神戸から姫路・岡山（四国）・広島・宮島経由で下関へ

38. From Kobe via Himeji, Okayama (Shikoku Island), Hiroshima, and Miyajima to Shimonoseki.

Sanyo Main Line of the Imperial Government Railways.

To Shimonoseki, 329 M. The (extra fare) express trains make the run in about 10 hrs.; the (frequent) local trains (for fare see p. lxxxii) in about 14. After leaving Settsu, the line traverses the provinces of Harima, Bizen, Bitchu, Bingo, Aki, Suwo, and goes to the extreme W. point of Nagato, through a beautiful country contiguous to the Inland Sea (entrancing views from the left side of the cars). There is an excellent rly. hotel at the Shi-

monoseki Station. Connections are made here with swift and commodious gov't steamships for Korean ports, and points (ferry service) in Kyushu. The docks are extensions of the rly. platform, and luggage-porters are in readiness to assist passengers and to see them safely on their way without friction, confusion, or delay. For the convenience of travelers certain of the express trains (consult the rly. folder) stop at the small station of Miyajima, where ferry-boats are in waiting to conduct them across the narrow (15 min.) strait to Miyajima Island. A flying visit of 2-3 hrs. between trains can be made to this lesser of the 'Three Great Sights' if a longer visit is not possible.

From Kobe the train runs toward the W. along the shore of the Inland Sea, passing through the attractive seaside resorts of Suma, Shioya, and Maiko. The giant pine trees which fringe the shore, the calm sea flecked with white-sailed junks, and the distant views of Awaji Island are alluring. 12 M. Akashi, opposite Akashi Strait, with a Shinto temple to the memory of Kakinomoto-no-Hitomaru, a 7th-cent. poet, is the meridian from which time is reckoned in Japan. Storm-signals are shown to mariners entering the E. end of the Inland Sea, which terminates here and is separated from Osaka Bay, the Kii Channel, and the Pacific Ocean by the pear-shaped island of Awaji. An excellent automobile road flanks the sea and affords motorists views of unexampled beauty. The train runs at good speed over the broad plain to 24 M. Kakogawa, near the river of the same name. The numerous well-sweeps which dot the country indicate an abundance of water below the surface. Many of the humble dwellings have the ridges of the thatched roof held down by bundles of straw which straddle them and impart a decorative effect. In the yard of the (2 M.) Takasago Shrine is a giant tree celebrated locally as the Aioi-no-matsu, or 'Companion Pine,' which is said to be ambiparous, wherefore the leaves are used at weddings as emblems of marital felicity. The motive is frequently portrayed in art, in the forms of an aged man and woman raking up pine needles on a seashore fringed with pine trees. The region roundabout is classic ground to Japanese, and constitutes what is termed the Harima Meguri, or 'Circuit of Harima' Province. It has been sung and written of since time out of mind, and the charms of the pine-clad coast are favorite themes of writers of poetry and historical romances. - 26 M. Hoden is known for its (2 M.) small caves (Ishi-no-Hoden) cut (23 by 26 ft.) from the soft rock and believed to date from remote times.

34 M. Himeji (Inn: Akamatsu, ¥3), capital of Harima Province with 42,000 inhabs.; a thriving place on the right bank of the lower Ichi-kawa, is noted for its production of stamped leather and cotton goods, and for its fine old 5-storied antique donjon, called Rojo, or 'Snowy Heron Castle' - a gleaming white fortress (7 min. walk from the station) erected in 1340 by Akamatsu Sadanori. From his family it passed to the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who rebuilt and enlarged the keep in 1577 and added 30 turrets. After the

decisive battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu established Ikeda Terumasa here, and he changed the name of Himeyama to Himeji. A long line of daimyos occupied the castle before the Restoration, when it passed to the Gov't to be used as headquarters for one of the divisions of the main army. The beautiful park which surrounds it, and which is known as Himeyama, is noted for its display of wistaria (in May). Permits easily obtainable for an inspection. Photographing and sketching forbidden. The structure is an excellently preserved relic of feudal days, but is not as attractive as that at Nagoya. Shosha-zan, a thickly wooded hill (1300 ft.) 4 1/2 M. to the N., is revered by the natives because of its Buddhist temple, the Enkyo-ji, founded in 966 by the bonze Shoku, and consecrated to Kwannon. Several of the early emperors made pilgrimages to it, and the forces under Ashikaga Takauji and Ishido Yorifusa fought a battle near it in 1351. Shikima, 2 M. to the S., the seaside terminus of the Bantan Rly., is a popular bathing-resort.

The Himeji-Wadayama section of the Bantan Rly. leads hence N. to (40 M.) Wadayama (several through trains daily) and forms a link between the Tokaido and the Japan Sea. (See Rte. 31.)

For fares and other information relating to the railway, see page lxxix and the several pages following it.

The white castle towering above its surroundings makes a fine picture in the landscape at the right as the train continues W. from Himeji. The closed boats anchored in the Hayashida-gawa beyond Aboshi Station are primitive automatic rice-hulling mills. 47 M. Naba is the point of departure for the historic seacoast town (8 M. S.) of Ako, known as the home of Oishi Kuranosuke, chief of the Forty-Seven Ronin retainers of Asano Takumi, whose tragic history is referred to at p. 186. - The hills through which the rly. leads are terraced far up their sides and they recall certain vistas in Korea. Many of the little dwellings tucked away in the sheltered valleys have picturesque roofs that are covered half with tiles and half with thatch.

