46 INQUIRY FOR TEMPLES. Chap. III. 
Then there is the flower-dealer, with his basket of 
pretty flowers, endeavouring to entice the ladies 
to purchase them for the decoration of their hair ; 
or with his branches of “ skim/ni ” ( Illicium ani- 
satum ), and other evergreens, which are largely 
used to ornament the tombs of the dead. 
All day long, and during a great part of the 
night too, this continual living stream flows to and 
from the great capital of Japan along the imperial 
highway. It forms a panorama of no common 
kind, and is certainly one of the great sights of the 
empire. The blind travellers, of whom there are 
a great number, are said to prefer travelling by 
night when the road is less crowded, as the light of 
day makes no difference to them. 
Having settled down for a time in Kanagawa, I 
now made daily excursions to different parts of the 
surrounding country. I was fortunate in making 
the acquaintance of the Rev. S. W. Brown, a mis- 
sionary connected with the Dutch Reformed Church, 
United States, and of Dr. Hepburn, a medical mis- 
sionary, formerly of Amoy, in China. They were 
living in some temples a short distance from where 
I was lodging ; and as they had been some time 
in Japan, they were able to give me much valuable 
information. 
My first question was, whether there were any 
large Buddhist temples in this part of Japan, similar 
to those I had been in the habit of visiting in China. 
My reason for wishing to get information on this 
head was the fact that, wherever Buddhist temples 
