Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment 9781898823520

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ISABELLA BIRD AND JAPAN A REASSESSMENT

Isabella Bird in her wedding attire This photograph was taken at the studio of Edinburgh’s leading photographer, John Moffat. Isabella attended her wedding in funereal garb out of her sense of loss at the death of her sister that was the catalyst for her marriage. The ceremony was held on 8 March 1881 at St. Lawrence’s church in Barton-on-the-Heath in Warwickshire and as Isabella then went back to Tobermory the implication is that this photograph was taken before the wedding. In July the year before she had had a commemorative photograph taken at the same studio with her husband-to-be, John, which now resides in the collection of the University of Oregon (see pl. 2). One may assume that she later went on her own to have this particular photograph taken, indicating that she was already minded at that point to attend her wedding in mourning dress. This exemplified her mood, which can also be deduced from the expression on her face.

Isabella Bird and Japan A REASSESSMENT —

by

Kiyonori Kanasaka TRANSLATED BY NICHOLAS PERTWEE

IZABERA BAHDO TO NIHON NO TABI by KIYONORI KANASAKA © KANASAKA Kiyonori 2014. All rights reserved. Originally published in Japan by Heibonsha Limited, Publishers, Tokyo English translation rights arranged with Heibonsha Limited, Publishers, Japan. ______________________________________________________________

ISABELLA BIRD AND JAPAN A REASSESSMENT

English Edition First published 2017 by RENAISSANCE BOOKS PO Box 219 Folkestone Kent CT20 2WP UK Renaissance Books is an imprint of Global Books Ltd English translation © Global Books Ltd, 2017 978-1-898823-51-3 (Hardback) 978-1-898823-52-0 (e-Book) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

Set in Bembo 11.5 on 13 by Dataworks Printed in England by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wilts

In memory of Nobuko who rejoiced at the thought of this English edition

CONTENTS — [Plate Section faces page 108]

Foreword by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, GCMG Author’s Preface to the English Edition Translator’s Preface Translator’s Notes Preface to the Japanese Edition Maps of Isabella Bird’s Travels in Japan (Figs 1–3)

xi xiv xix xxiii xxvi xxx–xxxiii

CHAPTER 1: INTERPRETING BIRD’S TRAVELS AND UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN ŠA scientific study Š The three original works and their Japanese translations Š Bird’s vocabulary and the translation challenge ŠThe importance of place names

3 7 11

CHAPTER 2: ISABELLA BIRD – A LIFE OF TRAVEL

15

1 1

PART 1: FROM BIRTH TO BIRD’S PERIOD I JOURNEYS: CANADA AND AMERICA 16

ŠA clergyman’s daughter ŠBird’s home life and character Š Bird’s Period 1 journeys: Canada and America. Š The second journey to America and her father’s death Š Move to Scotland and her mother’s death Š Bird’s attempts at slum improvement and serious illness vii

16 18 19 21 23 25

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PART 2: BIRD’S PERIOD II AND III JOURNEYS: AUSTRALIA, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, ROCKY MOUNTAINS, JAPAN

27

Š Start of Bird’s Period II journeys: Australia and New Zealand ŠHawaiian Islands ŠRocky Mountains ŠBack home from her Period II journeys ŠBackground to planning the Japan trip Š Preparing for Japan: Bird’s Period III journeys

27 28 34 38 44 49

PART 3: POST-JAPAN AND EVENTS IN BIRD’S LATER YEARS: JOURNEYS FROM THE LATTER PART OF PERIOD III TO PERIOD VI

50

Š Two journeys on her way home: The Malay and Sinai Peninsulas ŠRapidly-changing personal circumstances Š A visit to Ireland : prelude to Bird’s Period IV journeys Š Bird’s Period IV journeys: Lesser Tibet, Persia and Kurdistan ŠBird as a lecturer and major travel personality Š Bird’s Period V Journeys: three years in a rapidly-changing Far East Š Subsequent activities and trip to Morocco: Bird’s Period VI journeys ŠFinal years ŠA life of travel CHAPTER 3: ASPECTS OF BIRD’S 1878 VISIT TO JAPAN ŠNo regional or time constraints ŠSpecial interior travel permit ŠPlant-collecting ŠFirst trip with a servant-interpreter

50 55 58 59 63 66 69 70 72 75 75 78 82 85

CONTENTS

ŠThe route Š Horses and jinrikishas of the Land Transport Agent ŠThe British Legation ŠMissionary agenda ŠBird’s letters ŠPress reports ŠPlanning the journey with Parkes ŠAinu society CHAPTER 4: ACCESS AND SUPPORT IN JAPAN ŠMinister and Lady Parkes ŠThe Foreign Ministry ŠAccounts by Stoddart and North ŠBird’s letters ŠSatow and the three consuls Š Assistance from missionary organisations ŠChamberlain and others ŠFrench and Austrian Legations Š Japanese Foreign Ministry and Hokkaido¯ Development Commission ŠJapanese Home Ministry CHAPTER 5: THE LEGACY OF BIRD’S STAY IN JAPAN

ix

87 92 95 99 106 111 117 123 128 128 133 137 139 142 145 150 155 158 164 173

ŠOn Bird herself ŠOn Chamberlain ŠOn Parkes ŠOn Ito¯ Tsurukichi

173 173 176 178 181

PART 2: WHAT BIRD’S TRIP AND UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN MEAN FOR EUROPE AND AMERICA

183

PART I: BIRD AND HER CIRCLE

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PART 3: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE REVIVED TRAVELOGUES

186

ŠTravelogues forgotten and revived Š Understanding Unbeaten Tracks in Japan Š Two illustrations of Mt Fuji and their message

186 191 192

Endnotes Postscript to the Japanese Edition Chronology: The Life of Isabella Bird Bibliographies Index

199 257 259 263 265

FOREWORD by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, GCMG

— In the nineteenth century following the end of the Napoleonic wars the world beyond Europe became more accessible and safer to visit. The Grand Tour traveller became a ‘globe-trotter’. In Victorian Britain women who began to fight for their rights were not to be deterred from foreign travel by discomfort and risk. One of the most interesting, persistent and intrepid of Victorian women travellers was Isabella Bird who despite frequent ill-health covered most of Asia in her journeys. These she described in a series of books that attracted a wide readership. Her most famous work Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, which was first published in two volumes in 1880, has been frequently reprinted, often in abbreviated form, and translated into other languages including Japanese. Emeritus Professor Kiyonori Kanasaka of Kyoto University who has produced a full Japanese translation of this and other works by her became fascinated by her personality and her books. He visited as many of the places to which she had travelled as possible and photographed the scenes as they now are comparing them with how they had been in Isabella’s time. This led to his compilation of photographs entitled In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird: Adventures in Twin Time Travel. He also undertook detailed research into the background to Isabella’s first and longest visit to Japan. This research led to some valuable historical insights which he explains in this book. xi

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Professor Kanasaka became convinced that Isabella Bird’s journeys in Japan were instigated and carefully planned by Sir Harry Parkes, the British minister to Japan from 1865 to 1883. Parkes persuaded Japanese ministers to provide valuable assistance to Isabella Bird in her travels in the quaintly named ‘interior’.1 Kanasaka concludes that Parkes was convinced that Isabella Bird with her perceptive eye and descriptive ability would contribute in a unique way to British understanding of the development of the new Japan and its traditional culture to which Parkes arranged that she was introduced. Parkes wanted to ensure that Britain, which had the largest number of foreign merchants in the Treaty Ports and provided the largest number of foreign employees of the Meiji government, retained its position as the most influential foreign power in the new Japan. To this end he wanted Britain to be the best informed of the Treaty Powers and he may have feared that travellers from rival countries were trying to steal a march on Britain. Readers may wonder why he turned to Isabella Bird to undertake and report on parts of Japan which had not been much, if at all, visited by foreigners. Why did he not send one of his young Japanese-speaking consular staff or entrust this task to one of the British residents in Japan? Parkes probably thought that no one on his staff or any British resident would be able to write as frankly and powerfully as Isabella. Nor would they be able to get their accounts published in a form which would appeal to the general reader. There were other considerations which ruled out for him alternative candidates to travel and write about Japan. Parkes and Satow had an uneasy relationship. Blakiston in Hakodate who was both a traveller and naturalist had been in trouble. Parkes had quarrelled with Sir John Reed who had publicly criticized Parkes. Basil Hall Chamberlain had not yet established his reputation as a Japanologist. Marianne North who had visited Kyoto with Sir Harry and Lady Parkes had had to leave Japan because of ill health.

FOREWORD

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Isabella Bird was not a romantic and could be relied on not to hide what she disliked and report truthfully on conditions as she saw them. She said at the beginning of her book: ‘… though I found the country a study rather than a rapture, its interest exceeded my largest expectations’. Nicholas Pertwee, who has so ably translated and annotated Professor Kanasaka’s Japanese original, notes that Isabella Bird was ‘not everybody’s cup of tea’. Clara Whitney, the American diarist called her ‘a very disagreeable old maid’. She angered the Americans whom she met in Hokkaido, but the Americans at that time often seemed to regard Hokkaido as their special area. Her earnestness and her devotion to investigating and supporting protestant missionary activities must have irritated the worldly elements in the small British community in Japan. I might have found a few hours listening to her experiences and impressions interesting, but I would not care to have had her to stay for weeks in my official residence as Parkes did, but Parkes who certainly would not have been intimidated by her did not seem to mind and apparently liked her. Satow had by the time of Isabella’s visit to Japan reverted to his evangelical beliefs and if he found her irritating was able to disguise his feelings. She seems to have got on well with Chamberlain. She was certainly a formidable personality. A charmer, hardly but she clearly had the ability to get what she wanted and knew that a bullying manner rarely succeeded. Readers of this book will find much to intrigue them. I hope it may also induce them to look at the ten volumes published for the Japan Society under the title Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits and the two volumes British Envoys in Japan 1859–1972 and Japanese Envoys in Britain 1872–1964, where they will find accounts of many of the personalities mentioned in the pages of this book such as the British ministers Alcock and Parkes and Japanese ministers Terashima Munenori and Mori Arinori as well as Ernest Satow, Basil Hall Chamberlain, Sir Edward Reed, Thomas Wright Blakiston, John Batchelor, Walter Dening, Henry Dyer, F.V. Dickins, Marianne North and others.

AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION — In 2014, which marked twenty-five years since I started researching Isabella Bird, two books of mine were published at round about the same time. These were In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird: Adventures in Twin Time Travel, a photographic collection, and this present book Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment. Over half a century Bird’s journeys took her to every continent except South America and Antarctica, and for In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird I visited the places she had been to, taking copies of her books with me, and compared photographs I took there with what she had written. As far as possible I also matched up my photographs with the copperplate prints and photographs in her own books to create a photomontage of our two series of journeys more than a hundred years apart – hence the expression ‘twin time travel’. This to my mind has served to broaden interest in the collection. My photograph album is the distillation of a number of successful exhibitions, fifteen in all, that I held from 2004, the centenary of her death, to 2014 in all the places connected with Bird; in terms of time elapsed, mounting these exhibitions accounted for more than two years of my life. It is, I think, unique in the sense that with its exhibits captioned both in English and Japanese it also appeals to Isabella Bird fans outside Japan and reflects my aim to acquaint a worldwide audience with the concept of Twin Time Travel. Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment, on the other hand, traces her life – she lived from 1831 to 1904 – mainly through the xiv

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medium of her nearly fifty years of travel from 1856 to 1901 and looks in particular at her visit to Japan in 1878 which I regard as the pivotal point in her travel career. I examined her first visit to Japan in as much detail as possible in the limited space available to me, taking into account the circumstances of her visit and its legacy. Isabella Bird is the most famous in her own right of that doughty band of women known as ‘lady travellers’ who exemplify the spirit of the Victorian era and her name persists to this day. What marks her out is not only that she wrote more than anybody else, but that the many reproductions of her books have secured her the largest readership. And one of the mostread of all her books, in Japan and elsewhere, is Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. The journey she describes there was the forerunner for the next series of trips she made – to Lesser Tibet, Persia and Kurdistan – which in turn led to her being elected, in a first for a woman, a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, the highest accolade for an explorer. This covers the basics of Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment but there is another reason for my having written it. Fundamental misunderstandings about Unbeaten Tracks in Japan have gained general currency. These need to be corrected and the whole work, and Bird herself, viewed in a new and better light. I have devoted the past twenty-five years to a forensic study of her works and though my academic field is geography I have taken a keen interest in Japanese and world history. As a Japanese I think it has fallen to me, almost as a task Isabella has given me, to recast the view of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. To this end I have produced a book of manageable length for a general readership. Bird’s journey was not just directed to Ezo and the Ainu, nor was it a solitary one motivated by a woman with boundless curiosity! Neither was it a collection of letters she sent to her sister Henrietta! These impressions, which from my point of view are simply misunderstandings, have become entrenched because the many reproductions of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan that have appeared from numerous publishers since 1971 are almost all based on

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the 1885 edition of her book. This has prompted many people, understandably, to view the later edition as the true record of her Japan trip, instead of the 1880 original. Unfortunately, however, this misconception includes the community of scholars, translators and authors researching Isabella Bird and her life, who have compounded the felony in what they have written about Bird. In fact, the 1885 edition is an abridged version of the 1880 two-volume original from which her publisher John Murray III asked Bird to make significant and complex excisions; Bird reluctantly complied with his request. In turning her book into a woman’s romantic adventure story Murray’s aim as its publisher was not misplaced for, in the same cover as the two-volume first edition, it saw several reprintings. But Unbeaten Tracks in Japan in its original form was not just a romantic adventure story. At a time when the ‘ordinary’ foreigner was not permitted to go outside a twenty-five mile (40km) range of five treaty ports and two open cities, Bird went even further out into what was then termed the ‘Interior’ and accessed Ezo and Ainu territory. In addition, she went to Kyoto and the Ise Shrines which were essential destinations for obtaining an understanding of the old Japan. Thus, its real aim was to take on the role of an official report with a view to informing its readers and the general public about Japan and its people, as well as the possibilities for the spread of Christianity which had only had the prohibition on it lifted seven years earlier. This objective derived from Bird’s acknowledged expertise as a seasoned traveller and the sense of responsibility she felt for the task that Parkes had set her. It is certainly not just an individual’s travel reminiscences. Such books can tend to have a lifeless feel to them but Bird’s book does not give this impression. She has qualities rare in a traveller – a wide range of interests and a discerning eye – and she treats us to a lively account with frank comments about what she saw, heard and thought. The sheer scope of the 1880 first edition is such that it is quite impossible, even for a Japanese reading about Japan, to understand it just by reading the original text. This is why I have

AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION

xvii

tried to translate it along scientific lines in the form of my fourvolume ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – the Complete Translation’ where I have added extensive notes in line with the text, with commentary, that positions her Japan trip in her travel career as a whole. This present book, Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment, is based on it. I hope all this explains why I wanted an English edition of my book published and I am delighted that this has come about, thanks to Paul Norbury, proprietor of one of the leading publishing houses in this field, having been kind enough to accept my request. He was introduced to me by Matsumura Ko¯suke, once the Economic Adviser at the British Embassy in Tokyo, through Sir Hugh Cortazzi, a former British Ambassador to Japan and the doyen of scholars of the history of cultural relations between Britain and Japan. Mr Norbury was also responsible for finding my accomplished translator Nicholas Pertwee, who worked in East Asia for a number of years, including a period of service at the British Embassy in Tokyo. He has taken a keen interest in the way my book seeks to establish the facts of Bird’s Japan journey and has contributed with particular enthusiasm to the completion of this English edition, often working outside the ‘traditional’ role of the translator including the addition of many valuable new footnotes. This English edition of my book is in a larger format than the Japanese original, and is distributed in North America by the University of Hawaii Press in Honolulu, which was one of the venues for my photographic exhibition. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Messrs. Norbury, as publisher, and Pertwee, as translator, for their help in bringing this about. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Sir Hugh Cortazzi, who was a source of great moral support to me in relation to this English edition. Finally, my deepest thoughts have to be reserved for my late wife Nobuko. She had been delighted to hear of the plans to produce this book in English and was much looking forward to seeing it. For forty-three years she was the mainstay of our family and was uncomplaining about my research into Isabella. And

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she also encouraged me to hold my photographic exhibition which had become something of an obsession with me. Nobuko died in July 2015 aged sixty-eight and it is to her that I would like to dedicate this book. Kanasaka Kiyonori At my home in Higashiyama, a district of Kyoto that Bird visited 138 years ago Autumn 2016

TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE — It was quite by chance that I came across Renaissance Books and its publisher Paul Norbury. This was at the launch in October 2014 at the Daiwa Foundation’s premises near Regent’s Park of another of Renaissance’s publications, Across the Three Pagodas Pass, which is a translation of the memoirs of Futamatsu Yoshihiko, a Japanese Army engineer who worked on the ThaiBurma Railway, edited by Peter N. Davies, Emeritus Professor of Economic History at Liverpool University. This provides probably the only account in English of work on the line as seen through Japanese eyes. There is no need to dwell here on what we all know happened on that railway. My reason for attending this event and my interest in the railway derive from an intention, not yet fulfilled due to lack of the necessary documents, to research the Japanese-built locomotives used on the line and to study the line’s infrastructure. But that is all another story. Suffice it to say that that is how my relationship with Renaissance began, and my introduction to Kiyonori Kanasaka’s study of Isabella Bird, which has assumed the form of Isabella Bird and Japan: A Reassessment, came about. Professor Kanasaka is known in Japan as the foremost researcher of Bird’s life and he has been especially praised for his impressive four-volume complete translation of Bird’s Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. Bird’s book was first published in two volumes by John Murray in October 1880 and tells of her six months in Japan in 1878. It became a best-seller in England and went through a number of reprintings and revised editions, and also

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attracted wide attention in the United States. Besides translating the entire contents of the two volumes, a major undertaking in itself, Kanasaka added numerous explanatory footnotes, a combination that makes this probably the definitive work of its kind. Laudatory comment on his work came from many sources in Japan, the most complimentary of which was probably that by Professor Tomiyama Takao, a distinguished scholar of English, and particularly Victorian, literature. Writing in the Mainichi Shinbun on 23 December 2012 of the first three volumes of Kanasaka’s work, he described the footnotes as ‘superb’ and commented that the book as a whole would rank as ‘a masterpiece in the annals of Japanese translation’. Not content with that success, or with having already spent nearly twenty-five years researching Bird throughout her life of travel (one of stark contrasts which led her from the idyllic – the Sandwich Islands – to the unforgiving – the snow-covered mountainous terrain of Central Asia) Kanasaka has written this present book to look in more detail at what, to put it crudely, made Bird ‘tick’. Whether she was a hypochondriac, or her condition partly psychosomatic, is not for me to say – Kay Chubbuck nicely lists her multitude of ailments in the Introduction to her Letters to Henrietta (Bird’s younger sister) – but, remarkably, she seems to have summoned up the energy to make unaccompanied trips to far-flung corners of the world, on the advice of her doctors who prescribed a change of scenery as the means to recover her health. Some of her trips appear to have achieved this, though her visit to Japan seems not to have contributed much in this respect (as her letter of 11 August 1878 to John Murray from Hakodate explains) but in the process of her travels she attained an unrivalled name for herself as the leading ‘lady traveller’ of her day. Translation, for me at any rate, is at once a frustrating and a rewarding task. Frustrating because in attempting to cross the boundary between a literal interpretation and a natural, readable English version that retains the flavour of the original, I am

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made all too aware of the unimaginative knowledge I have of my own language. Rewarding because an English-speaking audience is being given an opportunity to read a book that assesses Bird’s world-wide travel experiences, and particularly her ambitious journey into Japan’s ‘Interior’, from a Japanese perspective. Though the term ‘Interior’ at the time meant anything beyond the 25-mile approved zones centred on the seven cities in all that were open to foreigners and trade, Bird went far beyond these limits and explored areas of northern Honshu¯ and Hokkaido¯ that few Japanese, let alone foreigners, had ever visited. She also visited the Ise Shrines, permission for which had only been granted to foreigners in a handful of cases up to then. In Unbeaten Tracks in Japan Bird writes extensively of Shinto¯ and from my point of view at least more could have been written in this book about the exceptional access Bird was given to the inner parts of the Shrine. The book also explores the pivotal part Kanasaka argues Sir Harry Parkes, Britain’s Minister in Japan, played in the forward planning and support for Bird’s journey. He was instrumental in obtaining the permits that all foreigners travelling in Japan at the time had to have, due to his basically-sound though sometimes frank relationship with Foreign Minister Terashima Munenori and other leading figures in officialdom. Kanasaka also goes into detail about the assistance Bird received all through her time in Japan from a variety of sources. This came, obviously, from the Japanese themselves, whether influential or just ordinary citizens, and here the contribution to her success made by her servant-interpreter Ito¯ Tsurukichi cannot be overemphasised. She also received help from numerous foreigners of differing nationalities, from the likes of the studious and immensely knowledgeable Japanophiles Basil Hall Chamberlain and Ernest Satow to the dashing Lieutenant Kreitner of the Austro-Hungarian Army or the more staid American missionary Orramel Hinckley Gulick. Strange as it may seem, I found, as translator, that the compendium of foreign names Kanasaka introduces opened up a whole parallel area of research that left Bird herself somewhat

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in the shade for, if the truth be known, I do not find her a particularly attractive figure. Marianne North or Constance Gordon-Cumming, though probably just as insistent as Bird on getting their own way, as women of their upbringing at the time were wont to be, strike me as being more ‘interesting’. Nor do I think that I am alone in this as Bird was not everybody’s cup of tea, as can be seen from the somewhat irreverent references to her in Clara Whitney’s diary, where she calls her ‘a very disagreeable old maid’ and says in effect that her dominating and interrogatory presence at functions made everyone hate to go near her. But then I suppose that the woman who was the first to climb the 14,000-foot active volcano Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii, and at the age of nearly seventy survived sinking up to her neck in snowdrifts when crossing a mountain pass in Szechuan in temperatures so low that her clothes froze to her, has to have had special qualities that might not have endeared her to everyone. So, guilty though I am of having gone off at a tangent, as evidenced by the plethora of footnotes that I have supplied, some basic research into people like Henry Brunton or Horace Capron, Count Diesbach or Heinrich von Siebold, revealed the inestimable part that foreigners played in creating the new Meiji state. How Japan would or would not have developed without their contribution is one of history’s big Ifs. But, however one views Bird herself and her contradictions or, from a distance of 140 years, her sometimes tedious and certainly page-consuming concern for missionary activities, one cannot deny that her spirit was indomitable despite her physical frailties and that her contribution to the West’s knowledge of Japan in the early years of the Meiji period was considerable; her pioneering trip to Hokkaido¯ and particularly her study of the Ainu attracted favourable comment from scholars of the subject. For instance, in The Life of Sir Harry Parkes (Vol. II, p. 293) a letter to him from Sir Ernest Satow sent on 10 January 1881 while he, Parkes, was on home leave is quoted. In it Satow is complimentary about Unbeaten Tracks in Japan saying:

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I am extremely obliged to you for sending me the Quarterly with — ‘s article on two books of travel which every one out here has been most anxious to read. Very few copies of either have yet reached this country, but I am one of the recipients. The verdict which pronounces in favour of Miss Bird is most just. One can read her work with great pleasure, and the account of the Ainos will be most valuable.

Kanasaka’s book will be of significant benefit as an addition to the existing corpus of Bird-related literature, and an unusual one for having presented a picture of Bird and her journey in Japan in 1878 in a new and thoughtful light. In delving into the background, the ‘true nature’ as he calls it, of her journey in all its aspects Kanasaka has provided not just a study of one of the Victorian era’s leading ‘lady travellers’ but also a fascinating insight into Japanese social life and customs of the time, and a picture of how the new Meiji state was building up its industries and infrastructure on the way to becoming a major world power. I hope that the worth of Kanasaka’s book will come through in this translation. If it does not the fault is entirely mine.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

In the original of this book, the author included a Notes section but they referred of course to certain conventions he had adopted relating to the Japanese text and do not apply to an English translation. I will, however, make a few comments on features in this English edition that I am responsible for. Notes and Index

The original contained neither notes nor an index. I have added both, having taken the view that as the book mentions so many people apart from Bird herself, both Japanese and foreign, some background information on them would be useful. Many of

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the foreigners were employed by the Japanese government as advisers, the so-called ‘o-yatoi gaikokujin’, and contributed greatly to Meiji Japan’s development. For those readers who already have a knowledge of Japanese history of the period and of cultural and other exchanges between Japan and foreign countries this will have been unnecessary, but for the more general reader I hope the thumbnail sketches I have added about many of these people will serve to increase this book’s appeal. That is one type of note. The original text contains numerous quotations from Unbeaten Tracks in Japan which, having identified, I have left in situ, but it also refers by number to the letters into which Bird divided her book. I have put those references, quoting the relevant passage from Bird, into endnotes, as I have also done in the case of references to books by other authors. I have done this so that the flow of the narrative is not overly interrupted. This is the other type of note. These endnotes are organised by chapter. The index contains place and proper names, and Japanese words that have appeared in the text. It also cross-references the endnotes as a convenient way of finding their subjects. Quotations from Unbeaten Tracks in Japan

These are all taken verbatim from the two-volume first edition of October 1880 published by John Murray. Macrons

I have used macrons wherever they should appear, except in the commonest of place names such as Tokyo and Kyoto – even though they should have them too. In practice, the only two vowels affected are virtually always ‘o’ and ‘u’. As a form of indicating the all-important difference between long and short vowels, the incorrect pronunciation of which will frequently occasion a puzzled look despite the context, the macron is a more convenient

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length device in Romanisation than doubling the vowel or adding a ‘u’ or an ‘h’ to an ‘o’ to produce a rather ugly ‘ou’ or ‘oh’. Personal Names

I have left Japanese personal names in the Japanese order, with the family name first and the given name second. Where foreigners’ personal names are concerned, I have also tried to find their full given names wherever possible, and have used them instead of initials where I have been successful. An exception is made for the author of this English translation who wishes to be referred to as Kiyonori Kanasaka, according to Western tradition. Japanese words in the text

As a rule, in books I read, I find it distracting when foreign words – not place or proper names, of course – are put in an English text. In this book there are many such examples and I had hoped that it would be possible to smooth out the sentences by taking them out and putting them in endnotes. In a word, this has only worked to a limited extent and I have often had to leave them as they appear in the original. This may be no bad thing, though, as the number of endnotes would otherwise become too long. Sometimes, where practical, I have been guided by the amount of space an expression takes up in deciding where it should go. The titles of laws or regulations, for instance, have generally been transferred to an endnote with an English translation put in the text instead. Nicholas Pertwee At Reigate, a town in Surrey that Isabella Bird visited in January 1902 April 2017

PREFACE TO THE JAPANESE EDITION — That ‘Travel enriches life’ is one of the things we can learn from the ‘Precept of Pleasure’ that well illustrates the mentality in his later years of the Edo Period Confucianist and Enlightenment scholar Kaibara Ekiken,1 himself a great traveller. Travel is a concept common to all mankind. For men of letters and intellectuals travel has long been a source of knowledge. This was true, for instance, of Li Po,2 Montesquieu, Goethe and Basho¯, but examples are really too numerous to mention. There are many figures who have left their mark on history through their travels, like Strabo, Xuanzang,3 Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta,4 or adventurers of the period of the great voyages of exploration such as Magellan. There are not a few examples of the way in which discovery and research are linked in the context of travel, as was the case with the naturalist Charles Darwin, whose Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection would not have emerged but for the experiences gained from his voyage of discovery on the Beagle in 1831–32, or Alexander von Humboldt, the father of modern geography. The Grand Tour on which the sons of the English aristocracy embarked in the eighteenth century to culturally-advanced countries like France and Italy is not unrelated to this adage. But the idea of travel does not apply just to men. It is also relevant for the women known as ‘lady travellers’, or ‘Victorian lady travellers’ given that most of them were Englishwomen from the Victorian period (1837–1901). That these women xxvi

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are known and recognized stands out all the more as men far outstripped them in terms of numbers. This is a book about one particular woman, and her travels, who will surely always be at the back of the mind of anyone writing about the ‘lady traveller’ even when she is not the principal focus of their narrative. My research has been driven by a belief in a particular method that I call ‘scientific analysis’, employed over a period of nearly twenty-five years in order to provide as deep an insight as possible into the many facets of this woman and her travels, the outcome of which is her many books, lectures and photographs, and her activities in charity and social work in support of overseas evangelism. Then there is her connection with the world of geography, the province of the gentry which was the mainstay of the British Empire, her huge legacy, her extensive corpus of writings, her servant-interpreter ‘Ito’ (Ito¯ Tsurukichi Ժ㰔古 ਹ who accompanied her throughout, and the Brunton map of Japan she used on her journey.5 The woman in question is Isabella Lucy Bird (1831–1904). At the age of forty-nine, three years after her journey to Japan in 1878 (the 11th year of the Emperor Meiji’s reign) she married a doctor ten years younger than her, John F. Bishop, to become Mrs. J. F. Bishop. However, her husband fell ill and died five years later and because she was well-known by her maiden name, she continued to use the name Isabella Bird in her writings. She was of small stature about 4’ 9” (150 cm) tall and was no stranger to illness throughout her life. As we can see from her dates of birth and death, her life spanned the Victorian period almost exactly. This book is the result of my edited and translated ‘Isabella Bird – Far East Journeys 2’6 which incorporates ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – new edition with preface and photographs’,7 followed by the four-volume ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The Complete Translation’8 and ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The New Translation’.9 It examines in some detail the reality of her travels in Japan, and her account of them, and places them in the

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context of her other journeys, an assessment of which completes the picture of her life of travel. In Chapter 1 that follows, before actually introducing Isabella Bird, I explain my ‘scientific approach’ as this book would not serve its stated purpose if I did not do so. It is essential for setting her visit to Japan and her book about it in their proper perspective. And my research has also revealed some surprising facts.