89 M. Okayama (Inn: Miyoshi-kadan, 5 min. left of the station; jinriki, 10 sen; pretentious; meals from ¥1.50, and lodging from ¥2 and upward; several cheaper inns opposite, and a restaurant in the station), capital of Bizen Province and of Okayama-ken, with 94,000 inhabs., was formerly the castle town of Ikeda, a rich and powerful daimyo whose well-preserved fortress (built by Bizen-no-Kami Hunetaka in the 16th cent.) still stands and is called 'Crow Castle' because of its somber color. Convinced of the logic of Bulwer's dictum referring to the pen and the sword, the local authorities have housed the Fifth Higher School in the massive structure, and have converted the park at its base (1 M. from the station, 20 min. by jinrikisha) into a handsome landscape garden

(Korakuen) with 22 acres, tea-houses, views, etc. The Asahi-gawa flanks it on one side and adds considerably to its picturesqueness. One of the many tame cranes which wander at will beneath the fine wistaria arbors and the splendid old cherry and maple trees, is said to be more than 200 yrs. old. Figured straw matting (hanamushiro) is one of the specialties of the place; others are delicious peaches sold in fancy baskets, and native sweetmeats packed in abnormally thick boxes and hawked about the rly. station platform. The bento sold here is better than that at certain other stations on the line.

The Chugoku Rly. Co.'s line runs N. from Okayama through several unimportant towns to 35 M. (¥1.07) Tsuyama (pop. 15,000), an ancient castle town in Mimasaka Province. Another line trends N.W. to 8 1/2 M. Inariyama, and 13 M. Tatai, in Bitchu Province.

Okayama is one of the best points from which to visit the near-by Island of Shikoku, with Kotohira and its much venerated Kompira Shrine. The island as a whole is off the beaten track of travel, and it differs so little from other and more accessible places that foreigners seldom feel repaid for a trip through it. Hurried travelers concerned with the Kompira Shrine can leave luggage in the inn at Okayama, board an early morning train, and be back in the evening.

Trains leave the main line station in Okayama at frequent intervals and arrive at 20 M. Uno (fare, 88 sen) in about 1 hr. The boat-landing is at the station. Commodious steamers (Imp. Gov't Rly.) make the trip (fare, 85 sen) across the narrow arm of the Inland Sea in about 1 hr., passing the picturesque Shodo Island (12 M. long, 7 wide; highest peak, 2697 ft.) and landing at Takamatsu, an old castle town (pop. 43,000) in Sanuki Province (Kagawa-ken). The traveler is reminded that, although the landlocked water may be smooth in the morning, a stiffish wind loses no time in kicking up a coarse sea which may prove unsettling by afternoon. The Kompira Shrine contains no works of art, but its magnificent situation recommends it. Two hrs. are sufficient to view it and its environment after reaching Kotohira.

The Takamatsu Castle, the most conspicuous object at the left of the dock, was erected in 1335 by Yorishige, a sometime governor of the province; it is now in a ruinous state, but the aforetime castle park is perhaps finer than it was originally, for it has been deftly converted into a landscape garden (called Kuri-bayashi Koen) of such unusual charm that the traveler with time to spare will feel repaid for seeing it. The town is prettily situated on the sea. Yashima, the flat-topped hill at the E., has been laid out as a popular resort.

The rly. (several trains daily) runs S.W. along the shore through a number of charmingly situated but monotonously similar little towns whose chief industry is the extraction (in a crude way) of salt from the ocean's brine. Miles of salt-pits line the beach, while pine-clad hills and rice-fields stretch away inland. The numerous palmettoes, persimmon trees, vineyards (no wine), and omnipresent flowers suggest a benign climate. The excellent macadam pike which flanks the rly. is suitable for motor-cars. 20 M. Tadotsu (Inn: Hanabishi, ¥2.50) is in almost hourly touch (steamers of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha) with several of the mainland Onomichi,

¥1.60). From this point the rly. turns S.E. and runs along the skirt of a range of bulky and densely wooded hills to its terminus at 28 M. Kotohira.

A number of inns cluster about the station and cater to the hordes of native visitors to the town and its sacred fanes. To reach the latter one turns up at the right and proceeds (5 min.) along the picturesque and cheerful main st. to a converging st. which ascends (right) between lines of balconied inns (Tora-ya, Bizen-ya, etc.), and beneath (in the summer) awnings which impart an Oriental aspect to it. Here cluster scores of tiny shops with raucous barkers who essay to sell one all manner of gewgaws relating to the temples and their cult. Among the rubbishy souvenirs foreigners are pleadingly requested to take home with them are trumpet-shells and other symbols of Triton, chop-sticks made of the quasi-sacred Cleyera japonica, pilgrims' staffs, gourds, rosaries, lacquered trays adorned with the temple crests, and potent charms (O-fuda) consisting of certain mt. herbs gathered and blessed by the priests. Ninety steps lead up from the street to the first gate, which is in the form of a rusted iron torii covered with ideographic texts. Hence a number of long, sloping landings and 238 steps conduct one to the Daimon, or Great Gate (great in name only); 252 more to the Asahi no Yashiro (the one-time Kondo, or Golden Hall of the Buddhists); and 159 thence to the main temple. Handsome bronze and stone lanterns flank the granite-flagged ascent, and lofty trees overshadow it; the wood and stone tablets bear names of generous givers to the temple organization. The Asahi no Yashiro has some fairly good wood-carvings in conventional Buddhist designs, with some sculptured wood doors portraying Chinese sages and Imperial chrysanthemums. The last 44 steps leading to the upper terrace are steepest of all. Here one may often see poor deluded old men and women, half naked and gasping in breath, running up and down the flight and performing (for the alleged merit secured) the rite called Hyaku-do. The wooden tickets, strung on the wires attached to the stone monument (with a turtle base) at the left of one of the landings, are used as markers in this laborious exercise. Formerly when hot rice-dumplings were offered as food to the bizarre bronze horse near the Ex-voto Hall, devotees were wont to scramble for the grains scattered about and gulp them down in the belief that O-Shaka-sama noted it and praised them therefor.

