The Voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe, Volume I and Volume II

by A. E. Nordenskiöld

Even those who have long studied Japan and its literature have very little knowledge of the inner essence of Shintoism. This religion is considered by some a pure deism, by others a belief with political aims, the followers of which worship the departed heroes of the country. Of a developed morality this religion is wholly devoid. In the same way it appears to be uncertain whether Shintoism is a survival of the original religion of the country or whether it has been brought from abroad.

Buddhism was introduced from China by Corea. Its temples are more ornamented than the Shinto temples, and contain images of deities, bells, drums, holy books, and a great quantity of altar ornaments. The transmigration of souls, and rewards and punishments in a life after this, are doctrines of Buddhism. Outside the temples proper there are to be found in many places large or small images in stone or bronze of the deities of Buddha. The largest of these consist of colossal statues in bronze (Daibutsu), representing Buddha in a sitting position, and themselves forming the screen to a temple with smaller images. A similar statue is also to be found at Kamakura, another at

Tokio, a third at Nara near Kioto, and so on. Some have of late years been sold for the value of the metal, one has in this way been brought to London, and is now exhibited in the Kensington Museum. The metal of the statues consists of an alloy of copper with tin and a little gold, the last named constituent giving rise to the report that their value is very considerable. To give an idea of the size of some Daibutsu statues it may be mentioned that the one at Nara is fifty-three and a half feet high, and that one can crawl into the head through the nose orifices.

Nearly all the Daibutsu images are made after nearly the same design, which has been improved from generation to generation until the countenance of the image has received a stamp of benevolence, calm, and majesty, which has probably never been surpassed by the productions of western art. Daibutsu images evidently stand in the same relation to the works of private sculptors as folk-poetry to that of individual bards.

As I have before pointed out, the Western taste for the gigantic was not prevalent in Old Japan. It was evidently elegance and neatness, not grandeur, that formed the object towards which the efforts of the artist, the architect, and the gardener were directed. Only the Daibutsu images, some bells, and other instruments of worship form exceptions to this. During our excursion at Kioto we passed an inclosure where the walls were built of blocks of stone so colossal, that it was difficult to comprehend how it had been possible to lift and move them with the means that were at the disposal of the Japanese in former times. In the neighbourhood of that place there was a grave, probably the only one of its kind. It is described in the following way in an account of the curiosities of Kioto written by a native:—

"Mimisuka, or the grave of the noses and the ears, was erected by Hideyoshi Taiko, who lived about A.D. 1590. When the military chiefs of this famous man attacked Corea with a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, he gave orders that they should bring home and show him all the ears and noses of the enemies who were killed in the contest, for it was an old practice in Japan to cut off the enemies' heads to show them to the king or the commander of the army. But it was now impossible to bring the heads of the dead Corean warriors to Japan, because the distance was too great. Hideyoshi therefore gave the above order, and the ears and noses, which were brought to Japan, were buried together at that place. The grave is 730 feet in circumference, and is 30 feet high."

Kioto is one of the principal places for the manufacture of faïence, porcelain, and cloisonné. The productions of the ceramic art are, as is well-known, distinguished by their tasteful forms and beautiful colours, and are highly valued by connoisseurs, on which account they are exported on a large scale to Europe and America. The works are numerous and small, and are owned for the most part by families that for a long succession of generations have devoted themselves to the same occupation. The articles are burned in very small furnaces, and are commonly sold in a shop which is close to the place where they are made. The making of porcelain in Japan, therefore, bears the stamp rather of handicraft than of manufacturing industry. The wares gain thereby in respect of art to an almost incredible degree. They have the same relation to the productions of the great European manufactories that the drawing of an artist has to a showily coloured lithograph. But the price is high in proportion, and the Japanese porcelain is too dear for every-day use even in its own country. Nearly all the large sets of table porcelain that I saw in Japan were, therefore, ordered from abroad. The cups which the natives themselves use for rice, tea, and saki are, however, of native manufacture; but even in a well-provided Japanese household there is seldom so much porcelain as would be required for a proper coffee-party at home.

In the evening the Governor had invited us to a dinner, which was given in a hall belonging to a literary society in the town. The rooms were partly furnished in European style with tables, chairs, Brussels carpets, &c. The dinner was European in the arrangement of dishes, wines, and speeches. The dishes and wines were abundant and in great variety. The company were very merry, and the host appeared to be greatly pleased, when I mentioned that at one of the places which I had seen that day I saw a wall adorned by a motto of his composition. He immediately promised to write a similar one on me with reference to my visit to the town, and when a few moments after he had the first line ready, he invited his Japanese guests to write the second. They tried for a good while with merry jests to hit upon some suitable conclusion, but in vain. Early the following morning Mr. Koba-Yaschi came to me, bringing with him a broad strip of silk on which the following was pencilled in bold, nobly-formed characters: