On a square pedestal at the left is a seated figure of Yakushi-Nyorai surrounded by 4 minor figures. Among the host of bizarre sculptured wood images are 4 noteworthy Shi-tenno standing on venomous gnomes; they date from the Suiko period and are of Indian origin. Certain of the statues have thin faces with pointed, bat-like ears; others have ideally calm faces, while still others seem, by their fierce looks and angry gestures, to resent their smoke-begrimed surroundings.

Behind the central shrine is a portable one containing a remarkably faithful reproduction, on a much smaller scale, and in gilded bronze, of the prominent group mentioned above — Sakya-muni, with Nikko - and Gwakko-bosatsu; the common belief is that it is very early Japanese work or a Korean copy of the original. It is greatly revered because it was the chosen shrine of the Empress Komyo. Among the most noteworthy of the treasures, one which the traveler should not omit to see, is a square shrine or reliquary of red- and black-lacquered wood and bronze, delicately and intricately chiseled, and mounted on a pedestal, like a missal-stand. It enshrines a small gilded Kwannon, is of Hindu origin, and is perhaps the most ancient object of its class in Japan. The interior is enriched with slips of gilded bronze on which are hundreds of exquisitely painted little Buddhas seated on lotus flowere; while the small paneled doors are adorned with refined paintings of tiny birds and landscapes. Time was when the entire outer skin was formed of the iridescent golden-green wings of the tiny Chrysochlora (Tamamushi), whence the name Tamamushi-no-Zushi. It was the personal property of the Empress Suiko, who died a.d. 628!

The great frescoes which cover the walls, mayhap the most splendid mural paintings that ever adorned a Japanese temple, are ascribed to the Korean bonze Doncho, who came to Japan in a.d. 610 and brought with him many Buddhist images and books. Inexorable time and the elements have united to destroy these grandiose specimens of antique art, and only the most salient details can now be deciphered. They are strongly Byzantine in suggestion, and possess an affinity with Assyrio-Byzantine art. — The Dai-Kodo, or Great Lecture Hall, at the back of the inclosure, is less interesting than the Kondo, and the immense gilded and seated image of Yakushi-Nyorai, flanked by Nikko- and Gwakko-bosatsu, differ but little from those in the other rooms. — The Taishi-den, or Shuryd-den (Room of the holy spirit of the Prince), dedicated to the memory of Shotoku-taishi, is reached through a gate in the wall at the right of the Kondo, but it is rarely shown to visitors.

Shotoku-taishi (b. 572; d. 621), the 2d son of the Emperor Yomei, is one of the greatest figures in the history of Buddhism in Japan. The natives usually refer to him by his surname of Umayado, given to him because his

mother, whilst walking in the palace grounds, was suddenly seized with the pangs of child-birth and was obliged to take refuge in the palace stables (umaya) where her child was born. At the accession of his aunt, Suiko (in 593), he was named heir to the throne, and thereafter he gave material support to the Buddhist cause; selecting three sutras of the Mahayana doctrine (p. 191) he ordered them to be taught everywhere. He favored the teaching of Eji, a Korean bonze, and among other temples constructed the Hdryuji. At the time of his death (aged 49) there were 40 temples, 820 bonzes, and 560 nuns in the Empire. It was during his reign that the first embassy was sent to China. Sacred literature was one of his specialties, and he had published two works of historical value: the Tenno-Jci, and the Kokru-ki. He promulgated a code of laws in 17 chapters, and adopted the Chinese calendar (in 604). He is usually pictured standing between his two little sons — his favorites among the 8 sons and 6 daughters left by him.