Ɣ K.Mizutani Kanasaka M.Mori Mori M.Mori Kanasaka K.anasaka

Fig. 1 Routes taken by Isabella Bird and the regions visited during her travels from periods I–VI

Persia,

Periods

Fig. 2 Isabella Bird’s trip to Ezo (Hokkaido¯) in 1878 © K. Kanasaka, K. Mizutani. Reproduction is prohibited without permission

Fig. 3 Isabella Bird’s trip to the Kansai and Ise in 1878

Chapter 1

INTERPRETING BIRD’S TRAVELS AND UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN — A scientific study

When I said in my Preface that my research into Bird was done on scientific lines, this was not to suggest that I had been pedantic or doctrinaire, bandying words about and dispensing needless theories. No, I like to think that my approach was quite the opposite of that. Research into travel and travel books has changed greatly since the latter half of the 1970s, but the new era it can be said to have embarked on gained pace particularly in the 1980s when, taking its lead from E.W. Said,1 a multiplicity of modern ideas was embraced: these included orientalism and post colonialism, feminism, cultural studies, critical theory, gender study and discours.2 However, the view I take is that these methods actually do more to hide the meaning of past events, which makes appropriate research that clarifies them all the more necessary. This type of targeted research generally has a group of people rather than a particular person in mind. It tends, in other words, to go beyond the individual, and if the researcher introduces any element of individuality at all he will opt for random events that suit his agenda. But in Bird’s case too much would remain obscure if this form of assessment was adopted, as her activities were so varied and wide-ranging. Her many journeys were 1

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made over nearly half a century and took her to every continent apart from South America and the then-unexplored Antarctica. She wrote fourteen books about her travels, which take up seventeen actual volumes, and compiled two photographic collections to which, from my examination of the bibliography, some 150 pieces should be added from across a range of genres including hymns, Christianity, criticism, reportage, geographic descriptions and the like which were published in various journals and newspapers. And as if this was not enough, she also undertook charitable works and lecture tours. From this point of view, the benefits of focusing on a particular individual and examining his or her travels and books outside an academic framework are soon made obvious, as are the advantages of research that leads to conclusions different from those that have come to be accepted. I have maintained this independent standpoint throughout my own research on Bird since 1989 in what I call my Isabella Bird Study. Over a period of eleven years beginning in 2004, the year which marked the centenary of her death, I had the pleasure of presenting my ‘Twin Time Travel’ photographic exhibition, a then-and-now montage of the journeys she described and their modern equivalents, at fifteen places in four countries that have a connection with Bird. These took up nearly two-and-a-half years of my life but I always considered them an essential part of my Isabella Bird study. A Volume entitled In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird: Adventures in Twin Time Travel, comprising my collection of photographs with captions in Japanese and English, is essentially a compilation of these exhibitions in book form.3 The most important thing about a scientific study of the contents of Bird’s books is that it should not be based on the reader’s narrow or subjective view, but rather approached with an open mind as far as determining what the author was trying to put across. The fundamental point about a scientific review of a travel book, of course, is that it has to be based from the start on an understanding of the underlying journey itself, the people who made it, the places they travelled to, and the period when it

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3

took place. You might think, with justification, that this is no more than simply stating the obvious, but it is definitely not the case. Where Bird’s journey to Japan is concerned, I examine this point in detail, specifically with reference to ‘language’. But in making this study one has to bear in mind that Bird’s writings about Japan are, interestingly, not just of one but of three types, and therefore one needs to understand how this came about; this also has a bearing on the translations into Japanese that I refer to below. But first let me explain these points in more detail. The three original works and their Japanese translations

My own experience is that readers who know of Bird’s visit to Japan in 1878 mostly think of it as being from Nikko¯ to Hokkaido¯ via To¯hoku, the north-eastern part of Japan, and visiting Ainu villages; and this idea is certainly not confined to Japanese. Even among specialists, irrespective of their nationality, this notion was the predominant one, at least until recently, and there are still many people who hold to it. This is in spite of the fact that after she returned to Tokyo from her trip to Hokkaido¯ (referred to as Ezo in her book) she also toured the Kansai and went to the Ise Shrines, an essential part of her journey given that her objective was to understand ‘the real Japan’. Why then did this idea come about that her trip was just to Hokkaido¯? The answer to that is closely linked with there being two original editions, and it is no less significant that there is even a third one. After her visit to Japan, Bird went on a journey centred on the Malay Peninsula, and also went to the Sinai Peninsula, returning to England in the spring of the following year, 1879. In the autumn of 1880 a two-volume work was published by John Murray as the result of her Japan journey. This was Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, An Account of Travels in the Interior, Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrines of Nikkô and Isé, by Isabella L. Bird, in two volumes. This is the first of the originals. It is a hefty set totalling 819 pages and includes the visits to the

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Kansai and the Ise Shrines. I call this the ‘complete original’ or the ‘1880 first edition’. From the way I put it, the reader is probably wondering, correctly as it happens, whether the existence of another original might have led to the mistaken impression that her trip to Japan and her excursion to Hokkaido¯ are one and the same thing. This is Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, An Account of Travels in the Interior Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrine of Nikkô published in 1885, five years after the complete original. Its title is almost exactly the same as the 1880 complete original, as it merely lacks and Isé, but complicated deletions have been made and it has been cut to almost half the 1880 version’s length, with the trips to Kansai and the Ise Shrines wholly omitted. I refer to this as the ‘abridged original’. Why then was this second book published? Was it because the 1880 first edition did not sell? No, that was not the case at all, for when it was put on sale it attracted great acclaim and went into several editions. The answer is that, in the meantime the publisher, the third-generation John Murray, had put out a popular range of reasonably-priced books in which the two volumes of Isabella’s trips to Hawaii and the Rocky Mountains were already included and he wanted to publish a book about her Japan journey in this series as well. He therefore asked Bird to halve the content of the complete work and make cuts so that it would appear as a ‘tale of travel and adventure’ to attract new readers, and this sold out on publication. The removal of the map of Japan from this book was probably because it did not match with the text having been reduced to half that of the original. On the title page it has New Edition, Abridged. John Murray wanted it to serve as the record of Bird’s Japan trip and so gave it only a slightly smaller format than the complete original (it measures 93% of its height) and retained the same cover. At 7/6, less than a third of the 24/- price of the complete two-volume original, this book sold well as was Murray’s intention and ran into several editions. This can be seen from the copy that I have,

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5

dating from 1893, where the notation New Edition, Abridged has disappeared to be replaced by Fourth Edition. In 1905, the year after her death, it was published as a Popular Edition and later, in 1911, in the still lower-priced One Shilling series where the words Popular Edition were removed from the title page, as was September,1880 from the ISABELLA L. BIRD September, 1880 that concluded the Preface to the complete original. The latter had of course already disappeared from the list of publications by this time. This series of events entrenched the view that the abridged original was the record of Bird’s Japan journey and led to most of the numerous reissues produced from 1971 using that as their source book – though they were also published as light reading. Takanashi Kenkichi’s translation, called simply ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ and published in 1973 by Heibonsha in their Oriental Library Series, is one of these. It served to arouse interest in Japan in Bird and her travels but also gave rise to this significant misunderstanding.4 The third original is Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, A Record of Travels in the Interior, Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrines of Nikkô and Isé, by Mrs. J.F. Bishop, F.R.G.S. (Isabella L. Bird), New Edition, London, George Newnes, Limited, 1900. This brings out the fact that she used Japan periodically as her ‘base camp’ when she made her series of Far East journeys in the years from 1894 to 1897, and adds fourteen photographs taken on those occasions with a Preface for this edition. At the same time though it deletes the Glossary of Japanese Words for which actual English equivalents do not exist,5 and the Tables section of the Appendix.6 Then, in ‘A Chapter on Japanese Public Affairs’ at the end of her book, of its seventy-six paragraphs it retains the first seven that summarise the special characteristics of Japan as seen in her history and the final two that form the conclusion to the book as a whole but deletes the sixty-seven in between that deal with the special features of Japan’s then administration.7 This is a single-volume book of 483 pages, in large format with a compact type layout. In volume terms it compares favourably with the

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complete original, which is where its parentage clearly lies. I call this the ‘new original’ or the Newnes edition. Korea & Her Neighbours 8 and The Yangtze Valley and Beyond 9 were published in 1898 and 1899 respectively, but a book on Japan was also wanted, not just ones on Korea and China, and as a way of effecting this photographs were added to the original of twenty years earlier to give it a face-lift, and the publisher was changed to George Newnes. It recognises the place occupied by the 1880 first edition in that the title is virtually the same, the only difference being that Account has been changed to Record in the sub-title, which is no doubt to reflect the amendments made. These are the three original works. My ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – the Complete Translation’ uses the 1880 first edition as its source. Detailed notes accompany the translation and I have added a synopsis, commentary and an explanation of the map of Japan, in the belief that it is this complete original that shows Bird’s journey in its true form, and that it can only be properly understood if research-based notes are provided. ‘Complete’ means of course that my translation is wholly unabridged but also implies that it is based on scientific study. Then there is my ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – the New Translation’; this uses the abridged original as its source but it incorporates the results of the 1880 original-based ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – the Complete Translation’. This source is the same as that used by Takanashi Kenkichi in his translation but an increase in the number of pages from 385 to 537 illustrates the basic difference between the two books. My calling it the New Translation means that it is new in relation to the Takanashi translation in the same Heibonsha Oriental Library Series. To gauge this book’s significance, reference to its ‘Commentary’ is encouraged. There are other translations into Japanese apart from the one by Takanashi. Take for example ‘Bird’s Travels in Japan’ translated by Kusuya Shigetoshi, Hashimoto Kahoru and Miyazaki Michiko,10 ‘Isabella Bird’s ‘Untrodden Paths in Japan, A Complete

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7

Supplement’ translated with commentary by Takahata Miyoko 11 and ‘Isabella Bird’s Travels in Japan’, translated by Tokioka Keiko.12 The translation by Tokioka has used the 1880 first edition as its source. There are obvious omissions but it is of value for being the first Japanese translation to have gone to that source. The translation by Kusuya on the other hand, though it has used the same original as far as form goes, has in fact done no more than translate the part about Communications that was entirely deleted from the abridged original, and part of the Notes sections. And Takahata has only translated where the Communications section was deleted in part and not translated by Kusuya. This also applies to the Tokioka translation but here there are doubts over aspects of the style used. But were you to ask me whether I thought that Takanashi’s and the other translations have faithfully conveyed Bird’s original text into Japanese, my answer would have to be No. It is in large measure due to Bird’s powers of description that the reader feels instinctively that he has understood her. Here I am going to narrow things down to vocabulary, individual words, the most basic building blocks of a translation, and explain directly what I mean with a few examples. In doing this I am not criticising for criticism’s sake, as I think that it is a legitimate topic for discussion, but I would like to know that my basing this book on the results of my scientific study of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan is deemed appropriate. References below to, say, ‘Letter XLVIII’ mean Letter XLVIII in the 1880 first edition of Bird’s book, as discussed in my ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – the Complete Translation’. Bird’s vocabulary and the translation challenge

Takanashi and Tokioka translate what Bird’s text has as ‘hat’ for the headgear worn by farmers going about their business as ‘bo¯shi’ (ᖗᏊ),13 using the modern general term for an item worn on the head. Where Bird uses the phrase: ‘glazed peaked hats’ for ¯ tsu Festival what the men walking in front of the floats at the O

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have on their heads, Kusuya translates this by saying ‘glossy conical hats’ (ǹșȃǗȠኡᖒȃᑭᆀ) while Tokioka has ‘glossy pointed hats’ (ǹșȃǗȠǽȨǡȟᑭᆀ). But, correctly, the former is a ‘Sugegasa’ (㧵ㅐ) or a Manju¯gasa (併九ㅐ).14 The latter is ‘a hat with a gloss on it, pointed at the front’ (‫ݸ‬ȃቆǡǸ Ǵ‫⋒ݹ‬ȃǗȠㅐ) which is a ‘Jingasa’ (䲓ㅐ)15. Simply using the word ‘bo¯shi’ does not conjure up an image of the Meiji period, nor of the culture or traditions of Japan. The same can be said for the translations of the clothes worn by village women where just because the original has ‘trousers’ and ‘open shirt’16 Takanashi has used the general term for trousers, ‘zubon’(ɂɤɻ),17 and put ‘a shirt open at the chest’ while Tokioka has ‘zubon’ and ‘an open-fronted shirt’; these should be translated as ‘monpe’ (ȗȨȏ)18 and ‘juban’ (㾖㻒).19 Where the original has ‘a red blanket’ for the garment a rickshaw man winds round his legs, Kusuya puts ‘a cloth like a red blanket’ and Tokioka has ‘a red blanket’, the translation for which should be red ‘kyahan’ (㝊㍶).20/21 The ‘short petticoat’ translated by ‘short underskirt’ by Takanashi and as ‘short petticoat’ by Tokioka is a ‘koshimaki’ (㞠ᐫ)22/23. Then again, the ¯ tsu Festival, an event redolent with tradition, bearers at the O could not have been wearing ‘western clothing’ (according to Kusuya) or ‘a western-style suit’ (Tokioka), or a ‘tie’, which is what Kusuya and Tokioka have. What Bird has written is: ‘a European dress suit of black broadcloth’ and ‘a white necktie with long ends!!!’, in other words a ‘happi’ (⌅㻛), and the item looped round their necks is a ‘tenugui’ (᡻ᤝ) or Japanese handtowel.24/25/26 If what Bird has described as: ‘Two men in blue dresses, with pale blue over-garments resembling wings’ or ‘dressed in winged garments of blue and white’ is translated as ‘a light-blue winglike half-coat’ or ‘a blue and white half-coat’ (Takanashi) or ‘a blue-white wing-like outer garment’ and ‘a costume resembling wings of blue and white’ (Tokioka), then her account, valuable for its grasp of the solemn attire of the participants at a formal event such as a funeral, is wasted. The word ‘kamishimo’

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9

(⿤) should be used. At that period weddings and funerals had immeasurably more significance than they do today.27/28 The correct translation of words is a matter of equal importance where food is concerned. Where Bird uses the word ‘daikon’ (኱᰿)29 it is only in one out of nine cases that the word is used in the sense of ‘daikon’ as the plant, with the ‘sengiri daikon’ (༓ษࡾ኱᰿)30 and ‘daikon oroshi’ (኱᰿࠾ࢁࡋ)31 that accompany a ‘namasu’ (⮊) fish salad32 used once each, while in all other cases it is ‘takuan’ (ἑᗡ)33 that is being referred to, and in those cases that is how it should be translated. Nor does it accord with Bird having referred to its bad smell or method of preparation. From the way that Takahata, Kusuya and Tokioka have translated it one would not understand that ‘daikon’ smells (Letter XV. – (Concluded.); ‘Notes on Food and Cookery’; Letter XXII).34/35/36 Bird also addresses the subject of formal cuisine37 and is aware of the difference in food depending on class. In many Letters she includes notes on food and cookery but her intention is lost on the reader when for instance the fish whose scientific name is Serranus marginalis38 is translated as Sandfish39 by Kusuya or as Sea Bass40 by Tokioka. Having established by reference to the example in Lafcadio Hearn that Bird has used this scientific name to mean Sea Bream41 and not the original Grouper42 it has to be translated to show that what she is writing about is the Sea Bream soup43 which is made from it. Then among the treasures of the Sho¯so¯in (ṇ಴㝔) that Bird saw and listed, those she puts as ‘tortoise-shell “back-scratchers”’ are translated by Kusuya as ‘tortoise-shell hairpin (‘kanzashi’ ⡌)’ and by Tokioka as ‘back-scratcher (‘mago-no-te’Ꮮࡢᡭ) made of tortoiseshell’ but such objects would never be found among these treasures and the correct interpretation is ‘a priest’s staff (‘nyo-i’ ዴព) made of tortoiseshell’ (Letter LV), a Buddhist accoutrement in other words. Bird has put ‘back-scratchers’ in reference to their shape.44 The reason why it is necessary in translation to make allowances for what at first appear to be insignificant points is that while Bird dismissed the Sho¯so¯in as ‘the most

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drearily uncouth building that can be imagined’, she asked wistfully ‘What would we not give for such a collection made by Charlemagne or Alfred’ when she listed some twenty of its treasures.45 Considering how important her descriptions of the Ainu are for Bird’s journey and her book, the names of artefacts relating to their society should be put in Ainu as well as Japanese in any translation. Take the word ‘bowl’ for instance, which recurs frequently in Letters XLI46 and XLII and the latter’s continuations, which Takanashi and Tokioka just translate as ‘wan’ (᳐ , the common word for a bowl, though Takanashi does put ‘hai’ (┃ , but only once. But there are two types of what Bird has termed ‘bowl’, one being used for soup and other ingredients of the main meal and the other being a ‘sakazuki’ (ᮼ which is shaped like a bowl but is used for drink. The Ainu language clearly distinguishes between the two, calling the former ‘itanki’47 and the latter ‘tuki’. The translation must therefore be such as to make this understood. If this is not done then the precise meaning of the original text and Bird’s enthusiasm in wanting to tell of Ainu life and culture, to the extent that she made a list of Ainu words she had collected, does not come across.48 Moreover, in Letter XLII. – (Continued.) the reader would probably not understand what the objects described in the original as ‘twenty-four lacquered urns, or tea-chests, or seats, each standing two feet high on four small legs, shod with engraved or filigree brass’ are meant to be when translated, literally, by Takanashi as ‘there are twenty-four lacquered tubs, tea-chests and chairs, the chairs each being two feet high, the ends of whose four small feet are carved and covered with brass inlaid with filigree of silver and gold thread’ or by Tokioka, equally literally, as ‘there are twenty-four objects such as lacquered tubs, tea-chests and stools. They are each about two feet tall with four small legs attached and bound with filigree brass work’. We only understand what is meant when this passage is translated as ‘There are twenty-four lacquered ‘shintoko’ (in Ainu: ‘kemauspe’) with feet. This is a container, a ‘kemauspe’, two feet high,

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with four small legs (‘kema’) tipped with brass having a delicate decorative pattern, resembling either a tub or a tea-chest or a chair (behind which …. )’ and a note is added that a ‘shintoko’ is a cylindrical container used since the Heian period for conveying foodstuffs, in other words a ‘hokai’ (⾜ჾ . If the translation is along those lines we understand that these were important objects in the house of the chief Penriuk, too, where Bird stayed and plied him with questions in pursuit of her enquiries. In order to convey the notion of Ainu culture it is essential that the words are put in Ainu as well. Then if the valediction, one of the particular expressions used in the epistolary style, is translated as Takahata’s ‘I strike my head on the floor in obeisance and pay my most humble respects’ or Tokioka’s ‘I strike my head on the floor and offer you my most humble duty’, the reader will not appreciate that the distinctive nature of Bird’s journey is also apparent in her descriptions at this level of detail. The correct way of putting it is ‘tonshu, kyo¯ko¯ kingen’(㡻㤳ࠋᜍគㅽゝ) which equates to ‘most respectfully yours’.50 Bird has translated the meaning of the former directly into English which is ‘words used at the end of a letter to show respect for another, deriving from the idea of lowering the head until it is touching the ground as a respectful salutation’ and the latter ‘an expression of the greatest possible respect’ but in translation, bearing in mind that this is a common expression in Japanese, it is enough to use the six-character compound and add a translator’s note. It may be used only very seldom these days, but it is not a completely dead expression. Someone I know always uses ‘kyo¯ko¯ kingen’ (ᜍគㅽゝ) as their valediction, and there are also some who still put ‘tonshu’ (㡻㤳). The importance of place names

Then, on a point of geography, there is the question of whether the Westerner’s perception of the position of Niigata comes across if ‘western Japan’, as Bird puts it,51 is translated

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literally, as Takanashi’s ‘West Japan’ (㾯ᰕᵜ) for instance, or by Tokioka as ‘the western part of Japan’ (ᰕᵜȃ㾯䜘), I believe it does not. The translation has to be more specific by way, for instance, of ‘the west coast of Honshu¯’ (ᵜᐎ㾯የ) or ‘the Japan Sea-side of Japan’ (ᰕᵜ⎧‫)ڤ‬. Given the importance of place names in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan I will add a few words about the Tokyo place names that Bird introduces. First, the ‘1400 streets’ that Bird talks about in the opening sentence of her Notes on Tôkiyô,52 of which she says: ‘about two-thirds derive their names from natural objects’, are not streets in the sense of thoroughfares, as the word ‘to¯ri’ (㏻ࡾ) might convey, but have to be understood as referring basically to the many ‘machi’ (⏫) or blocks that cluster about each side of the ‘to¯ri’. This would then read ‘about two-thirds of the “tori” (or more correctly “machi”) of Tokyo that number some 1400 are associated with natural objects’. Bird just puts ‘street’ because this kind of localised grouping, known as ‘machi’ or ‘cho¯’ (⏫) in Japanese, does not exist in Europe or America where streets or roads even to the smallest alley all have their names and are units that indicate a place, and define limits in a Western sense, which is understandable in that context. The important thing is that the translator should produce a translation reflective of this. But past translators have not appreciated this point and have just translated the word as ‘to¯ri’, as they have with cities other than Tokyo. And that is not the only problem, for they completely ignore the fact that Bird is discussing place names that actually exist. For instance, the name ‘Mountain Breeze’ and the one said to be linked with ‘Table’ are translated by Kusuya as streets (‘to¯ri’) called ‘Valley Breeze, “tanikaze” (㇂㢼)’ and ‘Desk, “tsukue” (ᮘ)’ respectively while Tokioka translates them as ‘Mountain Wind, “yamakaze” (ᒣ㢼)’ and ‘Table, taku’ (༟)’ streets. But in the Tokyo of the time there were no ‘streets/to¯ri’ or ‘blocks/ machi’ called that. The components of the first name mean literally ‘mountain’ and ‘to blow’ and so it is not Valley Wind or Mountain Wind but

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the Japanese Rose ‘Yamabuki’ (ᒣ྿Kerria japonica) and is in fact a reference to UshigomeYamabuki-cho (∵㎸ᒣ྿⏫). In the second case, though Bird has in mind a Table as a piece of furniture, this is a mistake and the word is used in the topographical sense as in the Musashino Daichi or Tableland (Ṋⶶ㔝ྎᆅ) that we were taught about in our middle school geography lessons. So it must be translated as a ‘place-name associated with a “dai” (ྎ)’, a ‘height’ in other words. There were actually thirteen ‘machi’ or ‘cho¯’ with this ‘dai’ element, as follows. Mita Daimachi 1-cho¯me and 2-cho¯me (୕⏣ྎ⏫୍୎┠ࠊྠ஧୎┠), Mitadai-Uramachi / Takanawa Daimachi (୕⏣ྎ⿬⏫࣭㧗㍯ྎ⏫), Takanawa Nishi-Daimachi (㧗㍯すྎ⏫), Shirokane Daimachi 1-cho¯me and 2-cho¯me (ⓑ㔠ྎ⏫୍୎┠ࠊྠ஧୎┠) and Shinagawa Daimachi (ရᕝྎ⏫) in Shiba-ku (Ⱚ༊); Azabu Mikawa Daimachi (㯞ᕸ୕Ἑྎ⏫) in Azabu-ku (㯞ᕸ༊); Akasaka Daimachi (㉥ᆏྎ⏫) in Akasaka-ku (㉥ᆏ༊); Kohinata Daimachi (ᑠ᪥ ྥྎ⏫) and Sekiguchi Daimachi (㛵ཱྀྎ⏫) in Ushigome-ku (∵㎸༊) and finally Hongo¯ Daimachi (ᮏ㒓ྎ⏫) in Hongo¯-ku (ᮏ㒓༊). It needs a translator’s note, though, to explain that this is one of the features which sets Tokyo apart and enables the reader to appreciate the point Bird was making. In her Notes on Tôkiyô, Bird lists the basic meanings of more than fifty Chinese characters relating to its place names and these are important for showing what kind of place Tokyo is. If you add up the ‘machi’ names I listed in the notes to my translation, the number of related locations amounts to 280. This is 20% of the 1400 ‘machi’ Bird says there are, though in fact there are 1364 or 1366. She has provided information that enables us to see the present-day form of names associated with as many as 20% of the city’s ‘machi’, a fact that surprised me. But there is no way one could make the journey Bird made in 1878 by relying on information in the translations that have appeared up to now. I can accept that few people anticipated the need for such a thing, but it is still essential that place names that actually existed are translated properly.

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I have dealt with some of these questions in my explanatory notes and topics in ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The Complete Translation’. In an essay based on a lecture I gave to the Kyoto Circle for Toponymy a month after completing it I discussed these points systematically, my focal point being the basic element of language, the individual word. I hope you can find time to read it.53 One might have thought that there were no problems with the Takahata translation in relation to what I have written here, but that is definitely not the case. This is because, as already mentioned, the Takahata translation only covers a very small part of the complete original of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. I have assumed that there are no mistakes in the Takanashi or Kusuya translations, but I have already given some idea of the problems with these, so that assumption cannot be taken for granted. A translator has to be an interlocutor for a different culture. Especially when the original text is dealing with the translator’s own country the home-ground advantage must be made best use of and the principles behind interpreting the travelogues put into practice. Here I have confined myself to an assessment of language and words but though an accurate translation is important, it cannot be adequate in itself and fulfils just the minimum conditions necessary. For instance, the title of the final chapter of Bird’s book, ‘Japanese Public Affairs’ is put by Kusuya as ‘general facts about Japan’ and by Tokioka as ‘Japan’s present situation’, but it actually means ‘Japan’s national administration’.54 If the title is translated that way, then Bird’s intention that this chapter should be the one that defines the whole of her twovolume book is understandable. It is only when the meaning behind the words and phrases in the original text, and indeed the journey itself, have been examined from a historical standpoint that a translation that accords with my principles of interpretation of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan emerges; this is all part of the process of scientific study of the events of 1878.

Chapter 2

ISABELLA BIRD – A LIFE OF TRAVEL — We can now begin looking at Isabella Bird as a person. Her life revolved around her overseas journeys and so I have placed them centre-stage and categorised them into six periods. Periods I and II cover the time up to her visit to Japan in 1878, Japan takes up Period III and Periods IV to VI describe the journeys she made after Japan. I have divided up her career in this way because to get a proper feel for her trip to Japan, which to my mind is the pivotal point in her nearly fifty years of travel, an understanding of her life and the journeys she made before and after it is necessary. The map at Fig. 1 provides the background for these events. Bird’s Japan journey is the first one in Period III1 and the map shows that after her trip to Japan her travel horizon shifted towards Asia. Morocco occupies Period VI because in response to an invitation from Ernest Satow the plan had been for her to travel to China as well, as Satow had gone from being Minister Plenipotentiary in Japan to take up the same post in China in 1900, and Bird knew him from her time in Japan in 1878. Her health, however, did not allow all this and the result was that she just visited Morocco where Satow had been Minister. In the sense of it being in the Islamic sphere of influence, Morocco was an extension of her Central and Western Asia trips, and we should remember that after Japan her journeys played out in the great expanse of the non-Christian world, mainly in Asia.2 15

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This map is extremely important for my study of Isabella Bird. Many years of research and an immense amount of work lie behind my original drawing, and the finished map that the leading Japanese cartographers Mori Mitsutoshi (᳃୕⣖) and Mizutani Kazuhiko (Ỉ㇂୍ᙪ) have produced is a work of great originality which is relevant for this chapter too. Where the routes she took on her journeys are concerned, the effects of redrawing them on a very significant number of large-scale maps are suitably shown on this small-scale example that has been made from repeated applications of the map-making technique known as area generalisation, which is a process of reduction and assimilation. This means that it is not in any way an approximate representation. The sea routes are also based on English maps of the period and Bird’s articles in magazines. On a map in Letters to Henrietta3 for instance it looks as though she went to Australia via the Suez Canal, though the route was in fact via the Cape of Good Hope. In Chapter 1 I pointed out the importance of taking a scientific view of Bird’s travelogues but this is meaningless without the effort having been made to commit her journeys’ routes to map form. PART 1: FROM BIRTH TO BIRD’S PERIOD I JOURNEYS: CANADA AND AMERICA A clergyman’s daughter

Isabella Lucy Bird was born on 15 October 1831 in the North Yorkshire town of Boroughbridge. It was in the December of that year that Charles Darwin set out on his fiveyear voyage in HMS Beagle that was to result in his Theory of Evolution. It was also two years after Philipp Franz von Siebold4 was expelled from Japan where he had lived for six years. The year of her birth by the Japanese calendar was the second year of Tenpo¯ (ኳಖ1830–44) in the latter part of the Edo period. Her father Edward, after coming down from Cambridge, went to India and practised as a barrister but he lost his wife

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and young son there and returned home when his own health suffered. At the age of thirty-eight he took holy orders in the Church of England instead. Her mother Dora, a studious woman who taught at Sunday School, was the younger daughter of the late vicar of Boroughbridge, Marmaduke Lawson;5 she met Edward at his first curacy and they were married in 1830. The Lawsons were the leading family in the neighbouring town of Aldborough. The Birds belonged to the upper-middle class and churchmen ran in the family, their relations being John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester at the time,6 and his brother Charles Richard Sumner who was Bishop of Winchester.7 Their mother was a cousin of the evangelist William Wilberforce known for his campaign to abolish the slave trade and dismantle the slavery system and so the Bird and Wilberforce families were related. Edward Bird was strongly influenced by Wilberforce and this could have been the reason for his changing to the priesthood. He had in any case always been a man of deep religious conviction. But though John Sumner later rose to become Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward Bird was a stranger to high office. This may be partly due to his not having started his career in the church but he was also behind the times in a period of rapid social change, being imbued with the strict Sabbatarian belief that no work at all should be done on a Sunday and as can be imagined he was a man for whom his faith was his all – and Isabella inherited this trait. Thus it was that, first, at Maidenhead where he was posted in 1832, then at St. Alban’s in Tattenhall where he arrived in 1834 and worked for eight years, and finally at St. Thomas’s in Birmingham to which he moved in 1842, he came into conflict with his parishioners who were in favour of working on the Sabbath and his ministry foundered. He resigned and in the autumn of 1848, having recovered from illness contracted when he was moving to Eastbourne and then to London, he was gifted a living by the prosperous and

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virtuous Lady Olivia Sparrow8 in her neighbouring town of Wyton in Huntingdonshire.9 He served as rector at St. Margaret’s, the small parish church there, until his death ten years later. Bird’s home life and character

Despite his many problems and his failure as a clergyman neither Edward, nor his wife Dora, stinted themselves when it came to educating their two daughters, Isabella and her sister Henrietta who was three years younger than her, and instilling in them a zest for life. Though both were prone to illness, they were taken outdoors as much as possible and brought up to appreciate all manner of things they saw, including plants of which their father had a good knowledge. Through this education Isabella built up a wide store of knowledge including geography and history and learnt the skills needed to become a first-rate traveller, such as being able to make accurate observation and judgement of distances, and gauge areas and heights, by eye. She had already learnt how to ride at the age of four and this was of great use to her in later years. The education Bird’s parents gave their two daughters, the very delicate Isabella and her contrasting sister Henrietta, was designed to develop their personalities and strengths and, I believe, intended to instil in Isabella the resilience she would need if she was to be a traveller. The long annual trips they made as a family to the Highlands of Scotland and the Hebrides from 1850 were important as a prelude to Isabella’s travels overseas. For the Bird family with its strict Sabbatarian father it was not just scenic beauty but observation of the state of society that gave them pleasure. Isabella’s own interest in remote places became the cornerstone of her special qualities as a traveller. In the biography of Isabella that she wrote later at her request, Stoddart justifiably maintains that she was greatly

