From Mary Ellen Hinton to her sister Lucy Everest
Boole, a letter-book, detailing her stay in Japan
with her family. She writes in the form of the
journal describing the places she has been, and
all the new and strange sights she has seen. She
begins 7 Sept 1888, describing her visit to
Haneoke Bay. Mentions she enjoys reading
'Scientific Views' for its natural history
articles, while her husband (Charles Howard
Hinton) likes it for its articles on electricity.
She refers also to her surprise in finding fly
larvae and pupae in a salt water pool in Joshima.
She then describes a visit to Kaneola Bay where
they stayed in a Temple and made friends with the
priests, 'such gentle refined simple people' and
described the ceremonies which took place there to
protect fishermen from the perils of the sea.
Mentions there were earthquakes in Yokohama. The next section [8 Jan 1889]
describes her visit
to Kojinoko/Homatsuya (little hill) to the hot
springs there and declares: 'It was very dangerous
to be near there. Perhaps that was some of the
fascination.' The house they hired was made of
paper and was quite cold, but it had a bathhouse
for hot baths. However the sulphurous odour from
the water was very unpleasant. She inquires does
Lucy know the reason why when the ground and road
were covered with ice, there was no frost on the
grass or bamboo. She remarks she also found the
total absence of wind very strange. She also
mentions a plant she saw whose leaves resemble a
butterfly and she wonders why a plant should
imitate an insect. They travelled then to Ikao, a
beautiful spot on a mountainside with many hot
springs in the area. Unfortunately, the weather
was cold and it rained all day, and stinging
insects which bury themselves in peoples flesh
thrive in the area. Mentions she is having an iron
bath three times a day. They let their house in
Yokohama to the Portuguese who are proving to be
unsatisfactory tenants. 1 Sept [1889] They have now been at Ikao for
seven weeks and plan to stay for four more days.
It rained almost continually during the stay,
sometimes for days on end without a break. In the
house they are staying in, the bath is in the
garden, and you sit in the hot water with the rain
falling on your face. Wet skin is however never
exposed to air, so colds are avoided. Where hot
springs are found like in Yokohama, swimming pools
are used to accommodate large numbers of people.
The locals in Ikao dye all their cloth yellow from
the iron springs, and all wear yellow clothing.
Beads are also sometimes made from the iron
deposits but it is a slow process. She mentions
the looks of admiration she got from the local
women for an old battered hat simply because it
was yellow. 11 Dec [1889] She relates a discussion she had
with Droku Enoye on the origin of the Japanese
people. She argued that the Emperor Tenimco
colonised Japan from China and Korea, while Enoye
believed he came from heaven as did Jesus Christ:
'Ikoku said this with a gentle smile which meant,
"Our absurdities are not more absurd than those of
Fevergine's" and he objected to his race being
spoken of as a curiosity.' 18 July 1890, describing a visit to a Nikko
Temple, where a bell is rung to summon God each
time an offering is made. She feels that is a good
idea as 'I remember as a child being troubled by
doubts as to whether Providence was paying
attention.' The colours of the temples deeply
impressed her. She remarks Buddhism is a growing
religion with plenty of room for more people and
she asks Lucy, 'Don't you find your dislike of
xtianity grows stronger every year of your life?
Selection of only a few for salvation and at even
that few unfairly.' In Buddhism she remarks you
can always be saved. 18 Aug 1890, she is now in Nikko and advises Lucy
to read up on its history which is very
interesting. Historical relics are consciously
preserved in the area. She mentions visiting the
Torii, an emblem of the Shinto religion, built for
the temple pigeons to rest on. She remarks on the
beautifully covered gateways and wonders, 'Will
any place in the world seem worth seeing after
Japan? In fact I am perfectly infatuated by the
country.' Her son George however prefers living
works of nature to the most magnificent creations
of man and preferred playing with the temple pony
rather than admiring the architecture. [ ] Describing a barge trip they were
forced to
take from Nikko as heavy rains had flooded the
roads. The trip took 12 hours but was not too
uncomfortable. They stayed overnight in the
bishop's house before returning to Yokohama where
the weather was very hot and they found their
house covered in a type of blue mould. They then
returned to Nikko where they plan to stay until
the end of September. In response to Lucy's
enquiries about Japanese customs, she says she
can't say much as Yokohama isn't like the rest of
Japan, as it is very westernised. She gets her
pupils to write essays on their nature customs and
that is how she finds out what little she knows.
One pupil explained that women wrap a blue cloth
around their face when they go outdoors because
"women are not nice in face." Remarks she finds
Tokoyo very beautiful and solemn. [ ] Mentions their garden is now being used
as a
workshop for the building of a new classroom. They
visited Professor Fenolosus (Professor of
Philosophy in Tokoyo Naval College), as part of a
'duty call' to parents. He told them a story about
a Japanese family of fire-fighters. The young men
of the family would undergo vigorous training for
months, and when ready, a large fire would be
kindled around them which they would stand in the
middle of and handle the live coals. However the
family has been performing the ritual for so long
that they have forgotten its purpose. [ ] She remarks that Sir Edwin Arnold
in his
letters to 'The
Telegraph' does not exaggerate the
beauty of Japan, but he does not mention enough
its· other side where disease and illness can be
seen 'walking openly in the streets. It is most
pain full to a new-comer.' She also describes a
teashop decorated with plum blossom and cabbage
'being a European vegetable it was deemed worthy
of use for artistic purposes.' She attended a
Lenten exhibition by the Photographic Society
where Professor Milne showed slides of the effects
of earthquakes and gave advice on choosing a
sturdy building. Her husband intends to get a
sensitometer to warn them about approaching
earthquakes and she states to feel the ground
shake is a frightening thing. There are also some
separate sheets containing Mary Ellen's letters to
Lucy. [ ] She is glad to hear their mother's health has
improved, and she explains the origins of the
gifts she sent and to whom each one was for. They
are moving to a half Japanese, half European
house, she would have preferred a totally Japanese
one but none was vacant. They are thinking of
hiring a cow, as milk is often hard to get and is
very expensive. Mentions a Japanese woman remarked
that her son Sebastian's red hair was ugly. She
remarks she finds Japanese homes very attractive:
'The maximum amount of beauty and comfort with the
minimum amount of trouble' and extols about their
spaciousness and cleanliness. 6 Nov 1891 She details the effects of the last
earthquake to hit Japan. Its effects were mild in
Kanazana, where she lives, while other towns were
almost destroyed. The earthquake itself was a
terrifying experience, worse than any other type
of natural calamity. 'In the Wakayana floods thousands of people
perished but nobody seemed to mind particularly
whereas Bandaisan will remain a word of terror.'
Aftershocks are still being felt. She then speaks
of the Madra, a tapestry on brown silk depicting a
series of scenes of the Buddhist paradise
embroidered from hair donated by 84,000 women; it
is being taken on a tour allover Japan. She feels
the Japanese people have been touched by the
values of Buddhism. 'Here you may give a stranger
a $10 note when you owe him 50 cents and feel
quite sure that he will bring back the change',
but she feels that religion 'has not the power to
take hold of a nation and hold it. Let it then
give place to some religion which can.' She feels
England has not yet found its religion. The recent
earthquake made her think more about religion and
she states: 'Only think till you have no more
religious feeling left - and
you arrive at no result. It is aimless
groping. If these were to be the last words I
should ever write I wouldn't add to them.' She
then moves on to describe her children for Lucy
and their different personalities and behaviour.
She inquires after her own family adding: 'You are
such a soothing little person when I write to you
I go straight ahead my pen runs along fast and
ideas flow.'