Obvious features of the interior are 3 reliquaries in a long, black-lacquered, metal-adorned case (always kept locked) which extends along the back wall; the metal locks of this are quite curious, being boat-shaped and called Nori-no-fune — from the fancied shape of the boat in which departed souls are borne across the river of death to the Buddhist Paradise. The inner decorations of all the reliquaries are of the same design — painted panels showing lotus flowers and leaves on a gold ground. The central one contains a seated wood image of the Prince at 35 yrs. of age; the right one a standing Jizo of sculptured wood, an image of one of the Prince’s children and of his Buddhist teacher; and that at the left an unusually handsome gilded and seated Kwannon (the personal property of the Prince) in an attitude of deep reflection; the right hand held against the rounded cheek, and the right leg crossed over the lap. The two kneeling figures with soft, sweet, cherubic faces, are the Taishi’s favorite children. The position of the three figures is singularly like that of the two cherubs and the Madonna of San Sisto, The gilded wall panels at the right and left of the apartment display flying phoenixes and are said to have been copied from the decorations of the Imperial Palace erected at Nara in the 8th cent. From this room a series of ancient corridors adorned with swinging bronze lanterns lead to the astonishingly old

Hozo, or storehouse, which stands about 6 ft. above the ground, on superannuated uprights whose cross-beams are piled high with pebbles placed there by the credulous as prayers to the spirits associated in life with the relics inside. The (uncatalogued) exhibits are displayed in glass cases backed up against the walls, or in the center of the several rooms. There are many scores of curious old things: wonderful shrines and images, still beautiful kakemonos of celebrities who died a thousand or more yrs. ago, musical instruments, antique bronzes, and many miscellaneous things. Duplicates of objects which the traveler will have observed in many other collections of antiquities in Japan are the small cylindrical pagodalike towers of turned wood, about 10 in. high; the residue of 100,000 which the Horyu-ji once possessed, and part of the

million which the Empress Koken (46th sovereign from 759 to 764) ordered made (with a primitive turning-lathe) and distributed to ten of the chief temples in the Nara region. They are generally referred to as Hyakuman-td (Million Pagodas), and, as will be seen by the relics here, each carries within its hollow interior a written Buddhist text. History often refers to this early suffragette, for she it was who ordered 5000 bonzes from all parts of the Empire to foregather at the Nara Todai-ji, and hearken as she read to them from the sacred books. She was instrumental in carrying forward the plans for the Nara Daibutsu, and when she assumed office she passed a law forbidding under severe penalty the killing of any living thing.

Among the strange old carved wood masks are some of admirable workmanship, and these are accompanied by the drums and swords used along with them in the ancient dances. Of more interest than the specimen of Kobo-Daishi's chirography is the exquisite little gold-leaf (paper) prayer-book (called Hokkekyō because it contains a secret scripture of Buddhism read specially by the Buddhists of the Hokke denomination), roll-shaped and written in a charmingly delicate and graceful hand by Sugawara Michizane (one of the three most famous penmen in the Empire; comp. p. 496) in the 9th cent.! Some of the old painted kakemonos are marvels of composition expressed in light-proof colors; a beautiful one, slightly torn but with its color-tones still low, luminous, and rich, shows Shaka-Nyorai seated on an upturned lotus bloom with his everfaithful Monju and Fugen — both with sweet, pensive, womanly faces — snuggling at his feet. The same elegance marks a very interesting Buddhist Heaven, wherein are a score of delicately painted figurines, temples, and other heavenly attributes of peculiar hieratic beauty. Equally charming is a precious treasure in the form of a kakemono showing a standing figure of Shotoku-taishi at the age of 16, in a red robe covered with a black mantle. It is one of the most attractive in the collection; the chubby, boyish face has frank, innocent eyes that look straight out with engaging friendliness; the sloe-black hair is bound up at the sides after a very antique style; a censer is held in one hand, and a mauve curtain is draped behind the figure. When one reflects that this picture was painted by the loving hands of an artist who has been dust for a thousand yrs., one is apt to return to it and eagerly to search the bright, youthful face with the hope of surprising therein some secret of the long-dead past. The antiquarian will wish to spend hours in this wonderful old reliquary — next to the Shoso-in the most fascinating in Japan — for the relics themselves betoken their authenticity, and their historical associations are as interesting as they are manifold. — The bronze fountains and other objects in the temple yard are worth glancing at as one proceeds to the main gate before quitting the inclosure. Once out-