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influenced by her father, in contrast to her sister Henrietta on whom her mother’s influence was strong, though we cannot ignore the fact that she was born with a high degree of intellectual ability of her own.10 She was an early developer who had no time for children’s books and the story is told of her being enthralled at the age of seven by Archibald Allison’s History of Europe that was appearing at the time to much acclaim. Publication of this book started in 1833 and its ten volumes were completed in 1843. Her lively way of expressing herself and her acute social concern were splendid qualities for Bird as a traveller and at the age of seventeen she had already addressed the question of free trade versus protected trade and published a pamphlet that took a critical view of the former (1849). From the age of twenty she had had experience of travelling on her own and she published an account of her successful trip to Portsmouth, which served to cure her insomnia, in contributions to the family educational magazine The Leisure Hour11 put out by the Religious Tract Society.12 These she then compiled into a pamphlet (1854), the profits from the sale of which she donated to the West Highlands Relief Fund13 for poor families in the Highlands, in a gesture that showed her sensitivity to social conditions. Another thing we should not overlook is that she had a lifestyle that enabled her to maintain contact with the intellectuals and leading lights that her parents included among their relations. So Bird’s journeys that started immediately after these activities were not in fact solitary journeys, as they led to her forming numerous personal contacts with people of all ages, male or female, in what was really a practical extension of the kind of life her parents led. Bird’s Period I journeys: Canada and America

Bird’s overseas journeys started in 1854 when she was twentytwo. Her destination was eastern Canada and America, where

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the ties with England were closest and strongest. She embarked on this journey not because she had actually recovered from the operation she had had to have when she was eighteen, in 1850, to remove a tumour near her spine; instead, it was in order to restore her to health that her doctor had recommended to her parents that she should make it, even though it included an ocean crossing which was not without its own dangers. This kind of therapy was used at the time for that purpose and to overcome mental illness resulting from the stresses of everyday life. The journey began in June with her arrival at Halifax in Nova Scotia and was a strenuous affair ranging in the west from Rock Island on the left bank of the Mississippi to Prince Edward Island and Quebec in the north, and Cincinnati in the south. But it was not just for enjoyment of the scenery, nor was it a solitary journey. It was made to compare the particular social aspects of Canada and America with those of England and had built into it the support she had obtained from her father’s relations before setting out, and also from the leader of the House of Lords, the Prime Minister, and leading figures in religious and other circles; it was not something a young woman could have undertaken without assistance. Her fortitude as a traveller and her temperament (which included financial management ability when she brought back £10 of the £100 she had taken with her) were confirmed by the positive effect on her health that came from persisting with her journey, despite the dangers she sometimes encountered, and it obviously satisfied her vigour and energy. When she got back she set about compiling into book form the rich cache of materials she had by way of her diaries, and the letters kept by the members of her family. Her father had seen this ability in his elder daughter and it was his fond wish that it would result in a book. The outcome was The Englishwoman in America which John Murray published in January 1856. This was a frank account of her experiences on her seven-month journey, to which she added her own

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opinions, and it was well received in America and Canada where it was set. The travel author John Milford introduced Bird to John Murray III, a point worth emphasising for showing that personal connections are as effective at home as they are in the course of a journey. It was a major stroke of luck that her book should have been accepted by a first-rate English house, known for its publication of Darwin’s works, numerous travelogues and the series of travel guides known as Murray’s Hand-book.14 This relationship lasted for nearly forty years until Murray’s death in 1892 and continued even into the fourth generation. All her books gained Bird acclaim, and she was a most important asset for the firm. The second journey to America and her father’s death

In the early summer of 1857, the year after The Englishwoman in America was published, Bird went abroad once more. Her health had suffered again and here too her doctor recommended an overseas trip involving a sea voyage. But that was not the only reason, for there was a distinct purpose to it. Her father’s concern for the religious scene in America, where Religious Revivalism demanded that strict observance of the Sabbath and of the Christian faith be given new impetus, had been encouraged by Isabella’s earlier journey and it was in his place that she went to America for a second time to examine the situation. Her father’s trials as a clergyman had been familiar to her from an early age and she had taught as his assistant at Sunday school at the church in Birmingham from her early teenage years, and acted as his support, which made this journey almost a matter of duty for her. At the same time, though, her father’s problems were a major reason for inducing stress in Bird and damaging her health, and travel provided relief from her ills. It was with this in mind that her father sent her off on this journey.

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It was planned to last for six months but turned into nearly a year and the distance covered, though less than half that of the first journey, still turned out to be around 2,200 miles / 3,600 kilometres. It had to include the whole of the north, south and west of the country for her to be able to appreciate the state of Christianity in America, if it was to be based on her own experiences and observations. In contrast to England where a state religion was dominant, numerous sects and churches co-existed in the America of the day, sometimes with regional characteristics with a historical background. She went to the southern states of South Carolina and Georgia as her father, with his concern for slavery and its abolition, had entrusted her with enquiries about it and these were also closely connected with the situation pertaining to churches and Christianity. Special emphasis was placed on New England in her narrative because having inherited her father’s faith she was particularly interested in how Sunday worship was being observed. This made it all the harder to bear the depth of sorrow into which Isabella was plunged when the father who had been: ‘the principal source and inspiration for my life’s work’ contracted influenza on 3 April 1858, the very day of her return home, and died on 14 May. And so, though the north-western part of her journey had taken her across Lake Superior to the Hudson Bay Territory with its strong English connection, it was only right that as a first step she should add statistics to her father’s draft and have it printed and published as Some Account of the Great Religious Awakening now going on in the United States (London, Messrs. Seeley) in the month of his death, to which she added her own pamphlet entitled The Revival in America (London, James Nisbet and Co., 1858) and then wrote the series of nine articles in the Patriot that had been her father’s last wish. Her own traveloguestyle work on the other hand was just a ten-part series of brief reports published later, in 1860, in The Leisure Hour. Her nine serialised articles from the Patriot were then published in the

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summer of 1859 as The Aspects of Religion in the United States of America (London, Sampson, Low, Son, and Co.) Bird had attended sermons by no fewer than 130 churchmen, met politicians and famous men of letters like Longfellow and Emerson and taken part in an abolitionist convention in Boston, but even so the way in which she approached a complicated subject in The Aspects of Religion, setting out her thoughts in passionate terms, and concluding with an affirmation of her unshakeable belief in Christianity, leaves one astonished that a woman aged only twenty-five could have written something so forceful and full of character. Her three-week trip to Ireland just before the publication of this book was to do research on what is known even now as one of the greatest reform movements in the history of the church in Ireland, the Ulster Reform Movement. In 1861 she discussed American history from the War of Independence (1775–83) until just before the Civil War (1861–65) in The North British Review by introducing the six newest books on the subject. This timely and extended series of reviews served as a continuation of her comments about America’s future in the conclusion to The Aspects of Religion. Move to Scotland and her mother’s death

After her father died the family left the rectory at Wyton and spent the autumn in the West Highlands of Scotland and the winter in Edinburgh. This was not just because of their liking for Scotland. Isabella knew that there were people there who had the same ideas as she did in wanting to involve themselves in rescuing poor families, tenant farmers, in the Highlands, and Edinburgh was more convenient than the south of England for her to practise her charitable works among the crofters in the Hebrides. Edinburgh was also a broad-minded place where there was interplay with people of culture and a city that fuelled the traditional attitudes that were the life-blood of the Bird family.

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The Reverend G.D. Cullen,15 the first person she met in Edinburgh, had read her series of articles on the faith reform movement in America and he and Thomas Guthrie,16 Dr MacDonald and Dr W. Hanna17 who were involved in the Ragged Schools18 and social improvement in the city felt a strong rapport with Bird who, despite her small stature, had this strange ability to charm people with her penetrating insights, her open-heartedness and her concern for others. In the summer of 1860 when the family had settled in at Castle Terrace which, true to its name, looked onto Edinburgh Castle which was close by, she met Professor Blackie19 and his wife and the effect was the same. The professor and his wife kept up a long and close relationship with Isabella and her sister Henrietta. Going through the narrative of Anna Stoddart, who met Isabella when she was invited to the professor’s house and later became her biographer, we can see what kind of woman Isabella was at the time: The memory of a small, slight figure dressed in mourning is still vivid - of her white face shining between the black meshes of a knitted Shetland veil; of her great, observant eyes, flashing and smiling, but melancholy when she was silent; of her gentleness and the exquisite modesty of her manner; and, above all, of her soft and perfectly modulated voice, never betrayed into harshness or loudness, or even excitement, but so magnetic that all in the room were soon absorbed in listening to her.20

Stoddart then goes on to say that though she does not remember exactly what she talked about, she still retains the memory of Isabella’s way of speaking, choosing exactly the right words and emphasising important points with carefully-crafted sentences. I have read her work at length and can well understand what Stoddart meant. The range and power of expression that cultured people of the time had is amazing.

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Isabella, though sorely afflicted with illness, contributed many articles not just to The Leisure Hour as we have already seen, but to the same publisher’s The Sunday Magazine that Guthrie edited, and to Good Words and many other educational and religious family magazines, dealing among other things with hymns and Christianity from various periods and areas, and even the poor schools and the West Highlands. She became the core of the family in place of her late father but was even more than that in the way she developed her own penchant for forming relationships and putting them to use on the basis of her own experiences. This is exemplified by her home becoming a meeting place for intellectuals living in Edinburgh. Not to be forgotten is that she played a central part in the charitable activities to relocate the people of the Outer Hebrides. In the summer she moved to the port of Oban which was the embarkation point for the Outer Hebrides and by engaging in these activities and going round all the islands she may have been trying to put Edinburgh and its association with her illhealth behind her. In the spring of 1866 she headed abroad for the first time in eight years and made a short trip to Canada and this too was to visit sites where the emigrants she was concerned with had settled. It had been her habit since she was young to accompany her activities with writing about them and this she continued to do. In August that year, however, her mother died, the person who since the death of her father had been: ‘my one object in life’. With this the eight years they had spent in building their life in pastures new came to an end. Isabella was thirty-four and Henrietta thirty-one. There was nothing for the two of them to do but to drag themselves from this slough of despond and forge a new life for themselves. Bird’s attempts at slum improvement and serious illness

Following the death of her mother, Isabella took a different course from her sister who had moved to the Isle of Mull and

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having left Edinburgh she moved from place to place in the south of England, London, Tunbridge Wells, Farnham and so on, during which time she put together her account of her trip to the Outer Hebrides in 1860 and contributed it to five issues of The Leisure Hour. She returned to Edinburgh after six months and switched the focus of her concern from people emigrating from the Outer Hebrides, a movement that had achieved some success and attracted attention, to the question of the slum population in Edinburgh’s old town. In February 1869, her Notes on Old Edinburgh appeared in an issue of the series Odds and Ends that the local publisher Edmonston and Douglas published and she also engaged in practical activities aimed at finding a solution to this problem. This article drew on observations from her journeys as well as from her own experiences in life by pointing out that things were even worse than in the slums of New York, Quebec, London or Birmingham, and gave voice to the local enquiries she had made. There was also a connection between it and Dr Guthrie’s article on the Ragged Schools, and Dr Hanna wrote its Prefatory Note. We should also note that it corresponded to a lifestyle spanning two different worlds that Isabella had adopted on her journeys to Canada and America and kept to throughout her life, where one was what might be called normal while the other was of an entirely different complexion. The slums of the old town were only a mile or so from the new town where Isabella lived but represented a world that had no affinity with it. But now, unlike the health that her journeys to the other side of the world had brought her, these activities brought serious illness and suffering of a kind that she had not experienced before; she herself probably knew that the slums could not be cleared just by the kind of activities she was engaging in and she cannot have derived any sense of satisfaction from them. This situation continued for more than two years. Following the advice of Dr Moir she wore a steel corset when seated to help her spine that was not strong enough to support the weight

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of her head. On the diagnosis of her London specialist there were times when she also spent whole days in bed. But these remedies only served to exacerbate her symptoms. Her insomnia returned and she had a nervous breakdown which brought her both physical and mental suffering.

PART 2: PERIOD II AND III JOURNEYS: AUSTRALIA, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, ROCKY MOUNTAINS, JAPAN Start of Bird’s Period II journeys: Australia and New Zealand

Isabella set out in May 1872, the reason being that Dr Moir and Dr Grainger Stewart,21 who had succeeded him as her principal physician, had strongly recommended a trip the main component of which would be a sea voyage. After going to New York the journey was to consist of a tour of several ports in the Mediterranean. It was to be a short trip as she was worried about leaving her sister. But her condition had not improved by the time she reached New York and she cut her planned journey short in order to return home. The two doctors had advised her that she should regain her health by undertaking a sea voyage of some duration, effecting a complete change of circumstances and letting the atmosphere of the sea and mountains exert their influence. Dr Moir no doubt thought that this treatment was the only solution, as he knew of the dramatic effects that her two visits to America and Canada had had. But he was also aware that for the current relapse the effects of her stay in Oban in 1869, with his instructions to go out to sea and spend most of the day on a small boat, were temporary. Thus it was that Isabella left Edinburgh on 11 July 1872 headed for Australia. The person who made all the arrangements for her journey was Nathaniel Dunlop,22 a prominent figure in Glasgow’s shipping circles, who was hugely impressed by Isabella’s achievements and energy in the five years of her efforts in connection with the emigrations from the Outer Hebrides.

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This was the beginning of her Period II journeys and fourteen years had passed since her last trip of Period I. It was planned to last a lengthy eighteen months with a view to restoring her health from the effects of both sea and mountain air. For this reason it was probably intended that once she had visited Australia and New Zealand she would not return to England via the same route but extend it into a world tour by going to San Francisco via Hawaii, ending up on the east coast of the continent after a trip to the Rocky Mountains, and returning home by the Atlantic route. At Estes Park, the base for her Rocky Mountain trip, she wrote that it had been a long-held dream to visit there and that it was much more impressive than she had imagined it would be. The visit to Australia and New Zealand was the first part of this journey. But the nearly three-month voyage from Liverpool on the Ben Nevis was something less than enjoyable due to arguments with raised voices and coarse conversation and the unpleasantness of events on board. She aggravated her cold and had a serious relapse. Once in Australia she travelled round Victoria based on Melbourne taking in Ballarat and Geelong, but the climate was uncomfortable, the scenery indifferent, and she was not attracted by the social scene. Her health did not recover and she stayed for less than two months. At her next port of call, New Zealand, she concentrated on the South Island with its Scottish immigrants in mind; she moved around by ship and visited Otago and Canterbury but as it was midsummer it was not an agreeable affair. Her account of Australia appeared in eleven instalments in The Leisure Hour after she had published her Hawaiian travelogue but she wrote nothing about New Zealand. Due to their strong English connections the Australian and New Zealand visits had a certain continuity with her Period I journeys but unlike those they were not crowned with success. Hawaiian Islands

On 1 January 1873, Isabella set sail for Honolulu from Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island with a sense of under-fulfilment

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but on the following day she had a stroke of luck that enabled her to rediscover her mettle as a traveller. This chance event was important enough to make one wonder how her life would have developed without it. On that day the mail steamer Nevada making for Honolulu bound for San Francisco met with what her grizzled captain described as the most powerful hurricane for seventeen years. Isabella saw the storm out with calm composure and was convinced that this brush with danger served instead to restore her mental and physical health. In a letter she sent to Professor Blackie’s wife she described her happiness in emotional terms: ‘At last I am in love, and the old sea-god has so stolen my heart and penetrated my soul that I seriously feel that hereafter, though I must be elsewhere in body, I shall be with him in spirit!’ My two friends on board this ship have several times told me that I have imbibed the very spirit of the sea. It is to me like living in a new world, so free, so fresh, so vital, so careless, so unfettered, so full of interest that one grudges being asleep ….. .’23

After a voyage of twenty-five days during which a sense of camaraderie prevailed among the passengers from having overcome these dangers, this aged paddle-steamer made its grudging way into port at Hawaii on 25 January, which with its beauty and sense of repose that she had never seen or experienced before was a world that freed her completely from the mental and physical pain of the past nearly ten years. Reading her account of her time in what were then the Sandwich Islands that lasted until 7 August when she took ship from Honolulu to San Francisco,24 one gets a real sense of how enjoyable and stress-free it was and how animated Isabella continued to be. The Hawaiian Islands stretch for some 478 miles (770 kilometres) from east to west across the Pacific and Isabella’s complex movements as she went among them, made mainly by boat and on horseback and centred on the Island of Hawaii itself, impress one all the more with the physicality of her Hawaiian trip.

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The success of this journey was due entirely to Isabella’s compatibility for travel which led her to take an interest in everything she saw, from ferns and other tropical plants to volcanic activity and lava flows, and to her keen eye and narrative power, her accurate grasp of distances and heights and her insightful view of society. Having ridden from an early age she was able to adopt the style of horsemanship used by the women of Hawaii who rode astride the Mexican saddle, not side-saddle, and this was an essential factor in the success of the trip. Reminding one of the striking figure she presented on horseback was the cover of her book which became a great talking point as it was different from the English style (this was also her costume for her Rocky Mountains trip). This was an eventful and energetic trip that was a splendid all-round cure for her ills and one has to admit that her doctor’s diagnosis was fully borne out. But we should not see this journey merely as one that restored her to health from enjoyment of the full glory of Hawaii’s natural attributes. Its greatest appeal may lie in our being able to get a feel, by way of her finely-drawn descriptions and her sheer energy, for Hawaii’s natural features such as its richly-coloured vegetation and its active volcanoes blazing up into the night sky, which were brought all the more to life by the much-discussed frontispiece and other illustrations, and the praise that journals like Nature and The Spectator lavished on it. But we also need to note the following four points. The first is that as the trip unfolded she formed an association with many local people and particularly with those of influence. This was the same as on her previous journeys and, without that element, this one would not have succeeded. The list is a long one and includes Mrs Dexter, on the passenger manifest as Brigham,25 who travelled with her from Auckland; Miss Karpe26 who accompanied her on her trip to examine the volcanoes of the Island of Hawaii which she made at short notice on the recommendation of the wellknown pastor S. C. Damon and his wife,27 and Mr & Mrs

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Dexter; the Governor of the Island of Hawaii Luther Severance and his wife,28 who opened their house to her for her stay on that island and gave her much assistance; the senior missionaries Titus Coan29 and David Belden Lyman30 and their wives who told her of the progress of evangelisation on the island; Judge Samuel Austin and his wife Mary;31 and the Kauai politician W.H. Rice32 and Mrs. E.M. Sinclair,33 the owner of Niihau who lived on Kauai. We should also remember that she had an audience with Queen Emma and King Lunalilo. She went riding with the King who presented her with a poem. Isabella was by no means your ordinary anonymous traveller. Significant among all this activity was her being able to travel with the explorer and geologist W.L. Green who impressed her greatly and gave her self-confidence. He was born in London but lived in Honolulu and was an expert on Hawaiian volcanoes. He took her to two of these - Mauna Loa (13,680 ft. / 4,170 metres) and Mauna Kea (13,796 ft / 4,205 metres), both of them active. Their ascents were hazardous and her accounts are regarded as the most arresting part of her book on Hawaii, because she became only the second woman to have reached the summit of Mauna Loa. Two years after her visit Green became Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Hawaii.34 Isabella was also to have gone to Kauai with the wife of the Chief Justice she mentions, and was disappointed not to have been able to so; this was a reference to Charles Hastings Judd 35 who was an important figure in the reigns of three Kings, Kamehameha V,36 Lunalilo 37 and Kalakaua.38 The second point is that the Hawaii of the time was noted not just for its natural beauty but also for its political, religious and cultural aspects, and this forms the background to her travelogue – events such as the landing of James Cook on the Island of Hawaii in 1778, the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1795 by King Kamehameha and the unification of the Hawaiian Islands in 1810, the spread of Christianity started in 1820 by the overseas missionary society The American Board (of Com-

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missioners for Foreign Missions)39 and political pressure brought to bear from 1842 to 1843 by Britain and America, joined by France, in rivalry for the right to control Hawaii. In 1868 events had moved to the point where America had signed a treaty of friendship aimed at annexing the country. In 1866 Mark Twain, who was later propelled to fame worldwide as an author with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was sent to Hawaii where he spent four months and wrote a series of twenty-five articles entitled Hawaii Report. The reputation these attracted had a significant effect on the attention being paid to the territory. When the ship Isabella had taken from Auckland arrived at Honolulu, she writes that in the newspaper delivered to her by the pilot, there was his article about the accession of King Lunalilo. This second point shows too that her book is also in the nature of a topographical study. Isabella writes it in the form of letters that observe aspects of the changes in Hawaiian society brought about by the spread of Christianity and the effects of developing missionary activity on its cultural life. At the end she adds a chapter that summarises problems relating to the country’s government and administration, trade, revenue, economy, education and agriculture. There is also one chapter that encapsulates Hawaii’s history centred on the development of the kingdom with respect to its international relations. Her accurate account of the spread of religion by the missionaries of the American Board is especially important, because of the information that she obtained through having met many of them. Having been deleted from the second edition due to the criticism levelled at it, it is not known that in the first edition she also wrote about the Honolulu Missionary Society, in a section in Letter XXX, while an account of the work of Fr Damien with lepers was added to the second edition. There are also four articles on missionary activities. In this connection we may say that differing from other journeys this one – it was less than fifty years since the arrival of Christianity – is significant for being Bird’s first to a nonChristian country with its own long history and traditions.

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In Canada and America, and in Australia and New Zealand, there is a history of forerunner populations but Isabella was only vaguely aware of this and the trip to Hawaii can be separated from others on this point. Nor should it be overlooked that the book ends with the following passage: Those readers who have become interested in the Sandwich Islands through the foregoing Letters, will join me in the earnest wish that this people, which has advanced from heathenism and barbarism to Christianity and civilisation in the short space of a single generation, may enjoy peace and prosperity under King Kalakaua, that the extinction which threatens the nation may be averted, and that under a gracious Divine Providence, Hawaii may still remain the inheritance of the Hawaiians.

The third point to be noted is linked to this statement and concerns King Kalakaua who had embarked on a world tour in 1881. He met Isabella and her husband John in Edinburgh and lunched with them, when he presented her with the medal of merit and peerage of the Order of Kapiolani. And in April the following year he gave her a certificate attesting to this. The Charles Judd mentioned earlier was in the King’s party and it was through his arrangements that this visit took place, probably because Kalakaua was grateful that Bird’s well-received book and its final sentence just quoted had provided publicity for the Kingdom of Hawaii, an opinion which Judd shared. This makes for a plausible connection. But despite Isabella’s prayers, sixteen years later in 1891 Kalakaua died and the kingdom was annexed by the United States in 1898. Her concluding paragraph is, therefore, also important in the sense that it relates to the history of the Hawaiian kingdom. The fourth point is that there are clearly similarities with the 1880 first edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, not just in the conclusion of the book but in the method and structure of its whole

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narrative, and its use of illustrations which she had not used in her books before. Bird’s Hawaiian journey and the book she wrote about it are, in my view, extremely important for setting the pattern for her subsequent trip to Japan, and the successful way in which the latter’s outcome was recorded in the complete original of Unbeaten Tracks. This is something I will discuss later. Rocky Mountains

What kind of journey was the one to the Rocky Mountains that now followed? We can point to six features in particular. The first of these is that it rounded off her eighteen-month journey that had started in Australia and in the sense that it was took place in the natural surroundings of the North American continent was similar to her visit to Hawaii, the influence of whose sea and mountain air had enabled Isabella to recover her health and even instil a new strength in her. There were now areas that could be easily accessed by the fastest and newest means of transport, the Transcontinental Railroad,40 but these were outside Isabella’s sphere of interest. On 7 August 1873, she left Honolulu on the ten-day voyage to San Francisco, took the Central Pacific Railway from Oakland on the other side of the bay to Truckee and judging from the fact that she arrived on or just before 2 September on horseback at Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains, her stay in San Francisco was one of some ten days. While there she had some photographs taken at a photo-studio (see the Plate Section facing p.108) but she makes almost no reference to the city, though it was developing fast because of the Gold Rush and on the way to becoming the most important city on the Pacific coast; but given her nature and the way she operated in the places she visited it is hard to imagine that she did not employ her time profitably there. She did, however, give a detailed description of her trip to Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains because it had a similar quality to the Rockies and gave her a foretaste of her journey there.

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The second feature concerns her having secured ‘my home’, which she even called her ‘sanatorium’, in Estes Park in the Rockies. This she made her base on this trip, living among people whose origins were in England or Ireland, Caucasians who, like her, were incomers. This was different from her previous journeys where she was always changing where she stayed and was a style she employed on several of her subsequent journeys. The title of her book A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains that resulted, published in London by John Murray in 1879, nicely describes this feature of the trip. There is a translation into Japanese by Onozaki Akihiro entitled ‘On Foot through the Rocky Mountains’ from the Heibonsha Library in 1997 though ‘An Englishwoman’s Stay in the Rocky Mountains’ would have been a more appropriate title.41 We should also note that in comparison to the length of her stay there, she ranged over only a short distance away from Estes Park. The third feature is that there is almost no sign of her wanting to give us her view of the landscape through which she was travelling even though here too, after Hawaii, she found the kind of ‘back-country’ in which topographical details were beginning to attract her attention. She passed her days in total freedom, made many journeys on horseback, climbed Long’s Peak (14,259 ft / 4,345 m) and reached the continental divide that splits the American continent into east and west. She delighted in experiencing the great outdoors on this journey which further distilled the spirit of adventure and defiance of high altitudes that had characterised her Hawaii journey and in her travelogue references to the topographical aspects are sparse. In this sense this trip stands out from the others in her half-century of travel, in singling out her personal interests. But even given the nature of this trip Isabella made suitable arrangements in advance to ensure that it would go well and made use of personal contacts she had formed previously. This fourth feature is apparent from an analysis of what she herself rather nonchalantly wrote. In her Letter III that she wrote at Cheyenne immediately before going into the Colorado Territory Isabella said:

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I have found at the post-office here a circular letter of recommendation from ex-Governor Hunt, procured by Miss Kingsley’s kindness, and another equally valuable one of “authentication” and recommendation from Mr. Bowles, of the Springfield Republican, whose name is a household word in all the West.

The ex-Governor Hunt she refers to was A.C. Hunt,42 formerly Governor of the Colorado Territory and Mr Bowles was Samuel Bowles III who was the president of a large newspaper company in Springfield, Massachusetts. Isabella made her preparations on the assumption that it would be known in the areas she was travelling in that she was a person guaranteed by the highest authorities and immediately before going into the Colorado Territory she went to post offices to make sure that these preparations had gone well; it was on this basis that she ventured into the Rocky Mountains. She wrote that it might be thought reckless to go into Colorado with just these preparations but her readers would be aware that this was simply her way of speaking, and that these were in fact concrete measures. As she herself put it: ‘Armed with these (letters), I shall plunge boldly into Colorado.’ By the time her stay in the Rocky Mountains had lasted for nearly two months Isabella had already visited the great continental divide on her own and her plan for this journey was as Governor Hunt had laid out. This being so, Hunt had not only shown her the route on paper but had probably already enlisted the aid of local people by the time of Isabella’s arrival which he incorporated in these plans. In fact, according to Isabella’s narrative, had it not been for the assistance of the local people this journey would never have come about. As Kay Chubbuck points out, the person who introduced Isabella to Governor Hunt was Rose Georgina Kingsley, the eldest daughter of the English author and renowned Adventist clergyman George Kingsley. Rose is generally taken to be the famous woman traveller Mary Kingsley, but this is a mistake, for at the time Mary was only ten years old. The jointly-authored

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South by West: or, Winter in the Rocky Mountains and Spring in Mexico (Rose Georgina Kingsley and Charles Kingsley, London, W. Isbister & Co., 1874) was published after Isabella’s trip but as Rose’s younger brother was connected with development in Colorado Springs she had already visited Colorado in 1871, and this was something Isabella knew about. As far as Bowles is concerned, it seems from what Isabella wrote that the trouble he went to for her was at her own request. She had probably read his two travel books published in 1869 and favourably reviewed in the London press, and was attracted by his descriptions of the area west of the Mississippi to the Pacific coast that she had not yet visited. This applied particularly to the Rocky Mountains, with the superb freshness of the air there being one of Colorado’s particular drawing points, and she sought and received his help, having perhaps met him and made his acquaintance when she visited America in 1854 and 1857–58. The two volumes in question are The Switzerland of America: A Summer Vacation in the Parks and Mountains of Colorado (Springfield, Samuel Bowles & Co., New York, The American News Co., Boston, Lee & Shepard, 1869) and Across the Continent: A Stage Ride over the Plains to the Rocky Mountains, the Mormons, and the Pacific States, in the Summer of 1865, with Speaker Colfax (Springfield, Samuel Bowles, 1869). It is natural that Isabella, hurting deep-down in her mind and body, should want to visit the world portrayed in these travel books, brimming as they were with episodes she was eager to experience, particularly as the opening of the transcontinental railway in 1869 had made Colorado, the ‘American Switzerland’, easy to visit up as far as the mountain region. To improve his health damaged by overwork was also the reason for Bowles making the journey. It is clear from all this that Isabella was making this journey as somebody whose name was known. She featured in the Denver News and I think my understanding of her ‘notoriety’ is borne out by her writing that her spirits were raised when she found, from the questions put by habitués of a bar, that her reputation had preceded her.

