June 12, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEB AND COTTAGE GARDENER 



469 



Lonilon at loast, is to them a new field. "We have so often 

 noted varieties of excellence that it seems to bo travcUing over 

 the same ground again to repeat tho names aud colours of 

 the best, but the following are especially noteworthy — viz., 

 Sir Robert Peel, Mrs. John Glutton, Lord John Russell, 

 Madame Vau der Weyer, Towardianum, Verschaffeltii, Levi- 

 athan, Fastuosum flore-pleuo, Everestianum, Alarm, Duchess 

 of Sutherland, Lady Armstrong, The Queen, Sherwoodiauum, 

 Victoria, Sh- Isaac Newton, and Titian. 



LETTERS FROM JAPAN.— No. 1. 



[The foliowiui? are OKtracts from one of a series of letters written to the 

 " Art Journal " by Mr. John Tasker Foster, formerly of York, for many 

 years in the Eleetric Telegraijh Company's service, and now an oflioer in 

 the employ of the Emperor of Japan as TeloRraph Engineer in that 

 .country. We ore indebted for them to the father of their intelligent writer.] 



A YISIT TO J.iPAN.— THE KIOTO EXHIBITION. 

 I WILL endeavour to give your readers an account of Kioto, 

 :aud a description of the three national exhibitions now being 

 held here, aud which are opened to all foreigners who have 

 obtained a passport from their consul. Of course, being in the 

 service of the Mikado I required no such passport, as my 

 officers and guards cleared me at the three custom houses. I 

 left Osaka at 6 a.m. on the 1st May, for Kioto, by Japanese 

 steamer, and I arrived at Fushima, which is about seven 

 miles from Kioto, where we had tiffin, at 3.30 p.m., aud pro- 

 ceeded in jiu-ri-shos from that place. A jiu-ri-sho is a kind of 

 light spring carriage, which can be covered with a hood in 

 case of rain. I required ten in number to carry myself, my 

 officers, aud baggage, and we arrived at Kioto in about an 

 hour aud a half. Each carriage is drawn by two coolies. The 

 general speed is about six to eight miles an hour. 



Kioto is one of the principal cities in Japan, and was, until 

 two years ago, the residence of the Mikado, where his palace 

 and that of his imperial mother is situated, both being of 

 great extent, aud surrounded by waUs. Kioto is about forty 

 miles from Osaka, aud the principal trade is linen manufacture ; 

 in fact, it is the Manchester of Japan. The town is located on 

 a flat area ; but a splendid view can be obtained from any of 

 the numerous temples on the hillsideis. The population is esti- 

 mated at about one million. The exhibitions which I am about 

 to describe were held in three temples. The first one I visited 

 is called Kenninji. It is hardly one mile from Nakamuraiya- 

 Juitei's Hotel, which is conducted on the European principle. 

 The rate of charge is four dollars per day without wine, so it 

 is rather expensive ; but I only paid three dollars, as I am a 

 regular customer of Juitei at Osaka. 



Arriving at the Exhibition we purchased for one dollar three 

 passes. To those who have been to the South Kensington 

 Museum it will not be difficult to realise the interior of most 

 of the rooms at each of the Kioto Exhibitions. The " curio " 

 stands proper might have been taken from the Soulages col- 

 lection. The same medley of warlike, ecclesiastical, and 

 domestic relics of media3val times are to be found here as in 

 their prototype in London. Owing to the absence of descrip- 

 tions in European languages, more noticeable among the curios 

 (which to the ordinary sight-seer are more wanted than even 

 in the other departments), I was obliged to adopt the ouly 

 course open to me, of asking for information respecting such 

 articles which from their beauty or singularity attracted my 

 notice. The collection would appear to a stranger to be rich 

 in native and Chinese gold and copper coins, silver being less 

 numerous. One of the huge oval gold coins yclept " ooban," 

 was pointed out to me as having been presented by the Shoguu 

 Hide-yoski, who flourished some three hundred years ago, to 

 the priests of the Great Osaka Pagado Temple, called Tennji. 

 In those days the " ooban " stood for ten rios ; now it is 

 worth a hundred, and rarely to be met with. I noticed that 

 they were all in small and shallow cases, with loose glass lids, 

 and, if safe in Japan, they certainly would not be so for half 

 an hour iu England at any exhibition of the same kind. Near 

 the coins is an arrow-head of iron, stated to be a thousand 

 years old. Here, too, are several of the curious bell-like 

 " ye-ki-de," both of bronze and of iron. These were given by 

 the Emperors to their envoys when sent on business of great 

 importance, seemingly having the same use as signet rings 

 occasionally had with us in the middle ages. Near these last 

 were the hon seals of a great Chinese warrior, and a small 

 statuette of the hero himself. Musical instruments in great 

 variety, including the " sho," not unlike a piccolo, the harp- 

 like sounding koto, drums, aud flutes in great numbers. One 



group of Chinese musical instruments is said to have beeu 

 made during the Ming dynasty. One of a number of gongs is 

 credited with eight hundred years' existem c. From either this 

 or one of its fellows can be produced by far the richest bass 

 notes that ever I heard from any such an instrument. After a 

 cup of the delicious Uji tea, I paid a visit to the bird room. A 

 pair of peacocks attracted my attention — the price asked was 

 eighty-five dollars. Among the varieties here are a pair of 

 acho birds, about the size of blackbirds, but canary-coloured, 

 except a few feathers on the head and wings, which are black. 

