VoL. XXII, No. 11 
a 
WASHINGTON 
GEOGRAPHIC 
MAGA ZZIUNIE 
NOVEMBER, 191] 
ae 
GLIMPSES OF JAPAN 
By WiLtitiam W. CuHapPIN 
AUTHOR OF “GLIMPSES OF KOREA AND CHINA,” 
Colors, 
HEN. we recall the scenes of 
our delightful days in Japan, 
our minds are filled with the 
wonderful harmony of it all. The peo- 
ple, their dress, the flowers, the temples, 
the homes and gardens—in fact, every- 
thing seemed to fit in place like the in- 
struments of a great orchestra. 
The months of our sojourn resembled 
a delightful picnic, so much of our time 
was spent in the open, carried in the 
comfortable “rikishas,” or the more dig- 
nified “kagos” (native basket chairs), 
accompanied by the ingenious native 
lunch-baskets. The Japanese are remark- 
able for their out-of-door life. Proba- 
bly no people have more fete days or 
enter more heartily into the observance 
of them. 
In these festivals the flowers are the 
most important feature. It matters little 
what kind is in season—the flowering 
plum, cherry, wisteria, azalia, peony, 
iris, lotus, chrysanthemum, or maple— 
where the flowers are, there are the peo- 
ple, and the evidence of their enjoyment 
is unmistakable. 
The Emperor’s cherry blossom and 
chrysanthemum garden parties are an- 
nual affairs, as well as that of Count 
Okuma, Japan’s grand old man. One 
IN THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE FOR NOVEMBER, 
WITH 39 PHOTOGRAPHS IN 
1910 
of the Count’s hobbies is propagating 
and collecting dwarf maples and chrys- 
anthemums. His collection of the 
former numbers 500 and of the latter 
goo. This national prominence given to 
flowers is a powerful incentive to flori- 
culturists to attain the best possible re- 
sults. 
A visit to the Maple Club, in the sub- 
urbs of Tokio, was one of our pleasant 
experiences. Here dinners are served in 
the highest style of the Japanese art, and 
if one discovers native cooking is not to 
his liking, he can forget his hunger for~- 
the time being in watching the “merry 
whirl” of the dancing girls (see page 
985), accompanied by the more sedate 
and less attractive geishas, whose music 
is as devoid of tune or harmony as the 
so-called dance is of dancing, according 
to Western ideas. 
The grounds connected with the club- 
house are very attractive and formed an 
appropriate setting for the pretty little 
women, who were induced to pose before 
the kodak by a promise of a picture for 
each. Later, on delivering the prints, we 
were informed that we had broken the 
record, for this was the only time they 
had received the reward which many, 
many times had been promised. 