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The sixth and last feature is her meeting with the Canadian-born Irishman Jim Nugent, an idiosyncratic outlaw who went by the name of ‘Rocky Mountain Jim’. Her journey in the Rocky Mountains centred round her excursions with him, starting with the ascent of Long’s Peak which she could not have made without his help, and her love for and parting from him. Isabella’s account of their conversations is of two people mutually attracted and tells us that there was a romantic side to this journey, which reveals a personal charm lacking in her other travel books. But on this last feature I think we should not ignore the fact that the circumstances of Isabella’s contact with the many people she met, including Jim, are only convincing if predicated on her having been introduced as a person of note. She bid farewell to her home at Estes Park and the Rockies, and parted from Jim and his repeated ‘I shall see you again’ and ‘I must see you again’ (according to Stoddart) at Namaqua on about 10 December. From there she went first by stage-coach to Greeley and then from Cheyenne in the south-east corner of Wyoming to the terminus of the Union Pacific Railway at Omaha. She then travelled to New York on a different railway, where she spent Christmas before returning to Liverpool. It took eight days to travel between those two ports in those days and so her return was at the beginning of January 1874. She had left Edinburgh on 11 July 1872 and so these Period II journeys had taken eighteen months, more or less according to plan. It turned out to have been an extremely successful journey. Back home from her Period II journeys

After her return home she busied herself completely differently from before she had set out. She had written a confident letter to John Murray III just before her departure from the Rocky Mountains with suggestions for books and she set about working on these, not forgetting his views on them. She also travelled

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to Oban, Tobermory, London, Houghton and Salisbury and spent a pleasant time visiting old friends. But at the end of July 1874 tragedy overtook her. Just as she was about to leave for Switzerland where she was to spend the summer she heard the sad news that Jim Nugent had been shot in Estes Park by Griff Evans, whom she also knew well from her time there. This was a cruel blow for two reasons, first because Switzerland was a country that put her in mind of Colorado, the ‘American Switzerland’, and second because Estes Park held fond memories for her. At her hotel in Interlaken she had a strange experience when Jim, as if to make good on the farewell promise he had made at Namaqua, appeared in her room in trapper’s dress, bowed low to her and quickly disappeared (Stoddart, p.84). This happened seventy-one days after Jim had been shot and she talked about it to several doctors and to John Murray and his wife. It was taken up in a specialist book on spiritualism that appeared in 188643 and though the idea that Jim appeared to her as he drew his last breath can be discounted, I believe that it attests to how severe a shock it was for Isabella for whom the echoes of her trip to the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop to her meeting with Jim had not yet died away. It was only after some six months, in the spring of the following year, 1875, that Isabella regained her spirits. In February, three months later than planned, the record of her Hawaiian trip was published by John Murray, eighteen years after her last book had been published by that firm, and was greeted with a storm of enthusiasm not just by the reading public but by the natural science community as well. Reviews continued to appear until the end of the year and this book established Isabella’s position as a first-rank travel writer. It was important too that reports confirming the accuracy of her narrative should have come from Hawaii itself. The reason was that though the keen powers of observation she had had from a young age made for immediacy of expression in writing, this travelogue was the first to give full rein to her descriptions, not just of a society and the people in it, but of the splendour of nature as seen in its plants and volcanic activity.

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This proved to be a shot-in-the-arm for Isabella and she recovered her spirits to resume an energetic schedule. When she visited Glen Affric in the West Highlands with her sister she made a microscopic examination of lichens and cryptogamic plants. This, one assumes, was prompted by the interest in plants her father had given her which had advanced a stage to include tropical plants; these she collected and took home with her for her cousin Professor Lawson to identify. She also attended lectures at the Edinburgh botanical gardens on histology and entertained scholars from America and Canada. Then she also proof-read a book by Constance Gordon-Cumming, a woman traveller from a prosperous Scottish family, who was six years her junior and known for her skills as a painter. This last fact is worthy of note and not just as an example of the importance for Isabella of her ties with people. The book in question, From the Hebrides to the Himalayas: A Sketch of Eighteen Months’ Wandering in Western Isles and Eastern Highlands,44 was large and fully four times the weight of her own works produced to date which, amazingly, Isabella completely proof-read and revised on her own! She did this in spite of never been to the Himalayas though she knew the Hebrides intimately. And then, in the course of her work on the book, she had to take the heavy, unwieldy galley proofs (the book probably weighed 4 lbs / 1.85 kg) to London, then down to Tunbridge Wells and then back to London (Stoddart, p.89). The book was published in 1876 and at the beginning there is a publisher’s note of thanks to Isabella acknowledging the work she had had to undertake, as Gordon-Cumming was unavoidably away from England, but there is nothing about the circumstances of her absence or where she had gone. From other records though we know that Gordon-Cumming had gone in March of that year to the Pacific islands as a member of a Fiji Islands expedition and that she only returned five years later. It is understandable that she could not wait until she got back but it is strange that she should not have proof-read this, her first

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work, herself. There is actually an interesting fact behind the help Isabella gave her, of which more later. In January 1876, she had a long bout of serious chest pains but in addition to continuing her writing and research she again involved herself in the urban problems in Edinburgh that she had tackled seven years earlier without result. This exhausted her, though this time she achieved a degree of success. She was able to act alongside Lady Middleton whose acquaintance she had made in 1870 on her trip to Wester Ross on the northwest edge of the West Highlands and this was later to have great significance in relation to her trip to Japan. It was also on this visit to Wester Ross that she had first met Gordon-Cumming. In the summer she went with her sister to Iona, the holy isle to the southwest of Mull, where she stayed for a month and wrote an article on her Australia trip for The Leisure Hour. This was carried in the issues for 26 August and 9 September. But this was an account of life aboard ship on the way to Australia. She only got down in earnest to the travelogue focusing on the State of Victoria that winter, at her home in Edinburgh. In 1877, partly out of admiration for the heroic exploits of the famed missionary and explorer Dr. Livingston, she joined her sister in lending her energetic support to activities to found a ‘National Livingston Memorial’ college in Edinburgh especially to train medical missionaries and nurses for India and Africa,45 and became a member of the committee alongside leading lights and the Dr. Bishop who was later to become her husband. This bore its first fruit in a bazaar that was held in the middle of December, which was a great success. The Bazaar Guide written by Isabella sold 2000 copies and in the letter she wrote saying that the news-sheet Bazaar Gazette edited by Henrietta and printed each day had immediately sold out, her satisfaction is more than evident.46 That autumn, at the request of its editor, she set about rewriting her diary-format correspondence with a view to serialising her Rocky Mountains travelogue in The Leisure Hour. Once

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she had got down to writing it, her Australian travelogue then appeared there in nine instalments from the 20 January to the 30 June 1877 issues. Judging from this and from Stoddart’s telling us that in the spring she ‘put aside her writing’ to concentrate on her Livingstone activities, she had probably already had this request from her publisher since that time but had only got round to dealing with it that autumn. In fact, there were circumstances that brooked of no delay, even more so on Isabella’s side than at her publisher’s. Plans for another overseas trip had been settled and once she had gone things would be delayed for at least a year or more and this was something she wished to avoid at all costs. When she first got back to England she thought that she might put the accounts of her Hawaiian and Rocky Mountains journeys into one book, but abandoned the idea in view of John Murray III’s view on the matter – it might perhaps be assumed that she wanted to show Jim Nugent the account of her Rockies trip as early as possible. The sheer extent of the energy she put into rewriting the letters that she had written in diary form in Colorado may be gauged by her probably having handed over all the scripts for the seventeen instalments that would take her up to the 14 December issue, at the same time as she delivered the text of the first letter that was to appear in the 12 January 1878 number. The reasons for thinking that this was the case are, first, that if one compares the travelogues published in the five months after her return and the articles in The Leisure Hour, it is clear that the copper-plate illustrations in the magazine articles have only parts removed, and been subject to some trimming, while the text is hardly altered at all from the letters in her books. Then again, no later than January 1878, Isabella’s thoughts were already fully occupied with the prospect of visiting ‘a certain country’ on what would be her first journey overseas for four years. Preparations for this were being made in February and Dr Macgregor offered a prayer in St Cuthbert’s church that

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the trip would be in the company of God, after which a large party was held. Everything had been put in place by Sunday 31 March and she set out on 1 April (Stoddart, p.101). These facts all show that Isabella had completed her account of her Rocky Mountains trip before the turn of the year. Letters from the Rocky Mountains that featured in the New Year’s issue of The Leisure Hour had reached Letter V by the time of her departure and it is of note that though she was aware that they attracted a great deal of interest with calls for the book to be published, publication was to be postponed until after her return at her own bidding (Stoddart). Leaving aside the question of whether she anticipated that the last of the instalments in that magazine would appear in the 14 December number, a mere four days before she departed for ‘that certain country’, there is no mistaking the fact that in the knowledge that the articles were being serialised in her home country she was reliving the Rocky Mountains journey that was replete with memories for her, and vigorously pursuing in ‘that country’ a journey that torrential rains had invested with the scent of danger. It is very possible that she was thinking fondly of Jim Nugent all the time she was on her travels. This is my assumption, based on the more than twenty years of research and translation I have been doing, during which I have, as it were, built up a daily correspondence with Isabella. She had met John Bishop in 1875 through her sister and got to know him closely via her Livingstone works but when he proposed marriage to her she did not formally accept, despite knowing of his ardour and upright character and one might speculate that in addition to being sensible of her sister Henrietta’s feelings for John, she regarded him as being indispensible for Henrietta, both as a doctor and in a sense her replacement while she was away; but there was also the matter of Jim Nugent. Where then was that journey going to be, that was going to cause her to be absent? The answer is Japan! It was the beginning of her Period III journeys.

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Background to planning the Japan trip

In the winter of 1877, Isabella’s doctor, Grainger Stewart, recommended that she travel abroad and according to Stoddart she first planned to go to the Andes and to Japan. The idea to go to South America and the Andes was based on the success of her trip to the Rocky Mountains and she was thinking of her adventurous journeys on horseback and the success she had had in taking on high altitudes. But when she wrote to Darwin through John Murray III, the publisher of his Voyage of the Beagle, as the most suitable person to give advice, this plan was not supported. From his own experiences he judged that a woman would not be able to make such a trip. It deserves special mention that this assessment by Darwin served to steer Isabella the traveller in a different direction. If she had proceeded according to plan the trip to the Andes was projected to have come first followed by that to Japan, in which case it would have been quite impossible for the trip to Hokkaido¯ to have taken place, and this was something she had set her heart on. Nor is it likely that with Japan as the catalyst her travels would then have broadened out to take in the Asian continent and attain for her a reputation as a traveller of the first rank. But why, I wonder, did Isabella plan a trip to Japan? On this point Stoddart writes that though the demise of the Shogunate meant that the old order was changing, traditional customs still remained and Isabella harboured an interest in this old world, existing as it did in a constantly fluid state as it absorbed the West’s influence. She also writes that Isabella thought there would never be another opportunity to be an observer of a period of change that was happening faster than anything else on a national scale in recorded history since Roman days. Furthermore, she wrote that from the start Isabella also thought that rather than spending time in the capital and other large cities she would go into the interior to make as much contact as possible with the old Japan. But on the other hand, at the opening of the Preface to her travelogue Isabella herself writes that:

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I decided to visit Japan, attracted less by the reputed excellence of its climate, than by the certainty that it possessed in an especial degree those sources of novel and sustained interest, which conduce so essentially to the enjoyment and restoration of a solitary health-seeker. The climate disappointed me, but though I found the country a study rather than a rapture, its interest exceeded my largest expectations.47

From these statements by Stoddart and Bird we learn the following. First, this journey, too, was on the recommendation of her doctors but in contrast to her Period II journeys where the most important objective was to effect change from contact with sea and mountain air, the aim of the journey to Japan was different. In fact, Isabella writes that ‘the climate disappointed me’ but it can be inferred from her certainly having read Sir Rutherford Alcock’s The Capital of the Tycoon: A Narrative of Three Years’ Residence in Japan,48 if nothing else, that before setting out she will already have known that this would be the case. The aim of the trip to Japan was to clarify the reasons why concepts deriving from the old Japan remained even while the country was undergoing change by accepting ideas originating in the West, and this was to be done by travelling in the ‘interior’ where these customs would arguably be more firmly entrenched. Her saying that ‘though I found the country a study rather than a rapture, its interest exceeded my largest expectations’ demonstrates this. In this sense, what Stoddart writes is extremely important. But no matter how intelligent or erudite Isabella was, or how great an interest there was towards Japan in England, and however much Isabella’s interest extended to ‘wildernesses’ in their various regional forms, we need to step back. For it is hardly likely that when she first had the idea of her Japan trip, if her previous destinations and interests are any guide that is, she was fully aware of how to rate the importance of Japan’s transformation in world historical terms, or had a clear travel plan. The reason being that Japan, a Far East country, was completely

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unconnected with the journeys she had made up to then and occupied a different world. Thus, what Stoddart writes cannot all have been in Isabella’s mind alone. These were matters of great concern for Sir Harry Parkes who had succeeded Sir Rutherford Alcock as Minister and been at the helm of the British Legation, the British Government’s representation in Japan, since 1865, the first year of the reign of Keio¯ (៞ᛂ1865–68). My view, therefore, is that he conceived the idea of getting Isabella to make a journey to find out why features of the old regime lingered on and what the present position was, and to this end he approached Bird’s acquaintance Lady Middleton via the Duke of Argyll and put the proposition to her that way. This is a theory that nobody had thought of before and I deliberately did not write about it in ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The Complete Translation’. Despite the space constraints of this book I have taken great care in writing about Isabella’s way of thinking and her interests, as well as the features of her various journeys, because I consider it necessary to explain this theory and the true intention behind Isabella’s trip to Japan. Here, I mention five points of interest relating to it. The first is that Stoddart writes that Lady Middleton’s taking the trouble to introduce her to Sir Harry and Lady Parkes was for Isabella’s benefit. This statement should not be taken at face value, though, but seen in the context of Parkes’s aims as outlined above, and his having decided that only Isabella could act as an observer of the singular changes Japan was going through, to achieve which he approached Lady Middleton via the Duke of Argyll. The background to this is that strong demands were being made of the Japanese government to allow ordinary foreigners free movement, hitherto very severely restricted,49 and Parkes was at the centre of the serious war of words that the Western countries were engaged in with Foreign Minister Terashima Munenori (ᑎᓥ᐀๎) to bring this about. Once a solution of sorts had been reached in 1875 he thought that Britain

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needed to determine what the actual situation was in all its areas and whether it was in fact safe to travel in Japan, and this could only be done through travel itself. As I mention later, America, Germany and France had already received special permission from Terashima to make journeys for specific purposes. I believe that the intention was to have placed on record the decision that the person in question most suited to the task was Isabella Bird, a middle-aged lady of short stature and the author of a Hawaiian travelogue that had been published in 1875 to great acclaim in England. The similarities in the composition of her Hawaiian and Japanese journeys that I touched on earlier, and the fact that Isabella herself intended this to be the case, are borne out by her letter to John Murray of 20 February 1880, and what I have just said also supports this theory. There is no direct evidence that Parkes read her book on Hawaii but judging by the fact that he was an avid reader and collector of information, and absorbed the contents of newspapers and magazines from England as part of his duties, it is hard to imagine that he did not know of Isabella. Moreover, Hawaii was a country that had already attracted the attention of Britain as much as America. Queen Emma was a fervent disciple of the Anglican Church, and there were many Britons in Hawaii who formed an important group of residents. Secondly, I think that in addition to the title of her Japan travelogue being based on an idea of his,50 Parkes was aware not just of the title of his predecessor Alcock’s magnum opus The Tycoon’s Capital but knew of his time in Japan and the journeys it was based on. He now intended that another journey should be made, and a record of it published, to examine Japan in all its aspects in the period since Alcock’s book was published. This too is discussed later. The third point is most interesting as it may be inferred that Constance Gordon-Cumming, who gave Isabella the task of proof-reading and revising her great work and then left on a trip to the Pacific in March 1875, was scheduled to visit Japan to coincide with Isabella’s being there, and this meeting did in fact take place.

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In addition, not only was she acquainted with Lady Middleton who was the intermediary between Parkes and Isabella, she was also the aunt of Eliza Gordon-Cumming, the wife of one of Lady Middleton’s sons, Digby, and to cap it all she was related to the Duke of Argyll. The fourth point is more directly important. This is the word that Isabella and Stoddart put in English as ‘interior’ in their books. If one just reads Stoddart’s account it could, it is true, be interpreted as ‘interior’ in the sense of the ‘back country’ but it has in fact to be taken to mean anything outside the 25-mile (40km) limit of foreigners’ free movement from the open ports and open cities, in other words wherever the ordinary foreigner was prohibited from entering without a travel permit. This is all the more important when it is Parkes using the word ‘interior’ in English because it was the term of most concern for all foreign countries, and particularly as Parkes was heading the negotiations with the Japanese government. This is the sense in which the word ‘interior’ is used in the sub-title to Isabella’s original work and unless one is properly aware of this her Japan journey and Unbeaten Tracks in Japan cannot be correctly understood. Before me nobody at all, neither translators nor British or American biographers or researchers of ethnography or English literature in Japan who use these works as their study material, has appreciated this point and I took that as my starting point when translating my ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The Complete Translation’. My fifth point is that in this book I have shown how since the time of her first journey she was not a woman who undertook travel in a haphazard way or was swayed simply by personal considerations, but made full use of the capacity for travel that she had fostered from her girlhood; she set about complicated journeys with a set aim to them, in a way that developed her delicate social conscience. In a word, her journey to Japan was the distillate of all that she had gleaned from her previous journeys. Next I will give a very brief explanation of the Japan trip itself, to act as a bridge to where I discuss it later in Chapter 3.

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Preparing for Japan: Bird’s Period III journeys

Isabella left Edinburgh on 1 April 1878 and having arrived at San Francisco by way of New York, Chicago and Cheyenne on the trans-continental railway, the same route but in the opposite direction from when she made her visit to the Rocky Mountains, she took the S.S. City of Tokio to Yokohama. She arrived there on 20 May. She stayed in Japan for a full seven months before leaving for Hong Kong on the S.S. Volga on 19 December. Broadly speaking she made two journeys in Japan, one to Hokkaido¯ and the other to the Kansai and the Ise Shrines, and stayed in Tokyo in between. It is not at all apparent from the abridged edition of Unbeaten Tracks nor from Takanashi’s ‘Journey to the Deep North’ translation based on it, but from my enquiries her time in Tokyo actually amounted to somewhat more than fifty days, or a quarter of the total time she spent in Japan; this is a most significant fact. For we have to realise that for Isabella her time in Tokyo also constituted a journey, which means that her Japan odyssey was actually in three, not two, parts. It might seem contradictory that though her wish was to travel into the interior rather than spending time in a city such as Tokyo, her stay in the capital was as long as it was, but this is not the case. She had to make all manner of preparations for her journey to Ezo and get help in refining what she had written up to then. It was also important that she should record her findings about a Tokyo that was now Japan’s capital in fact as well as in name to determine the extent of changes that were attracting world attention. She did not stay in a hotel but at the British Legation and this became her most important base during her time in Japan and must be seen in its connection with my theory that her Japan journeys were not based on the personal concerns of just one individual. This may lead some to think that this lessens Isabella’s appeal as a traveller but to take this view is to miss the point. For me this is to understand and feel the depth of appeal of Isabella as a traveller, and as a person, all the more.

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A subject I also take up in Chapters 3 and 4 is that the idea for Isabella’s journey came from Parkes based on the fact that since the start of the Meiji period the Germans Ferdinand von Richthofen and Johannes Justus Rein,51 the American Charles A. Longfellow and the Frenchman G.H. Bousquet had all made journeys into the interior with the permission of the Foreign Minister in 1870–71, 1874–76, 1871–72 and 1872–74 respectively, while the delegation under Iwakura Tomomi as Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary with 107 people including government leaders had conducted an inspection of Europe and America in 1871–73. The journey Isabella made in her capacity as a travel expert was one that drew on all these sources and had a positive effect in reporting many aspects of Japan to Britain and fostering an interest in Japan among the British public. PART 3: POST-JAPAN AND EVENTS IN BIRD’S LATER YEARS: JOURNEYS FROM THE LATTER PART OF PERIOD III TO PERIOD VI Two journeys on her way home: The Malay and Sinai Peninsulas

Isabella left Japan on board the S.S. Volga on 19 December 1878 for Hong Kong where she arrived on the 29th. She visited Canton over the New Year, spent a week there and then went back to Hong Kong. After a further week in Hong Kong she then headed for Singapore. But first there are a couple of points to mention about the time she spent in Hong Kong and Canton. The first concerns Canton and the visit she made to the Naamhoi magistrate’s prison there during her thorough inspection of the city. Canton, noted for its attractive situation, is just over 90 miles (150 km) from Hong Kong and is South China’s most important city. It was the nearest open port to the British colony, the site of a British Consulate and a key location. It was also where Parkes, following his joining the Consulate in 1843 at the age of fifteen and working his way up from being an interpreter to acting consul, was effectively the Viceroy for nearly four years from

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1858. Given this background, and considering that her tour of the prison, an event she devoted twenty-four pages to describing in great detail, was not allowed for the run-of-the-mill foreign traveller, a special purpose to the trip to Canton is perhaps discernible. The ‘The Way Thither’ part of the title of Bird’s enticinglynamed The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither has for some reason been ignored even by her biographers such as Pat Barr, Evelyn Kaye and Olive Checkland, but refers of course to what lies between Japan and the Malay Peninsula. Most of it is a record of her time in Canton and Hong Kong but its singular feature is the detailed account of the prison, including a ground plan, which is in sharp contrast to the poetic expression ‘the golden Peninsula’ taken from Milton’s Paradise Lost. John Murray, perhaps not unreasonably, wanted this part removed, but Bird declined. In the part in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan about the prison at Hakodate, though at that stage she had not visited the one at Naam-hoi, she records its forbidding appearance and refers to the different way of thinking between the Japanese and Chinese.52 Isabella’s antipathy was probably because of what Parkes had experienced after the peace negotiations with the Chinese in 1860 at the siege of Peking when he was taken and held in gaol in Peking for three weeks. Despite being chained up and tortured he did not die a prison death, as most did, and was released after his death sentence was lifted by Prince Gong (ᜤぶ⋤). It is clear from her Letter II where she describes meeting him for the first time that Isabella heard of these experiences from Parkes himself.53 The unusual nature of her trip to Canton is also reflected in activities during her stay in Hong Kong. Once back from Canton, Bird stayed at Government House and in the company of the Governor Sir John Pope Hennessy made an official visit to a hospital, and went to a prison with John Burdon, Bishop of the South China diocese of the Church Missionary Society. When she first arrived in Hong Kong from Japan, Bird stayed with the Burdons and received their support in many ways in learning about the colony. This was probably connected with

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the Bishop’s involvement in Isabella’s trip to Japan, which is touched on in Chapter 4. On the day before she left Hong Kong Snowden, the acting Chief Justice, recommended enthusiastically that she visit Malacca and wrote a letter of recommendation to the Governor of the Straits Settlements and his Colonial Secretary. Bird writes that because of this she decided to visit the Malay Peninsula, which had not been in her plans; the Chief Justice’s action also shows how closely it was connected with Britain. This is somewhat different from what Stoddart says, that when she left China it had been Isabella’s idea to go to Ceylon, motivated by a sketch by Constance Gordon-Cumming. This she suddenly changed to an exploration of the Malay Peninsula at the strong urging of a relation of the Governor of Singapore, Sir William Robinson, and went to Malacca. But it is the same in the sense that the journey was made on the strong recommendation of a local British official. During the five-week journey she made on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula following her arrival in Singapore via Saigon on a French steamer on 19 January 1879 she received support from a succession of local British officials, and from Hugh Low who was an expert on plants and local conditions, who accompanied her on her expeditions. She generally stayed in official British establishments like the Stadhuis at Malacca, the former residence of the Dutch Governor that the British had taken over. It is also likely that she used a French steamer in order to get an idea of the situation in Saigon, the focal point of the French colony of Cochin-China, in the limited time available. The visit to Malacca so strongly recommended by Snowden and the Governor of Singapore was because it was the key point of Dutch colonial control until Singapore became the centre of the British Straits Settlements colony. Isabella’s progress northwards up the west coast of the Malay Peninsula towards Penang was made by any means that most suited her observation of the conditions there, whether it was by

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boat to the English settlements that dotted its shores, or riding elephants or on horseback for excursions inland. There are indications that Isabella’s trip bore the marks of a privileged person to be found in The Chersonese with the Gilding Off, a book by Emily Innes whose title parodied that of Isabella’s own work.54 Emily Innes lived in the area with her husband and was a companion to Isabella on her outings. The view that this was a trip strongly connected with Britain is not contradicted by the fact that Isabella displayed an interest in Malaya’s traditional Islamic society, as shown by her having visited the Sultan’s palace with Innes at his invitation. After all, a journey and its narrative that took in all aspects of the local scene was Isabella’s speciality. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 immediately made the Malay Peninsula, and particularly its west coast, an area of increased economic importance for Britain, and anyone who ignores this will not be able to understand this journey. The features of a journey such as this are also excellently reflected in The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither which records it. One can see her sense of achievement and relief at having completed the Japan trip that she undertook as a duty, and that she enjoyed the Malay Peninsula with its tropical nature more than she had Japan, but the fundamental point is that it was a journey to an area of importance for Britain and the British. This was also the case with the trip to Japan, but the main aim of her Period II journeys, to recover her health by exposure to sea and mountain air, soon became of secondary importance. She left the Malay Peninsula on 25 February and headed for Cairo via Colombo where she fell ill of typhus, but this did not prompt her immediate return home. She made instead for the Sinai Peninsula, lying to the east of the Suez Canal. She went into the desert in the early part of April and despite her symptoms becoming more acute, with a severe sore throat, high temperature and chills, she pressed on with her journey in the intervals where her symptoms subsided temporarily, but her high temperature then returned and she fell into a state of depression. Nev-

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ertheless, her strong will enabled her to complete her journey, despite its being so fraught physically. At the beginning of this chapter I wrote that Isabella, like her father, was a person of conviction and dedication and this was apparent on this journey. Its aim was to visit the holy Mt. Sinai (7,497 ft / 2,285 m) where Moses had received the Ten Commandments. Isabella had assumed, as it were, the mantle of her clergyman father and despite being afflicted by poor health, took over his writings on a number of subjects including hymns. For someone fostering an interest among the readers of The Leisure Hour in the history of the bible and Christianity, seeing Mt. Sinai with her own eyes and standing on its summit, and taking this opportunity to make her first passage through the Suez Canal, were goals she had to attain at all costs. Isabella referred to Mt. Sinai when she was nearing the end of her Japan journey55 and she had thought about climbing it from the time when she started planning her trip there. Not only did she visit the Monastery of St. Catherine on the slopes of the mountain, but she also climbed Mt. Sinai itself and read the Flight into Egypt from the Old Testament numerous times on its summit. Then, when she read the last sentence of Chapter Twelve of the Letter to the Hebrews from the New Testament by lamplight she writes that she felt on this mountain the truth of the words: ‘our God is a consuming fire’ better than at Calvary where Christ was crucified. This sentence that concludes the five-part serialisation of her journey in The Leisure Hour (1886) harks back vividly to the series about Christianity that she had serialised in the same magazine twenty years earlier. Stoddart writes that this journey took Isabella’s mental stamina as a traveller to new heights and comments that it provided the opportunity for her writing to achieve a new nobility, breadth of vision and power, but for me it shows that Isabella felt at the time that it was divine providence, in the same way as she had taken strength from her nearness to the gods of the sea when she was on her way from Auckland to Honolulu.

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Rapidly-changing personal circumstances

Isabella had realised her wish and left Egypt after enduring eighteen days of travel in scorching heat and desert sands and set out for Liverpool on her journey home. She caught cold and suffered from severe chest pains which weakened her so much that she was not immediately able to return to Mull. She spent a long time resting at Oban and it was only on 27 May 1879 that she reached their house at Tobermory where Henrietta was waiting. By 16 June she was still only able to walk about 300 yards / metres with the aid of a stick. Nevertheless, she soon settled into a routine of five hours’ work a day with Henrietta, whose health had recovered with her sister’s return home after a year away. Preparations were already in hand for the publication by Sir Edward Reed of a book on Japan56 and John Murray III wanted to avoid any clash of timing and contacted Isabella saying he hoped publication could be advanced if only by a little. This, and the clamour there was for the publication of News from the Rocky Mountains that had been serialised in ‘The Leisure Hour’ and attracted favourable comment, spurred Isabella on in her work. In a letter to Murray from Tobermory dated 29 April she wrote: ‘By to-days (sic) post I send as much M.S. as could make about 345 pages of a vol. the size and type of the Sandwich Islands. The preface and the introductory chapter I have left till the last. Yezo comes next.’ This shows us that after her return home she had already collated the draft she now sent, which was complete apart from the preface and the opening chapter of Volume 1. She also told Lady Middleton about what she had brought back from Japan in a letter to her and in the early part of September visited her and her husband at their home at Applecross in Wester Ross where she stayed for three weeks, which made for a crowded schedule of travel to and fro. This backs up my contention that Lady Middleton played a major part in bringing about her trip to Japan. With all this Isabella gradually regained her strength and spent a generally happy four months with her sister but from the November of that year there was a series of misfortunes.