side, we turn to the right and approach, by a succession of steps,

The Mine no Yakushi, an octagonal shrine on a terrace where there is a handsome bronze dragon and a laver of the same metal(left). Here Yakushi is deified as the God of Medicine, and the structure which houses his finely gilded image (ascribed to Gyōgi-bosatsu) is as cluttered up with tawdry offerings as the shrine of some alleged miracle-working Spanish virgin. Outside and inside almost every inch is covered with ex-votos and gifts of some kind; the swords represent the heart of man, the mirrors that of woman. The hundreds of bundles of little wood drills (used by the Medicine God to puncture the unhearing ear) are acknowledgments of persons cured of deafness. The most casual eye cannot overlook the scores of lurid little pictures portraying semi-nude, gratified mothers, in many attitudes, but chiefly sitting before pans, buckets, and even tubs of foaming milk that has spurted from abnormally developed fountains of youth — the results of prayers put up for a sufficiency of the lacteal fluid to keep young Japan alive! The interior of the shrine bears a striking resemblance to a junk-shop, and will detain the traveler only long enough to inspect some of the quaint sword-guards tacked against the walls, and the 12 Signs of the Zodiac (by Tori Busshi) which flank the figure of Yakushi. — At the opposite end of the temple compound is

The Yume-dono, or Hall of Dreams (so-called because Shotoku-taishi used to sit here and ponder over the truths of the Buddhist faith), an octagonal structure which stands on a raised granite platform and is surmounted by a hoshu-no-tama. The few images it contains are not of much interest; the big gilt one is Amida, the standing figure is Shotoku-taishi at 16; the Kwannon in the central reliquary was the Prince’s special favorite. The seated figures of priests are well-carved — as is almost everything of this nature in Japan. The building at the right is the Worshiping Hall and is of no interest; that at the left is divided into the Shari-den (at the right of the short hall) and the Eden, The former is celebrated locally for a small crystal reliquary swathed in numerous silk wrappings and exposed each day at noon so that the credulous may see (for 10 sen) the pupil of Buddha’s left eye! — a small, whitish bit of rubbish that bears a strong resemblance to a quartz pebble. The Eden contains a series of wall-panels painted in noisy and inharmonious colors portraying scenes in the life of Shotoku-taishi — the site of whose palace the present structure is said to occupy. Just behind the Shari-den and Eden is the old (erected by Emperor Shōmu in 740) Denbō-dō, which contains a number of statues, chief among them Jizō and 9 figures illustrative of episodes in the life of Amida. Still farther back in the compound is the Chūgū-ji, a conventual building inhabited solely by nuns;

here are kept some bits of embroidery nearly 1300 yrs. old; some faded kakemonos, and, in the main shrine, a fine and rare, timeblackened wood image of a Nyorin Kwannon, said to have been carved by Shotoku-taishi. The gateway at this end of the compound is nearer to the rly. station than the main gate.

The Temples of Miwa and *Hase-dera, thence via Sakurai to Unebi and the Tumulus and Mausoleum of Jimmu Tenno (E, Pl. C, 3), maybe included in a popular, all-day excursion; a luncheon should be taken, and a guide is useful. An early start is advisable unless one elects to visit the temples only. There are frequent trains, and the short trip through ancient Yamato, the very heart of old Japan, is replete with charm. Hase-dera, 8th on the list of the Thirty-three Holy Places Sacred to Kwannon, is one of the most famous temples in Japan and is of a picturesqueness which must be seen to be appreciated. The 1 1/2 M. walk (jinriki, auto) from Miwa Station to Jionji, where one boards the tram for Hase village, can be made in 30 min.; the road is excellent. If the traveler does not concern himself about Jimmu Tenno, the mythical founder of the Japanese Empire, he may vary the excursion by going first to Hase, thence to Sakurai, and on to Tonomine, but this will involve an 8 M. walk (going and returning) over a roughish road. In springtime, when the farmers are busy with their fields, jinrikis are apt to be scarce, and those who want them should have the hotel manager telephone ahead to the station master *at Sakurai to have them in readiness. An auto will be better. The train leaves from (a fast 20 min. walk) Kyobate Station (Pl. B,4).

