TheNecessityofFirmness——PerplexingMisrepresentations——GlidingwiththeStream——SuburbanResidences——TheKubotaHospital——AFormalReception——TheNormalSchool。
IarrivedhereonMondayafternoonbytheriverOmono,whatwouldhavebeentwolongdays’journeybylandhavingbeeneasilyaccomplishedinninehoursbywater。Thiswasaninstanceofformingaplanwisely,andadheringtoitresolutely!FirmnessintravellingisnowheremorenecessarythaninJapan。Idecidedsometimeago,fromMr。Brunton’smap,thattheOmonomustbenavigablefromShingoji,andaweekagotoldItotoinquireaboutit,butateachplacedifficultieshavebeenstarted。Therewastoomuchwater,therewastoolittle;therewerebadrapids,therewereshallows;itwastoolateintheyear;alltheboatswhichhadstartedlatelywerelyingaground;butatoneoftheferriesIsawinthedistanceamerchandiseboatgoingdown,andtoldItoI
shouldgothatwayandnoother。OnarrivingatShingojitheysaiditwasnotontheOmonoatall,butonastreamwithsomeverybadrapids,inwhichboatsarebrokentopieces。Lastly,theysaidtherewasnoboat,butonmysayingthatIwouldsendtenmilesforone,asmall,flat-bottomedscowwasproducedbytheTransportAgent,intowhichIto,theluggage,andmyselfaccuratelyfitted。
Itosententiouslyobserved,“Notonethinghasbeentoldusonourjourneywhichhasturnedouttrue!“Thisisnotanexaggeration。
Theusualcrowddidnotassembleroundthedoor,butprecededmetotheriver,whereitcoveredthebanksandclusteredinthetrees。
Fourpolicemenescortedmedown。Thevoyageofforty-twomileswasdelightful。Therapidswereamereripple,thecurrentwasstrong,oneboatmanalmostsleptuponhispaddle,theotheronlywoketobaletheboatwhenitwashalf-fullofwater,theshoresweresilentandpretty,andalmostwithoutpopulationtillwereachedthelargetownofAraya,whichstragglesalongahighbankforaconsiderabledistance,andafterninepeacefulhoursweturnedofffromthemainstreamoftheOmonojustattheoutskirtsofKubota,andpoledupanarrow,greenriver,fringedbydilapidatedbacksofhouses,boat-buildingyards,andraftsoftimberononeside,anddwelling-houses,gardens,anddampgreeneryontheother。Thisstreamiscrossedbyverynumerousbridges。
Igotacheerfulupstairsroomatamostfriendlyyadoya,andmythreedaysherehavebeenfullyoccupiedandverypleasant。
“Foreignfood“——agoodbeef-steak,anexcellentcurry,cucumbers,andforeignsaltandmustard,wereatonceobtained,andIfeltmy“eyeslightened“afterpartakingofthem。
KubotaisaveryattractiveandpurelyJapanesetownof36,000
people,thecapitalofAkitaken。Afinemountain,calledTaiheisan,risesaboveitsfertilevalley,andtheOmonofallsintotheSeaofJapanclosetoit。Ithasanumberofkurumas,but,owingtoheavysandandthebadnessoftheroads,theycanonlygothreemilesinanydirection。Itisatownofactivityandbrisktrade,andmanufacturesasilkfabricinstripesofblueandblack,andyellowandblack,muchusedformakinghakamaandkimonos,aspeciesofwhitesilkcrepewitharaisedwoof,whichbringsahighpriceinTokiyoshops,fusuma,andclogs。Thoughitisacastletown,itisfreefromtheusual“deadly-lively“look,andhasanairofprosperityandcomfort。Thoughithasfewstreetsofshops,itcoversagreatextentofgroundwithstreetsandlanesofpretty,isolateddwelling-houses,surroundedbytrees,gardens,andwell-trimmedhedges,eachgardenenteredbyasubstantialgateway。
Theexistenceofsomethinglikeamiddleclasswithhomeprivacyandhomelifeissuggestedbythesemilesofcomfortable“suburbanresidences。“Foreigninfluenceishardlyatallfelt,thereisnotasingleforeignerinGovernmentoranyotheremployment,andeventhehospitalwasorganisedfromthebeginningbyJapanesedoctors。