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First there was the death of Lady Parkes, wife of Sir Harry Parkes who had done so much for her in Japan. Though the account of her Rocky Mountains trip went through several editions to the point where ‘Have you read The Rocky Mountains?’ became a common greeting, there were critics in The Times and elsewhere who made the rash mistake of calling her riding habit in Hawaii ‘a male garment’ (referred to in the introduction to the second edition). Then there was the incident where because of domestic political considerations Murray delayed the publication of her almost-complete Japan book. Finally, on 4 June 1880 she was overwhelmed by the tragic death from typhoid fever of her forty-five-year-old sister Henrietta, whose condition had been deteriorating since the end of March. Isabella had grown up alongside her sister and thanks to their parents’ education they had complemented each other from an early age in developing their individual strengths so that she became ‘my world’ (Stoddart, p.121), her alter ego if you like, which made the shock even greater perhaps than the death of her father and mother. When it came to putting into book form the letters in which she had recorded her travel diaries Henrietta’s editorial work, as Isabella herself admitted, was invaluable. She was apprehensive that without her sister’s help she might not be able to complete the book. It was only natural therefore that she should have dedicated The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither, her first work after Henrietta’s death, to her sister’s unstinting work, in the same way as she had made clear her contribution to the Hawaii and Rocky Mountains travelogues. After the death of their mother, she and Henrietta had gone to Thusis in south-eastern Switzerland for the summer, and it was there that Isabella spent six weeks in August and September in the company of two friends and while recovering her health worked on writing the notes to her Japan travelogue, the main text of which she had written while her sister was still alive. The Japan book was finally published in October 1880 but she did

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not feel inclined to open the parcel in which it was sent to her, a testament to the depth of her loss. It was only in the middle of November that she rid herself of these feelings. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan ran into three editions in a month and was highly acclaimed in the Quarterly Review, the Edinburgh Review, Nature, the St. James Gazette, the Scotsman, the Athenaeum and elsewhere and she was relieved that her anxiety that it would be criticised as being flat and dull in comparison to her Rocky Mountains book was needless. What especially pleased and encouraged her about magazines like Nature having rated her descriptions of Ainu life particularly highly was the fact that Sir Rutherford Alcock was full of praise in the Quarterly Review for her work, notably where her conclusions in the last chapter about Japanese Public Affairs were concerned. The reason for this was that Alcock, the author of the well-known The Capital of the Tycoon: A Narrative of Three Years’ Residence in Japan, who could not have been a more suitable person to judge the merits of her two travelogues, had evaluated the conclusions she had reached after re-writing that section three times. Isabella had worried that she would receive no plaudits for her book in the light of Sir Edward Reed’s work on Japan, but John Murray III and Sir Harry Parkes recognised Isabella’s as the better of the two and gave her their blessing; and Sir Ernest Satow’s opinion was the same. These events and Alcock’s evaluation complemented each other and I think that in regarding the success of her travelogue as a victory for women travellers Isabella had in mind the visit to Japan of Sir Edward Reed, and his work, for this meant that her trip to Japan and her account of it was no longer the private affair that she had considered it to be thus far. Her letters to Murray and Mrs. Blackie speak volumes for her satisfaction at this turn of events. In March 1881, nine months after Henrietta’s death and at the age of forty-nine, Isabella married Dr. John Bishop who was ten years younger than her. It was a marriage for which her sister’s death was the decisive reason. A condition for the

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marriage was that John should not hamper her freedom and she frequently made the journey to and from the house at Tobermory on her own, and even went to Italy, leading her life with the same freedom of movement as before her marriage. In September that year she was visited by King Kalakaua and received a decoration for which a certificate of attestation arrived the following year, in 1882, and her Japan travelogue was published in German. She took heart from pleasing events such as these and proceeded with her writing of The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither. But there was no cure for her grief at losing her sister – she wore mourning clothes at her wedding – and she was not able completely to throw off her sense of depression. To compound things, at the end of 1882 her husband John again fell ill with the recurrence of a viral infection that he had picked up a year before from transfusing a patient, though it seemed at one stage to have been cured. From the spring of 1883 numerous trips were made to the south of France and northern Italy for recuperation until finally he underwent a transfusion by John Lister to whom he was indebted for his having undertaken spinal surgery on Isabella under total anaesthetic in June 1885. But this was not successful and it left John with advancing chronic anaemia and he died far from home at Cannes. This was on 6 March 1886, just before their fifth wedding anniversary. A visit to Ireland: prelude to Bird’s Period IV journeys

Travel again came to Isabella’s rescue after her husband’s death had followed upon that of her beloved sister. But this time, differently from before, it was John Murray, not her doctor, who recommended that she travel. It was a request more than a recommendation though. There is no doubt that he perceived that only by travelling would Isabella be able to unlock her abilities as a traveller and travel author again, which he as her publisher would welcome.

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It was to Ireland that she now went, a country she had travelled round for three weeks thirty years earlier to observe the religious revival movement there. The results of that journey were carried only in a three-part serialisation in the John Murray company’s Murray’s Magazine and are therefore little-known, but it was a most important journey. Its success enabled her to re-embark on a series of journeys that would permit of no emulation. But why Ireland? At the time Ireland was part of Britain but was brimming with social unrest over land reform and Murray was eager to have a trip made there to throw light on the underlying popular mood and nationalist feeling, as this had a bearing on British policy. In the early part of December 1887 Isabella had met a member of the Nationalist Party, which had its roots, obviously, in Irish nationalism and on the 16th, the day after she had dined with the Murrays, she left for Dublin. She spent a month travelling energetically round the south of Ireland and has left a vivid account of the country and its scenery in reportage style. She wrote on 28 January 1888 to Murray that: ‘My health has improved very much in Ireland,’ and this was of course a matter for satisfaction on the part of John Murray as well as for herself. It had been eight years since her Asia-centric journeys of 1878 and 1879 and the success of her trip to Ireland ushered in Isabella’s Period IV foreign expeditions. These and all her subsequent journeys were to places experiencing social tensions. She had been to Switzerland, France and Northern Italy for rest and for her husband’s recuperation but these were not research trips which she would write up in the usual sense of the term. Bird’s Period IV journeys: Lesser Tibet, Persia and Kurdistan

At the end of 1888, a year after her trip to Ireland, Isabella set about preparing for a voyage to India which she put in the hands of Nathaniel Dunlop who had made all the arrangements for her journey to Australia sixteen years before and she left England on 15 February 1889 having put her personal

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affairs in order both in Edinburgh and in London, which had become her third base of residence after the death of her sister. The passage was free. She put her affairs in order in the expectation that the longer her journey lasted the greater the risk of danger would be. Isabella had lost all her relatives and settling her affairs meant that any concerns she might have while abroad would not be home-grown; this put her on her mettle for a demanding journey. Her destination was Lesser Tibet, a region in the Himalayas. But her journey did not stop there, for after going to Persia via present-day Iraq (then the south-eastern part of Ottoman Turkey) and crossing the Zagros Mountains, skirting Kurdistan, the mountainous region in the eastern part of Turkey, she was to end up at Trebizond (now Trabzon) on the Black Sea, making for a journey of 2,500 miles / 4,000 km. From there she went by sea to Istanbul and then on to Paris on the newly-introduced Orient Express. She returned home on 26 December 1890, after an absence of nearly two years. Her four-month journey in Lesser Tibet (Ladakh), which started in Karachi and entailed her entering Kashmir via Lahore in the Punjab, was the stuff of adventure, being made on her splendid horse ‘Gyalpo’ or sometimes by yak through mountains more than 9,800 ft / 3,000 m high and involving crossing an 18,000 ft / 5,500 m-high pass at one point. Bear in mind though that this was not just an adventure trip for it was also to study aspects of the Tibetan world, but its first purpose was to fulfil her aim to build a John Bishop memorial hospital in Srinagar and then another one in memory of her sister Henrietta in Bias near Amritsar. Her husband John had been deeply interested in medical missionary activity overseas and the first priority of this journey was to realise his dream – though in a different place – of building a missionary hospital at Nazareth in the Holy Land, for which the Ottoman government’s permission had not been obtainable. In 1887, after her husband’s death, Isabella had received training as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in London and learnt its

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techniques (a photograph of her in her nurse’s uniform appears elsewhere in this book), and in February 1888 she was baptised by the famous Baptist preacher and missionary C.H. Spurgeon. These moves were linked to her Period V and Period VI journeys being in support of overseas medical missionary activities that allowed of no shirking from such matters as care of patients. Her medical knowledge and nursing skills were important tools for her journey into a world of different faiths and proved to be a yardstick for the influence of Christian civilisation. Her trip to Persia and Kurdistan may not have been as challenging in terms of altitude as the one to Lesser Tibet but the part that took in the bitterly-cold Zagros Mountains and Kurdistan made for a journey even more extreme than Lesser Tibet in the summer. It was also a journey full of adventure and danger, as shown by her having to carry a pistol. It enabled her to gain an insight into a different-faith environment in the form of Islam and the adherents to the Nestorian sect of Christianity who lived there but we have to remember that this 1,550 mile / 2,500 km journey that took her from Baghdad to Teheran, across the Zagros Mountains via Isfahan and thence to Borujerd, was undertaken as part of a caravan with Major Herbert Sawyer, Assistant Quartermaster-General of the Indian Army’s intelligence department, who had been given a special assignment to make a military-geographical survey of Persia. From Borujerd as far as Trebizond on the Black Sea the journey was made with a servant and followed the usual pattern of Isabella’s journeys with contacts developed with a range of people with connections with Britain, but taking into account the personal danger, her back pains and the extreme cold she experienced along its 990 mile / 1,600 km route it also shows the merits of travelling in a caravan. Isabella had met Major Sawyer and made this arrangement with him at Simla and we should understand that Lesser Tibet, Persia and Kurdistan formed part of the same journey. Britain regarded Persia as of great strategic importance and the Great Game was unfolding with Britain vying with Russia for con-

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trol of Central Asia and this linked the Persia trip directly with British national policy. The strategic importance of north-west India is also obvious here and we can take the Lesser Tibet trip as being one influenced by the Great Game. If one regards them from this point of view these two journeys, though distinct geographically, merge into one. Isabella crossed an 18,000 ft / 5,500 m pass and reached the valleys of the Rivers Nubra and Shyok (Shayok), in Ladakh, and the Karakoram Pass on its border with Tibet, which makes me think it is very likely that these events were part of the broader picture. Isabella’s writing that she sensed ‘Central Asia’ when she crossed the watershed and entered the Karakoram from the Himalayas arouses our interest for this reason. At the time of their marriage John promised Isabella that: ‘when the need of travel awoke, she should go to whatever end of the earth beckoned to her, and he used to say, “I have only one formidable rival in Isabella’s heart, and that is the high tableland of Central Asia.”’ (Stoddart, p. 149), and these two remarks complement each other. In this connection it is interesting that when the preparations for this, her first journey abroad for nine years, had been completed, Isabella wrote that: ‘this coming journey involves seeing so many people and getting so much official advice and Government help if it is to be successful’ (Stoddart, pp. 201/2). The characteristics of this trip match those of previous journeys in the way that I have shown earlier in this book, but here they are more developed. It is worth special note, first, that among the books that Isabella took with her to read on the voyage to Karachi was one on Persia, Madame Jane Dieulafoy’s La Perse, la Chaldée et la Susiane,57 and a Blue Book on Tibet, a government report in other words and, second, that they had been obtained for her by Sir Edwin Arnold (Stoddart). This is not just because Arnold was an oriental scholar and journalist well-versed in India, and the author in 1879 of the epic poem The Light of Asia, nor due to his social position (he had had a knighthood conferred on him) or his decision to live in Japan. This he did at the end of 1889, when Isabella left on her journey, and in Japan he obtained the

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patronage of Fukuzawa Yukichi and mingled with people like Basil Hall Chamberlain. No, it is also because in the summer of 1895 or 1896 Isabella photographed Sir Edwin’s house as being his residence, despite the fact that at that time he had left Japan. This fact shows that they maintained some sort of connection after 1888 (see my ‘Far East Journeys 2’). Her journey into Persia with Major Sawyer was important for the opportunities it gave for photography, by reason of it being a military-geographical survey, but in her resulting Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan58 there is not a single photograph, only copperplates, and it is likely that this was because she avoided using photographs for military reasons. This carried over into the 990 mile / 1,600 km journey she then embarked on after leaving Major Sawyer at Borujerd on which, for want of a camera, she again had to rely on copperplates adapted from existing photographs. Madame Dieulafoy, involved in intelligence gathering, did not use photographs either, but rendered them into prints. I say this because she did in fact leave a large photograph album,59 used photographs in articles based on presentations she had made to the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the British Association, and deployed them as a very effective tool in her Period V journeys. In letters she hides the name Sawyer and refers to him just as M, using the first letter of ‘Major’, and this plainly shows the nature of this journey. He too talked in later years to the Royal Geographical Society about this survey, and wrote about it, but never mentioned the fact that Isabella accompanied him. Her Period IV journeys brought her greatest fame as a traveller, for the intelligence gained from these journeys was the best and newest as far as those in Britain’s political, religious and academic circles were concerned. Bird as a lecturer and major travel personality

Isabella returned home on 26 December 1890 after an absence of a year and ten months and immediately wrote a two-part

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article for the Contemporary Review, the leading general magazine of the day and it was not surprising that the Prime Minister, W.E. Gladstone, and other leading politicians should want to talk to her. In religious circles, obviously, there was admiration for her but this feeling also reached into the world of academia where geographical exploration was generally held to be the preserve of men. Isabella, or Mrs Bishop, now the hero of the hour, next turned energetically to lecture activities, something that was still unusual for a woman. Just before her Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan was published to much acclaim a year after her return at Christmas 1891 – she had even found time to include a route map in it for the first time in her books – she was elected a fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (FRSGS). This threw the Royal Geographical Society in London off balance and they too elected her, as their first woman fellow (FRGS), the following year. She was not alone in this for she was one of fifteen women elected, but it would almost certainly not have happened were it not for her significant exploits and their rival Royal Scottish Geographical Society having elected her a fellow, as shown by the fact that it ended up being a one-off event due to opposition from Lord Curzon, newly-returned from India, and his colleagues; though Curzon himself admitted Isabella’s considerable achievements and said he was not actually opposed to eminent women entering the Society. The satirical magazine Punch brought this up in its 10 June 1893 number as a society cause célèbre. The title of FRGS was the highest honour for the travellers and explorers who made up the leading membership of the Society alongside politicians and military men. Isabella criticised this decision by the Society as being reactionary but the fact that she used this title in subsequent books was partly because it was customary to add titles to one’s name but also due to its being the sign of a top traveller. This was also a time when travelogues, accounts of expeditions and maps occupied a very important position in geographical magazines. And because Isabella’s travelogues did not just give descriptions of scenery, but also included a wide range of subjects like religion and missionary

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activity in the countries she visited, their culture, peoples, society and problems, into which her forthright comments and vivid descriptions were woven, they attracted attention across a wide cross-section of the public. Her audience with Queen Victoria in 1893 was testimony to her achievements. We need to remember that in her lectures Isabella applied more effort to missionary activities than she did to subjects relating to her adventures or to geographical or anthropological subjects. Rather, the latter was an indispensable part of the former. The address Isabella gave on Heathen Claims and Christian Duty in November 1893 at the anniversary annual general meeting of the Gleaners’ Union held at London’s Exeter Hall was first printed and distributed on its own and the following month was published as a fifty-page pamphlet jointly with Charles Spurgeon’s sermons, and again by numerous organisations in America in 1894 as a sixteen-page pamphlet; it is recorded that more than 100,000 copies were circulated in the British Empire (see commentary to ‘Far East Journeys 2’). Isabella dedicated her address to Queen Victoria and with it her name came to be widely known as a traveller of high renown and as one of the greatest supporters of missionary activities. The profits from the sale of the pamphlet went to the Church Missionary Society (set up in 1799 by the Church of England as an organisation for missionary work in Asia and Africa) and formed a part of its operating funds. This is not the only thing we should note. The publication of the joint pamphlet mentioned above was done by the China Inland Mission (a missionary organisation funded in 1865 by H. Taylor which spanned faiths and nationalities) and two months after its publication Isabella left on her Far East journey which would include China, with that part of her journey owing everything to her close connection with that Mission and their support for her. There is a four-year gap between her Period IV and Period V journeys but the two are closely linked by her activities in between. (See commentary to ‘Far East Journeys 2’.) It is also significant that almost a year after the publication of Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, The Leisure Hour ran her Lesser Tibet

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travelogue in five instalments (February to September 1893) and early in 1894 it appeared as Among the Tibetans by the Religious Tract Society, the publisher of The Leisure Hour. This was significant for two reasons, primarily for the fact that with this the results of her Period IV journeys all assumed firm shape. Additionally, though, it was important to have her previous trip recorded in book form for it to be seen that, by visiting the Somo Territory at the eastern edge of the Tibetan world on her next trip to the Far East, she had achieved her aim of accessing at least the eastern and western extremities of Tibet, even though entry to Tibet proper was denied her. We should also note that, busy though she was, she went to London in June 1892 to study photography in preparation for her Far East trip, and in April the following year learnt how to print her own photographs (Stoddart). Bird’s Period V Journeys: three years in a rapidly-changing Far East

Despite not being blessed with the best of health and feeling that she might be too old to face more hardships, Isabella still set out on her journey to the Far East in January 1894 with the intention of going to Korea, the Russian Maritime Provinces and China. During this time she did in fact spend just short of a year in all in Japan but on these occasions it was really just a base in place of England, in more ‘familiar’ surroundings, as it were, than the ‘unfamiliar’ areas she travelled to. These journeys were to last more than three years and like her trips to Persia and Kurdistan took into account the possibility of her dying en route. Why then did she choose the Far East? It was mainly because in the time before the First Sino-Japanese War (July 1894-April 1895) it was where the eyes of the world were directed, but also for the reason that it was caught up in the Great Game with Russia and so merited close attention by Britain and, by extension a British woman. It was important for being another of those journeys that threw light on a current situation, this time on the Korean Peninsula, the setting for this turbulence, and on

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Ching Dynasty China in its rivalry with Japan. China was also very important in an Asian context as the hub for the Church Missionary Society’s efforts to spread the Christian faith there. Bird crossed the Atlantic and the American continent, arrived at Vancouver, and then went straight via Japan and Pusan to Seoul, where she stayed at the British Consulate. To retrace her steps during the three years of travel that began with her boarding a small boat on the Han River is to appreciate the breadth of territory the stages of her long journey covered. She met the gathering storm clouds and the difficulties and obstacles in her way with courage and adept judgment. She had the help and support of many Britons from consuls to bishops and others concerned with missionary activities, as might be expected, but also from the likes of Karl Weber,60 the Russian Minister ad Interim in China, and Russian military men. She also had numerous audiences with King Gojong of the House of Yi and his wife Queen Min and was able to comply with their requests.61 Bird at this stage, though a world traveller, was an elderly lady, only 4’ 11” / 150 cm tall, and a widow prone to illness, but she employed these ‘qualities’ doggedly, perhaps even cunningly, as a foil to her male counterparts, and in so doing made these journeys a success. This one of her Far East journeys found literary expression in Korea & her Neighbours62 but as I explain in Vol. 1 of my ‘Far East Journeys’ its aim was for her to send regular on-site reports back to newspapers in London, in the role almost of a journalist whose task it was to assess and report home on the Sino-Japanese War and the situation on the Korean Peninsula in its aftermath. But the really striking thing about Bird is that having gone as far as Tokchon (ᚨᕝ) in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in completion of the journalistic part of her journey, a major objective well attained, she struck out into the Yangtze valley and its hinterland and had it in mind that this would be the concluding episode in her more than forty years of travel. This was a journey that Isabella had to complete, not just for being the leading figure among women travellers as a result of

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her Period IV travels and subsequent activities, but because she had assumed a status above that. This journey had two objectives. For the Church Missionary Society the Yangtze valley was the main setting for its activities in China, the most important area in Asia for its ministry, and the first part of Bird’s journey was a tour to observe and support its missionary work and that of the China Inland Mission, especially in Szechuan Province and centred on Paoning-fu, the present-day Liangchung (ಖᑀᗓ now 㛾୰). In contrast, the second half broadened out into the west of this sector and enabled her to experience wild border country that she had not seen since her Period II journeys, and to link the ‘challenge of the high places’ with the kind of contact with minority peoples that she had enjoyed then and on her Period IV trips. This is evident from reading her book on China, The Yangtze Valley and Beyond.63 On both of these journeys Isabella repeatedly experienced the most serious obstructions and dangers that she had come across so far and the fact that she was able to complete them despite this was due to her having a passport (䆧➗), a laissezpasser, that gave her consular status and allowed her freedom of activity in China. We should remember, however, that it could only have been undertaken in the clear knowledge of the strength of Britain’s influence. In addition, though, I believe that it demonstrates her strong determination to see things through and her formidable will-power in confronting obstacles and exemplifies her character in her capacity for travel and her pleasurable conviction that she was cut out to be a traveller; and that we can rate Isabella as a major traveller in a historical context too for the consistent logic that runs through the works that derive from this journey and from her having linked them to the study of statecraft and China. But they were also important for that fact that they signalled a new era in photography, in its role as a medium through which to record a journey, and amply rewarded the efforts she had put in since her Period IV travels; in this sense they were more accomplished trips than the one to Korea (see the com-

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mentary to ‘Travels in the Interior of China’ 2). This journey marked the climax for Isabella as a professional traveller and as the most noted traveller in Asia and it is likely that she too was aware of this. The collection of photographs she produced in 1896 while in Japan (Views in the Far East, Tokyo, Colotyped by S. Kajima) was a private edition made up of sixty photographs that were first intended to be sold singly for the benefit of the medical mission at Paoning-fu (see ‘Far East Journeys’ 1). Subsequent activities and trip to Morocco: Bird’s Period VI journeys

Three years and two months might seem a long time for it to have lasted, but for Bird the unusual was no more than the usual run of things when it came to her day-to-day life in the Far East. In her diary for the day on which she returned to London by way of Ceylon and Malta, 19 March 1897, she wrote in her diary ‘three years and two months passed as if inspired by the grace of the Almighty’ or a fervent “Dei Gratiae, three years and two months” as Stoddard succinctly puts it (Stoddart, p.332), and embarked on a series of energetic moves to collate the results of her journeys with books, essays and other writings and lectures. Her lectures dealt with two themes, the geographical and anthropological, and missionary activities, in the same way as after her Period IV journeys. Korea & Her Neighbours came out in 1898 ten months after her return home and this was followed, eighteen months after that, by The Yangtze Valley and Beyond which she wrote at Wyton, where her father had died; she had moved there in the meantime from London to devote herself to her writing. At the end of 1900 she set out for Morocco, seemingly having satisfied herself about the publication of Chinese Pictures, Notes on Photographs Made in China 64 and Unbeaten Tracks in Japan - the New Edition. In just the same way as on previous occasions, she embarked on this new journey after the results of the one immediately before it had all been publicised. As I mentioned at the beginning of Chapter 2, it had first been planned at the invitation of Ernest Satow to

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include China but for health reasons was restricted to Morocco, but what we need to remember is that it was not an invitation based simply on the fact that it had been one of his postings. For, according to Isabella, this was a ‘dying empire’ where the Sultan had lost sway over the whole country and for which France and Spain, and Britain too, had strategic concerns and it is probable that this was the reason for her visit there. We can imagine that Satow entrusted trips to China and Morocco to Isabella as being areas that resembled the world she had seen in her Period III, or at least after her Period IV, journeys. On arriving at Tangier, Satow’s former post, on New Year’s Day she immediately fell ill but recovered thanks to Dr Roberts at the missionary hospital. After that she braved a 990-mile (1,600 km) journey by horse, mule or camel that lasted four months and took in Mazagan and the southern capital Marrakesh, then called Morocco City, Fez, the northern capital, Ouazzane, Dar el-Bida (now Casablanca) and even included the territory of the Berbers in the Atlas Mountains in what is now Algeria, where the power of the Sultan did not reach. She viewed the political, economic and cultural features of the country in detail, expressed her honest opinions mixed with criticisms as was her wont and also took photographs. She turned down John Murray IV’s request for a travelogue and only wrote eye-witness accounts in The Monthly Review, The Leisure Hour and The Daily Chronicle but the trip itself was a spirited affair during which she became the first European woman to have had an audience with the young Sultan Abdul Aziz and visited the harem and a gaol. As was her practice on previous journeys she received assistance from Britons living in the country, people such as Sir Harry Aubrey de Vere Maclean, the chief-of-staff of the Sultan’s army, and a Mr. Summers. Final years

No sooner had she returned to England from Morocco and written an article for The Monthly Review than in an impres-

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sive display of energy that saw her spend only one night in thirteen months at her home at Hartford Hurst, she embarked as ‘a public service’ on a series of lectures about China, the new Japan and Morocco, particularly in relation to her missionary support activities and amassed an impressive number of travel miles. She also wrote for The Leisure Hour. She was not put off by a severe injury to her right thumb from an accident in a train and had ‘an adventurous winter journey’ (Stoddart, p.371). In March 1902 she returned home and was laid up for two weeks with influenza but went to London on 7 April to study photography and to Egham on the 10th to give a lecture on her missionary work, suppressing her illness in a stark testament to her willpower. This was also evident, despite frequent periods of illness, from her developing and enlarging her photographs which she sent out to Paoning-fu in support of their ministry there, and the lectures she gave in July 1903 on her missionary work to returned women preachers of the Church Missionary Society. But at the end of August 1903 she returned to Edinburgh and though she thought when she went into a nursing home at 11 Manor Place (Stoddart, p.380) immediately to the west of the house she had once shared with her husband John that ‘my brain is quite clear’ (Stoddart, p.381), her body was racked with heart trouble. This improved temporarily by dint of changing homes several times but she gradually became weaker. She died on 7 October 1904 at 12.05 p.m., shortly before her seventy-third birthday, at No. 18 Melville Street near where she had lived with John. ‘Oh! what shouting there will be!’, she said. That she followed her parents’ lifestyle and regarded connections with people as important is brought out by the number and variety of people who visited her on her sickbed after her return to Edinburgh; but I was surprised and reassured to note among them the names of Sir Walter Hillier and Mrs Keswick. Sir Walter was not just the prime mover as British Consul General in Seoul in facilitating her travels on the Korean Peninsula but at Isabella’s request wrote the preface to her book Korea & Her Neighbours which he rated highly.

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He also argued strongly in favour of Christian missionary work and up to April 1901, after he had retired, he held an important post at the British Legation in Peking as a specialist in military and political affairs and soon after his appointment worked under Ernest Satow, the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to China. Mrs Keswick was the second daughter of Sir Harry Parkes. Isabella’s relationship with her had continued after Sir Harry’s death in 1885. A life of travel

When one examines them in detail, one can only wonder at the tenacity with which Isabella conducted her journeys over a quarter of a century with their single connecting thread in terms of space and time, when she had only really appreciated the significance of Asia and the Far East from her Period III journeys that started with that to Japan. By my calculations, in the thirtytwo years after she started her Period II journeys at the age of forty, she spent a total of more than eight years abroad. Also in that time she completed articles and books on her journeys and engaged in social works and journeyed extensively throughout Britain in connection with them. The considerable royalties she received from her publications were not used just to fund her travels but also formed part of a broad legacy. Hers was indeed a life of travel. The royalties Isabella received from her eight books published by John Murray, according to the firm’s ledgers, amounted to £4,538 (see Ch.2, note 1, p.205). Most of these books were also published by Putnam and there were also royalties from other publishers, fees for her contributions to magazines and income from her public speaking. Of her estate of £18,400 (over £2 million today), the £8,300 that was left after personal bequests of £10,100 to thirty-four individuals shows her strong concern for overseas missionary work, particularly in the medical missionary field. For instance, she gave £2,800 to three overseas medical missionary

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organisations, £2,500 to three other bodies as permanent funds for four hospitals that she had built, and £1,000 to the Church Missionary Society. In her address at London’s Exeter Hall in November 1893 (see p.65) that gave her the reputation of being one of the greatest supporters of evangelism, Bird had expounded on the importance of missionary activities based on her Period IV journeys, and had journeyed to the Far East to engage in them personally; this division of funds, therefore, was a tangible expression of her stance on this subject. This is one of my reasons for thinking that to portray Bird as a pioneer feminist, as Olive Checkland has done, is not correct.65 On the day before she died Isabella said, in a testimony to her life: ‘There are very few who manage their life on evangelical lines, for evangelical destinies. I have tried, but it is very difficult. There can be nothing for any of us; all has been revealed, all done, all written.’66 One might even say that her journeys were an essential means to this end. The Leisure Hour was the first journal Isabella submitted her work to, in the third year of its existence, and it was in this journal too that Isabella’s last work appeared, written at the request of its editor. This magazine was a publication of the Religious Tract Society with women, children and the poor as its main readers and was an educational family journal based on Christianity. Over a period of forty-eight years Isabella contributed no less than seventy pieces to it and its importance for her as her main magazine cannot be ignored when considering her beliefs. Two years after her death the magazine published its last edition, as if to say that its mission was complete. For the magazine itself, Isabella was one of its most important contributors. Sunday at Home in which Isabella’s articles were also published was another publication of the Religious Tract Society. What we learn from all this is that there are various elements that supported her in her beliefs throughout her seventy-two years of life. There was Christianity or, more simply put, the deep trust in and love of Christ that underpinned her father Edward, which led her to her life of travel and her wish to pass

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on its fruits to society. This was despite the fact that her father, though certain of the direction his ministry should take, experienced many hardships and died without having provided much in the way of guidance to his flock. Then there was her mother Dora who gave devoted support to her spouse, her sister Henrietta who made every effort to see that Isabella would make her name as a travel writer, and her husband John whose love supported her after all her relations had died. Finally, there was her preoccupation with Christian missionary work overseas, which was the driving philosophy that had supported her throughout her life. And she was someone who passed on to the British people what she had gained from her travels and always strove to provide guidance by piquing the interest of her readers and listeners. Looked at from today, her Christian absolutist side is a barrier between us and a woman who lived in Britain in the latter part of the nineteenth century, but I think that the real essence of Isabella’s ideas is to be found in her steadfast way of life by which, having lost all her relations and having nothing more to concern herself with, she tried to transmit her convictions to the British public through her travel experiences and turned her bereavement to good use by accepting her lot as a born traveller. Above, though in much abbreviated form, I have traced Isabella’s life by examining her journeys and their background and after-effects and what her contribution to society was. The readers of this chapter will, I am sure, have been surprised at the twists and turns of her life and the complexity of her travels and so before embarking on Chapter 3 I will make use of the results of my fieldwork and show in six photographs what kind of woman Isabella was. (See Plates 1–6.)

Chapter 3

ASPECTS OF BIRD’S 1878 VISIT TO JAPAN — I thought that for any scientific study of Bird’s journeys and her books about them it would be useful to single out their various characteristics and so I have shown that her half-century of travel was a developing process in which her trip to Japan in 1878 stands out as a watershed event. In this chapter I will elaborate on the details of that trip. I imagine that what I have said in Chapter 2 will have surprised many readers but there is much about Bird that has been wrongly understood, or merely glossed over, and needs urgent correction; the arguments that follow are essential to this exercise. Her keen eye for detail brings a feeling of immediacy to her prose, and the frank opinions she expresses only add to its appeal. This atmosphere I left to my ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The Complete Translation’ to convey and what I will now do here is show what is required for a complete understanding of her Japan experience. No regional or time constraints

Figures 2 and 3 (see pp. xxxii/xxxiii) show the routes of Bird’s journeys to Ezo (Hokkaido¯) and the Kansai and Ise, with their key points and places where she stayed or just passed through.