The town of Miwa where one leaves the train is 11 M. distant (a 40 min. run). The rly. (a branch line between Nara and Oji Jct.) traverses a level country delimited by high hills clothed in deciduous, evergreen, and maple trees and dotted with farmsteads. The fine Yamato Plain — the earliest historic center of Japanese culture — is very fertile, and the farmhouses, many with plastered walls newly whitewashed, look comfortable and thrifty. The roofs embody various architectural differences, and are unusually picturesque. Conspicuous among them are the small square roof-sections, like miniature temple-roofs, which sit astride the ridges a foot or so above them and serve as exits for smoke and as ventilating holes. Not a few of the pan-tiled roofs are embellished with scowling demon faces, sprightly little Dogs of Fo standing on their fore legs and with their hindquarters upraised, fishes standing on their tails, gods of good luck, and what-not. Again some are of golden brown straw with ridges held down by lines of tightly corded sheaves; others have tile ridges, and certain ones have adopted the style of roof used on Shinto shrines excepting that the ridges and borders are of tiles.

The Miwa Jinja is 5 min. walk N.E. of the Miwa Station

(cross the rly. line by the stone bridge at the right), at the upper end of a long avenue flanked on both sides by lanterns; it is picturesquely situated on the side of a conifer- and cryptomeria-covered hill (which serves as the inner shrine and is worshiped in lieu thereof), and is dedicated to the Shinto god, Omononushi no kami. The entrance is guarded by two big gray granite Dogs of Fo. The glistening 16-petal chrysanthemum crests which adorn the roof of the Haiden proclaim the royal patronage. Many bronze lanterns swing beneath the eaves; according to the Shinto custom the interior is plain to austerity and contains nothing to interest the traveler. — Instead of returning to (and beyond) the station, walkers may strike the highway from Miwa to Jionji (starting-point for Hase village) by following the path at the right as it winds across the fields. The broad road runs N.E. and parallels (right) the narrow but swift and sparkling Hase River. Jionji is soon descried nestling in a pocket of the hills, with a pretty, well-cultivated little valley as its front yard. The tram-cars which run from Sakurai to Hase (over the Hase Kido Line) stop frequently at Jionji (time to Hase, 10 min.; fare, 9 sen). At the village we turn up at the left and follow the main street — the old highway between Osaka and (about 75 M.) Yamada ^ Ise, with its renowned shrine. Scattered among the pretty little shops which flank the street are numerous inns (Itani-ya, and others) which cater to the wants of the hundreds of pilgrims who come each year to the temple. This stands near the top ofthe town (left of the main street, 15 min. from the station; jinriki, 20 sen) on a commanding site on the upper slope of a thickly wooded hill, whence one may enjoy a superb view over the house-tops to other hills across the valley. The situation is strikingly picturesque, and in its apparent effort to maintain its equilibrium the old temple and its satellites rest on scores of huge beams, and sections of scaffolding that remind one of the Kiyomizu-dera at Kyoto.

