第53章
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  Kak’ke,byWilliamAnderson,F。R。C。S。TransactionsofEnglishAsiaticSocietyofJapan,January1878。

  Ifailedtolearnwhattheliquorwaswhichwasdrunksofreely,butasnounseemlyeffectsfolloweditsuse,Ithinkitmusteitherhavebeenlightwine,orlightsake。

  Iventuretopresentthisjournalletter,withafewomissions,justasitwaswritten,trustingthattheinterestwhichattachestoaboriginalracesandlittle-visitedregionswillcarrymyreadersthroughtheminutenessandmultiplicityofitsdetails。

  Theuseofkeroseneinmattedwoodenhousesisanewcauseofconflagrations。Itisnotpossibletosayhowitoriginated,butjustbeforeChristmas1879afirebrokeoutinHakodate,whichinafewhoursdestroyed20streets,2500houses,theBritishConsulate,severalpublicbuildings,thenewnativeChristianchurch,andthechurchMissionHouse,leaving11,000peoplehomeless。

  IwentoverthemwiththeAinosofaremotevillageonVolcanoBay,andfoundthedifferencesinpronunciationveryslight,exceptthatthedefinitenessofthesoundwhichIhaverepresentedbyTschwasmorestronglymarked。IafterwardswentoverthemwithMr。Dening,andwithMr。VonSieboldatTokiyo,whohavemadealargercollectionofwordsthanIhave,anditissatisfactorytofindthatwehaverepresentedthewordsinthemainbythesameletters,withthesingleexceptionthatusuallythesoundrepresentedbythembytheletterschIhavegivenasTsch,andIventuretothinkthatisthemostcorrectrendering。

  Ihavenotbeenabletoobtainfromanybotanistthenameofthetreefromthebarkofwhichthethreadismade,butsupposeittobeaspeciesofTiliaceae。

  YoshitsuneisthemostpopularheroofJapanesehistory,andthespecialfavouriteofboys。HewasthebrotherofYoritomo,whowasappointedbytheMikadoin1192Sei-iTaiShogunbarbarian-

  subjugatinggreatgeneralforhisvictories,andwasthefirstofthatseriesofgreatShogunswhomourEuropeannotionsdistortedinto“TemporalEmperors“ofJapan。Yoshitsune,towhomtherealhonourofthesevictoriesbelonged,becametheobjectofthejealousyandhatredofhisbrother,andwashuntedfromprovincetoprovince,till,accordingtopopularbelief,hecommittedhara-

  kiri,afterkillinghiswifeandchildren,andhishead,preservedinsake,wassenttohisbrotheratKamakura。Scholars,however,arenotagreedastothemanner,period,orsceneofhisdeath。

  ManybelievethatheescapedtoYezoandlivedamongtheAinosformanyyears,dyingamongthematthecloseofthetwelfthcentury。

  NonebelievethismorefirmlythantheAinosthemselves,whoassertthathetaughttheirfatherstheartsofcivilisation,withlettersandnumbers,andgavethemrighteouslaws,andheisworshippedbymanyofthemunderanamewhichsignifiesMasteroftheLaw。I

  havebeentoldbyoldmeninBiratori,Usu,andLebunge,thatalaterJapaneseconquerorcarriedawaythebooksinwhichtheartswerewritten,andthatsincehistimetheartsthemselveshavebeenlost,andtheAinoshavefallenintotheirpresentcondition!OnaskingwhytheAinosdonotmakevesselsofironandclayaswellasknivesandspears,theinvariableansweris,“TheJapanesetookawaythebooks。“

  Thedutypaidbyjunksis4s。foreachtwenty-fivetons,byforeignshipsofforeignshapeandrig2poundsforeach100tons,andbysteamers3poundsforeach100tons。

  ThefollowingveryinaccuratebutentertainingaccountofthisexpeditionwasgivenbytheYomi-uri-Shimbun,adailynewspaperwiththelargest,thoughnotthemostaristocratic,circulationinTokiyo,beingtakeninbytheservantsandtradespeople。ItisaliteraltranslationmadebyMr。Chamberlain。

  “Thepersonmentionedinouryesterday’sissueas’anEnglishsubjectofthenameofBird’isaladyfromScotland,apartofEngland。Thisladyspendshertimeintravelling,leavingthisyearthetwoAmericancontinentsforapassingvisittotheSandwichIslands,andlandinginJapanearlyinthemonthofMay。

  Shehastouredalloverthecountry,andevenmadeafivemonths’

  stayintheHokkaido,investigatingthelocalcustomsandproductions。HerinspectionyesterdayofthecremationgroundatKirigayaisbelievedtohavebeenpromptedbyaknowledgeoftheadvantagesofthismethodofdisposingofthedead,andadesiretointroducethesameintoEngland!Onaccountofthislady’sbeingsolearnedastohavepublishedaquantityofbooks,HisExcellencytheGovernorwaspleasedtoseeheryesterday,andtoshowhergreatcivility,sendinghertoKirigayainhisowncarriage,amarkofattentionwhichissaidtohavepleasedtheladymuch!“

  End

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