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The route for her trip to Hokkaido¯, as can easily be seen from Fig. 2 for instance, took her from Tokyo via Nikko¯ and Aizu to Niigata on the Sea of Japan, then turned inland and threaded its way through a succession of passes and valleys to re-emerge on the Sea of Japan at Akita (Kubota) and then proceeded overland ¯ date to Aomori. via O It is also evident that from Hakodate, the gateway to Ezo, she went to Mori and having crossed by boat to Muroran went along the coast to Sarufuto and then inland to Biratori; and that on her return journey she did not go by boat from Muroran to Mori but went back to Hakodate along the coast road skirting Volcano Bay. Fig. 3 shows that having gone by boat between Yokohama and Kobe on its outward and return legs, her journey to the Kansai and Ise itself was a round trip to the Ise Shrines with Kobe as the starting point. My idea was that these two maps would be the basis for my forensic analysis of her journeys and were also essential for accurate translation and so, in combination with my fieldwork, I used simplified and provisional, but still official, 1:20,000 scale maps from the early Meiji period which I reproduced on the oldestavailable 1:50,000 scale topographical maps (mostly Meiji-era products too). The results of this were transferred to smallerscale maps by repeated image reduction and area generalisation, and the final drawing done by the accomplished map-maker Mizutani Kazuhiko. The journey itself was influenced by what kind of physical object was in her path, a mountain for instance, and so this map also shows relief. Since the scale is the same you can imagine what a major undertaking Bird’s trip to Ezo was, seen in Fig. 2, if the distance between Tokyo and Osaka as shown in Fig. 3 is taken as the yardstick. What I would first like readers looking at the maps to bear in mind is what I mentioned in Chapter 2, namely that in 1878 foreigners were only permitted free movement within a radius of ten ri, or twenty-five miles / forty kilometres, of five treaty ports, Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki, Niigata and Hakodate, and

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two open cities, Tokyo and Osaka. Forty kilometres is only 6.7 mm on Fig. 2 and 16.7 mm on the enlarged map at Fig. 3. The ‘Foreigners’ Free Movement Zones’ (እᅜே㐟Ṍ༊ᇦ) established by the ‘Foreigners’ Free Movement Regulations’ (እᅜே㐟Ṍつᐃ) may only appear as pin-pricks when looked at in terms of Japan as a whole but they were clearly defined on maps. Though it should not have been possible to visit Kyoto for reasons of distance, this was allowed because with the coming of the railway in 1876 a ‘Foreigners’ Kyoto Access Permit’ (እᅜேධிච≧) was introduced – at which time visits to Nara and Lake Biwa were also permitted. Knowing this, one realises that going from Kobe via Kyoto and Nara to the Ise ¯ tsu, and back to Kobe, cannot be dismissed as ‘not Shrines and O much of a journey’. By not having any regional restrictions, Bird’s journey was an extremely unusual one at a time when the areas in which foreigners could travel and move about freely were limited. Having measured her route as reproduced on a 1:50,000 topographical map the distance to Biratori was about 870 miles / 1,400 km and the return journey some 840 miles / 1,350 km, even with the Hakodate-Yokohama section being by sea. Even the round trip to the Kansai and Ise, leaving out the 410 mile / 660km part from Yokohama to Kobe which was by sea, amounted to about 360 miles / 580km. These are startling figures. At the same time though, they should not surprise us. Even with permission granted by way of a ‘Foreigners’ Interior Travel Permit’ (እᅜேෆᆅ᪑⾜ච≧ – introduced in 1874 and revised the following year), what Bird calls a ‘passport’ to travel outside one of the free movement zones, in other words beyond its demarcation line as based on one of the treaty ports into the area which was referred to at the time as the ‘interior’ (ෆᆅ), unrestricted activity was not possible as the ‘destination and route’ (᯵ 㹼‫ݸ‬৺䐟ㅻ) were specified and the route fixed in advance. In contrast to this no such restrictions were applied to Bird’s journey. And this was not all. In the ‘Ordinance Permitting Foreigners’ Travel in the Interior’ of May 1874 (እᅜேෆᆅ᪑⾜ඔ‽

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᮲౛)1 it was stipulated that the period of the journey should be restricted to ‘thirty or fifty days’ in the case of recovery from illness for ‘resident foreigners’. But with Bird having left Tokyo on 10 June 1878 and arrived at Biratori, her destination on Hokkaido¯, on 23 August seventy-nine days had already elapsed. This meant that 101 days in total had passed by the time she returned to Tokyo, though had it not been for the storm that delayed the passage by sea from Hakodate to Yokohama by one day the total would have been 100. This is exactly twice the stipulated number, and shows that Bird’s journey was not subject to time limitations! Moreover, in the ‘Foreigners’ Interior Travel Permit’ it said that it should be handed back within ‘five days from the day of return’ and that in order to make a separate journey after that ‘this permit must be handed back and permission obtained anew’. Despite this though, or the fact that this travel permit was also for Hokkaido¯ (see below), Bird not having said that she obtained a new permit means either that she used it as it was without returning it, or that it was possibly issued with the inclusion of the Kansai and the Ise Shrines section of her journey. But even if this was not the case and she set out with a newly-issued permit, it is plain that Bird effectively made her journey with the same degree of latitude as was allowed to diplomats. Why then was she able to make such a journey? The reason is to be found in her journey’s second feature. Special interior travel permit

Bird explains what the reason was in her Letter IX, written on the day she left for Ezo three weeks after her arrival. It is extremely important and though somewhat lengthy I will quote it in full: Passports usually define the route over which the foreigner is to travel, but in this case Sir H. Parkes has obtained one which is practically unrestricted, for it permits me to travel through all Japan north of Tôkiyô and in Yezo without specifying any route. This precious document, without which I should be

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liable to be arrested and forwarded to my consul, is of course in Japanese, but the cover gives in English the regulations under which it is issued. A passport must be applied for, for reasons of “health, botanical research, or scientific investigation.” Its bearer must not light fires in woods, attend fires on horseback, trespass on fields, enclosures, or game-preserves, scribble on temples, Shrines, or walls, drive fast on a narrow road, or disregard notices of “No thoroughfare.” He must “conduct himself in an orderly and conciliating manner towards the Japanese authorities and people;” he “must produce his passport to any officials who may demand it,” under pain of arrest; and while in the interior “is forbidden to shoot, trade, to conclude mercantile contracts with Japanese, or to rent houses or rooms for a longer period than his journey requires.”2

This passage shows that Bird’s journey was unusual in that it was made possible by a permit ‘which is practically unrestricted’ and that it was Minister Parkes who was instrumental in obtaining it. She does not say where he ‘obtained’ the permit but the application for a Foreigners’ Interior Travel Permit had to be made by the Minister of the country concerned in a Protocol to the Foreign Ministry and it is plain that Parkes obtained it by applying to the then Foreign Minister Terashima Munenori. This was the basis for my putting forward the theory in Chapter 2 that it was Parkes’s plan that this journey should come about through the medium of Bird. For the Hokkaido¯ leg of her trip she also obtained a pass known as a Sho¯ mon (ドᩥ) which superseded even the Foreigners’ Interior Travel Permit. Letter XL is extremely important in this respect, because it shows that at the request of the British Consul at Sapporo, Mr Eusden, the Hokkaido¯ Development Commission (㛤ᣅ౑) – referred to by Bird as the ‘Colonisation Department’ – which had complete authority in Hokkaido¯ gave its full support to Bird’s journey. This support was based on the assumption that a special Interior Travel Permit had been given to her. In the passage below Bird starts

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by giving the reason why the Commission gave its particular support. As Consul Eusden knew of Parkes’s intentions the following passage backs up my theory about Parkes having requested Bird to make this journey: Kindly interest has been excited by the first foray made by a lady into the country of the aborigines; and Mr. Eusden, the Consul, has worked upon the powers that be with such good effect that the Governor has granted me a shomon, a sort of official letter or certificate, giving me a right to obtain horses and coolies everywhere at the Government rate of 6 sen a ri, with a prior claim to accommodation at the houses kept up for officials on their circuits, and to help and assistance from officials generally; and the Governor has further telegraphed to the other side of Volcano Bay desiring the authorities to give me the use of the Government kuruma as long as I need it, and to detain the steamer to suit my convenience! With this document, which enables me to dispense with my passport, I shall find travelling very easy, and I am very grateful to the Consul for procuring it for me.3

There is one other point to make about the unusual nature of the travel permit Bird obtained. For a foreigner to obtain a travel permit the person concerned had to submit an application direct to the Legation factoring in a suitable length of time for obtaining it, and the Minister then had to apply to the Foreign Office.4 But in a letter to Consul Flowers at Nagasaki on 30 July,5 not long after Bird had started her journey, Parkes wrote that contrary to the Foreign Minister’s contention that three days were needed for scrutiny of an application he had seen cases where the period was shortened to two to three hours. Going by that it looks as though there was adequate time for Bird’s application as she went to the British Legation on 23 May (a Thursday) and left for Ezo on 10 June (a Monday), though this might not necessarily have been the case.

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The reason for saying this is that with Bird’s trip the matter would probably not have rested with permission from the Foreign Ministry. For instance, for the inspection of the normal school and hospital at Kubota (in Akita Prefecture) and the prison at Hakodate, the response of Akita Prefecture and the Hokkaido¯ Development Commission would only have been possible on receipt of prior notification and instructions from the Home Ministry. This procedure would, it is thought, have been followed in the case of visits to all official installations which means that in addition to the instructions to the prefecture from the Home Ministry, confirmation of the request from the Foreign Ministry to the Home Ministry and the Development Commission, and their acceptance of it, would have been necessary at the time the travel permit was issued. In fact, having applied for permission on 24 or 25 May (Friday or Saturday) or on the 27th (Monday), it is thought that Bird obtained her permit at the end of that week, on the 31st (Friday), or at the beginning of the following week on 3 June (Monday), the reason being that once that matter had been settled, it is likely that Bird went to Yokohama on the 4th for interviews with and testing of candidates for the position of her servant-interpreter. Parkes had proposed this trip sometime in the summer of 1875 and explained to Foreign Minister Terashima that a special Interior Travel Permit would be needed, and that he would discuss the matter of its issue with him. If that was the case, then there is every possibility that the application to the Foreign Ministry had already been submitted a year before Bird came to Japan and the formal procedure completed while waiting for her to arrive. In this light, it is reasonable to suppose that the issue of her permit was treated as a special case. In an entry on the 7th at the end of the week just before she left for Ezo on 10 June (a Monday) Bird writes that ‘a Government department, on being applied to, returned an itinerary, leaving out 140 miles of the route that I dream of taking, on the ground of: “insufficient information”’6 but does not say anything about the travel permit having been issued by then. This leads

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one to believe that it was issued the week before and that having received it she went out to interview candidates for the position of her servant-interpreter, which I explain in more detail later. Plant-collecting

Bird’s travel permit now raises my second point. Parkes applied for the permit for recuperation from illness, botanical study and scientific investigation but the reasons accepted for the issue of the permit were usually only ‘recuperation’ and ‘scientific investigation’. But ‘recuperation’ was a condition intended for resident foreigners, not for travellers. Nor did scientific investigation refer to that activity in a general sense, but meant ‘scientific study of the geology and products of the interior’. I believe that Parkes saw an opening in the ‘Ordinance Permitting Foreigners’ Travel in the Interior’ in that it covered ‘scientific investigation into silkworm rearing, tea planting and other products peculiar to the interior of Japan’, ‘scientific investigation for close study of Japan’s plant life and flora & fauna and her minerals’, ‘measurement of movement of the stars and study of the world’s geography’ and ‘journeys for recuperation of foreign residents of the opened ports who have fallen ill, by way of a change of air at hot springs and natural beauty spots’ and persuaded Foreign Minister Terashima to concede ‘convalescence from illness and scientific study centred mainly on botany’ as reasons. In Bird’s case she had already ‘made a journey of convalescence by way of a change of air in a place of scenic beauty’ and done scientific research including botanical studies on her trip to Hawaii, about which she left a highly-praised travelogue. The most natural assumption, therefore, is that based on this Parkes told the Minister that Bird was a famous woman traveller in her late forties and by this means obtained a special Interior Travel Permit for her. To begin with, as the idea of ‘recuperation by way of a change of air in a place of scenic beauty’ was a Western concept that had not yet reached Japan and was the reason for Bird making her Hawaii trip and the ones before and after it, it is very possible

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that Parkes linked it in his discussions with the tradition of hot springs in Japan. The travel permit she received has not survived and so we do not know how ‘health, botanical research, or scientific investigation’7 was expressed in the original Japanese but Parkes was in the forefront of spirited negotiations with the Japanese that led to the ‘Foreigners Travel Permit Amendment’ (እᅜே᪑⾜ච≧ᨵṇ) of 1875 and there is no doubt that it would have conformed to the provisions of the ‘Ordinance Permitting Foreigners’ Travel in the Interior’. Bird often refers to plants by their scientific names but this was not done simply to parade her knowledge, as Blakiston’s criticism of her has it.8 Botanical study was plainly stated on her travel permit and we must take it that she did actually collect botanical specimens and that quoting scientific names was an adjunct to that. There is nothing in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan that points directly to her having collected plants there, but she had had a keen interest in plants from an early age under her father’s tuition and had an extensive knowledge of botany as a result. She also took to making enthusiastic use of a microscope in her studies after her trip to Hawaii, which resulted incidentally in her having closer contact with her future husband John Bishop. Despite all that, however, her book is full of detail that she could not possibly have written based just on sightings made as she moved from place to place. We can, therefore, only conclude that she did in fact collect plants. The best example of this is the nearly ten types of flowers she classified, with appropriate notes, on the Yu¯ futsu Plain and I will quote what she said: A dwarf rose, of a deep crimson colour, with orange, medlarshaped hips, as large as crabs, and corollas three inches across, is one of the features of Yezo; and besides there is a large rose-red convolvulus, a blue campanula, with tiers of bells, a blue monkshood, the Aconitum Japonicum, the flaunting Calystegia soldanella,

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purple asters, grass of Parnassus, yellow lilies, and a remarkable trailer, whose delicate leafage looked quite out of place among its coarse surroundings, with a purplish-brown campanulate blossom, only remarkable for a peculiar arrangement of the pistil, green stamens, and a most offensive carrion-like odour, which is probably to attract to it a very objectionable-looking fly, for purposes of fertilisation.9

About the jinrikisha men who took her from the Legation to Nikko¯ and had been attentive to her needs, Bird closes Letter IX. – (Continued) by saying: ‘and just now, after going for a frolic to the mountains, they called to wish me good-bye, bringing branches of azaleas’. Just before that she says that they had paid her ‘many little attentions’ such as ‘bringing me flowers’.10 So this was not simply a gesture of farewell, for having seen Bird and her servant collecting plants they probably brought them thinking that they would be useful. The most important evidence for Bird having collected plants is that fact that she employed as her servant-interpreter, one Ito, over the opposition of Dr Hepburn, the ‘moderator’ at the interview. One of the reasons why Bird employed this man can be seen in her having written that, ‘he had travelled through northern Japan by the eastern route, and in Yezo with Mr Maries, a botanical collector, that he understood drying plants…’11 which is ample proof that she collected plants on her journey and gave them to her servant to dry. In her Letter XXXIX written at Hakodate12 she says that Maries came and said that he was put out by Ito having joined Bird as he was very good at collecting plants and he had taught him how to dry them properly; he complained about this to Bird with the Consul there, to which Bird replied that she was sorry. Maries13 is not a pseudonym for E.S. Morse14 as Takakura Shinichiro¯15 and Ito¯ Takahiro16 have assumed. No, the real Maries is Charles Maries, a botanist and plant collector who collected plants in Japan, China and Taiwan for England’s largest tree nursery, James Veitch & Sons.17 He lived in Japan

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from April to December 1877 and made investigations in Hokkaido¯ from June to October. What Ito said at his interview was true. What needs to be noted is that in her Letter XXXIX Bird also wrote that it was after she had employed him that this man she had taken on ‘without a character’ told Lady Parkes and me (at the British Legation) that ‘I was asked by Mr. Maries, my previous employer, to go back to him, but replied that I had a contract with a Lady’.18 This shows that Lady Parkes and Bird both knew before she left for Hokkaido¯ that there was a problem with employing Ito. Bird may have made a contract with Ito and set off with him on that basis, but as applications to the Foreign Ministry were made by the Minister of the country concerned, Parkes must have had personal knowledge of Maries’s plant studies. These statements go to show that Ito’s plant-collecting skills were one of the factors that determined his employment. In fact, Maries visited Japan again in the summer of 1878 and stayed there until December. Bird wrote in Letter XLIII19 that she had promised to return Ito to him and in Letter XLVIII20 that Ito would go back to his employ, which proves that he made his investigations in Ito’s company. The importance the journey attached to plant collecting was the ostensible reason for the issue of Bird’s travel permit, but it should also be borne in mind that her emphasis was, in fact, on observing aspects of Japanese society. First trip with a servant-interpreter

The fact that she was accompanied by a servant-interpreter is also an important facet of this journey and is its fourth characteristic. Bird may have started her foreign travels at the age of twenty-two but her journeys before she went to Japan were in the English-speaking world and though she might have had travelling companions there were no interpreters; unlike those, though, her Japan journey would not have been possible

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without a servant-interpreter. Her choice of ‘Mr Ito’ was also one of the factors behind its success. Thus it was that the servant-interpreter factor came to assume importance as a subject in my analytical study of Bird’s journey. As soon as I began examining it, I set out to find information about Ito, as I thought that he should not be left as a shadowy figure nor be the object of a stereotyped view based on conjecture. He is widely thought of as being ‘a youth of eighteen,’ but the ‘youth’ onto whom the ‘age of eighteen’ was arbitrarily attached as being his true age is based on a mistranslation by Takanashi Kenkichi, where the meaning of ‘boy’, in the sense of servant, has been misunderstood. He had already celebrated his coming of age and was a grown man named Ito¯ Tsurukichi. He had a long career as the pioneer of interpreter-guides, using his experiences on his journey with Bird as his entrée.21 He was born on 31 January 1858, which made him twenty-one by traditional year count or fully nineteen in actual years.22 How strongly aware Bird herself was of the importance of the part her servant-interpreter played is seen in her description of the interview in Letter VI,23 and her repeated references again in Letters IX,24 XIV,25 XXVIII 26 and elsewhere. For example, Bird made a contract with Ito and the next day even paid him a month’s wages in advance simply at his request, despite the fact that he appeared ‘without any recommendation at all’,27 and even though Hepburn, who had made his house available for the interview and acted as principal at it, was opposed, and though Bird herself said that she ‘suspected and disliked the boy’.28 But I do not believe that these reasons, or the fact that he had experience of collecting plants, or was able to express himself well in English, were the only ones. He had typical Japanese features and was some 1” / 3 cm shorter than the 4’ 11” / 150 cm small-statured Bird but his lack of height did not attract attention at their ports of call and I believe that Bird was clever enough to see that this would be an advantage when carrying out his duties as a servant. It was

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also convenient for when Bird was giving instructions. In Letter VI there is the following passage which is of very great interest: He is only eighteen, but this is equivalent to twenty-three or twenty-four with us, and only 4 feet 10 inches in height, but, though bandy-legged, is well proportioned and strong-looking. He has a round and singularly plain face, good teeth, much elongated eyes, and the heavy droop of his eyelids almost caricatures the usual Japanese peculiarity. He is the most stupid-looking Japanese that I have seen, but, from a rapid, furtive glance in his eyes now and then, I think that the stolidity is partly assumed.29

Bird had no time for the dandy who came to apply for the post in a suit wholly unsuitable for a journey into the interior, or the man in splendid Japanese clothing with a bearing to match. In addition though, Ito had worked in Yokohama as the ‘boy to an officer of the Red Unit’30 of the British Army detachment there and learnt English, while 1877, which was when he started as an interpreter, was the year in which he was employed by Maries.31 This raises the possibility that Bird’s employment of Ito had in fact been decided in advance under the agency of Sir Harry Parkes. She writes that Ito took a percentage when paying for lodgings but we need to bear in mind that she is not just telling her readers that this was a bad habit on Ito’s part but that it was a general problem a foreigner had to be careful of on a journey with a servant and was normal business practice in Japan. The route

Bird’s journey may have been unrestricted but this does not mean that its route lacked structure, as the itinerary was broadly pre-set with the basic idea being to keep to it for the whole of the journey. In fact, route selection had not been made as thoroughly as this on any of her other journeys,

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and this is the fifth characteristic of the Japan trip. Though Parkes’s enquiry on her behalf of the Japanese government about the planned route saw the itinerary returned with no comment on a 140-mile (225 km) section due to ‘insufficient information’, the basic principle remains clear.32 No restriction as to route can, therefore, be taken to mean that changes in the itinerary were allowed once the journey was under way. An example of the way in which the plan changed en route was when Bird did not go to Hirosaki from Ikarigaseki, the hamlet at the foot of the pass on the Ushu¯ Highway from Akita to Aomori prefectures, but to Kuroishi.33 At Onoe, the village before Kuroishi, there was the case of two policemen who rushed up to Bird and ‘toilsomely bored through the passport, turning it up and down, and holding it up to the light, as though there were some nefarious mystery about it’, an incident that can only be understood when one considers that in the ‘Foreigners’ Interior Travel Permit’ it stipulated that ‘this permit shall be shown to the innkeeper at stops on the journey’ and ‘it must be shown at the request of the police or the mayor for inspection’, meaning that the constables were obliged to examine it.34 I will now give seven examples of the way in which the route was set up in line with the journey’s objectives. For instance, she spent ten days at Nikko¯ (including one at Yumoto), which Parkes, Satow and Hepburn had also visited, but it was not just to enjoy the splendid surroundings. At the Kanaya Cottage Inn, where Hepburn knew the owners well, she was to build up her strength for the demanding, untried journey ahead of her over those ‘unbeaten tracks’ and to learn from the Kanaya household about everyday and family life in Japan. Then, in connection with one of the trip’s major objectives, which was to find out why elements of the old system remained when Japan had entered a new era, her intention to provide an accurate description of the To¯sho¯gu¯, the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Shogunate Govern-

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ment, and the Rinno¯ji enshrining the third Sho¯gun Iemitsu,35 is clearly seen in her Letter XI.36 Next, instead of going back to Utsunomiya from Nikko¯ and ¯ shu¯ Highway37 to Aomori, she retraced her steps taking the O along the Kinugawa valley and used the route that crossed the Sanno¯ pass and led to Aizu. This was so that she could visit Niigata. She had certainly read Dallas’s article in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan on Okitama Prefecture that touches on this route38 but it was not because of that that she took it. The idea of linking this choice of route with Dallas has come to be accepted, but an extremely important point is missed if this is how it is interpreted. The aim of the visit to Niigata was to get to know the situation with Christian missionary activities there, and particularly medical missionary work. This is shown by her saying that: ‘The main object of my journey to Niigata was to learn something of the Medical Missionary work done by Dr Palm.’39 She also wanted to know about a wide range of subjects relating to this city, the only open port on the Sea of Japan-side of the country and the prefectural capital, including the way in which its construction was taking place and its use of space, its amenities as befitted its status, its schools and education system, commercial undertakings and products, publications and their sales outlets, and the climate. Next, we can see from Fig. 2 that she went northwest from ¯ no and Fig. 3 shows that she made a return jourHakodate to O ney to Sanda north of Kobe, with the former being to see what the Church Missionary Society’s Reverend Dening was doing by way of missionary activities. The latter was to observe a society that attracted converts in an area which had become one of the centres for the American Board of Commissioners missionary work under the influence of Kuki Takayoshi, the head of the former Sanda Clan. This is proof that the itinerary of Bird’s journey was designed to assess the situation of missionary work and the possibilities for the spread of Christianity (see below; the eighth feature).

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When her Honshu journey was nearing its end Bird made a day trip to Nakano, some 5½ miles / 9 km to the east of Kuroishi, to see the Nuruyu hot spring; this she did without taking Ito. It is thought that this was based on her having already seen hot springs on her journey and the Japanese liking for them, as mixed bathing was a matter of great concern in a negative way in Britain and America and the Japanese government was campaigning strongly to forbid it because of the bad reputation it was getting. On the strength of having actually been in a public bath-house she noticed that ‘formal politeness prevailed in the bathhouse as elsewhere’ and was able to add her own assessment differing from that of Britons or Americans with ‘the public bath-house is said to be the place in which public opinion is formed’.40 She writes that she went into the bath-house armed just with information from a co-operative jinrikisha man who had noticed that she wanted to see things with her own eyes; her own opinion would of course be based on her personal experience. She visited the Ise Shrines on her Kansai journey because Shinto¯, for which the Shrines were the holy of holies, was of more importance in traditional Japanese society even than Buddhism and this was of some worry to British and American scholars resident in Japan, who wondered if, in fact, it was a religion at all. We cannot but be impressed by Bird’s skill in recording her observations as she worshipped at the Shrines, and particularly the outer Shrine, access to which gave her recognition as a person of importance; this tells us of the extent to which she had steeled herself mentally in order to achieve her objective. Bird regards her ‘Notes on the Isé Shrines’ that follow Letter LV, as well as her account in the next Letter LVI and her ‘Notes on Shintô’ in Appendix B, as being essential for understanding her journey and Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. In a letter from the Malay Peninsula written to John Murray after she had left Japan she says that this journey was extremely interesting.

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The most important trip that Bird made was of course the one to Hokkaido¯. Her aim was to place on record what she learnt about this frontier area of Japan which the Government and the Development Commission had begun to administer not long before, and her findings about the indigenous Ainu and their society into which she had gained personal access. On the way back from Biratori she did not take the ‘approved’ route by sea from Muroran to Mori but went by land despite its difficulties (see Map 2); this was to be able to compare the mountain Ainu she had studied at Biratori with the Usu and Rebunge coast Ainus. This was an investigative trip based on scientific principles and the prevailing view that it was for personal sightseeing is mistaken. There are, however, instances where the route selection was based on existing knowledge though Bird does not write about this. She stresses that the routes she was taking were ones that foreigners had not used, but the stretches from Bange in the Aizu Basin to Tsugawa and Shinbo and from Niigata to Shirakozawa in Okitama in Yamagata Prefecture are the same as the ones the British Consul James Troup, who took up his post in Niigata in June 1869, followed when he journeyed through Uzen, Iwashiro, Aizu and Echigo in June and July of the following year, 1870. The route outlined in his travel map corresponds to the one Bird took in following it.41 The reason for Troup’s journey is thought to have been to see what the situation in and around Aizu was after the Boshin War,42 and it is very unlikely that Parkes would not have known of his route. In other words, it was not one that Bird thought up on her own. The assumption is that what was to be seen on the journey, and where, was carefully identified and put in place in the itinerary, and if so it means that Parkes very possibly set the route, drawing on the extensive experience of people like Satow, Dickins and Chamberlain, as one cannot see Bird having had the information necessary to organise things to this extent before arriving in Japan.

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Horses and jinrikishas of the Land Transport Agent

Though plagued by a longer rainy season than usual, which brought heavy and persistent downpours, Bird reached Aomori on completing that leg of her journey in the scheduled time of just under two months, and this was largely due to the modern system of internal transportation companies. Bird’s use of the old term Land Transport Company (䲨䙻Պ⽮) shows that this was still how this organisation was known in the field.43 In Letter IV she writes that ‘the special points discussed were “the Food Question”, which is yet unsolved, and whether it is best to buy a pony or trust to pack-horses’. On the former, as she says, there has not yet been a solution (this was three days later on the 27th) and this shows that deciding on the principal mode of transport and the food question were the keys to whether the journey would stand or fall.44 This ‘discussion’ that took place the day after she arrived at the Legation refers to the conversation that was had between Bird accompanied by Sir Harry and Lady Parkes when she met the missionaries Fyson and Dening and their wives, from Niigata and Hakodate respectively, who had come to make arrangements for seeing her later on their home ground. ‘To buy a pony’ refers to buying a horse for her own use as she had done in Hawaii and the Rocky Mountains while ‘To trust to pack-horses’ indicates riding on a horse provided by the Land Transport Agent (޵ഭ䙊䙻Պ⽮) which was led by a groom on foot. Significant is the fact that immediately after this she decided to use pack-horses and that it was Parkes who made this decision. Two paragraphs after the quote above she says: ‘Sir Harry advises me not to buy a pony, as it would fall sick for want of proper food, lose its shoes, and involve an additional plague in the shape of a betto.’45 From this one sees that Parkes was giving advice from the sidelines but, as has already been made clear, he is actually giving this advice as the proposer of the journey, and making decisions from this position; we can only conclude that Bird accepted his advice.