Successive flights of stone steps lead up from the end of the street to the lower gate — which is finished in the natural wood and has a graceful roof and balcony with many spirited carvings (phoenixes, birds, monkeys, etc.) harmoniously blended with the background. The kiku crests so much in evidence are those of the reigning Mikado. From this gate (note the rich carvings on the inner side, and the loggias with their great Deva Kings) there slopes upward a long, tile-covered gallery (236 steps) with a host of carved keyaki beams from which swing scores of bronze lanterns. The peony-beds at the right and left are at their best about mid-May. After inspecting the fine bronze dragon-fountain at the first landing (left), one crosses the small arched stone bridge and mounts (72 steps) a lateral corridor hung with metal lanterns and flanked by stone ones; the colorful flanking gardens (adorable

in spring, when the azaleas flame out in a burst of color that rivals the exquisite cherry blooms for which the temple is famous) are held in place on the hillside by massive stone retaining- walls. A third corridor leads up at an angle from the 2d landing, and 90 steepish steps bring one to the final terrace, blown but triumphant, and amazed at the beauty of the panorama spread out below. The eye of the architect will not fail to note the curious old bell-tower which sits astride the top of the gallery here, as if to hold it down and prevent it from sliding down upon the town far below.

Before beginning the inspection of the temple one may elect to step to the Jizo Shrine, at the extreme right of the terrace and from the platform there (seats on which to rest) enjoy the sweeping view of the town, the Hase-qawa, and the verdurous hills which rise beyond them. The lordly hill at the left, with its trees of many shades of green, is YoH-san. The brilliant sunshine which pours into this sheltered pocket of the hills keeps the roses blooming in the temple garden until January. Forever basking in the genial beams of the sun, within the doorway of the Jizo Shrine, is an old fortune-telling priest, who ekes out a scanty livelihood by selling printed slips to credulous pilgrims — alt of whom draw the lucky number, and each of whom fervently thanks his stars that his fate is not as pictured on the lurid painting in the corridor. Here a Buddhist Hell — a doleful-looking place — has been planned out by some one with an eye for color and a vivid imagination: at the bottom of the picture a host of gleeful demons are seen bludgeoning a squad of unhappy wights tied to posts, pitchforking others into cauldrons of boiling oil, or turning them over to expose the uncooked side to the sizzling gridiron. At another point a half-score of sinful beings stand waist-deep in a lake of blue fire or suffer being pushed back as they essay to scramble out!

The *Main Temple, or Kwannon-dō (Hall of. Kwannon — known also as Hase-dera, and as the Chokoku-ji), dates from 1650 and stands on the site of the original temple founded in the 8th cent. It is known throughout Japan for a colossal gilded figure (26 ft. high) of the Jū-ichi-men, or Eleven-faced Kwannon, said to have been carved (presumably in 1191) from a single piece of camphor-wood, by a Chinese sculptor, [It is believed that originally there were two pieces of this wood and that the 2d half was used in the carving of the gigantic Kwannon at the Hase-no-Kwannon Temple at Kamakura.] If the main (rear) doors are closed the priestly custodian will be found in the temple-office behind the side door at the right. On payment of 3 sen one is conducted down through a darksome corridor, then into a lofty but crowded room where the great image stands. It looks 30 ft. tall, and is heavily gilded, from the minor heads which surmount the small Kwannon on the main

head down to the huge, highly polished feet. In the left hand of the idol is a vase with a lotus flower, and in the right a pilgrim’s staff (shakujo) with its top armed with metal rings. The great gilt mandorla is adorned with gold Sanscrit characters. As the figure stands it brings the broad face level with the aperture formed by the tall swinging doors opening on to the Naijin (where it is seen as a great framed picture), and the effect, as it gazes out through the ex-voto hall to the distant mts., is peculiarly striking. — The four large paintings on the wail at the right and left represent the gaudy and piraticalappearing ruffians known as the Shi-tenno; beneath, extending quite round the room, are painted wood panels portraying the Thirty-three Terrestrial Manifestations of Kwannon — as curious in conception as The Revelation in the New Testament. Passing round the flanking corridor we come to the handsome gilded shrine commemorating the soldiers who died in the Japan-Russia War; the huge banner with its hundreds of written names is a sort of register of those who have contributed appreciable sums to the improvement of the temple. In a side room at the left is a big carved and seated wood figure of Jizo, surrounded by hundreds of offerings. Returning to the corridor at the rear we come to a standing gilt figure of Kwannon before a large mural painting, in harmonious colors, of Jizo - and 25 other bosatsus. Just outside the doors here are