The Main Temple (no fees) stands on an elevated terrace cut from the beautifully wooded side of Zozu-san, and is flanked by some splendid old trees and several auxiliary shrines. It is the holiest shrine in Shikoku, and is said to have been founded in the 9th cent. by the illustrious Kobo-Daishi. With the disestablishment of

Buddhism, the coarse idolatry practiced here by certain of the zealous and fanatical bonzes was replaced by the Shinto tenets. That these have not completely effaced the Buddhist influence is manifested in the structure itself - a felicitous blend of both styles of architecture, with the interior fitments pertaining to the Shinto, and the architectural enrichments inseparably associated with Buddhism. The prettily paneled ceiling done in gold lacquer and cherry blooms is worth looking at. To this shrine come upward of 800,000 pilgrims each year, most of them, be it said in passing, to worship the tutelar Kompira (Sanskrit, Kumbhira), a redoubtable Buddhist divinity who is supposed to protect seamen and travelers, associated in the native mind with Neptune, and about whose antecedents little seems to be known.

The panorama from the terrace is superb, embracing as it does a score of villages, hundreds of square miles of the lovely Inland Sea, range after range of blue mts. and league upon league of cultivated valley and plain. The conical (and volcanic) mt. in the near foreground, looking very much like an exaggerated sombrero, is Shirane-mine, often referred to as the Sanuki Fuji. Beside the main temple there is little to see. The Ex-voto Hall, a Buddhist institution, contains a lot of marine trumpery, some models of boats, many archaistic symbols of Poseidon, some distressing pictures, and a faded old lithograph of the Brooklyn Bridge! The bronze horse which stands near, and has a tail like a pleated skirt, has been so rubbed by the credulous and ailing that its nose is half gone. - On the descent it is worth while to inspect (left of the path, in a pretty park with a live bear) the Museum, or Homotsu-kwan ('Treasure House'), which contains (admission, 5 sen) a collection of canonical books, some pictures, a landscape painting by Kano Tanyu, a harp upward of a thousand yrs. old, some silks, swords, lacquered boxes, fine screens, sculptures, and what-not. - The most important of the temple festivals falls upon Sept. 8-10, and Oct. 10-11. Lesser ones occur on the 10th of each month.

Shikoku Island, or Four Lands, - so-called because it comprises the 4 old provinces (of the Nankaido, or South Sea Road) of Sanuki, Awa, Tosa, and Iyo and the 4 newer prefectures of Kagawa, Tokushima, Kochi, and Ehime - has 4 million inhabs., and with its outlying islets is one of the largest (6854 sq. M.) of the Japanese group. It is bounded on the N. by the Inland Sea; on the E. by the Kii Channel; on the W. by the Bungo Channel; and on the S. by the Pacific Ocean. The warm Kuro-shiwo tempers the climate and gives it sub-tropical vegetation. Though mountainous, the island is densely populated, with 5 cities, 745 villages, and 60 hamlets. Magnificent forests of beech, oak, horse-chestnut, maple, ash, camphor, magnolia, and other deciduous and evergreen trees deck the mt. slopes, from which numerous streams run down to irrigate the rice-plains. The longest river, the Yoshino (100 M.), is often called the Shikoku-Saburo in the belief that it is the 3d longest in the Empire. The paper-mulberry and the vegetable-wax trees are cultivated on a large scale; the inner bark of the former not only providing for the considerable paper industry of Tosa, but also for the demands in

other parts of Japan. There are wax-bleaching works in several places on the island; and in Tosa, which is also noted for its fine camphor, two crops of rice are raised per year. Kochi breeds the remarkable long-tailed fowls described at p. 207. Indigo and excellent tobacco are produced in quantities.

The Besshi Copper Mine, near the summit of a mt. 4000 ft. above sea-level, in the N.W. part of Iyo Province, was discovered in 1690, is owned by the rich and powerful Sumitomo family, has an annual output of 200,000 tons of ore and 6500 tons of refined copper, and is one of the most important in Japan. The geological formation of the mine (wherein 2300 men are employed) is crystalline schist, consisting of quartz-sericites and chlorite rocks between which lies the uniform ore deposit - cupriferous iron pyrites containing an average of 4% copper. The output is sent by private rly. to the near-by Niihama, thence by lighter to (9 1/2 M.) Shisakajima, where the metallurgical works (with 1400 employees) are located. Hence, the copper ingots are sent to the Sumitomo Copper Works at Osaka. - Antimony (Anchimoni - a corruption of the English word) is mined in Saijo, Iyo Province, and is exported.

Tokushima (Inn: Hiragame-ro, ¥3), the chief city (pop. 66,000) of Awa Province, and capital of Tokushima-ken, faces the Kii Channel at the N.E., has daily steamer connections with (51 M.) Kobe (fare, ¥1.80), and is linked by rly. (opened in 1914) with (46 M.) Ikeda, well known for its excellent tobacco.

Kochi (Inn: Josei-kwan, ¥3), the capital (pop. 39,000) of Tosa Province and Kochi-ken, has the ruins of a castle built by Yamanouchi Kazutoyo in 1600. It is an attractive port on the S. side of the island (140 M. from Kobe, daily steamer in 14 hrs.; ¥5, 1st cl.), and besides producing paper of excellent quality is a mart for the coral taken from the sea near by.

