Iamlodgedinthelowerpart，buttheirondoorsareopen，andintheirplaceatnightisapaperscreen。Afewthingsarekeptinmyroom。TwohandsomeshrinesfromwhichtheunemotionalfacesoftwoBuddhaslookedoutallnight，afinefigureofthegoddessKwan-non，andavenerableoneofthegodoflongevity，suggestedcuriousdreams。
Prosperity——ConvictLabour——ANewBridge——Yamagata——IntoxicatingForgeries——TheGovernmentBuildings——BadManners——SnowMountains——A
Threedaysoftravellingonthesameexcellentroadhavebroughtmenearly60miles。Yamagatakenimpressesmeasbeingsingularlyprosperous，progressive，andgo-ahead；theplainofYamagata，whichIenteredsoonafterleavingKaminoyama，ispopulousandhighlycultivated，andthebroadroad，withitsenormoustraffic，lookswealthyandcivilised。ItisbeingimprovedbyconvictsindullredkimonosprintedwithChinesecharacters，whocorrespondwithourticket-of-leavemen，astheyareworkingforwagesintheemploymentofcontractorsandfarmers，andareundernootherrestrictionthanthatofalwayswearingtheprisondress。
AttheSakamokiriverIwasdelightedtocomeupontheonlythoroughlysolidpieceofmodernJapaneseworkthatIhavemetwith——aremarkablyhandsomestonebridgenearlyfinished——thefirstIhaveseen。Iintroducedmyselftotheengineer，OkunoChiuzo，averygentlemanly，agreeableJapanese，whoshowedmetheplans，tookagreatdealoftroubletoexplainthem，andcourteouslygavemeteaandsweetmeats。
Yamagata，athrivingtownof21，000peopleandthecapitaloftheken，iswellsituatedonaslighteminence，andthisandthedominantpositionofthekenchoatthetopofthemainstreetgiveitanemphasisunusualinJapanesetowns。Theoutskirtsofallthecitiesareverymean，andtheappearanceoftheloftywhitebuildingsofthenewGovernmentOfficesabovethelowgreyhouseswasmuchofasurprise。ThestreetsofYamagataarebroadandclean，andithasgoodshops，amongwhicharelongrowssellingnothingbutornamentalironkettlesandornamentalbrasswork。SofarintheinteriorIwasannoyedtofindseveralshopsalmostexclusivelyforthesaleofvillainousforgeriesofEuropeaneatablesanddrinkables，speciallythelatter。TheJapanese，fromtheMikadodownwards，haveacquiredaloveofforeignintoxicants，whichwouldbehurtfulenoughtothemiftheintoxicantsweregenuine，butisfarworsewhentheyarecompoundsofvitriol，fuseloil，badvinegar，andIknownotwhat。IsawtwoshopsinYamagatawhichsoldchampagneofthebestbrands，Martel’scognac，Bass’