two small metal wheels hung loosely on pivots, and tied around with paper prayers. The pilgrims set these to whirling and if the wheel stops when the prayer is at the bottom, the wish written on it will be fulfilled. The many thin bamboo strips in a box are used as tallies by the pilgrims, who wash themselves clean of all their sins by circling the building 1000 times!

Among the well-carved wood figures of saints in the last corridor is one of Kobd-Daishi. A time-blackened statue of Dai nichi-Nyorai sits before a large mandorla showing a duplicate bust of him. The glass-eyed figure at the left, also badly blackened by the smoke of incense during centuries, is of Tokudo- Shdnin, founder of the temple. The face of the great Kwannon is very attractive when seen from the. Naijin. The decorations of the frame must have been admirable when new; those on the tall swinging door panels portray the Ju-ni-ten and are still barbaricaily opulent. The space in front is crowded with metal lanterns, lotus leaves, artificial flowers, and the usual temple altar fitments; the panels of the altar-base carry designs of lotus flowers and leaves. A host of little bowls before the shrine are filled with daikon, rice-cakes, and other vegetable offerings to the deity. — The Ex-voto Hall in front, from the balcony of which a splendid view is had over the valley, is filled with strange offerings — lurid paintings and what-not; the huge circular box inclosed in a wire net and covered with gilded ideographs is a compass. The seated red

figure at the right is the ostracized Binzuru. The tortoisepond beneath a wistaria arbor, near the entrance to the temple, contains many tortoises which here live a long and easy life. From the yard one gets a good view of the fine old tem-

Ele-roofs (of which there are 8, counting the gables) supported y 96 immense keyaki pillars, some of which are nearly 3 ft. in diameter. The two big mandaras showing each a half of the Buddhist universe, which formerly hung in the temple, are now boxed, and may be seen on application at the temple office. A celebrated building known as the Sen-jd-jiki, which contains a thousand mats, and which was formerly the abbot’s residence, was recently burned.

There are a number of pretty Walks over the hills beyond the temple, as well as along the crest of those which face it. The town differs so little from the ordinary native settlement that it need not detain one. — Returning, therefore, to the tram-station we proceed (10 min., 13 sen) to Sakurai, a nondescript town in the fertile valley of the Hase-gawa, thence (by steam rly., 3 M., 10 sen) to Unebi, known as the spot near which (at the foot of Unebi-yama, visible 1 M. at the left — N.E. — of the station) stands the (uninteresting) Tumulus of Jimmu Tenno (a 15 min. walk), and the locally extolled (10 min. beyond) Kashiwabara Jingu — a Shinto shrine on the site of his ancient palace. Jinrikis will make trip from the station and back for 40 sen. A local specialty is the making of cotton yarn and the weaving of cloth; almost every dwelling is an embryonic factory, and not only does one stumble over the yarns stretched through the streets, but the waters of every near-by stream are stained with their dyes. — Turning- left from the station we traverse the main street, which, after bending farther to the left and passing beneath the rly. track, broadens into a good macadam road. The (uninteresting) Commercial Museum is passed (right) and then (left) the Tumulus (a low mound in the center of a tree-dotted in closure to which entrance is forbidden) of the (2d) Emperor Suisei (b.c. 581-49), the 3d son of Jimmu Tenno, who succeeded his (legendary) father at 51. The stone monument beyond, at the right, commemorates the Japan-Russia War. There are several Imperial tumuli (misasagi) in the neighborhood, surrounded by the granite fences w’hich characterize them. A long, low, neatly trimmed hedge flanks the street side of the plot containing the supposed grave of Jimmu. Beyond the first torii is a well-cared-for gravelly inclosure where the traveler may go, provided no repairs are under way; the grave or mound is imperfectly seen at the right, beyond an iron gate amidst the trees. A lively imagination is necessary to make it appear interesting, particularly in view of the fact that until a few yrs. ago the Japanese themselves were undecided regarding the exact location of the burial-place of this shadowy emperor of whom no writ-