Takahama (Inn: Yushinsha, ¥3), a pretty port on the W. side of the island, in Iyo Province, facing the Iyo-nada, is the center whence several short rlys. diverge, and is in touch daily with Ujina, 4 hrs. across the strait, on the mainland. It is the point of departure for 5 M. Matsuyama (Inn: Kadoya, ¥2.50), capital (pop. 44,000) of Iyo Province and Ehime Prefecture. The old castle, built in 1603 by Kato Yoshiaki, is still in good repair, and during the Japan-Russia War it furnished quarters for several thousand Russian prisoners. The panorama viewed from the upper story is one of the finest in the island. - The near-by suburb of Dogo (Inn: Funa-ya, ¥2.50), referred to in one of the guidebooks of Japan as 'a very notorious place,' is well known for its hot sulphur springs and baths, said to be efficacious in skin diseases.

From Okayama westward the main line of the rly. follows the contour of the sea through Bitchu Province to 93 M. Niwase (with a shrine founded by the Emperor Nintoku, in the 4th cent.), where it crosses the Yabe-gawa. The well-watered plains hereabouts are carefully cultivated; the peasants who work in the fields discard all but a loin-cloth in summer, and their brown bodies - much the color of the soil - and crude instruments of husbandry give them the appearance of prehistoric folks. Considerable cotton cloth is manufactured on crude looms, and long strips are spread out to bleach in the sun. During spare moments the farmers tread water-wheels to lift the fluid on to their fields. 125 M. Fukuyama (Inn: Kurisada, ¥3), capital of Bingo Province, with 20,000 inhabs., was formerly the seat of the ruling daimyo. The donjon of the fine old baronial castle, upheld by massive stone walls, can still be seen (right of train) beyond the station. The park now constitutes a public garden. The soft matting used as a covering for native house-mats is a specialty of the town, and is made from the rushes cultivated roundabout. The views of the sea

from the left side of the train are beguiling; scores of picturesque boats glance up and down the blue waters, or careen lazily on shore. At some of the towns long arms of the sea reach in between lines of houses and form fluvial thoroughfares along which ply ancient craft loaded to the gunwale with seaweed, fish, or other marine products. Crude salt-pits for the evaporation of sea-water are conspicuous features along the shore. The little seaport of Tomotsu, at the end of a peninsula which juts seaward, has a daily steamer service to (20 M.) Tadotsu (Island of Shikoku), fare, ¥1.50, and is dear to the internal economy of Japanese because of a celebrated liquor (Homeishu, or 'Life-preserving sake') brewed there.

138 M. Onomichi (Inn: Hamakichi, ¥4), one of the best ports (pop. 31,000) on the Island Sea, is also one of the most picturesque. Opposite the town, which stretches for a mile or more along the shore, is Muko Islet, and between them comes an arm of the sea which serves as a thoroughfare and an anchoring-ground for hundreds of queer craft engaged in the fishing or carrying trade of the Inland Sea. Behind the town and station rise thickly wooded hills amid whose ancient groves stand temples from the atriums of which magnificent and far-reaching views are obtainable. Of the 3 most important ones, Senko-ji, dating from the 12th cent., is perhaps the best worth seeing. The Saikoku-ji is a dependency of the Koya-san Monastery, and is a neglected relic of the time when all Buddhist fanes drew fat revenues from the State and could afford to bedeck themselves with jewel-studded idols and other graven images. If the traveler should happen to pass through Onomichi on a day when the sun shines brilliantly and suggests the lower tropics, he will be reminded strongly of Constantinople and the Golden Horn. The thousands of tiled roofs glistening in the sun, the calm blue water flecked with big white-sailed junks, the scores and scores of lesser craft, the snowy gulls that wheel and scream and fish, and the deep, booming notes of the temple bells ringing their muezzin-like calls to the faithful, all combine to form an enrapturing picture. - Steamships leave daily for numerous Inland Sea ports.

The Kurihara River runs through the town, and after crossing it the train goes out through the suburbs past many picturesque bridges thrown across arms of the sea which reach in and impart a Venetian-like aspect to the place. When the tide goes out it strands many big junks, and leaves them sitting in the mud like helpless leviathans. The rly. now follows the sinuosities of the beach, which hereabout is studded with salt-pits (shiogama). Naked boys race along the shore in the joyous abandon of health and youth; scores of clam-diggers of both sexes search diligently for that modest and retiring bivalve; and the sails of many junks and luggers flash against the horizon. The mts. of Shikoku rise through the haze at the left.

The salt-pits continue beyond 143 M. Itozaki, where there is good bento with fish. The line now leaves the sea and strikes into the hills. Beyond Mihara it crosses the Numata River and enters the province of Aki. Many of the houses have whitewashed walls, wood trimmings painted black, and brown tiled roofs. Beyond Hongo the landscape becomes jejune, and the stiffish up-grade, marked by several tunnels and streams, rises to a point 943 ft. (at Hachihonmatsu Station) before it descends again through several picturesque hamlets to 189 M. Kataichi. Here a branch line diverges (left) to 12 M. Kure, with its big arsenal (in the war-zone, no photographing or sketching) and Gov't Naval Station. The Imperial Naval College stands on the nearby (3 M.) Etajima. The sea hereabout is charming, with lovely views and adorable little bays.

