Travel Letters: Japan, 1934

part on the handlebars or over the rear wheel, and also trycycle arrangements. It was all very bewildering at first for I tried to see everything at once and of course couldn't. The people are such fun to watch and so many bits of real Japan stuck in corners of the Modern parts. Its like any other city. Boston included, you have to look to find the typical parts any where.

Later evening and quite weary calves to the legs To continue where I left off. I hated to leave Yokohama station for there were so many people that were fun to watch - but naturally we had to go. The train is quite rapid. All electric and something like a subway but with nice blue plush up - bolstery. I was google eyed before we had gone half way, for one can see the monument to grandpa from the train and Pete remembered it was on a {word struck out: 'hill' above}on our left hand side, and a fifteen minute walk from Omori. which direction the walk was in he couldn't tell, but any way he kept an eagle eye out for it. Its a bit confusing trying to tell where one is, for though you know the name of the station, you are completely at sea when confronted with a lot of characters. I'd forgotten that Japan wouldn't be written our way. Such a lot to see as there was, tiny streets, grey wooden houses. bits of gardens. washing hanging on bamboo poles instead of {word struck out} lines. flower pots with tiny trees on window sills. Little babies being lugged about on peoples backs. other children like bright

balls wrapped in so much clothing. Bycycles everywhere, people carrying every kind of thing on either end of a pole balanced on the shoulder. Men and women hoeing in gardens with the kind of hoe grandpa described. It was all so interesting and hard to believe. Then the fences along the railroad made of charred wooden ties, and making an irregular and very attractive stout fence. How much better than burning old ties as they do in states and Canada. We noticed too any new buildings going up had very elaborate bamboo scafolding all carefully tied together. but instead of looking hit or miss by being made of old boards, it looked very neat and well put together. In Tokio they have straw matting over the whole thing, to protect the people on the street from anything that might be flung away by the men. In the midst of all this we almost forgot the monument, and then suddenly it flashed by and I saw it, though Pete missed it. There really are two monuments one on the railway, and the other higher up on the spot grandpas' old pupil Sasaki insists it should be. He is the only pupil left I believe.

Well we were soon in Tokio, and Pete knowing the ropes made it very easy. We came straight to the Imperial Hotel and made ourselves known. We were told to say that we were connected with the Canadian Pacific by Mr Vienol & the agent in Yokohama, with the result we have a room and bath for five dollars a day - Its a most interesting hotel, and do get the Autobiography of Frank Lloyd Wright out of the library and if you don't read it all do read the part about building this place. He built

it on the Cantilever theory so that it would give and sway or bend during an earthquake, and it was the only building of its size that did stand then. As a matter of fact it is all out of line now and there are several cracks. but they don't matter for they are planned for. It is very intersting and modern. made of yellowish brick & stone but we rather like it. but more of it later.

Our bags didn't arrive for some time so we waited a bit & then called Mr 'Miyaoka?'. We'd only received my letter this morning and was all excited. Said he would come down in an hour. So we had lunch and waited for him. They came about two and Pete recognized them as they came in the door. Mr Miyaoka looking very spry in his diplomatic clothes, as he calls his cutaway, but Mrs Miyaoka had Japanese dress and a fur neck scarf was the only foreign thing. She looked so lovely in her dark kimono and I noticed once or twice a touch of red that showed of another kimono underneath. only when she moved her arms. We talked and chatted and had a very pleasant time for they are such fun, and then they suggested they take us around a bit.

The only way I can think to describe it would be to compare it with the equivalent in Boston, but even then it won't sound as strenous as it was. We drove first by the moat of the Imperial Palace and then headed for an exhibition of modern painting. This was being held in a department store. say like R. H. Whites during a Christmas

rush for it was crowded. The exhibition was very interesting and we saw one painting of a cock and hen painted with a few strokes that was a wonder. It was one of Seiko - the artist who's sketches were in the group grandpa had of ink drawings. It was far ahead of anything else. It was interesting that a lot of the modern things are like the trash they paint in the States. cubistic, only these were crude in color. poor perspective & too crowded looking. After this exhibit we saw a bit of the store including a dog show. My eyes were popping and so were Petes. for we had to see the people in the crowd, the wares for sale and keep an eye on the Miyaokas who seemed to dart through the crowds with the greatest ease. After this store we got into the car again, (the traffic really isn't bad, its just that its so unexpected. The object seems to be, to go around as many corners as possible, as fast as possible, blowing the horn as loud as possible and just missing as many bycycles. children and pedestrians as possible) We drove through the banking district and entered the most complicated department store I've ever seen. We {word struck out: 'saw'} met a man belonging to the store who led us through at a more rapid pace than even the Miyaokas' and we saw another very fine exhibition, and two other remarkably fine paintings. They were all done on silk eventually to be made into kakimons'. Again we picked the two pictures by the two most celebrated artists which was rather fun. After this one of the managers invited us into a private dining room connected with the restaurant and we had some delicious tea - I've never mentioned at all the amount

of bowing and scraping that goes on. Whenever Mr Miyaoka met a friend they each bent twice very low and soon Pete & I were bowing too. Its very catching, and seems to be the least one can do to be polite. Every time the girl set down a dish of tea she would bow first, having already bowed several times bringing the tray of cups in. It was tree thirty by this time and Mrs Miyaoka had to leave having a tea party at four. Mr Miyaoka didn't want to get home until it was over so it was really then we started to look around. We went up and down in elevators, landing on top of the roof in a wonderful roof garden and childrens swings. Then down through other departments, finally on about the fourth floor we were outside a theater. We went in to see some puppets but it was already jammed with Japanese. I'm sure we met only one other white person all afternoon. One Japanese lady was sitting in an aisle seat nursing a little boy, and after he finished his meal he ran down the aisle, being easily two or three years old. All the children look so healthy with rosy cheeks, and we realized there were no real rozy cheeks in all of the Hawaiian islands. Every one is brown or very pale. But to continue. The theater was too crowded so we left and followed the man round and round until we suddenly came to the entrances of a subway. Where we all bowed & thanked him again and boarded a train. We leaped off at the next station