JAPAN. 485 



At one temple, that of Tennoji, near Osaka, was a children's 

 shrine, which was hung inside with great quantities of the finest 

 toys of all sorts, and bright holiday clothes, placed there as offer- 

 ings by children. 



From Osaka, the road to Kioto leads all the way along the 

 summit of the great embankment of the Ogawa (great river). 

 These earthworks rather reminded me of the great embankments 

 of the ancient tanks of Ceylon. At intervals, there are sluice- 

 gates to let the water in upon the rice-fields. The sluice-gates 

 are at the bottom of wells, sunk in the centres of the embank- 

 ments. In the ancient Cingalese embankments, there are 

 similar wells sunk through the middles of the embankments to 

 meet the outflow channels from the tanks which traverse their 

 bases. I was shown such an arrangement at Anuradhapura, by 

 Mr. Ehys Davids, who told me that its use was not understood 

 by engineers. 



The land along the road is in the very highest culture. A 

 great deal of it was covered with yellow-blossomed crops of rape, 

 whilst here and there were wheat crops. The straightness of 

 the lines of planting, and the regularity of their distances from 

 one another, was such as I have never seen approached else- 

 where in any form of agriculture. 



Amongst these crops were the rice-fields, usually small areas 

 surrounded by low narrow banks of mud, made by the laborious 

 process of placing lumps of mud side by side with the hands. 

 These enclosures are turned into shallow ponds by letting water 

 in if the level suit, or by pumping it in by means of a small 

 portable tread-mill or an undershot wheel worked by the stream 

 of the river, if the level is above that of the river. The field 

 surface is worked up by means of a buffalo and plough into a 

 pond of mud, and on this the rice is transplanted. The seed is 

 previously sown broadcast in a small special plot, from which 

 the birds are kept off by a scarecrow, as in England, but here 

 representing the rice-straw rain coat and large mushroom-shaped 

 hat of the Japanese peasant. 



The distance to Kioto from Osaka, 32 miles, is run by the 

 jinriksha coolies in from five to six hours. In the hotel at 

 Kioto I had my first experience of a Japanese house. They are 