190 M. Hiroshima (Inns: Mizoguchi, ¥3; foreign food, ¥4; Naganuma, semi-foreign, near the station, ¥4), capital of Hiroshima Prefecture and of Aki Province, an important metropolis (pop. 143,000) in lat. 34° 23' N. and long. 132° 27' E. of Greenwich, stands at the delta of the multiple-armed Ota River (called also Kabi- and Yaki-gawa), and is the largest city between Kobe and Shimonoseki. The historic castle (tenshu) visible from the train (left; closed to the public), was built in 1594 by Mori Terumoto. In 1619 it passed into the hands of Asano Nagaakira, whose descendants (often referred to as the Princes of Geishu, the Chinese name for Aki) ruled here as daimyos until the Restoration. The late Mikado made the castle (now occupied by the Fifth Army Division) his headquarters and that of the General Staff during the Russian War, at which time the city was the scene of continuous military activity. The Sentai Landscape Garden (3/4 M. from the station), with 10 acres of ground, a big pond, bridges, and handsome flowering trees, is one of the 'sights.' The view from the house, known as Seitei, is considered the best. At Nigitsu Park (1/2 M., on a hill) there are fine cherry and maple trees, tea-houses, good views, and a shrine called Nigitsu-jinja, consecrated to the ancestors of the Asano family - whose crest of two hawks' feathers crossed show on the enrichments. Miyajima and other islands are visible across the strait. Hiroshima oysters (kaki) enjoy much favor; likewise the lacquer, bronze, and other articles made there.

A branch rly. runs hence (frequent trains in about 20 min.) to 4 M. Ujina (in the war-zone), with a pretty harbor (completed in 1889; cost ¥340,000) much frequented by coasting-vessels. Steamers of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha run hence (several trips daily) to (7 M.) Miyajima, (9 M.) Kure, thence to (4 hrs.) Takahama (¥1.40) on Shikoku Island.

191 M. Yokogawa, just across the river from Hiroshima, is practically a suburb. The train continues over a broad plain devoted to the great staple, rice; pretty views of the sea at the left. An excellent highway runs along the sea-wall for

some distance beyond (193 M.) Koi. Many paper umbrellas are made hereabout, and the scores of them drying in the house-yards look like big whirligigs. Some fine old pine trees flank the highway beyond (197 M.) Itsukaichi. 199 M. Hatsukaichi is a charmingly situated village on the shore, with tiny harbors and rusty junks standing on the sands. The old Sanyodo runs along the beach and affords automobilists entrancing views of the island-studded sea. The big vermilion torii visible across the smooth water is the outpost of

203 M. Miyajima (miya, shrine; jima, island; pron. me-yah-jee-mah), known also as Itsukushima, Beautiful Island.

The Ferry (watashi) is 2 min. walk down the wide st. left from the station. Good ferry boats of the Gov't Rlys. make the (2 M.) trip across the strait (ono seto) in about 15 min.

The *Miyajima Hotel, delightfully situated near the sea, is known for its comfort, good food and service, and moderate charges. T. Yokokawa, Manager. Speaks English and is helpful to the traveler in making his plans.

The Hotel Rates are from 8 to 10 yen a day, American Plan, for a single room; double room from 12 to 20 yen.

A number of pretty walks radiate from the hotel, the management of which will arrange for sight-seeing motor-boats, fishing-trips, etc.

Miyajima, or Itsukushima, an island 5 M. long by 2 1/2 wide (highest point, 1671 ft.) at the W. side of Hiroshima Bay, in Aki Province, owes its name to Itsukushima-hime, one of the daughters of the mythological Susano-o. To her and her two sisters, Tagori-hime and Tagitsu-hime, the island shrines are dedicated. It is also called Ongashima ('Gentle Island'). The climate is moist, and the hills profusely wooded in consequence. Of the 4000 or more inhabs., many are priests, fishermen, innkeepers, and image-carvers. Formerly births and deaths on the island were forbidden, but the exigencies of circumstances, and perchance 20th-cent. materialism, have altered the intense sanctity of the place, and introduced reasonable flexibility in this ruling. Dogs are still forbidden entrance; the many tame deer are like those of Nara, and the glossy and saucy crows, at once raucous and mischievous, are like those of British India. There are several pleasant walks in the neighborhood of Miyajima town, but they differ in only minor details from those of other places in Japan. A host of little shops with varying and flexible prices are features of the settlement; much of the woodwork offered for sale is unseasoned, and is made in small work-shops on the island. Steamers of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha leave Miyajima daily for Kobe, Beppu, and intermediate points.

The Temple (or cluster of temples), is in the usual Shinto style with meager enrichments. It stands partly on piles driven into the sand of the shore, and when the tide makes in and submerges the underpinning, it has the appearance of a lacustrine dwelling half afloat. When the tide runs out and exposes the flats and the vermiculated, barnacle-covered legs of the structure, the sight is painfully unpicturesque. The main temple dates perhaps from the 17th cent. and occupies the site of a primitive one said to have been erected in A.D. 587 by the order of the Emperor Suinin. The 888 ft. of dilapidated corridors, 14 ft. wide, differentiate it from other Japanese fanes. In one of the apartments is a Museum (5 sen) with a collection of trumpery relics not worth wasting time over. The war-pictures are manifestly from the brush of the local house-painter. The contribution box is 7 ft. wide and 15 ft. long, and when a dime is dropped into it gives back an embarrassingly stingy echo.

The big Torii (O-torii) in the water, 528 ft. from the main temple, is 44 ft. high, 73 ft. across at the top, and was built in 1875. The tablet is in the handwriting of the late Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. The side supports differentiate it from the customary torii (comp. p. clxxxii).

