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unbeaten tracks in japan-第18部分

小说: unbeaten tracks in japan 字数: 每页4000字

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houses are alive with vermin; and if the word squalor can be
applied to independent and industrious people; they were squalid。
Beetles; spiders; and wood…lice held a carnival in my room after
dark; and the presence of horses in the same house brought a number
of horseflies。  I sprinkled my stretcher with insect powder; but my
blanket had been on the floor for one minute; and fleas rendered
sleep impossible。  The night was very long。  The andon went out;
leaving a strong smell of rancid oil。  The primitive Japanese dog
a cream…coloured wolfish…looking animal; the size of a collie; very
noisy and aggressive; but as cowardly as bullies usually arewas
in great force in Fujihara; and the barking; growling; and
quarrelling of these useless curs continued at intervals until
daylight; and when they were not quarrelling; they were howling。
Torrents of rain fell; obliging me to move my bed from place to
place to get out of the drip。  At five Ito came and entreated me to
leave; whimpering; 〃I've had no sleep; there are thousands and
thousands of fleas!〃  He has travelled by another route to the
Tsugaru Strait through the interior; and says that he would not
have believed that there was such a place in Japan; and that people
in Yokohama will not believe it when he tells them of it and of the
costume of the women。  He is 〃ashamed for a foreigner to see such a
place;〃 he says。  His cleverness in travelling and his singular
intelligence surprise me daily。  He is very anxious to speak GOOD
English; as distinguished from 〃common〃 English; and to get new
words; with their correct pronunciation and spelling。  Each day he
puts down in his note…book all the words that I use that he does
not quite understand; and in the evening brings them to me and puts
down their meaning and spelling with their Japanese equivalents。
He speaks English already far better than many professional
interpreters; but would be more pleasing if he had not picked up
some American vulgarisms and free…and…easy ways。  It is so
important to me to have a good interpreter; or I should not have
engaged so young and inexperienced a servant; but he is so clever
that he is now able to be cook; laundryman; and general attendant;
as well as courier and interpreter; and I think it is far easier
for me than if he were an older man。  I am trying to manage him;
because I saw that he meant to manage me; specially in the matter
of 〃squeezes。〃  He is intensely Japanese; his patriotism has all
the weakness and strength of personal vanity; and he thinks
everything inferior that is foreign。  Our manners; eyes; and modes
of eating appear simply odious to him。  He delights in retailing
stories of the bad manners of Englishmen; describes them as
〃roaring out ohio to every one on the road;〃 frightening the tea…
house nymphs; kicking or slapping their coolies; stamping over
white mats in muddy boots; acting generally like ill…bred Satyrs;
exciting an ill…concealed hatred in simple country districts; and
bringing themselves and their country into contempt and ridicule。
{10}  He is very anxious about my good behaviour; and as I am
equally anxious to be courteous everywhere in Japanese fashion; and
not to violate the general rules of Japanese etiquette; I take his
suggestions as to what I ought to do and avoid in very good part;
and my bows are growing more profound every day!  The people are so
kind and courteous; that it is truly brutal in foreigners not to be
kind and courteous to them。  You will observe that I am entirely
dependent on Ito; not only for travelling arrangements; but for
making inquiries; gaining information; and even for companionship;
such as it is; and our being mutually embarked on a hard and
adventurous journey will; I hope; make us mutually kind and
considerate。  Nominally; he is a Shintoist; which means nothing。
At Nikko I read to him the earlier chapters of St。 Luke; and when I
came to the story of the Prodigal Son I was interrupted by a
somewhat scornful laugh and the remark; 〃Why; all this is our
Buddha over again!〃

To…day's journey; though very rough; has been rather pleasant。  The
rain moderated at noon; and I left Fujihara on foot; wearing my
American 〃mountain dress〃 and Wellington boots;the only costume
in which ladies can enjoy pedestrian or pack…horse travelling in
this country;with a light straw matthe waterproof of the
regionhanging over my shoulders; and so we plodded on with two
baggage horses through the ankle…deep mud; till the rain cleared
off; the mountains looked through the mist; the augmented Kinugawa
thundered below; and enjoyment became possible; even in my half…fed
condition。  Eventually I mounted a pack…saddle; and we crossed a
spur of Takadayama at a height of 2100 feet on a well…devised
series of zigzags; eight of which in one place could be seen one
below another。  The forest there is not so dense as usual; and the
lower mountain slopes are sprinkled with noble Spanish chestnuts。
The descent was steep and slippery; the horse had tender feet; and;
after stumbling badly; eventually came down; and I went over his
head; to the great distress of the kindly female mago。  The straw
shoes tied with wisps round the pasterns are a great nuisance。  The
〃shoe strings〃 are always coming untied; and the shoes only wear
about two ri on soft ground; and less than one on hard。  They keep
the feet so soft and spongy that the horses can't walk without them
at all; and as soon as they get thin your horse begins to stumble;
the mago gets uneasy; and presently you stop; four shoes; which are
hanging from the saddle; are soaked in water and are tied on with
much coaxing; raising the animal fully an inch above the ground。
Anything more temporary and clumsy could not be devised。  The
bridle paths are strewn with them; and the children collect them in
heaps to decay for manure。  They cost 3 or 4 sen the set; and in
every village men spend their leisure time in making them。