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On the subject of the Land Transport Agent that ‘arranges for the transport of travellers and merchandise by pack-horses and coolies’ and its use on her journey, she adds some details and assesses its suitability in a letter written after leaving Nikko¯ and just before she actually started employing it.46 She then writes, in a sentence still important although she added it when her book was published two years after her Japan trip: ‘This Transport Agent is admirably organised. I employed it in journeys of over 1200 miles, and always found it efficient and reliable.’ Finally, at the end of that paragraph she writes: ‘I intend to make use of it always, much against Ito’s wishes, who reckoned on many a prospective “squeeze” in dealings with the farmers’, telling her readers that using the services of the new transportation system was at the heart of her journey towards Aomori.47 Summarising the means of transport to Aomori as explained based on ‘The Complete Translation’ shows the following: from Tokyo to Nikko¯ she used rickshaws and from there it was chiefly pack-horses; from Tamagawa to Shirakozawa in Okitama in the southwest of Yamagata prefecture cows, not horses, were in use, so she rode those. Then, from Kizaki to Kawaguchi in Niigata prefecture, Rokugo¯ to Jingu¯ji (Akita prefecture), Kubota (Akita) to Tsuchizaki-minato and Daishaka to Aomori (Aomori prefecture) she went by rickshaw. She went by skiff down the Agano and Ko-Agano rivers between Tsugawa and Niigata, and the Omono river between Jingu¯ji and Kubota, and went up river by boat too between Niigata and Kizaki and Kiriishi and Kotsunagi in Akita prefecture. It is interesting to note that Ito and the locals tried to prevent her using boats, and even resorted to pretending that they had stopped running because the river was too high, but Bird insisted on using them and was able to complete her journey smoothly because of them. The stretch upstream between Kiriishi and Kotsunagi on the Yoneshiro River was made in pouring rain, but it is thought that the use of boats to descend the Agano and Omono rivers and to go up the Kajikawa between Niigata and Kizaki was part

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of the original plan – the local people’s objections to this were probably because of their worry about possible accidents.48 In Hokkaido¯, instead of the Land Transport Agent (޵ഭ䙊 䙻Պ⽮), she used the horse and the rickshaw that the Development Commission had put at her disposal, as seen from a passage I quoted earlier (see p. 80 / Letter XL, Vol. II, pp. 27/28). Drawing on The Complete Translation we see that the rule was to use a jinrikisha when one was available, or a horse when one was not. This was why she used the former on her outward journey between Muroran and Tomakomai, and between Tomakomai and Horobetsu on the way back. At that stage, for the leg from Horobetsu, she then switched to a horse as she did not go to Muroran but to Moto-Muroran instead. Going back from Horobetsu by the same route as she took on her way in would have involved going by boat from Muroran to Mori for the return journey to Hakodate. We should note that she rode her own horse on three stretches of her journey, the first on her way to Biratori after she had left the Sapporo New Road (completed in 1873) at Tomakomai, next on her return to Tomakomai from Biratori by way of Monbetsu and then from Horobetsu back to Hakodate. She was finally able to do what she had done in Hawaii and the Rockies. On her journey in the Kansai and to Ise she used jinrikishas and the railway that had been opened between Kobe and Kyoto. She writes that she had intended to go overland to Kobe but changed to the steamer because of the weather, but I think that in view of her schedule it is reasonable to assume that she was considering going by ship on the outward journey anyway.49 As for the lodgings at the places she stayed at, all of which are shown in Figs 2 and 3, it is clear that where a foreign woman traveller was involved they would not have been able to accommodate her without prior notice having been given. This point is not made clear in what Bird says about her accommodation, and though she writes that she looked for inns when she arrived at where she wanted to stay, she would not have been able to complete her journey on this basis. She

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most probably used former officially designated inns for daimyo¯ which offered the best lodgings at such places: especially at the start of her journey she complains about how bad the lodgings were, but we have to realise that this was partly due to her being unfamiliar with their form and structure in comparison to the hotels she had been used to staying in. Her ideal was the ‘daimyo’s quarters’ in the ‘designated inn’, the former daimyo’s residence, and she writes about one of these at Kom¯ uchi in Aizu and Kaneyama atsu in Yamagata prefecture. At O in Yamagata prefecture the ‘designated inn’ and the transportation company’s relay station shared the same building. That may have been the case at Komatsu too. On Hokkaido¯ it was only at Hakodate that she stayed at the mission house as she did at Niigata; otherwise she put up as a rule at staging posts which were the equivalent of the designated inns on Honshu¯ and further south. Elsewhere on Hokkaido¯, accommodation had been arranged for her in advance by the Development Commission, including Chief Penriuk’s house at Biratori. The British Legation

I touched on this aspect in Chapter 2 but here I will explain it in greater detail, for there could have been no discussion about the six characteristics described above without this seventh one. The first point we should note is that from an analysis of her movements in her seven-month stay, we see that she spent three weeks at the Legation from the time of her arrival in Japan until she left for Hokkaido¯, another four weeks after returning to Tokyo until she left for the Kansai and the Ise Shrines, and finally two weeks between her return to Tokyo from that second trip and her departure from Japan. I believe that it is very possible that this pattern was planned in advance. This idea brings up the point about the British Legation being the journey’s main base, as Fig. 2 also makes clear, though it is an aspect that has been overlooked until now.

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Her journey to Hokkaido¯ took 101 days in all (which would have been 100 days had it not been for the typhoon that delayed her return to Yokohama), twice the time allowed for foreign residents to travel, and her visit to the Kansai and Ise was right on the cusp in terms of the regulations at fortynine days; these figures have a bearing on my theory about the role of the Legation. In a letter she wrote on 12 August to Mrs Blackie from Hakodate before she started out for Biratori she says that after her return to Hakodate from her visit to the world of the Ainu: ‘In the middle of September I purpose to return to the Legation for a month, and then go to Kioto and Southern Japan.’ This is what actually happened, as she returned to Tokyo on 18 September and then spent a month at the Legation. I will add some detail here. Having arrived in Japan she stayed for three nights at a hotel in Yokohama and went to the Legation on 23 May. This left eighteen days, or just short of three weeks, before she set out for Hokkaido¯ on 10 June and as she was in Yokohama from 4 to 6 June for interviews for a servantinterpreter, she actually stayed at the Legation for fifteen days, more or less two weeks in other words. Her second stay at the Legation was from 18 September until 16 October, another four weeks, so twenty-eight days. Bird writes of the third time she stayed at the Legation that she ‘spent her last ten days in Japan here in Tokyo’, which equates to the ten days from 9 to 18 December. I think she travelled back from Kobe with Satow though, and he returned to Tokyo on 5 December, which means that she probably used the weekend of 6–8 December for the trips to Kamakura and Enoshima that we know about from what she put in her Letter LIX.50 In that case her stay at the Legation from after her return from the Kansai until she left Japan amounted to two weeks. Adding all these periods up we see that her total time spent at the Legation was just over fifty days. These numbers are testimony to the importance of the Legation for Bird, as they show that her journey was planned round

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almost a quarter of her time in Japan being spent there. This point has been completely ignored up to now, partly due to the abridged edition of her book, but also because people who have written about Bird in Japan have been distracted by places she visited other than Tokyo, and have not given any thought to where the nerve centre of her activities was. Concerning Bird’s second stay at the Legation, Stoddart describes it as her headquarters, while Bird herself talks of it as her ‘happy home for the whole time of my residence in Japan’51 (in a letter to John Murray, of which more later). As another sign of its importance, she hints at its being vital as a place in which to prepare the groundwork for her book. For Bird, the Legation was almost more evidently a base in terms of the tangible results it produced, than for the number of days she spent there. Her first stay there was basically to prepare for her trip to Hokkaido¯. It is clear that detailed preparations had to be made for a journey that involved features not usually allowed at the time, and Bird’s account tells us that these were being put in hand. In the next chapter I explain the support she was given in making these preparations, mainly by the Parkeses. By contrast, I think that her second stay there was for more than just relaxation and that with the help of Parkes, Satow and Chamberlain, the English teacher at the Imperial Naval College, she arranged the information she had collected on her journey into preparatory book form and set about writing up the drafts that would emerge as ‘Notes on Tôkiyô’ and ‘Notes on Tôkiyô – (Concluded.)’. This too was something she could only put in train by being based at the Legation as it enabled her to adjust what she had written en route with advice from people who were proficient in Japanese and things Japanese, and consult the reference material available there. There is one event during her time there that I cannot fail to mention, which is that when Bird returned to the Legation Constance Gordon-Cumming was there. She and Bird had arranged to meet there before Bird left for Japan. Clara Whitney

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has much of interest to say in her Clara’s Diary: An American Girl in Meiji Japan52 but from her references to accompanying GordonCumming around Tokyo on her whirlwind hunt for antiques no motive for the latter’s visit to Japan can be derived other than her connection with Parkes and Bird. Gordon-Cumming’s visit to Japan cannot be understood without reference to the people who were central to Bird’s trip having materialised, Parkes of course, but also the two people in Scotland she was related to by marriage, Lady Middleton and the Duke of Argyll. But she also had her own programme of activities, as seen in her excursion with Clara Whitney, which suggests there was some special significance in her meeting Bird at the Legation. It is also very possible that the search for antiques was at Lady Middleton’s request.53 When Bird visited the Legation for the third time we have seen from Letter LIX how pleased she was that she had safely completed her seven-month journey and was able to enjoy her time there free of obligations. Even then, however, she continued her enquiries into the actual state of Japanese society to the last possible moment. Earlier, she had gone with Chamberlain to the Ikegami Honmonji (ụୖᮏ㛛ᑎ), the principal temple of the Nichiren sect, to be received by the priests in the guest-room of the temple. This was rather special since such an opportunity was not available to the ordinary traveller, and on the day before she left she visited a cremation ground through the good offices of Mori Arinori and Kusumoto Masataka, the Governor of Tôkiyô Fu. These examples show that her time spent at the Legation was an essential part of her successful completion her mission, but there are two further points that should not be forgotten in this connection. The first is that in the 1880 original of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, the part that is written in the form of dated letters amounts to 620 pages, with seventy-one of them written at the British Legation. This increases to 662 pages with the addition of sections referring to specific places and areas such as Appendix B (Notes on Shintô), Notes on Tôkiyô, Notes on Tôkiyô – (Concluded.) and Notes on the Ise Shrines, and of these the 104 pages

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referring to Tokyo account for 15.7% of the total. Taking the book as a whole, the Tokyo pages take up 12.8% of it. This is not as much as the 171 pages on Ezo and the Ainu but it still ranks second in terms of the space used. In her Preface Bird gives the reasons for favouring Tokyo in this way, but given that the aim of her journey was to consider why old customs persisted in the midst of the drive to Westernisation, I believe she also thought it necessary to write her book as a topographical study about what kind of place this hub of Japan was, and how it was changing. The other point is that it was not just the Legation that served as a base for Bird, for it was complemented by the centres of Christian missionary activity that gave her what might be called a back-up position. This is also an important feature in the context of her journey’s objectives. Missionary agenda

On the day after Bird went to stay at the Legation, Sir Harry and Lady Parkes introduced her to Fyson and Dening, missionaries from the Church Missionary Society in Niigata and Hakodate who had come to Tokyo with their wives, as they thought that visits to these two towns were important. Bird did actually stay in both places, for probably seven days at Niigata and eleven at Hakodate, which was comparable with the ten days she spent at Nikko¯. She is thought to have stayed with the American Board at Kobe, for seventeen days, and at Osaka for three, and as the Do¯shisha Women’s School where she stayed in Kyoto had been taken over as an American Boardrelated facility, her sojourn at such places totalled fifty-five days if one adds in her seventeen days there. This is longer, if only by a little, than the time she spent at the British Legation (Figs 2 & 3 illustrate the significance of this). We cannot assume that the whole of the seventeen days spent in Kyoto had to do with Christianity, as she also toured the city’s famous sites, but we can say that looking at the missionary strongholds as a whole they represent a base that was

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second only to the British Legation. The fact that the sum total of the time she spent at the British Legation and the various missionary outposts accounts for half her seven months in Japan needs to be stressed, given that the impression of this being a journey to untrodden parts that foreigners had never visited is strong. It is noteworthy that though Bird met the Church Missionary Society’s C.F. Warren who was already busy at Osaka’s Kawaguchi Settlement, it was rather from the American Board that she took her support and used their missionary activities as the focus of her enquiries. This indicates that Bird did not regard overseas missionary work as being the sole preserve of the Church Missionary Society. But then, the American Board was a much bigger organisation than the Church Missionary Society with fourteen people in Kobe, seven in Osaka and four in Kyoto, both men and women, and Bird probably thought that in terms of spreading Christianity the opportunities were greater there.54 It is worth noting that to effect these contacts in Kobe and Osaka, Bird had written to the Chief Secretary of the American Board, G.N. Clark, at its headquarters in Boston and asked for a letter of recommendation and she says in Letter LI that she received a really whole-hearted reception on the strength of it.55 It was mainly Parkes who organised her trip to Japan but Bird herself followed her practice from previous journeys in having letters of recommendation written by influential people. My belief that another of the characteristics of her trip to Japan (the eighth characteristic) was to look into the possibilities of preaching and spreading Christianity is based on what she wrote in the final paragraph of the section that concludes her book, where she says: Of the shadows which hang upon the horizon of Japan, the darkest, to my thinking, arises from the fact that she is making the attempt, for the first time in history, to secure the fruits of Christianity without transplanting the tree from which they

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spring. The nation is sunk in immorality, the millstone of Orientalism hangs around her neck in the race on which she has started, and her progress is political and intellectual rather than moral; in other words, as regards the highest destiny of man, individually or collectively, it is at present a failure. The great hope for her is that she may grasp the truth and purity of primitive Christianity, as taught by the lips and life of our Lord Jesus Christ, as vigorously as she has grasped our arts and sciences; and that, in the reception of Christianity, with its true principles of manliness and national greatness, she may become, in the highest sense, ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ and the Light of Eastern Asia.56 I.L.B.

With this, and the passage before it that splendidly sums up the progress Japan was making as it entered a new phase of its history, Bird ends her book. It is a ending derived from her having spent seven months in Japan and ‘lived among the Japanese’, as she says in her Preface, with her opinions taking shape as her journey unfolded. She begins her account of the results of her trip to the Kansai and Ise with Letter LI which has as its subject Kobe as ‘a Mission centre’57 and closes with her last letter, Letter LVIII, that takes the ‘Prospects of Christianity’58 as its subject, but though she writes of Christianity that she does not doubt ‘it is destined to be a power in moulding the future of Japan’, she says this as someone who does not ‘share the sanguine expectations of those about me as to a rapid spread of Christianity’.59 The Introductory Chapter was also written after she returned home and her statement there that ‘Many Europeans ridicule Japanese progress as “imitation”, Chinese and Coreans contemplate it with ill-concealed anger, not unmixed with jealousy, yet Japan holds on her course, and,… I see no reason to distrust (its) permanence… specially and certainly if Christianity overthrows Buddhism, the most powerful influence from without which has hitherto affected Japan’ is a nice accompaniment to her conclusion.60

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Nor was the spread and permanence of Christianity a matter of personal concern for Bird alone. It was also a matter of real concern for Parkes, and Satow who worked with him on this, who as dean of the diplomatic corps had made it possible for Christian missionary work to proceed openly and had the No Christians notices finally removed in 1873 after protests were made to the Iwakura Delegation in Britain and America. The efforts Parkes made to effect freedom of worship, and Satow’s immersing himself in research into Christianity, also had a bearing on Bird’s journey. Bird’s acquaintance with Christianity as part of the Japanese scene started with her seeing the ‘complete nest’61 of churches at the Tsukiji Concession, when she met the missionary couples Fyson and Dening. When she was taken by Lady Parkes to visit Lt Hawes who lived in one of the little houses for the temple’s priests nestled in the woods of the Zo¯jo¯ji (໇кሪ) at Shiba, we see that a service was being conducted by the Episcopal Church of England in one of the small buildings. She attended mass the next day at a temple building where ‘a simple communion-table has taken the place of the altar and Shrine of Buddha, and a few seats on the matted floor accommodate the scanty congregation’62 and saw the possibilities of converting a temple for use as a church. The impression that this made on her can be seen when she was taken by Sir Harry and Lady Parkes a week later to the Senso¯ji (ὸⲡᑎ), when she saw that the decoration of a temple differed according to its sect, and wrote that some ‘like those of the Monto sect, are so severely simple, that with scarcely an alteration they might be used for Christian worship to-morrow’.63 So, when she looked into the missionary activities of Palm and Fyson a month later, she inspected the row of temples at Teramachi and in Letter XIX under the heading Ecclesiastical Ornaments writes: ‘On the whole, the Niigata temples are ecclesiastical and devotional-looking, and if a few of the Buddhist insignia were removed, they might be used for Christian worship without alteration.’64 Then, not only does she give a vivid

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description of the rostrum of ‘a popular preacher’ but by way of a comparison of the basic tenets of Christianity and Buddhism emphasises the different natures of each and suggests that this is one of the reasons why the spread of Christianity is being prevented.65 Though another reason for this blockage is put down to remarks by students returning from overseas to the effect that in Britain and America ‘no one of any intelligence or position now believes in Christianity’, she rebuts this view and goes so far as to say that in Japan at least ‘in spite of the very slow progress which Christianity has made, any one who attempts to forecast the future of Japan without any reference to it, is making a very serious mistake’.66 She has high regard for the activities of the two missionaries which she examines from several aspects and outlines the various problems they have to contend with, while adding sharp criticism of the stance of the Church Missionary Society. Two weeks after seeing the temples at Niigata she was fortunate enough to see a funeral at Rokugo¯, a town in the south of Akita prefecture, and in her detailed description of this she writes of the great Hongakuji (ᮏぬᑎ) where the ceremony was held that ‘the temple at Rokugo¯ was very beautiful, and except that its ornaments were superior in solidity and good taste, differed little from a Romish church’.67 Then, when she visited the Normal School at Kubota (Akita) four days later, the head teacher smiled condescendingly when she asked just as she was on the point of leaving ‘if they taught religion’. He replied by saying, among other things, that it was not necessary and Bird was sternly critical of this when she wrote that they were ‘appropriating the fruits of Christian civilisation, but rejecting the tree from which they spring’.68 What is very interesting is that two weeks after that she went on her own on a day trip from Kuroishi into the mountains to the Nuruyu hot spring, and reflecting on that she wrote under the sub-title A Trembling Hope that she was wavering in her previous ideas about how to disseminate Christianity with doubts about many questions crowding in on her relentlessly

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every day.69 She admitted that she was a very weak vessel in this and with quotations from the bible asks what God the Father’s intentions are for saving the descendants of heathens.70 She then puts a note saying that this is not a criticism of missionary activities or to question their importance, but it may be an indication that she is re-assessing the necessity of evangelism.71 The flavour of her trip to the Kansai and Ise as being one where Christianity was never far from her mind is very strong. It is clear from Letter LIII,72 where she says of Jo¯do Shinshu¯ that ‘if the Monto is not the largest sect, it stands first in intelligence, influence and wealth’ and ‘sends priests to England in preparation for their disputations on Christianity’, that her visit to the Nishihonganji was to argue the religious merits of Buddhism and Christianity with one of these priests, the English-speaking ‘Akamatz’.73 Bird had a keen eye for detail and the vivid picture she paints of the halls of the Nishihonganji and the Hiunkaku74 where these discussions took place is a good example of her talent for on-the-spot descriptions of scenery. I think that we can tell from the way she links the talks and her descriptive passage, that a feature of this trip was the emphasis it placed on how Christianity might be preached and spread; this is also seen in the closing words of this same Letter LIII where she asks: ‘Is it the Hindu teacher … or is it the eternal Son of God … who shall mould the religious future of Japan.’75 In other words, whether it will be Shaka or Christ. Bird shows some degree of understanding for the way missionaries operate, in ignorance of Shinto¯ and Buddhism, but still criticises them when she says: ‘Except in a few cases the missionaries of the different denominations know nearly nothing of the two great national faiths.’ This is what led to her talks with Akamatsu.76 For Bird in this frame of mind, lamenting the fact that ‘Probably there is scarcely an atheism so blank, or a materialism so complete, on earth as that of the educated modern Japanese’77 it was surely a joy that during her stay at the Do¯shisha Women’s School she was able to observe the study regime at the Kiyôto

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College (਼ᘇ⽮㤡ᆖṑ), view at first hand the high level of teaching centred on Mr Davis, the headmaster, with his ‘very earnest Christianity’ and his being ‘sanguine regarding the spread of Christianity in Japan’, and confirm that in the school and among the students a sense of Christianity prevailed.78 It was only natural that Bird should visit the school’s founder Niijima Jo¯ and his wife Yae at their new home and get Neesima (as she spells his name) to tell her something of his background as, ‘the only ordained Japanese pastor’.79 She felt that he was ‘a genial, enlightened Christian, and an intensely patriotic Japanese’ but the outcome of one of her questions was that ‘he takes a less hopeful view of the prospects of Christianity than his American colleagues’.80 When she got back to Kobe after thirty-four days of touring ¯ tsu and Osaka it was to get a more Kyoto, the Ise Shrines, O comprehensive idea of the activities of the American Board, particularly in the field of medical missionary work where their methods and results were different from those of the Church Missionary Society, and she also went to Arima to attend a gathering of Christian converts. In fact, Bird’s return to Kobe from Osaka happened to be on the day before the opening ceremony was held of the Kobe church hall completed at the end of October and the evidence shows that the ‘first annual meeting of the Japan Christian Missionary Society’ was held on the following day there and that she left for Sanda four days after the Conference.81 On the basis of what she had seen Bird concluded that ‘there cannot, however, be a greater mistake than that Japan is “ripe for the reception of Christianity”’82 and it was because she was coming to this realisation, or rather had already reached it, that she closed her magnum opus with the words quoted earlier.83 Bird had come to refer to Japan as ‘this country’ when she used it as her base camp for her Far East journey sixteen or seventeen years later, with her stay there illustrated by her own photographs – her new-found skill – added to Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – the New Edition. When this came out in 1900 she already

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knew that what she had foreseen was correct and in her Preface she writes: The young men of the educated classes are almost altogether agnostics. The Japanese who profess Roman, Greek, or Protestant Christianity number over 100,000; but the prospect of the spread of Christianity is not so good as it was on my first visit.84

The final two paragraphs of A Chapter on Japanese Public Affairs have not been removed. She continues to stress how significant Japan’s acceptance of Christianity would be, and uses this section as the conclusion to the New Edition too. I have explained via her own writings that one of the aims of Bird’s Japan trip was to see if Christianity – which in her case would have meant Protestantism – could be promoted. This is a subject that has been ignored up to now, but there are other facts that back up this idea. The most important among these is that Dening spent a month in the summer of 1876 in Ainu villages, centred on Biratori, and I believe that the friendly relationship he established with Penriuk not only marked the beginning of mission work among the Ainu but lasted until Bird’s own researches in Penriuk’s house two years later. I will refer to this again later. Then when the reviewer of articles published in The Church Missionary Intelligencer, one of the journals of the Church Missionary Society, talked of the works of Bird, Reed and Alcock, and particularly the first two, he rated Bird’s work highly; all the facts he quotes are consistent with my view that Bird’s journey was made to explore the possibility of preaching and spreading Christianity.85 Bird’s letters

In her Preface Bird writes, in reference to the two volumes of her book, that ‘I decided that they should consist mainly of letters written on the spot for my sister and a circle of personal friends’ and her work is indeed in the form of letters.86 But did Bird actually send any letters en route?

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Takanashi Kenkichi’s understanding is that she sent letters to England on her travels and this is the same with other translators, while specialists and researchers have also taken this view. For instance, in her article ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Isabella Bird, the 19th Century’s Greatest Woman Traveller’, Kano¯ Takayo writes that, ‘the detailed letters she sent to her sister Henrietta form the basis for her travelogue’.87 The same is the case with non-specialist authors with Takeuchi Masahiro telling the whole story in his ‘Isabella Bird Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ on the premise that ‘her work has built round diary-style letters that she wrote to her sister Henrietta in England from various points on her journey’,88 while Shibuya Mitsuo, too, writes in his ‘Isabella Bird in Yamagata’ that ‘she posted letters from wherever she was’ and stretches the point by saying that the ‘spread of the postal system’ was one of the reasons for the success of her trip’.89 And even in reference works such as the ‘Travel & Tourism Yearbook’ edited by the Study Centre for Travel Culture one sees the phrase ‘published two years after her visit to Japan based on letters sent to her sister’.90 Tokioka and Takahata have used an informal style of language in their translations based on their misunderstanding that Bird’s book is based on personal letters. These misunderstandings on the part of translators have spilt over into the work of authors researching Bird’s journey, leading to a mass misconception on the part of readers and prompting the idea that her book is based on personal letters sent from Japan to take firm hold. But the assumption that Bird sent letters during her journey is plainly wrong. Bird’s original does not contain the word ‘sent’ nor does she say anything about sending letters to England. I will dispense with the details for lack of space but if one reads her original in terms of her daily progress, and looks at source materials such as the Postal Services Department’s ‘Imperial Japanese Post Regulations and Penalty Provisions 1878’91 and the ‘Greater Japanese Empire Selected Mileage Chart’92 of 1880 that show the locations of post offices, or refers to research papers

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on the foreign mail system of the time, one sees that it was not possible to send letters en route. Nor did her trip allow her the time to make copies. The loss of important and often bulky items would have made it impossible to put to put her book together, and so it is hardly likely that she would have sent them regularly during her journey. In his biography of Parkes, F.V. Dickins refers to Bird’s journey in Japan but he only says that her book consists of letters she wrote there and does not say that she actually sent them. Also important is what I found out when I examined the John Murray company archives in 1994. Take, for instance, the trips to Australia, Hawaii and the Rocky Mountains she made before she went to Japan, and those she made to Hong Kong, Canton and the Malay Peninsula after leaving Japan. The surviving letters to her sister that form the basis of those travelogues start with ‘My Pet’, ‘My own darling’, ‘My ownest’ or ‘My Own One’. But when it comes to her Japan trip there are only travel diary-type items headed ‘From Kiôto to Isé’, ‘The Isé Shrines’, ‘Osaka 2’, ‘Osaka 3 Arima’, consisting of nineteen, three, eight and three pages respectively, and ordinary letters sent on 11 and 12 August from Hakodate to John Murray III and Mrs Blackie respectively. These items are presently in the John Murray archive of the National Library of Scotland. And these diary-like thirty-three pages are clearly different in content from the original publication and insipid in style. We can also see this in Letters to Henrietta edited by Kay Chubbuck which put these hand-written notes into printed form. Chubbuck herself writes that ‘Unfortunately, there appear to be no letters to Henrietta from the six months Isabella spent in Japan’93 and she thinks it is strange that no letters have survived, but the reason why they have not is obvious. Apart from Japan, it was only on her trips to Hawaii and the Rocky Mountains in Period II of her travels after the death of her parents, and to China and the Malay Peninsula in her Period

Plate 1. (August 1873) is the oldest photograph on record, taken at the photographic studio of Bradley and Rolufson when Isabella arrived in San Francisco in August 1873. She gave this to Mr & Mrs Lyman for the help they gave her at Hilo. We can see that her shoulders are narrow and sloping and that she was still slim at her then age of forty-one, which speaks to Stoddart’s description of her at the age of twenty-eight as being of small stature and slim. She should have looked pleased as a result of the success of her trip to Hawaii but along with an air of sagacity and strength of will a feeling of sensitivity can also be detected. Note also the shape of her mouth, which does not look as it does in Pl. 2. She broke a front tooth on her Rocky Mountains trip and had it repaired when she returned home.

Plate 2. This study was taken at J. Moffat’s photographic studio near Isabella’s home in Edinburgh in July 1880, the month after her sister died, possibly as one of those taken with her husband to celebrate their engagement, and in this image, too, one can see that she was still fairly slim. In the time between these first two photographs being taken Isabella had visited Japan in 1878 and there is no impression of the full-figured person found in the frontispiece picture in the translation by Takanashi. One can see from her expression that she is still grieving over the death of her sister but it is of no small significance for showing us the features and small stature of the Isabella who travelled in Japan.

Plate 3. This study (June 1887) shows Isabella at St Mary’s Hospital in London where she started training as a nurse in April 1887, the year after her husband’s death. It was probably taken to mark the end of the course, given the three-month period up to the June date of the photograph and the way she is dressed.

Plate 4. This photograph was taken in July 1896 at A. Farsari & Co. in Yokohama. Isabella’s intelligence and strength of character stand out in a somewhat severe countenance. The selfconfidence gained from overcoming the difficulties involved in achieving her cherished goal of the Yangtze Valley trip is evident. This portrait was a gift to the Kanaya family in whose house she also stayed on her 1878 visit and has survived along with a photograph of the Kanaya family taken at around the same time and recorded in ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan - New Edition’.

Plate 5. Taken at the studio of Elliott & Fry in London circa 1898, this study is from an interview with Isabella carried in Vol. 1, Issue 4 of The Wide World Magazine published in April 1898 as the ‘Snapshots in the Far East’. In it Isabella is full-bodied with a distinct personality showing through. The impression of the magazine’s editor is recorded as ‘To read her ably-written books... you would be prepared to meet more or less an Amazon. Somewhat naturally, therefore, your surprise will be great on coming face to face with a gentle and sweet-voiced English lady – may she pardon me for saying these thigns – clad in a tartan robe’. (See ‘Far East Journey 2’)

Plate 6. Photographed by McKenzie, this is an 1895 shot showing Bird at work on her photography at Swatow, China. The tripod’s legs are approximately 4’ 11” (150cm) long and from the position of her eyes and her wearing quite thick-soled boots, the photograph clearly shows that Isabella was about the same height, as was Queen Victoria, strangely enough. It is also important for the fact that it probably shows the kind of clothing Isabella wore for her Japan trip, and that she needed her photographs to demonstrate her progress as a traveller.

Plate 7. Frontispiece featuring ‘Ainos of Yezo’ and title page of Vol. II of the original 1880 edition. This illustration is of great interest. The person on the right appears in a lithograph in a report by Heinrich Freiherr von Siebold who supported Bird’s investigations at Biratori; it is based on a photograph by Count Raimund von Stillfried who was commissioned by the Hokkaido¯ Development Agency to take a series of photographs for use at the 1873 Vienna International Exposition - an event that von Siebold himself was also involved in. It is clear from the composition of the copperplate that two people featured in the Stillfried photograph. The illustration in Letter 41, which is very similar to the frontispiece, has been faithfully reproduced as a copperplate from the photograph on which the frontispiece is based. From this we know that the two people featured are not just random Ainu from somewhere in Ezo (Hokkaido¯) but in fact are the two men referred to as Shinondi and Shinrichi who helped Bird at Biratori. The frontispiece is therefore of particular historical interest insofar as it provides evidence that support from a variety of sources lay behind Bird’s visit.