The Hall of a Thousand Mats (Sen-jo-jiki) on an eminence near by, a huge, quadrangular, time-stained structure open to all the winds that blow, is said to have been erected in 1582 by the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. While certain of the soldiers destined for China in 1891 were quartered here, they inscribed their names on their rice-paddles and prayed to their tutelar saints for victory; the fashion spread, and there are now thousands of them in the big hall. Aspirants for the publicity pay anywhere from 10 sen to 1 yen, according to the size of the paddle, to have their names inscribed and exposed on one of the pillars.

From Miyajima Station the rly. follows the shore of the bay through charming scenery. White sails dot the water, which flashes and dimples in the face of the sun, and here and there one sees fishermen equipped with glass-bottomed boxes searching the floor of the sea for marine life. The old highway which follows the shore is like a sand-papered boulevard. Tiny bays with crescent beaches occur at intervals, and when one sees a great junk beached on one of them for caulking, and busy men swarming about it, one thinks of piratical forays and corsairs' buried treasure. Three tunnels are threaded before 209 M. Kuba is reached. Here the tea-houses perched on hills overlooking the sea recall Italian prospects. The long sea-wall beyond is significant of the capriciousness of the waters, which roll in here in an uninterrupted sweep from the California coast. 212 M. Otake is but one of many picturesque villages that dot the shore, and the fleet of big junks with bellying sails descried far out at sea denotes the occupation of the people. The region is thickly settled, and long lines of houses make the seashore their principal street. Cyclopean stone walls, a tunnel, and many salt-pits are features of the run to

215 M. Iwakuni (Inn: Komehei, ¥2), just over the border in Suwo Province. The (3 M. at the right) town (pop. 12,000), formerly the seat of a daimyo, is known for its silk, paper, matting, cotton cloth, oranges, and excellent figs, and also for a curious and ancient arched bridge known variously as the Kintai-kyo, the Brocade Bridge (or Bridge of the Damask Girdle), and the Soroban-bashi (Abacus-Bridge), from its fancied resemblance to this reckoning-board.

The traveler can easily inspect the bridge between trains. An electric trolley car leaves from the (right) station at frequent intervals and goes (round trip, 18 sen) to the (15 min.) center of the town. Jinrikis are in waiting at the terminal; to the bridge (5 min. walk to the right) and back, 15 sen. The huge old wood, copper-bronze, and rusted iron structure (750 ft. long), said to have been built in 1673 by the ruling daimyo, Kikkawa Motonobu (of the Iwakuni Clan), has 5 arches which rest upon 4 massive, knife-edged granite buttresses bound with lead bands and secured by lead dowels. The longest arch is 133 ft.; the shortest, 108 ft. The 3 central spans are higher than the 2 end ones, which have approaches 10 ft. long. Anciently the custom was to repair one of these arches every 5 yrs., so that the bridge was practically made over every quarter of a century. The bold curvature of the spans (78 ft. above the river) makes their surfaces slippery in bad weather, and to counteract this the cross-boards form tiny steps or ridges. It is worth while removing one's shoes and wading out into the shallow river in order to inspect the curious architectural expedients employed on the underside of the structure. It is a maze of pegs and crude joints, and looks very mediaeval. The river has its source in N. Suwo, and after receiving several tributa-

ries and passing through Iwakuni, it separates into two branches, the Imatsu and the Monzen-gawa, both of which empty into Hiroshima Bay. At and above Iwakuni, it flows between lovely green hills, and its mirror-like surface reflects all the tints of the rich foliage on their slopes. The name, Nishiki-gawa ('Brocade River'), is also that of a fine leather with white figures on a purple ground, used formerly by court nobles. The bed of the river beneath the bridge has been laid evenly with stones, and the remarkably clear and transparent water makes a pretty picture as it ripples over them. The bridge itself looks like a huge caterpillar arching above the stream. The shrine at the top of the incline midway between the car-station and the river is of no interest. The mt. visible toward the S.W. is Iwakuni-yama.

Beyond Iwakuni the rly. crosses first the Imatsu-gawa, then the Monzen-gawa, and traverses a region marked by numerous tunnels and small rivers. The sea and its fine flanking highway remain in view until we reach 240 M. Tabuse; when the line enters a broken country with hills at the right and left. The sea is glimpsed again beyond 246 M. Shimada, where crude water-wheels on the bank of the Shimada-gawa lift the precious fluid and pour it over the thirsty paddy-fields. Fantastic pine trees fringe the shore, fairy-like islands lie beyond, and an occasional white sail merges ghost-like in the haze of the horizon. 258 M. Tokuyama, an important port for coasting-steamers, is a sort of snug harbor for junks in the carrying trade, and between 1634 and 1868 was the seat of different daimyos of the powerful Mori family. A big sea-wall keeps the ocean in check, and numerous salt-pits supply the neighborhood with a very poor quality of salt. These are duplicated farther down the line, where there are a number of tunnels. Beyond 270 M. Tonomi some highly fantastic rocks are seen near the shore. The rly. runs along a terrace built up boldly between the hills and the sea, and exquisite seascapes succeed one another with such unvarying regularity that they become commonplace by their very frequency.

275 M. Mitajiri (Inn: Ibara, near the station, ¥2), with many salt pans, is 1 M. from the port of the same name, and is a shipping-point for the cheap earthenware made in the neighborhood.