Thisfactmademegreatlydesiretoseeit,but,ongoingthereattheproperhourforvisitors,IwasmetbytheDirectorwithcourteousbutvexatiousdenial。Noforeignercouldseeit,hesaid,withoutsendinghispassporttotheGovernorandgettingawrittenorder,soIcompliedwiththesepreliminaries,and8a。m。
ofthenextdaywasfixedformyvisitIto,whoislazyaboutinterpretingforthelowerorders,butexertshimselftotheutmostonsuchanoccasionasthis,wentwithme,handsomelyclothedinsilk,asbefittedan“Interpreter,“andsurpassedallhisformerefforts。
TheDirectorandthestaffofsixphysicians,allhandsomelydressedinsilk,metmeatthetopofthestairs,andconductedmetothemanagementroom,wheresixclerkswerewriting。Heretherewasatable,solemnlycoveredwithawhitecloth,andfourchairs,onwhichtheDirector,theChiefPhysician,Ito,andIsat,andpipes,tea,andsweetmeats,wereproduced。Afterthis,accompaniedbyfiftymedicalstudents,whoseintelligentlookspromisewellfortheirsuccess,wewentroundthehospital,whichisalargetwo-
storiedbuildinginsemi-Europeanstyle,butwithdeepverandahsallround。Theupperfloorisusedforclass-rooms,andtheloweraccommodates100patients,besidesanumberofresidentstudents。
Tenisthelargestnumbertreatedinanyoneroom,andseverecasesaretreatedinseparaterooms。Gangrenehasprevailed,andtheChiefPhysician,whoisatthistimeremodellingthehospital,hasclosedsomeofthewardsinconsequence。ThereisaLockHospitalunderthesameroof。Aboutfiftyimportantoperationsareannuallyperformedunderchloroform,butthepeopleofAkitakenareveryconservative,andobjecttopartwiththeirlimbsandtoforeigndrugs。Thisconservatismdiminishesthenumberofpatients。
Theodourofcarbolicacidpervadedthewholehospital,andthereweresprayproducersenoughtosatisfyMr。Lister!AttherequestofDr。K。Isawthedressingofsomeveryseverewoundscarefullyperformedwithcarbolisedgauze,undersprayofcarbolicacid,thefingersofthesurgeonandtheinstrumentsusedbeingallcarefullybathedinthedisinfectant。Dr。K。saiditwasdifficulttoteachthestudentstheextremecarefulnesswithregardtominordetailswhichisrequiredintheantiseptictreatment,whichheregardsasoneofthegreatestdiscoveriesofthiscentury。Iwasverymuchimpressedwiththefortitudeshownbythesurgicalpatients,whowentthroughveryseverepainwithoutawinceoramoan。Eyecasesareunfortunatelyverynumerous。Dr。K。attributestheirextremeprevalencetoovercrowding,defectiveventilation,poorliving,andbadlight。
AfterourroundwereturnedtothemanagementroomtofindameallaidoutinEnglishstyle——coffeeincupswithhandlesandsaucers,andplateswithspoons。Afterthispipeswereagainproduced,andtheDirectorandmedicalstaffescortedmetotheentrance,whereweallbowedprofoundly。IwasdelightedtoseethatDr。
Kayabashi,amanunderthirty,andfreshfromTokiyo,andallthestaffandstudentswereinthenationaldress,withthehakamaofrichsilk。Itisabeautifuldress,andassistsdignityasmuchastheill-fittingEuropeancostumedetractsfromit。Thiswasaveryinterestingvisit,inspiteofthedifficultyofcommunicationthroughaninterpreter。
Thepublicbuildings,withtheirfinegardens,andthebroadroadnearwhichtheystand,withitsstone-facedembankments,areverystrikinginsuchafar-offken。AmongthefinestofthebuildingsistheNormalSchool,whereIshortlyafterwardspresentedmyself,butIwasnotadmittedtillIhadshownmypassportandexplainedmyobjectsintravelling。Thesepreliminariesbeingsettled,Mr。
TomatsuAoki,theChiefDirector,andMr。ShudeKaneNigishi,theprincipalteacher,bothlookingmorelikemonkeysthanmenintheirEuropeanclothes,lionisedme。
