Lucy Harris Travel Diary 1897

school. Also a letter from Lady Johnson & one from Jane Stae. Mrs.Beddows is very ill. I fear I will never see my good friend again. Captain Brown came and George would not see him or rather that Captain Brown did not wait to see him but we will not get a cabinet here after all. Our dinner at the Steadmans was very nice, only her brother who she called Jim. I did not catch his other name. We had a very delightful ice made of Green Tea. They all seemed such nice people. Not rich. Nov.7 George, Milly and Ronald went off with Miss Holmes to see the bronze statue of bai butzu, a wonderful casting of [Beose?], 50 feet high. I was not well enough to go. I went to church and afterwards had to lie down. Rheumatism is very bad in this place + my hands were so stiff I could not write. The church was very small + pews were set aside for strangers. The clergyman prayed first for the President of the United States, even before the Queen. I did not like his voice or sermon. Paid Miss Holmes on her return from Kamakura as we will not go to Miya-no-Shita. The weather is too unsettled and Ronald is laid up. Bad water at Tokyo did it I think.

8th Ronald quite ill all night too much water He feeds badly. and is not carful of what he eats. All morning I put up the things for Canada 3 trunks and made lists of the things to go back in case Ronald has to pay duty. Went to Greenhouse about plants for Canada & got market catalogue. Did not go out until evening to send some flowers to Mrs Steadman with our cards. We leave at 830 am tomorrow 9 Got up in good time and was all ready I thought in the end we missed our train & found ourselves at the station just as the train pulled out had to wait until 1130 am The car was full and the journey seemed long Reached our hotel late at 640 pm a lovely moonlight night the town was, Shidyuoko a strange hotel only 4 rooms for foreigners and a small diningroom. One side filled with lovely cage like baskets made of split bamboo. After dinner we went for a walk through the main street of the town. Saw a fine temple 2 miles from town. 10 We got up early, walked through the town and got a little bit of egg shell lacquer our sole purchases in that town. While we were in the shop about a hundred people stood

side watching us. Milly and I were astonished to find how much interest we created. I fancy few English come this way. We left at 12 noon for Nagoya. A most interesting inland city. I would willingly have stayed until a later train. We saw the castle very completely and also a little of the town. Bought a cloisonne 11. vase at the factory and saw them making these. things, the process was most interesting. The view from the castle reminded one of the Lombardy plains. Little villages dotted all about like islands on a lake. The castle was so injured by the earthquake 1891 that the beams were all strained and it was closed to the public for a long time. One has to get a permit from the English Embassy to go there. We bought a strange piece of old cloisonne of Fuji and under the snow line are dragons playing about. We got to Kyoto at 8:15 p.m. 12 Was not well so did not go out until after tiffin. In the afternoon we went to a very fine temple, the altar and brass hangings being the finest we have yet seen. Also it seemed to have a small cloister round the [?] house built in such a way that made a sound every step you took.

[in margin:]13 [outside margin:]representing the 36 Geniuses. There are 5 chapels. The annual festival is on the 2nd of May The flowering cherry trees are all named. After this we went on to the Daitokuji. Here again the carving deserves great praise but every detail is here complete. No temple is said to have a greater number of Kakemonos some of great value, a set of screens that divide room from room were painted by Kano Tan-yu & great valued. A sepia drawing of a man leading a monkey occupies the whole of a small room and is famous. Kinkakuji comes next and here again the gardens and islands with many carp who come to be fed. A pavilion stands facing south on the edge of the lake but is not worth visiting as the lacquer and gilding are all spoiled. A tree here, a pine, is trained on bamboo until it represents a Chinese junk sail and rudder & we had a long drive and came back rather tired as the road was rough. A letter from Mary Peard, they are all well. Her letter was dated 24 of Sept. [in margin:]14 [outside the margin]Sunday: We had breakfast early and so

17 This wonderful building was begun 1583 and in 2 years the work was accomplished, labourers being brought from all parts of Japan except the domain of ------- It was built of free stone and in some parts of the stones measure 40 feet in length, 10 feet in height and several feet in thickness. The wall and moats are all of granite paved throughout, and from the Tenshu on a clear day you can see the distant mountains of Hieizan N.E. Koyasan and s. to Kongo-san one of the Yamato Mts. to the south east. Also the famous well Golden Water which supplied the Garrison in time of siege. A heavy show[er] came on and we went from there to a flower show where we saw beautiful chrysan themums the finest yet. We left at 12 pm for Kobe. At the Barracks we saw the cavalry horses being groomed which was done by lightly dusting them off with a whisp of straw.