289 M. Ogori, is the nearest station to (8 M.) Yamaguchi (Inn: Fujimura, ¥3), capital of Yamaguchi Prefecture and one of the largest (pop. 22,000) towns in Suwo Province. The castle at the foot of Mt. Konomine was built in 1350 by Ouchi Hiroyo, governor of the province, whose powerful descendants resided here for two centuries, and in one period of history held almost absolute power over seven provinces. In the 14th cent. it was a notorious rendezvous for political malcontents from Kyoto, and these instructed the samurai in so many forms of the dissipation then in vogue at the capital, that they ultimately proved the daimyo's ruin. Yamaguchi is of peculiar interest to Christians because St. Francis Xavier founded one of his first missions here in 1551. Equestrian statues of some of the early rulers adorn the public garden on Kame-

yama. The hot spring of the near-by Yuda is a favorite resort. - Beyond Ogori the rly. enters the province of Nagato and traverses a hilly country to (307 M.) Asa, whither a branch line runs N. to (13 M.) Omine, where there is a mine of smokeless coal belonging to the Japanese Navy. We now get beautiful glimpses of the sea (left) as the rly. approaches (329 M.) Shimonoseki (see below).

Shimonoseki ('Lower Barrier'), or Akamagaseki, an important port at the W. entrance of the Inland Sea, the westernmost point of the main island of Hondo, in Nagato Province, Yamaguchi Prefecture, with 95,000 inhabs., stretches for upward of 4 M. along the base of low but steepish fortified hills in lat. 33° 58' N. and long. 130° 56' E. of Greenwich. It is 4 M. from the W. entrance of Shimonoseki Strait; is the W. terminus of the Sanyo Rly.; the point of embarkation for Korean ports; and it bears practically the same relation to the opposite port of Moji (pop. 110,000; in Buzen Province; Kyushu Island) that New York does to Jersey City, or Aomori, the northeasternmost point of the island (1174 M. distant) does to the adjacent island of Yezo. Tokyo is 704 M. at the E.; Fusan, in Korea, 120 M. N.W.; Nagasaki 164 M. at the W., and Kagoshima, the terminus of the Kyushu Rly. 239 M. toward the S.

The *San-yo Hotel, opposite the Railway Station and Ferry House, is new, modern, comfortable, cheap, and good. It is operated by the Imperial Government Railways, is a member of the Japan Hotel Association (a guarantee of excellence), and is under the personal supervision of an English-speaking manager (Mr. T. Matsumoto) widely known to, and liked by, the traveling public. The food and service are first class. The hotel is a great convenience to tourists stopping in Shimonoseki en route to or from Chosen, China, Kyushu, or Inland Sea places, and with its spacious lobby, good rooms and baths, and its many comforts it is an ideal resting place for any traveler. There are electric lights, steam heat, ample hot water, elevators, and the usual comforts of the best metropolitan hotels, but at prices considerably lower than these. Telegrams reserving rooms (Telegraph Address: 'San-yo, Shimonoseki') will be forwarded free from incoming trains if handed to the Train Boy. Hotel porters meet trains, and are particularly helpful to travelers transferring immediately to the channel-boats or the Moji ferry.

Rates (European Plan only). Single bedroom, from 4 yen a day and up. With private bath, from 7 yen. Double room with private bath from 11 yen. Breakfast, yen 1.50. Luncheon yen 2. Dinner yen 2.50. There is a good Grill-Room for guests, and where hurried travelers will find much to please them.

The Japan Tourist Bureau maintains an Information Bureau in the hotel, and is of service to travelers. It will secure motor-cars for local and country trips; launches for fishing or sight-seeing sea trips; Guides, Steamship and Railway Tickets; Staterooms and passage on the Channel Boats to Korea, etc. All its services are free and are willingly given. Travelers' Cheques can be cashed here, and money exchanged. Drafts and other banking documents can be negotiated at the Yokohama Specie Bank Ltd., which has a branch here. A useful

Time Table of the Shimonoseki-Fusan Channel-steamers, the Moji Ferryboats, and the Government Railways can be had for the asking at the Japan Tourist Bureau.

Shimonoseki is an important transfer point for Kyushu at the S. and Chosen, Manchuria and China at the East. As it is within the Fortified Zone, travelers are cautioned against making sketches or photographing in the neighborhood. It is an exceptionally pleasant place in which to spend a few days, the comfortable hotel making an excellent headquarters from which to start on the many attractive excursions possible in the neighborhood. The high wooded hills which half-circle the port are criss-crossed with scores of quiet lanes which usually lead to some pretty park or shrine, and from which one commands magnificent views over land and sea. Its narrow, picturesque streets with their many small shops (tortoise-shell work is a specialty of the place), are near the sea, and have a marine flavor that is particularly pleasing. The fine orange groves in the neighborhood attest to the softness of the climate.

A comprehensive view of the port, its flanking hills, and the W. entrance to the Inland Sea, can be had from the Kameyama Jinja, a pretty shrine to the memory of Ojin-Tenno, a famous warrior of the early days. Akama-gu (the ancient name for Shimonoseki) about 1 M. from the hotel, is a classic spot to the Japanese, since here stand the mouldering tombs of the ill-fated lees of the great Taira Clan, whose valiant struggle with the powerful Minamoto is referred to hereinafter. The shrine is dedicated to Antoku-Tenno. Many fine trees cover the hillslopes behind the shrine enclosure. Paths lead to the summit, from which wide views are obtainable.

The quaint, somnolent, healthful little town of Chofu, 5 M. along the coast road (Dan-no-ura) from Shimonoseki, is a favorite sea-side resort, and is sacred ground to the Japanese because it was the birthplace of General Nogi, who, in 1912, in order to follow his beloved Emperor, Meiji-tenno, into the Great Beyond, calmly committed suicide (as did also his faithful and heroic wife). He was a prominent and successful figure in the Japan-China War. At the left of the modest little shrine is the poor little house where he was born. In one of the tiny rooms are the seated carved-wood figures of the general (as a boy), his mother and his father. The father is shown in the attitude of explaining to his son the code of the Samurai (to which clan he belonged). Various of the pathetically poor belongings of the family are preserved in the house and in an adjacent godown. The Chofu Beach is a popular bathing resort.