ten records existed until 1100 yrs. after* his supposed life and demise! No inscription marked the spot, but Jimmu’s capital is thought to have been hereabout, and the gold and silver ornaments, pottery, swords, and what-not dug up convinced the people that some important personage was interred here. The inclosure with its Imperial insignia lies within the Imperial domain and dates from 1863.

Continuing along the main road we come (10 min.) to the Kashiwabara Jingu, in the town of the same name; there are some unusual stone lanterns and some machine-guns and iron baskets for fagots near the shrine inclosure, which is the supposed site of Jimmu's palace; at the left is a pretty lotus-pond with a stone bridge adorned with 8 bronze giboshu. The main shrine (no admittance), called Shinka-den, is supplemented by an interior Naishi-dokoroj half-encircling which is an open gallery that terminates in a central gate called Norito-ya. The edifices are in the customary Shinto style with beautiful sealbrown roofs of hinoki bark, and handsome copper-bronze gutters. They were removed hither from Kyoto in 1890, and are planned somewhat after the Imperial Palace there. The low rear wall with its 5 horizontal lines betokens its Imperial character. The inner structure is divided into two departments; one (right) where the custodian (a lady of royal lineage) dwells, and (left) the Kashiki-dokoro, or ‘Awe-inspiring Place/ wherein is a copy (original at Ise) of the sacred mirror given to Jimmu Tenno, by the Sun Goddess. According to tradition the Imperial Palace here was burned in a.d. 690, and the sacred mirror flew out and alighted upon a cherry tree, where it was discovered by one of the Emperor’s female attendants (naishi) — whence the name of the right-hand apartment, Naishi-dokoro, or ‘Imperial Court apartment where the Imperial insignia is kept.’ Henceforth only a woman of royal lineage was permitted to guard the treasure. The edifices at the right are the godowns and the Shinsenjo, or place where the sacred offerings are prepared. — The annual festival of the shrine falls on April 3. Many of the alleged relics claimed to have been dug up in the neighborhood are spurious.

Tō-no-mine, or Tamu-no-Mine (or Tan-zan), a mt., in Yamato (E, Pl. C, 3), distinguished for the temple erected there in the 7th cent. by Fujiwara Joe in honor of his father Kamatari, is rarely visited by the hurried traveler, because of the minor difficulties of reaching it. Japanese sometimes refer to it as the Nikko of the Kansai region, because of the fine forests in the neighborhood, and also because the decorations of the Nikko mausolea are thought to have been inspired by those of this structure. The road from Sakurai (the point of departure) is rocky, and jinrikis are of little use; a good walker can make the outward trip (4 M. to the S.) in about 1 1/2 hrs., but if he has seen other Japanese temples he won't feel repaid

for the exertion. The 25 superb sculptured and gilded figures which composed the so-called Heavenly Band, and which long made the temple worth going to see, are now at Mr. Ōkura's private museum in Tokyo, The old, weather-beaten structure is a good example of Ryobu-Shinto architecture, and the 13-roofed pagoda is unique. Tradition has it that Jōe brought 12 stories of the structure with him from China and that there was not enough room in the junk for the 13th, but that this, refusing to be separated from its companions, flew after the craft and rejoined them here! The decorations of all the now decaying structures are faded, and with the sculptures differ but little from those of other temples. Some fine maples surround the buildings, and the cherry-blossom display in April is pretty. On the return down the ravine one gets good views of distant hills and valleys.