At Osaka we stayed at a large hotel Metropole. The stairs had 36 steps to the rooms and a dining room that would do for a banquet of 200 persons. The food was poor & the windows overlooked the river At Kobe about 1 1/2 by rail we found our selves in a pretty town a better Hotel than any other except the Grand at Yokahama. This hotel called the Oriental kept by a French man. George presented his letter to 18 Mr. Hellyer, who called upon us in the afternoon & said his wife was ill, but his carriage would meet us next day at 10 & show us the sights of Kobe. He also asked us to lunch on Sunday with him his mother in law and sister are staying at his home. Mr. Hellyer reminded me of poor Frank Manson[?] when I first knew him. The drive was very charming and we saw some pretty views. I do not like the Japanese dress. And certainly the absence of stockings that prevails is not attractive.

The jinrickicha men here seem a much rougher class & I did not care for them. At Kioto they were more than civil & we took the same men all the time so they did not repeat the Temples, knowing what we had seen. We got to Kobe before any of the rest of our party and have written a great many letters doing all our Christmas cards & mailed from here so that they may go by the Empress of India on the 1 of Dec. from Kobe. We bought very little here and did not feel very cheerful about a little Japanese tea set which I wished very much to get. In China I hope to get some good silks & crepe for dresses, also blue china for the drawing room & Ivory. We saw at Kobe quite different class of goods here the people are not nearly so civil as at Kyoto or so anxious to show you their wares. We had a nice walk and saw the upper town very well. -

Nov 20 12 noon to drive to Mr. Hellyer for Tiffin. The house is very pretty & some beautiful old things. Gold laquer & bronze that was most exquisite to look at also carvings which I fancy were Chinese. We were received by Mr. Hellyer & his mother in law & sister. Mrs. Hellyer was not well enough to come down stairs The appointments of the house were very English & the silver very beautiful. We liked Mr. H. so much 2 dear little children Larry a boy of 6 & Margery 3 years old Such attractive little children His garden was full of very beautiful chrysanthemums such as we would see at a flower show at home each flower seemed perfect Never more than 3 flowers in a group & each tied most carefully to its own little bamboo After Tiffin we went up to see Mrs. Hellyer in her bedroom She looked very delicate & said she had been in bed for 3 months. She had an internal hemmorage and had to keep

to sail with us. The Cheneys were detained by Mrs. Rusull[?] illness, a sharp attack of rheumatism. We left at 8:10 a.m. for Nara as we have 2 change of cars and a drive of 20 minutes through Osaka. We Nov.21 are not sure that without a guide we will manage well - but a guide would cost 6 yen, 3 dollars of our money and Ronald and Milly are not inclined to spend but to bring home spoil - Osaka seems a great China and pottery packing center for we passed shops without number. The driver took us through a quarter we had not yet seen and having our luncheon with us made matters easy. We had a first class carriage to ourselves all the way and had our luncheon just before we reached Narra. The scenery was very pretty , most of the hillsides being terraced a good part of the slope and the rice harvest was of interest for we saw them shelling the rice and drying it on mats before

We had a walk through the village and lovely park with deer so tiny & tame they seem play things. They eat little cakes out of you hand & run after the jinrickisha to get cake. The lanterns begin just as you enter the park and are of every variety form & size, old & new. We saw first the Kasaga No Miya, founded A.D. 707, a festival is held there on the 17 of December, Little tiny wooden toys "Nara Ningoya" & the articles made from the deer horns are sold we bought some little fans. An open shed near the temple is where the bramgow[?] used to come and work. This now used on the 3rd of February by the town people to scatter beans so as to send away evil spirits. The main temple called " Wakamiya" is built on the side of the rock, that as you approach seems part of the rock. 2 rows of handsome stone lanterns lead up to it and on the balcony are many endless rows of brass and bronze