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’
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