Takehisa Beach, 4 M. north of the port, provides excellent bathing and superb views of the Inland Sea. Kawatana, 1 hour by rail or motor from Shimonoseki, is noted for its hot springs. Chomonkyo Valley, 3 hrs. by rail (Sanyo Main Line, changing cars at Ogori) is one of the beauty spots of the region, with many fantastic peaks, deep ravines, tumbling streams, etc. Akiyoshi Cave, near Yoshinori Station on the Sanyo Main Line of the rly., is celebrated for a curious grotto (about 5 M. long) and some enormous stalactites. The Hozan-ji, a poor and tottering Buddhist Temple of the Zen Sect, in Shimonoseki proper, is interesting chiefly for its great age and for some fine cherry and pine trees which occupy part of the terrace on which it stands.

Peace negotiations for the termination of the Japan-China War were concluded in Shimonoseki in 1895, by Li Hung Chang on the one side and Count Ito Hirobumi, and Viscount Mutsu Munemitsu on the other. It was at Shimonoseki that Mori Motonori, the too-zealous daimyo of Choshu (Nagato) ordered his retainers (in 1863) to fire on foreign vessels passing through the Shimonoseki Strait; and this treatment, meted out to ships of the United States, Holland and France, resulted in the historical 'Shimonoseki Expedition,' during which, as a remonstrance against such actions, ships of the three Powers, together with those of England, bombarded the forts and scattered their defenders. An indemnity was demanded by, and paid to, each of the Powers. Americans are gratified to remember that the indemnity paid to the United States was, in due time, returned to Japan and was used by the Japanese Government to pay for building the breakwater which for so many years has sheltered Yokohama from the sea.

Conspicuous objects in some of the Shimonoseki shops are the curious dried and polished crabs (kani) of peculiar significance to one versed in Japanese history. They are caught along the neighboring (1 1/2 M. to the E.) Dan-no-ura (coast) where the great Taira (or Heike) Clan was exterminated (April 25, 1185) by the rival Minamoto (or Genji) Clan led by the intrepid Yoshitsune. The larger variety of these grotesque creatures is called Taishogani ('chieftain-crab'), or Tatsugashira ('dragon's-head' or 'helmet'); the smaller ones, Heikegani. A legend is current to the effect that the spirits of the drowned and slaughtered men of the Heike Clan assumed such shapes, and that the agony of the death-struggle can still be discerned in the faces of the crabs.

Few incidents in Japanese history are more tragic. At the moment when the outnumbered Taira were fighting with the reckless ferocity of despair, they were betrayed by one of their captains (Taguchi Shigeyoshi), who suddenly hauled down the red flag and went over to the enemy. This defection was fatal to the Taira; in less than half an hour they were overpowered. Taguchi was eager to impart the intelligence to Yoshitsune that the boy Emperor, Antoku (7 yrs. old), his mother and grandmother, and many Taira Court ladies were on board one of the vessels, which he now pointed out. Where the Emperor was, the Regalia would be sure to be; and it was at once Yoshitsune's chief commission and great anxiety to recover the Regalia for the Cloistered Emperor and the Sovereign of his choice. Accordingly the main object now became to scatter the craft that surrounded and defended what was practically the queen-bee ship, and to capture it and the invaluable freight it carried. Presently the Admiral, Tomomori, went on board this Chinese-rigged vessel to make report that the battle was lost and that if they continued to live it would only be as the serfs and serving-maids of the Eastern boors; together with his uncle Noriyori he threw himself overboard and perished. His mother, the Nii-no-ama, or 'Noble nun of the 2d rank,' Kiyomori's widow, seized the Sacred Sword and plunged into the sea with it, while the Lady Azechi caught up the young Emperor in her arms and followed her. The Emperor's mother also went overboard, but both she and the Lady Azechi were rescued with boat-hooks by the Minamoto, who had meanwhile completed the rout of the Taira. The Taira had 500 war-vessels, the Minamoto, 840. On a ledge of rocks in the channel is a monument commemorating Antoku and the nun in whose arms he perished.

Shimonoseki Strait (or Nagato Kaikyo, the Van der Capellen Strait of Europeans), which separates Hondo from Kyushu, is the W. outlet of the Inland Sea, and though but 7 M. long between the two islands it is in reality 15 M. long between Aino-shima at its W. and He-saki at its E. entrance. The navigable channel varies from 600 to 1400 yds. in breadth with about 26 ft. in the fairway at low tide - the average velocity of which (at full strength for 3 hrs. at each tide) is 7 1/2 knots at springs and 4 at neaps. Both entrances are encumbered with sand-banks and are mined in time of war. The hills roundabout are fortified, and the entire region, with its signal-stations, beacons, and the like, is included in the war-zone (photographing and sketching interdicted).

It is a beautiful stretch of water, and on a fair day hundreds of picturesque ships flash to and fro across its sparkling bosom. Sometimes as many as 50 junks at a time will crowd through the E. channel, and with a favoring breeze careen hither and yon to mooring places. Many of these junks are Chinese-rigged, with picturesque lateen sails, bamboo slatted, bat-winged, square, or fore-and-aft, and all amazingly attractive. When viewed from the terrace of the Mekari Jinja, in the outskirts of Moji, the sight is not one soon forgotten.

Big ocean liners usually anchor midway between the two ports, and launches carry passengers to shore. The rly. stations on both sides are at, or near, the docks.