At the next stage; called Takahara; we got one horse for the
baggage; crossed the river and the ravine; and by a steep climb
reached a solitary yadoya with the usual open front and irori;
round which a number of people; old and young; were sitting。  When
I arrived a whole bevy of nice…looking girls took to flight; but
were soon recalled by a word from Ito to their elders。  Lady
Parkes; on a side…saddle and in a riding…habit; has been taken for
a man till the people saw her hair; and a young friend of mine; who
is very pretty and has a beautiful complexion; when travelling
lately with her husband; was supposed to be a man who had shaven
off his beard。  I wear a hat; which is a thing only worn by women
in the fields as a protection from sun and rain; my eyebrows are
unshaven; and my teeth are unblackened; so these girls supposed me
to be a foreign man。  Ito in explanation said; 〃They haven't seen
any; but everybody brings them tales how rude foreigners are to
girls; and they are awful scared。〃  There was nothing eatable but
rice and eggs; and I ate them under the concentrated stare of
eighteen pairs of dark eyes。  The hot springs; to which many people
afflicted with sores resort; are by the river; at the bottom of a
rude flight of steps; in an open shed; but I could not ascertain
their temperature; as a number of men and women were sitting in the
water。  They bathe four times a day; and remain for an hour at a
time。

We left for the five miles' walk to Ikari in a torrent of rain by a
newly…made path completely shut in with the cascading Kinugawa; and
carried along sometimes low; sometimes high; on props projecting
over it from the face of the rock。  I do not expect to see anything
lovelier in Japan。

The river; always crystal…blue or crystal…green; largely increased
in volume by the rains; forces itself through gates of brightly…
coloured rock; by which its progress is repeatedly arrested; and
rarely lingers for rest in all its sparkling; rushing course。  It
is walled in by high mountains; gloriously wooded and cleft by dark
ravines; down which torrents were tumbling in great drifts of foam;
crashing and booming; boom and crash multiplied by many an echo;
and every ravine afforded glimpses far back of more mountains;
clefts; and waterfalls; and such over…abundant vegetation that I
welcomed the sight of a gray cliff or bare face of rock。  Along the
path there were fascinating details; composed of the manifold
greenery which revels in damp heat; ferns; mosses; confervae;
fungi; trailers; shading tiny rills which dropped down into
grottoes feathery with the exquisite Trichomanes radicans; or
drooped over the rustic path and hung into the river; and overhead
the finely incised and almost feathery foliage of several varieties
of maple admitted the light only as a green mist。  The spring tints
have not yet darkened into the monotone of summer; rose azaleas
still light the hillsides; and masses of cryptomeria give depth and
shadow。  Still; beautiful as it all is; one sighs for something
which shall satisfy one's craving for startling individuality and
grace of form; as in the coco…palm and banana of the tropics。  The
featheriness of the maple; and the arrowy straightness and
pyramidal form of the cryptomeria; please me better than all else;
but why criticise?  Ten minutes of sunshine would transform the
whole into fairyland。

There were no houses and no people。  Leaving this beautiful river
we crossed a spur of a hill; where all the trees were matted
together by a very fragrant white honeysuckle; and came down upon
an open valley where a quiet stream joins the loud…tongued
Kinugawa; and another mile brought us to this beautifully…situated
hamlet of twenty…five houses; surrounded by mountains; and close to
a mountain stream called the Okawa。  The names of Japanese rivers
give one very little geographical information from their want of
continuity。  A river changes its name several times in a course of
thirty or forty miles; according to the districts through which it
passes。  This is my old friend the Kinugawa; up which I have been
travelling for two days。  Want of space is a great aid to the
picturesque。  Ikari is crowded together on a hill slope; and its
short; primitiv

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