Lucy Harris Travel Diary 1897

Nov. 3 - A fine day. In the morning we made a very early start and go to the and see the tomb of the 47 Ronins and then in the afternoon which was the Mikado's birthday we went to the great chrysanthemum flower show. This shows what wonderful gardeners these people are. Figures of bamboo are made life size, representing favourite actors or better still a whole scene from a play is made of bamboo. The flower roots are then put inside the figure and the arms frills, trimmings and folds in the draperies are shown in different coloured chrysanthemums. We saw 2 scenes on a revolving stage. One had a horse, the other a dog all done in leaves and flowers. It is not pretty but represents much patience. The cut flowers were not as good as we have at home but the dirty crowds would spoil any place in the world. Hundreds of people. The distance here is very great and one is tired before you get to the sight you have in view. But worse than all are the smells. I shall be glad to get away. We will I think go back to Yokohama on Friday as we did not get our cards for the Imperial Gardens as we had hoped.

Nov.4. We had a very nice drive around the Park where the Mikado lives. I let Miss Holmes go home, to join us tomorrow for the trip to Miyanoshita as she said she was not provided with suitable clothing. I let her come home to the hotel and told her to get a cup of tea before she started on her journey. To my astonishment I found her sitting in my bedroom drinking her tea. She never offered any excuse or did she realize she had taken a liberty. Her own room was one flight upstairs and it certainly was a surprise to me to find her sitting in my room with her tea tray. We will leave tomorrow. Spent all evening looking for the passport as George had taken it out of his pocket and we had to unpack everything and found it with some papers in the bottom of his trunk packed for Canada. Dear me, how much bother one can have that does no good to anyone. Today altogether has been our first bad day in Japan. I shall be glad to get off tomorrow morning from Tokio. The place is so depressing to my mind.

Nov. 5.We left at 9:45 am in a pouring rain, the first wet day in Japan. The effect of people using huge umbrellas to cover their heads and have their legs and feet uncovered is odd to our eyes. THe coolies are fond of a high straw hat, a mat made of straw around their shoulders. A second one they wear as a skirt - the effect, at a short distance is that of a wheat sheaf on 2 brown legs. They do not seem to mind the weather for babies and all seem to be out just as if it were fine. Our bad luck has not left us for we found that George had not got his gold from the safe at Metropole so Ronald went back for it. I packed and went out with Milly to get some drawn work. It looks so pretty and this is made only at Yokohama. We called at Mrs. Stedman, Settlement no.205 and found them very fine people. We are going to dine there tomorrow night at 7 p.m. It never ceased raining all day and tonight is no better so the excursion to Kamakura is put off until Sunday. Nov. 6. A very dark wet day. At 9:30 we got our letters by the San Francisco boat China. One from Ted was a great delight to me as he seems to feel very satisfied with his

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 Dai Butzu, a wonderful casting of Bronze, 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 and my hands were so stiff I could not write. The church was very small and 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 8:30 a.m. 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 11:30 a.m. The car was full and the journey seemed long. Reached our hotel late at 6:40p.m.. 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.

12 The view from the Yaami's Hotel on a fine day would be very grand. On our way to the hotel we went to see the Great Bell. The temple is called Chionin. When the bell rings, it shakes the whole hotel. In the temple a priest was beating a drum & praying aloud. This is public penance, & only done in atonement for some serious fault. Our afternoon was charming and we finished by visiting a good pottery Kinko San. A vase of silver, gilt tempted me & if it had been smaller we would have taken it at once 40 yen. It was the only piece I ever saw of that kind with a silver ground. The cloisonnee is more expensive than at Nagoya. We got home about 6 o'clock and felt every hour had been a joy. A fine morning. Mr. and Miss Hartshorne, 13 Dr. & Mrs. Chill we met at breakfast which we had early at 8:30 so we got out soon after nine The first visit was the [?] Palace first and saw it. The screens are very well painted. One of wild geese we admired very much indeed. Indeed the brass work & the painting is most marvellous. All in perfect taste. Nothing but mats

in most of the rooms. The ceilings were very beautiful. The idea of colour has been well thought out and with the screens painted on a gold ground with hugh [huge] trees in one room, a pine with birds upon its branches was so delicate, the carvings on brass plated with gold are most exquisite. Always a sort of water garden seems necessary to a Japanese landscape. We after went to see the Castle. The inside gate is carved with storks on one side & peacocks on the other. In fact the approach is very fine but at present the only furniture is a seat or rather throne with fine [word scribbled out? maybe scarlet] purple hangings of silk. The matting is so white and attractive but if the Emperor ever comes here he must bring his furniture with him. The Japanese gardening is strange to us. A lake with islands and stone bridge. The shrubs are cut in shapes. Never a dead branch, funny patterns. We do not understand gardening from their point of view. We got back to the Hotel at 12:30 after a pleasant morning. After luncheon or rather tiffin as it is called here, we went out again, this time Hirano Jinja, a purely Shinto temple with pictures

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 Sunday We had breakfast early and so

started our day at 9:15. We went first to the largest temple in Japan and saw the great Daibutsu a plain wooden statue with out any points. The great bell is rung by a sort of battering ram. The bell is 14 feet high weighing over 63 tons. Koshoji is a large temple and Yosaka pagoda is very fine. The woods near this are very beautiful and a queer little street with earthenware dolls and gifts for children is the main road to the temple. We felt we had seen a great deal when we got home at 1:30. The museum is very fine and well laid out. All that is shown is very good. In the afternoon bought a lovely ivory box with quail carved all over it. We also saw the Daitokuji Temple belonging to the Zen sect of Buddhists. A full description is found on page 302 of Murray. We liked the Kioto Hotel. The rooms were large clean and very sunny so with a fire we were quite comfortable. We did not go to church as no service is held in English only in Japanese which we would not understand.