 They are valued at sixty-five dollars the pair. But tlw birds 

 of the collection are a pair called by the Japanese Kin-Kamo, 

 blackbirds, rather larger than the acho, with orange biUs and 

 a bright yellow patch on each side of the head. These birds 

 seem to repeat all that is whistled, and a good deal even of 

 what is said to them. In the tea room are on sale sample 

 packets of tea, from twenty-five cents each ; tea caddies at a 

 rio each ; painted and carved figures made of the wood of the 

 tea tree, thirty-five and fifty cents each ; and, most curious, 

 perhaps, of all, pots of tea flower-buds, preserved in sugar, 

 five cents each. There are also to be had the tea-powder 

 biscuits. In a large wooden box are three tea shrubs ; one, 

 which is about 12 inches high by 12 inches in diameter, bears 

 the following inscription, " Tea tree old for 7 Jears." There 

 are also other two trees with the same mistake, which is the 

 fault of the careless translator. Three aquaria were also there, 

 but were all unfinished. A large water lizard, which was in- 

 tended for one of them, was placed in a large tub, and around 

 him the unconscious minnows, which are destined for his 

 tiffin. 



The adjoining room contains a collection of foreign and 

 native drugs and medicines, half-decayed tiger bones, coiled 

 and dried snakes, cockroaches, newts, &c. Another place, not 

 unlike a decent lumber-room, is filled with an extensive col- 

 lection of seeds of all sorts, sizes, and colours ; dingy screens, 

 only one or two of which, in the absence of all knowledge of 

 their history, appear of interest. Last of all, in a kind of 

 outer gallery, is a small and anything but remarkable collec- 

 tion of plants iu pots. One was like something of the Currant 

 tribe, a tolerably good Polyanthus, some Primulas, and a pretty 

 and rather uncommon-looking red-flaked white Camellia. A 

 basket of earth attracted my attention, and on inquiry I was 

 told that it is a peculiar kind of mould much prized by the 

 native florists. 



On the following morning I visited Chioin, by far the most 

 picturesquely-situated of all the three Exhibition Temples, and, 

 on the whole, I think the most interesting. The Exhibition is 

 held in what, so far as I could see, is the uppermost of the 

 many buildings which constitute the Temple of Chioin. A long 

 and winding flight of stone steps leads from just below the 

 main entrance of Juitei's Hotel, which latter was formerly one 

 of the priestly residences. It is situated in the temple grounds, 

 on the right of the Chioin exhibition building. On two sides 

 of the Exhibition are two pretty lakes with rocky islands and 

 overhanging trees and shrubs, which grow in the wildest luxu- 

 riance. Upon entering the Exhibition, the first conspicuous 

 objects were some very wide rolls of thick waxed or oiled paper. 

 The widest of these were probably 15 feet iu breadth. Most 

 of the material was plain and of a yellowish-white colour, but 

 some were embellished with coloured scrollwork, and other roUs 

 were faintly embossed. Passing this I entered what might well 

 pass for the museum of some Japanese inspector of weights 

 and measures. Here were scales, steelyards, aud dry aud wet 

 measures of all sizes, ages, and descriptions. Some worm- 

 eaten and time-worn square wooden grain measures bore dates 

 which left the Houganji oamlle quite in the shade. Here are 

 some verbatim specimens of the English inscriptions affixed 

 to them: — 



13th year of Auvo, 304 years ago. 



16th yeai- of Eisobo, 354 „ 



2ud year of Kenmu, 539 „ 



A pretty decent old age for a quartern measure ! Near these, 

 two gourds, with iron frames and handles, are inscribed, 

 "Used by Taiho." Twu more gourds were marked "Great 

 Calabash." Near here are a lot of skins, but none remarkable 

 iu any degree. A quantity of natural history specimens, as 

 sculls of tigers, bill of ken fish, three-footed frogs, etc. ; but 

 curio of curios — " Tochiu kaso " — this was marked in English, 

 " This insect will change to grass when the summer comes." 

 It did not look to me as if it would change to anything more 

 wonderful than dust, but no doubt the translator knows best. 

 From these we next encountered a lot of dye stuffs, drugs, &a 