Thefirstwasmosttrying,forhepersistedinattemptingtospeakEnglish,ofwhichheknowsaboutasmuchasIknowofJapanese,butthelast,aftersomegrotesqueattempts,acceptedIto’sservices。
TheschoolisacommodiousEuropeanisedbuilding,threestorieshigh,andfromitsupperbalconytheviewofthecity,withitsgrayroofsandabundantgreenery,andsurroundingmountainsandvalleys,isveryfine。Theequipmentsofthedifferentclass-roomssurprisedme,especiallythelaboratoryofthechemicalclass-room,andthetrulymagnificentillustrativeapparatusinthenaturalscienceclass-room。Ganot’s“Physics“isthetextbookofthatdepartment。
ASilkFactory——EmploymentforWomen——APoliceEscort——TheJapanesePoliceForce。
Mynextvisitwastoafactoryofhandloomsilk-weavers,where180
hands,halfofthemwomen,areemployed。Thesenewindustrialopeningsforrespectableemploymentforwomenandgirlsareveryimportant,andtendinthedirectionofamuch-neededsocialreform。Thestripedsilkfabricsproducedareentirelyforhomeconsumption。
AfterwardsIwentintotheprincipalstreet,and,afteralongsearchthroughtheshops,boughtsomecondensedmilkwiththe“Eagle“brandandthelabelallright,but,onopeningit,foundittocontainsmallpelletsofabrownish,driedcurd,withanunpleasanttaste!AsIwassittingintheshop,halfstifledbythecrowd,thepeoplesuddenlyfellbacktoarespectfuldistance,leavingmebreathingspace,andamessagecamefromthechiefofpolicetosaythathewasverysorryforthecrowding,andhadorderedtwopolicementoattenduponmefortheremainderofmyvisit。Theblackandyellowuniformsweremosttrulywelcome,andsincethenIhaveescapedallannoyance。OnmyreturnIfoundthecardofthechiefofpolice,whohadleftamessagewiththehouse-
masterapologisingforthecrowdbysayingthatforeignersveryrarelyvisitedKubota,andhethoughtthatthepeoplehadneverseenaforeignwoman。
IwentafterwardstothecentralpolicestationtoinquireaboutaninlandroutetoAomori,andreceivedmuchcourtesy,butnoinformation。Thepoliceeverywhereareverygentletothepeople,——
afewquietwordsorawaveofthehandaresufficient,whentheydonotresistthem。Theybelongtothesamuraiclass,and,doubtless,theirnaturallysuperiorpositionweighswiththeheimin。Theirfacesandacertainhauteurofmannershowtheindelibleclassdistinction。TheentirepoliceforceofJapannumbers23,300educatedmenintheprimeoflife,andif30percentofthemdowearspectacles,itdoesnotdetractfromtheirusefulness。5600ofthemarestationedatYedo,asfromthencetheycanbeeasilysentwherevertheyarewanted,1004atKiyoto,and815atOsaka,andtheremaining10,000arespreadoverthecountry。Thepoliceforcecostssomethingover400,000poundsannually,andcertainlyisveryefficientinpreservinggoodorder。
Thepayofordinaryconstablesrangesfrom6to10yenamonth。AnenormousquantityofsuperfluouswritingisdonebyallofficialdominJapan,andoneusuallyseespolicemenwriting。WhatcomesofitIdon’tknow。Theyaremostlyintelligentandgentlemanly-lookingyoungmen,andforeignersintheinteriorarereallymuchindebtedtothem。IfIamatanytimeindifficultiesIapplytothem,and,thoughtheyaredisposedtobesomewhatdehautenbas,theyaresuretohelpone,exceptaboutroutes,ofwhichtheyalwaysprofessignorance。
Onthewhole,IlikeKubotabetterthananyotherJapanesetown,perhapsbecauseitissocompletelyJapaneseandhasnoairofhavingseenbetterdays。InolongercaretomeetEuropeans——
indeedIshouldgofaroutofmywaytoavoidthem。IhavebecomequiteusedtoJapaneselife,andthinkthatIlearnmoreaboutitintravellinginthissolitarywaythanIshouldotherwise。I。L。