Tō-no-mine, or Conference Peak, is often referred to in history in connection with the (35th) Empress Kogyoku (642-45), whom a bold nobleman, Soga-no-Iruka, wished to replace, and whom Fujiwara Kamatari (614-69) planned with friends to assassinate. At one time the temple was prosperous and powerful and it bore an unpleasant reputation for the political intrigues hatched there. 'The years 1081 and 1082 (says Mr. Murdoch) were convulsed with armed strife between the Nara Kōfuku-ji and the monastery of Tamu-no-mine. When about 970 the abbot of Hiei-zan formed a corps of mercenaries to protect the monastery and its possessions, and to prosecute its quarrels with its rivals and foes, the example was promptly followed by other great religious foundations, among which the Kofuku-ji of Nara came to be notorious. By the end of the 11th cent, a number of great fanes could readily place several thousand men in the field at a very short notice. Each of them had become a huge Cave of Adullam, — a refuge for every sturdy knave with a soul above earning a livelihood by the commonplace drudgery of work. Each of them had in truth assumed the aspect of a great fortress

garrisoned by a turbulent rabble of armed ruffians. And each of them had dddddegenerated into a hotbed of vice, where the most important precepts of the moral code were openly and wantonly flouted. In truth, at this date, 1100 A.D., Buddhism in Japan from a moral point of view was in not a whit better case than was the Church of Rome between the death of Sylvester II and the election of Leo IX,'

Yoshino-yama (E, Pl. C, 4), a hill 9 M. to the S.E. of Tō-no-mine (in Nara Prefecture, Yamato Province), praised throughout Japan for its attractive cherry trees (blossoms in April), and for its many historical associations, is best reached by rly. from Nara to (24 M.) Yoshinoguchi, thence on foot (in 4 hrs.) or by jinriki (in 3 hrs; fare ¥3. 60; lower in the off season) via the Muda Bridge to Yoshino town (pop. 1500). The place is composed almost solely of inns {Kado-ya, Tatsumi-ya, etc., ¥2-3) erected to accommodate the hordes of pilgrims and sightseers who come hither in the spring to view the most superb exhibition of cherry blossoms to be seen in Japan, and to pray in the numerous temples which dot the environs. One of the numerous hills which shut in the town is entirely covered with patriarchal trees, the sons of earlier ones planted here ages ago. They are grouped in masses supposed to contain a thousand trees each, which, because of different exposures, bloom successively. From a point called Hitome Sem-bon,

or "Survey of a Thousand Trees at a Glance," the vision sweeps a vast extent and enjoys a floral display perhaps unequaled. Trees to adorn palaces, gardens and parks throughout the Empire are usually drawn from this source, while farther down the valley of the Yoshino River (one of the longest in the country) is obtained the fire-garnet sand, or pyrope (which belongs to the magnesia-alumina variety of the species), used in the polishing of rock-crystals. The region is mountainous, the highest peaks averaging 6000 ft. The Emperor Go-Daigo established his Court here in 1336 (after his expulsion from Kyoto) and died 2 yrs. later. The brave Yoshitsune and his faithful Benkei sought refuge here in 1185 from the unnatural Yoritomo, and the scenery roundabout has inspired Japanese poets for centuries. Chief among the temples is the Zaō-dō with a 26-ft. image (ascribed to Gyōgi-bosatsu) of Zaō Gongen. A specialty of the town is a starchy sweet called Kuzudamari, with which cherry blossoms are covered and sold in pretty boxes. The Yoshino-gami, or paper, used throughout the country in the lacquer manufacture, is made in the vicinity. The lac of the trees grown here is greatly valued in the preparation of lacquer-wares.

There are a number of other attractive places in the vicinity of Nara, to which excursions can be made. For data referring to them consult the hotel manager. Tsukigase is radiant with plum blossoms in March, and there is excellent trout-fishing in the Kizu River near (12 1/2 M.) Kasagi-yama.