Plate 8. ‘Travelling restaurant’. Vol.I, p.17 (Letter I)

Plate 9. ‘Fujisan, from a village on the Tokaido’. Vol. II, p.307 (Letter LIX)

Plate 10. Tombstone of the Bird family, Edinburgh, showing Isabella as the last entry. Courtesy: Author Photo and Illustration Credits Pl. 1 Owned by the Lyman Museum Pl. 2 J. Moffat, Edinburgh, Bird/Bishop/Tingle family photograph albums, PH203_007_3_21, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon Pl. 3 Portrait of Isabella Bird Bishop, June 1887, Bird/Bishop/Tingle family photograph albums, PH203_007_3_23, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon Pl. 4 Collection of the Nikko Kanaya Hotel Pl. 5 The Wide World Magazine, Vol. 1, author’s collection Pl. 6 A.M.Stoddart, The Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), author’s collection Pl. 7 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. 2, authors’s collection Pl. 8 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. 1, authors’s collection Pl. 9 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. 2, authors’s collection

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III journeys, that Bird wrote her travelogues in letter form. And letters have survived in these cases. In other words the only conclusion is that in Japan she did not write any actual letters but just wrote her book in the form of letters. What she did write en route were ‘careful notes’. Why then did Bird adopt this letter format? On this subject Bird herself, in her Preface, writes that because it ‘involves the sacrifice of artistic arrangement and literary treatment, and necessitates a certain amount of egotism’ it was ‘with some reluctance’ that she did it, but adds, ‘on the other hand, it places the reader in the position of the traveller, and makes him share the vicissitudes of travel’.94 I also think that in the case of Japan she was more inclined to use this format that enabled reader and traveller to share their experiences because her journey there was not simply a private affair. In general, she knew that the value of her work was in the frank opinions she brought to her descriptions of events and she wanted to show that this book was a joint effort with her sister, seeing in it a continuity of style with her Hawaii and Rocky Mountains travelogues. Bird did write some letters in Japan, and as far as we can establish there were four of them, but this does not contradict the point I have stressed here as they do not provide material for her book. We know the following about them. Three out of the four were written when she reached Hakodate before setting out for Biratori. The fourth, to Lady Middleton, is dated 30 September which shows that it was written after she had finished her Hokkaido¯ journey and returned to the British Legation. Of the other three, we do not know the date of the one she sent to her sister as it is only quoted in part by Stoddart, but the ones to John Murray and Mrs Blackie are dated 11 August and 12 August respectively. This makes me think that she wrote to her sister first, on the 10th, and then one each to Murray and Mrs Blackie on the two days after that, and that the letters were sent to England not from Hakodate but from the British Legation. I say that because at the head of the letter to

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Murray she has put not just ‘Date Hakodate Yesso August 11/78’ but also ‘Address c/o Sir Harry Parkes, K.C.B. British Legation Tokio Japan’. And at the end of her letter to Mrs Blackie she has also put ‘my address is the British Legation in Tokio’. The one to John Murray is written in such a way as to expect a reply and says that she would be at the British Legation when that came, but the one to Mrs Blackie is in answer to a letter she had received from her at Hakodate and shows that letters from England should have the British Legation as the address in case replies sent elsewhere might not arrive in time. I also think that the twenty-three letters Bird was ‘able to read’ at the Denings’ house on her arrival at Hakodate were probably not sent there by post but had arrived at the Legation and were brought to Hakodate by Mr and Mrs Hepburn to give to her personally. Bird expresses her gratitude for the fact that in the parcel Parkes sent by messenger to Kasukabe, her first stop on her way to Hokkaido¯, there were letters and a telegram from Henrietta and this is evidence that the Legation acted as the hub for correspondence with England. We also deduce from this that letters were not actually sent while she was on her journey. She was delighted to receive her letters from Henrietta and I will quote what she said, first at Hakodate95 and then at Kasukabe:96 (At Hakodate) You cannot imagine the delight of being in a room with a door that will lock, to be in a bed instead of on a stretcher, of finding twenty-three letters containing good news, and of being able to read them in warmth and quietness under the roof of an English home! (At Kasukabe) While they spelt through my passport by their dim lantern, I opened the Yedo parcel, and found that it contained a tin of lemon sugar, a most kind note from Sir Harry Parkes, and a packet of letters from you. While I was attempting to open the letters, Ito, the policemen, and the lantern glided out of my room, and I lay uneasily till daylight, with the letters

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and telegram, for which I had been yearning for six weeks, on my bed unopened!

I think I am right to have brought up this matter of letters not having been sent on her journey and made it another, the ninth, of its features, and have done it to correct a view that, though wrong, had come to be accepted. Press reports

Bird’s visit to Japan came at a time when people from Europe and America had started making world tours and Japan was not outside their reach. But Bird was not the sort of person who travelled for pleasure or sightseeing and her journey was a special one of inspection as a leading authority in her field. This was put about not just to the organisations and people who helped her en route but also, by way of introduction from her servantinterpreter Ito when the need arose, to people she just happened to come across. There are many examples of this, such as when at the inn at Ikari in the gorge of the Kinugawa, Ito read Bird’s interior travel permit aloud to all the villagers gathered there and presented Bird as being a gakusha (Ꮫ⪅), in other words a person of learning.97 Then, at Shinjo¯ , his introduction of her brought three deep bows from the former clan doctor Kusunoki when he examined her for pains and high fever.98 Another point to note is that Bird and her journey were made known to the readership in the cities and prefectures concerned through the new reporting medium of the newspaper; this is her journey’s tenth characteristic. Bird herself refers to one of these articles which I will take as the first example. Her visit to the cremation ground at Kirigaya was reported in the Yomiuri Shinbun for 19 December 1878. This she had translated by Chamberlain and in a note at the end of Letter LIX, her last letter and the last entry of all in her book apart

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from the section on Japanese Public Affairs, she wrote the following, and even referred to what type of newspaper this was: The following very inaccurate but entertaining account of this expedition was given by the Yomi-uri-Shimbun, a daily newspaper with the largest, though not the most aristocratic, circulation in Tôkiyô, being taken in by the servants and tradespeople. It is a literal translation made by Mr. Chamberlain. The person mentioned in our yesterday’s issue as ‘an English subject of the name of Bird’ is a lady from Scotland, a part of England. This lady spends her time in travelling, leaving this year the two American continents for a passing visit to the Sandwich Islands, and landing in Japan early in the month of May. She has toured all over the country, and even made a five months’ stay in the Hokkaidô, investigating the local customs and productions. Her inspection yesterday of the cremation ground at Kirigaya is believed to have been prompted by a knowledge of the advantages of this method of disposing of the dead, and a desire to introduce the same into England (!) On account of this lady’s being so learned as to have published a quantity of books, His Excellency the Governor was pleased to see her yesterday, and to show her great civility, sending her to Kirigaya in his own carriage, a mark of attention which is said to have pleased the lady much (!).99

Bird wrote that this article was very inaccurate because when she visited Japan she had not been to South America or the Sandwich Islands, and it mistook her 20 May arrival date in Japan for early May, wrongly said that her stay in Hokkaido¯ was of five months when it was just over a month, and that she had travelled all over Japan. But there is some truth in the article talking of North & South America and the Sandwich Islands for it alludes to Bird having talked about her trip there and of having made plans

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for a trip to South America before her visit to Japan. As for the time of her arrival in Japan it is likely there was some confusion as her departure from San Francisco was in early May, and her stay in Hokkaido¯ being put at five months was possibly due to it being mixed up with the time between her arrival in Japan and her leaving for the Kansai and Ise. If that was the case then it means that Bird had explained her background and the circumstances leading up to her visit to Japan when she visited governor Kusumoto in Tokyo, and that the reporter had understood and reported to the people of the city that Bird’s visit was not simply for pleasure but was for investigative purposes into ‘the local customs and productions’ and the cremation method of disposal of the dead which she wanted to introduce into England. We know that the same paper had also carried a report about Bird the day before, in an article dated 18 December, the tone of which was that ‘the English person Miss Bold made a request to the Tokyo Government to see a cremation ground and she visited the one at Kirigaya village yesterday’. After this article which merely reported the fact of her having made this visit, a more detailed account followed the next day. Though it does not fully reflect Bird’s account, an article that uses the expression ‘investigation’ is interesting in itself. It reads as follows: The English person named Bold we reported on yesterday is a lady, Miss Bold, who comes from Edinburgh in Scotland in that country. This lady is unmarried and has travelled in many countries, having called at Sandwich from North & South America before coming to Japan in early May. She has travelled from province to province and during her stay of something over five months which included a visit to Hokkaido she has investigated local customs and products. Yesterday she visited the cremation ground at Kirigaya and realised the advantages of cremation which she intends to introduce in England. As

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this lady is a scholar who has written many books she had a meeting yesterday with the Governor, who treated her friendlily and lent her his own carriage, and the lady was pleased at this kindness.100

The readers of this article will, no doubt, have been surprised to learn of this very unusual journey and that something of this kind had been allowed in the first place; and even that there were Englishwomen like her. These newspaper articles came out two days before, and on the day before, she left Japan. But there had been newspaper reports of her and her journey while she was still in Japan. There are two examples of this. One of these is in the Kaji Shinbun101 which reported as follows on 26 July 1878: An English lady Isabella Bird102 (aged thirty-nine) has recently been travelling round Japan for research purposes and arrived in the prefecture on the 22nd of this month and visited our normal school on the 23rd where she was received by Mr Aoki, the deputy headmaster. She asked about how the school was maintained and the pupils’ lessons, and even about its funding, and Mr Aoki being proficient in English had no trouble in answering to her full satisfaction; the lady praised the school’s curriculum. On the 24th she visited our hospital and asked knowledgeable questions about the number of patients and the dispensing of medicines. She is the deputy head of a hospital in London, England.

We do not know whether the reporter made a mistake or if it did not come across correctly from Bird and Ito, but though the article may not have put her age correctly, it clearly shows that her journey was being made so as to be publicised in the press. In addition, the reporter who wrote this piece was aware at least that Bird was a woman making her journey for ‘research purposes’ and ran the article as being newsworthy for that reason.

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It should also have made its readers aware that there was something special about this Englishwoman and her journey. The article also reports that she asked at the school not just about its maintenance and administration, and its curriculum, but also about its funding, and this chimes with Bird’s account. It is not true that she was deputy head of a hospital in London but it is possible that Ito, who accompanied her ‘handsomely clothed in silk’ and ‘surpassed all his former efforts’, realised that this was an important visit and said something of the sort to make it a success, which is a matter of interest in itself.103 The other article comes twenty-five days later in the Hakodate Shinbun (ภ㤋᪂⪺) for 20 August which writes as follows: A lady called Miss Bird104 from Edinburgh Province in England has recently visited this port on her world tour and has been to the Hakodate Prison with the British Consul Mr Eusden and his wife where she closely inspected the workshop and the prisoners’ cells. She was particularly taken with the precision of the articles produced and bought candles and straw articles made there to take back to England. She was also much taken with the cleanliness of the institution and said there was a world of difference in comparison with the squalor of the equivalent in China.

Bird is thought to have visited the prison on 16 August105 and this article appeared three days after she had left for Biratori. We should note that in this article too the purpose of Bird’s journey was reported as being for ‘inspection’ and tells of her visit to the prison, a special facility, in the company of the Consul. At this stage she had not been to China but she had heard Parkes’s stories and it is of great interest that she should have made this remark on that basis. What is clear from the above is that, like that of the Iwakura Delegation, Bird’s journey was one of inspection, one of enquiry, and that it was reported as such to the Japanese public. In the Preface to her book Bird herself writes about Japan that, ‘The climate disappointed me, but though I found the country

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a study rather than a rapture, its interest exceeded my largest expectations.’106 Then in that same Preface she wrote the following which cannot, I think, be ignored, especially as I know that it was written after her return home when her book was published: Some of the Letters give a less pleasing picture of the condition of the peasantry than the one popularly presented, and it is possible that some readers may wish that it had been less realistically painted; but as the scenes are strictly representative, and I neither made them nor went in search of them, I offer them in the interests of truth, for they illustrate the nature of a large portion of the material with which the Japanese Government has to work in building up the New Civilisation. Accuracy has been my first aim …. 107

This is an important message from Bird to show that this was not a journey to satisfy her own curiosity. We should note that she is writing of the reality of Japan in 1878 and displays a certain confidence that she is contributing to its future. After all, none of her journeys after those of Period 1 were undertaken just out of personal curiosity. Bird saying that ‘This is not a “Book on Japan”’ does not contradict the fact that research and investigation was the basis for the trip it recounts. ‘But’, she adds, it is ‘a narrative of travels in Japan, and an attempt to contribute something to the sum of knowledge of the present condition of the country’108 which shows that it was a journey that went beyond mere observation and sometimes had an element of research about it. Akasaka Norio’s view is that ‘Bird is asking her readers to accept her work as “an earnest attempt to describe Japan as I saw it”. But this is not a research work based on detailed investigation. We have to remember that these are no more than travel vignettes left by a foreigner who was just passing through. In

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Unbeaten Tracks in Japan we should accept that it is simply a compilation, in some sense capricious, written by a foreigner about her travels.’109 But this interpretation is wrong in this context. If Bird’s journey and its narrative are interpreted in this way neither Parkes, whose idea the journey was, nor Bird, assiduous in putting it into practice, can be placed in a historical literary context. What I call the tenth feature, her journey’s having been reported in the press, is also important in the light of what I have said above. Of course, I agree with the high opinion that Miyamoto Tsuneichi and Watanabe Kyo¯ji have of Bird but Miyamoto’s misunderstanding of, or Watanabe’s disregard for, the features that are the source of Bird’s accuracy of description and depth and breadth of interest on her journey, are perhaps due to their having taken it as a private one.110 As I made clear at the beginning of this book an understanding of the journey itself is essential to enable a scientific study to be made of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan and other travelogues. Planning the journey with Parkes

I have already proposed my new theory that Bird’s journey was not a private affair but that she was chosen as the best person to undertake a trip that would assess the actual state of affairs en route. In this section I will discuss the detailed preparations that Parkes made for her and the strenuous efforts Bird herself made in response. This is the eleventh feature of her journey. In Letter IX that starts with her saying ‘I have started on my long journey’ she gives some important details under the subheading Travelling Equipments.111 She thought carefully about how much one horse could carry and arranged it so that her own luggage weighed 110 lbs and Ito’s 90 lbs.112 For food she took ‘a small supply of Liebig’s extract of meat, 4 lbs of raisins, some chocolate, both for eating and drinking, and some brandy in case of need’. She also took ‘Mr. Brunton’s large map of

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Japan, volumes of the Transactions of the English Asiatic Society, and Mr. Satow’s Anglo-Japanese Dictionary’.113 These three items in particular attest to the careful preparations made for what was certainly not a sight-seeing journey. By way of explanation, ‘Mr. Brunton’s large map of Japan’ that heads that list of three is not what Ikeuchi Osamu, who had carefully perused this travel record, and the profoundly-knowledgeable Kabayama Ko¯ichi, had in mind when they discussed this matter saying that ‘we do not know how detailed this was but in the case of a large town like Sendai it probably showed the main roads at least’.114 No, this was a large map, headed Nippon [Japan], consisting of four sheets dividing Japan into two vertically and horizontally which, when put together, was 5 ft high and 3¾ ft wide. It was an indispensable tool and Bird consulted it throughout her journey.115 This map was long held to be something of a mystery116 but was in fact compiled by Richard Henry Brunton, a foreigner in the employ of the Government, who made a significant mark with his lighthouse building.117 As Brunton says in his memoirs: ‘This map, purchased by various Government Departments in Europe and by the commercial houses having dealings with Japan, was, after its publication, generally regarded as the standard work of its kind.’118 and so it was not produced specifically for Bird’s journey but I think that as part of the arrangements he made for the journey he was proposing, Parkes ordered Brunton to make it. There is no direct evidence for this but there is indirect evidence in that the journey could not have been undertaken without such a detailed map of Japan with its legend in English; for Parkes, therefore, its publication was not something to which he could remain indifferent. Corroboration is provided by its having been drawn to show Biratori at its northern extent and Brunton himself wrote that ‘travellers in the interior also found it of value to them’ and he singled out Bird as a user by adding that ‘Miss Bird in her Unbeaten Tracks in Japan speaks of it as guiding her on some occasions and failing her on others.’ We also see from Brunton’s book that Sir Edward Reed, who went to Japan at the invitation of the Navy Ministry, used his map:

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‘One of my last acts, before finally leaving Japan, was the compilation from Japanese data of a map to a scale of twenty miles to the inch, which showed towns and villages, rivers, mountains, roads, paths, etc., in as great detail as possible’, with the aid of interpreters. He returned home in March 1876 when his employment finished but this had been announced a year in advance so I tend to think that he compiled it between the time he received this news and his leaving Japan, with the help of his interpreter Fujikura Kentatsu (⸨಴ぢ㐩) and his other Japanese staff. That period matches exactly with the time in which Parkes was formulating his plans for Bird’s journey. In addition, Brunton was pressing ahead with his lighthouse building with Parkes’s backing and in 1869 had been called in by Foreign Minister Terashima to discuss making a map of Japan. In his work he also often used the Ino¯ Map which served as the model for the one he compiled and in August 1871 he made a survey of Yokohama and its environs within a radius of six miles, which was the limit within which foreigners could operate by treaty. Backing up these ideas and worth consideration is the fact that the third of the ‘sacred treasures’, as I call them, Satow’s An English-Japanese Dictionary of the Spoken Language, was published in the spring of the same year and by the same publisher.119 As one can see from the publishing data it also appeared in Yokohama from an English house but Trübner in London was the lead publisher and that firm also edited and issued Brunton’s map. This shows that Brunton’s map and the English-Japanese dictionary were being compiled at the same time. Satow was in England on leave at the time which made it an opportune moment for the dictionary to be published. It is obvious that the dictionary was essential for conversation between Bird and Ito – and indirectly it must also have been useful for Ito. If one wanted a dictionary that combined Japanese-English and English-Japanese a better one was the one whose second edition had appeared four years earlier in 1871120 but despite this, and the fact that Hepburn had been the principal

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at the interviews for her servant-interpreter, Bird probably took Satow’s dictionary because the Hepburn one concentrated more on Japanese-English compared to Satow’s, and for Bird EnglishJapanese was more useful. Satow’s dictionary was rated more highly at the time for English-Japanese and also had the advantage of being much lighter than the 4 lbs of Hepburn’s and was in a handy 5½” x 3½” format. Brunton wrote that the Romanisation on his map followed ‘the spelling recommended by Mr. Satow’, implying that he had its use by Bird in mind. The ‘Transactions of the English Asiatic Society’ that Bird took with her refers to the journal Transactions of The Asiatic Society of Japan which was established in July 1872 with the purpose of publishing the results of research on Japan across a wide range of subjects, mainly by British diplomats and government employees living in Japan, like Parkes, Satow and Brunton and among the articles carried there were some directly connected with her travels. For instance, when she gives her detailed account of children’s games at Ikarigaseki she writes that she ‘read the papers’ in this journal. One of these is the article in Vol. II about children’s games by W.E. Griffis, published in 1874.121 The article quoted earlier about Okitama prefecture by C.H. Dallas is in Vol. III Part II, which was published in 1875. Vol. IV which contained S. Eldridge’s article about the poisoned arrows of the Ainu appeared in 1876. The latest issue to have appeared when she set out on her journey to Ezo was probably Vol. VI Part I which carried articles by W. Anderson on beri-beri, and Satow’s on the origins of tobacco in Japan; there was also J.H. Gubbins’s article on the origins of Christianity in Japan and China. She makes reference to all these on her journey which means that she definitely took four issues with her; judging by the volumes and parts that I have, these were not of any great size. Of course, Parkes did not propose Bird’s journey independently. Since taking up his post in June 1865 Parkes had been active in his leadership of the Western powers and in this context was of the opinion that organised study and research

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was needed to clarify Japan’s affairs. He established the Asiatic Society of Japan and as part of his policy of encouraging research into specific areas among the Legation staff thought that journeys of investigation to throw light on aspects of the old Japan that had survived this major upheaval were essential, including the characteristics of the Ainu, the original inhabitants of Ezo. He made full use of this chance of a foreigner’s journey into the interior in 1875, particularly a citizen of his own country who would have the freedom only allowed to a diplomat, and made plans for it to be one that would observe the old Japan. The three ‘sacred treasures’ would be part of his careful preparations. Bird took with her up to Vol. VI Part I and in the earlier Vol. II there was Satow’s article about the Ise Shrines. Papers of relevance for her journey had already appeared in numbers that I think she did not take with her, for instance Vol. I which contained the one by Griffis she used when she wrote so vividly about Tokyo in Notes on Tôkiyô and Notes on Tôkiyô – (Concluded.), and Vol. III Part I that carried the long one by Satow that she used for her Notes on Shintô in Appendix B. While she was in Japan Vol. VI Part III was published which contained Chamberlain’s piece on Kyo¯gen and J.J. Rein’s on Japan’s Climate; I should point out that in the case of the Kyo¯gen example it is possible that Bird heard Chamberlain’s own presentation of it. It is clear from all this that academic material featured in the preparations made for ensuring that the journey would be a profitable one, but we also have to remember that proper judgement had to be exercised in determining its route and in the matter of travelling equipment. When it came to the vital question about what kind of transport should be used, Parkes decided that it would be safe to use the Land Transport Agent (޵ഭ䙊䙻Պ⽮). In addition to the existing transport contracting business, the system where the Land Transport Agent would set up relay stations (㏉・ᡰ) for men and horses at terminal points and run the

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relay business as a monopoly began in 1875 when the interior travel permit scheme was introduced. This meant breaking up of the Land Transport Company that had been set up with the approval of the Finance Ministry as a new system in January 1872 to replace post horses and the post-village stations.122 In February 1872, the publicised edicts prohibiting Christianity were removed and missionary activities began in Niigata, Hakodate, Yokohama and Kobe. This had an important bearing on Bird’s journey. The security situation was also important for safe travel and as at the summer of 1875 when it is thought that Parkes decided that Bird should make her journey, six years had already gone by since the end of the Boshin War, leading to the view that there was no ¯ u (ྕ㗭) area or in Hokkaido¯. The Seinan War problem in the O that started in February 1877 was over by September and the view probably was that compared to what had gone before the risk from political and social insecurity had lessened. The Kioizaka Incident of 14 May that saw the assassina¯ kubo Toshimichi, who since 1873 tion of Interior Minister O had effectively dominated the government, happened a week before Bird’s arrival in Japan but by this time she was already at sea on her way to Yokohama. The 23 August armed rebellion of the Imperial Guard because of dissatisfaction over the distribution of spoils from the Seinan War, the Takebashi Incident, occurred when she had almost reached Biratori. Bird refers on two occasions in her narrative to the assassina¯ kubo. tion of O In the matter of Parkes’s careful preparations we should not forget that American, German and French parties had already made journeys into the interior since 1870 with permission from the government, particularly in the person of Terashima Munenori, based on which Parkes not only proposed and planned similar journeys, and had it accepted that these should in fact be unrestricted, but secured the support and cooperation of the government for the journey that Bird made; details of this are given in the next chapter. Judging from the fact that Parkes was already going

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ahead with preparations for Bird’s trip when Maries hired Ito as his servant-interpreter for his plant collecting expedition, it might also be assumed that Ito’s accompanying Maries in this way was also a dry run to ensure that Bird’s trip would proceed smoothly. Ainu society

One can think of several reasons why Parkes planned the Japan trip as one to Ezo and to Biratori, the centre of Ainu society, in particular. I believe that one reason was his need to find out what the situation was in those parts of Japan where former customs lived on in a changing world, in which the old order was breaking down and Western ideas were intruding. He knew that to achieve this there had to be a journey through the northern part of Honshu¯ and, where Ezo was concerned, the state of indigenous society properly assessed to see what influence their domination by the Japanese was having. The importance that Parkes attached to these two regions is borne out by his having thought up the Unbeaten Tracks part of the simple but evocative title Unbeaten Tracks in Japan to mean areas that had hardly ever had a Western traveller. All that was known about the Ainu was that they were of a completely different race from the Japanese. Nothing in any detail was known about them, but then there was no knowledge either of how this second-largest island of Hokkaido¯, or Ezo as it was also called, lying to the north of the island nation’s main land mass of Honshu¯, fitted in with Japan as a whole. Moreover, the relationship between the forerunner people of Ezo, the Ainu, who lived there and the Wajin (઼Ӫ) Japanese, as well as that between Ainu and Japanese society, had changed dramatically with the establishment of the Development Commission, making it essential that the characteristics of Ezo and the Ainu should be clarified. Four months after he had taken up his post in Japan in 1865 Parkes was faced with an incident which developed international dimensions when, with the British ornithologist Henry Whitely as ringleader, two members of the British Consulate at Hakodate twice used Japanese staff to plunder Ainu graves at the

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villages of Mori and Otoshibe on the shores of Volcano Bay, an organised crime that also involved the British Consul Vyse and a Russian doctor. This shameful affair, as it was described in The Life of Sir Harry Parkes, was finally concluded after two years with heavy penalties for those involved.123 The account of her journey clearly demonstrates the efforts Bird made to explain the features of Ainu society, particularly in her personal research at Biratori, her thirty-nine days on Hokkaido, of which four were spent at Biratori, amount to 18% and 0.5% respectively of the total time she spent in Japan; in contrast, in the 1880 first edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan the section about Ezo takes up 23% of its space and the one about her research visit to Biratori 8.4%, the latter producing sixty-five pages of narrative including five pages of Ainu vocabulary in only four days; at the same time the variety of topics she writes about arouses our admiration. In the abridged edition the parts about Ezo and the Ainu amount to as much as 35% of its total volume which gives the impression that emphasis was placed on the Ezo trip, but this is not how it appeared originally. For complete details it would repay readers to consult Letters XLI, XLI. – (Continued.), XLII and XLII. – (Continued.) – two sections in the latter – all in my Complete Translation.124 Looking at these Letters individually one can see mistakes, and statements based on prejudice, other than those previously indicated by Batchelor125 but one can only admire her for the ethnological picture she produced in a limited period and having to operate through her interpreter Ito, and all this in the detailed, expressive style she had cultivated since her youth. In her ‘Notes on Yezo’ that describe the island,126 she gives a concise summary of the territory as fixed by the Treaty of St. Petersburg of 1875,127 though she does not actually mention the latter by name, gives details of her itinerary on the island and ends with a detailed account of the time she spent at Biratori doing research. She also compares her results from there with the Ainu at Shiraoi, Usu and Rebunge and in order to

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develop this theme by looking at the differences between the Ainu living inland and on the coast, returns to Hakodate by the road skirting Volcano Bay which was no longer the official route. Finally, Letter XLVII, in which she refers variously to the problems confronting the Development Commission, gives her views on Japan’s political situation and the progress the country is making, and talks of missionary activities on Ezo, sums up her Letters dealing with Ezo and brings the subject to a nice conclusion.128 She has, in other words, taken just the parts about Ezo and the Ainu to produce a Hokkaido¯ section that is complete in itself. When it comes to the Development Commission policy towards the Ainu there are clearly points where Bird’s assessment is naïve, and one has to admit that her perception of the Ainu is sometimes discriminatory, but this is not to negate the positive features of her journey and the results it produced. Her plan of Penriuk’s house shows itself upon inspection to be a valuable historical document.129 In his Things Japanese130 published ten years after Bird’s book Chamberlain, who had established himself as the leading light of Japanese studies, writes in his chapter on Books on Japan ‘“UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN,” by Miss Bird. Though now ten years old, this remains, to our thinking, the best English book of Japanese travel. The account of the Ainos in the second volume is specially interesting,’ One can only agree with this view. Another thing to be noted is that not just in the fifth edition that came out fifteen years later but also in the sixth edition fortynine years afterwards, though the wording may have changed, his positive assessment of Bird’s account of the Ainu has not.131 We must also credit Bird not just with having given us a wealth of scientific information for she formed a basically good personal relationship with the Ainu who gathered at Penriuk’s house; there they behaved quite naturally and told her all manner of things. She helped the sick too, and in return for all this experienced, for instance, being taken to the Shrine of Yoshitsune whom they worshipped separately from their own tradi-

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tional beliefs. In giving us an account of all these events, laced with her own forthright views, she has left us an unusual and detailed record through which we can well picture the circumstances of the time. A particular point to bear in mind about Bird’s visit to Biratori is that immediately before she arrived there von Siebold of the Austrian Legation and Count Diesbach from the French Legation had spent a week in the village; their departure with Penriuk almost coincided with Bird’s arrival. There is no record of where they stayed, but as there was no house better than Penriuk’s there is no reason to suppose that they stayed anywhere else. If that was so, then it is clear that the Development Commission was backing Bird. As this was an organisation that was harassing the Ainu, it is understandable that Penriuk’s mother gave her many a dirty look. There is one important point I need to make about how seriously Parkes took Bird’s visit to Japan. I believe that it was to give priority to Hokkaido¯ that this seven-month journey was planned on the basis that she would arrive in Japan in May and leave in December. The long rainy season might make progress difficult if Bird was intending to leave Tokyo on 10 June for two months of travel through the northern part of Honshu¯, but my view is that she did not put off her departure for a month or so, though she might have avoided the rain had she done so, because she decided that otherwise she would not be able to make a trouble-free journey not just to Hokkaido¯ but to the all-important Biratori for research by the end of the summer in the fine weather and drier atmosphere that raised her spirits.132 On her outward journey it was so cold at Shiraoi that she could not sleep133 and at Biratori it was not the fleas or mosquitoes that afflicted her but the extreme cold.134 On her return journey, at Shiraoi, she writes that the roar of the encroaching waves and the terrible cold deprived her of sleep and she gave up the idea of going on the next day as she was tired out.135 All this shows that it was her intention to spend time with the aboriginal Ainu in the warmth of summer.136 This preoccupation with the

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seasons may be difficult to understand particularly for someone who has no experience of fieldwork abroad, but it is extremely important nevertheless. We should note that there are two linked strands here, that it was a journey to explain Ainu society as well as to explore the possibilities for evangelism; it was, in other words, connected with the missionary work started by Dening two years earlier among the Ainu for the Church Missionary Society. Shortly after that Dening was replaced by John Batchelor and the Society’s missionary plan for the Ainu was placed on a firm footing. The year of Bishop Burdon’s first visit to Japan was that in which Dening started his work among the Ainu and Burdon continued to be involved after Batchelor took over his post; this shows that Bird’s study of Ainu society was of great interest not just to Parkes but to Burdon, and by implication to the Church Missionary Society as well.

Chapter 4

ACCESS AND SUPPORT IN JAPAN — In Chapter 3, I explained the twelve characteristics or features of Bird’s journey in Japan and believe that in so doing I highlighted its fundamental points. First, that it was a venture carefully planned by Parkes. Second, that he relied on Bird to put it into practice because she was, in his view, the person most suited to the task. And third, that Bird for her part was more than equal to the trust placed in her and by completing her journey did justice to the support she received from other quarters. In this chapter, I will examine in greater detail what that support entailed. Unless I have specified otherwise, the year here is 1878. Minister and Lady Parkes

I have mentioned on several occasions that support for her journey came predominantly from Minister Parkes and this is well borne out by observing what Bird wrote about his and his wife’s activities in the days after her arrival in Japan. The first example is on the day after Bird arrived at her hotel in Yokohama, when Parkes and his wife Fanny visited her there. Wilkinson, the Consul at Yokohama, had called on her on the previous day and their visit was probably as a result of a telegram they had received from him but it is still worth noting that the senior British diplomat in Japan and his wife took the trouble to make the jinrikisha journey to Yokohama 128

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to meet her, even though the arrangement probably was that she would be staying at the Legation a couple of days later in any case. Bird wrote of this visit in her Letter II of 22 May, which makes it seem that it took place on that day, but from Stoddard’s account based on Bird’s diaries we see that it was on the 21st.1 Nor was it just a courtesy call. They were full of smiles and conducted a warm conversation which made Bird feel: ‘a sunshiny geniality’. They were ‘most truly kind, and encourage me so heartily in my largest projects for travelling in the interior, that I shall start as soon as I have secured a servant’. Bird’s pleasure and feeling of relief is evident from her writing that they ‘brought sunshine and kindliness into the room, and left it behind them’.2 Stoddart (p.102) says of Parkes on the occasion of this visit that he ‘showed the liveliest interest in her intended enterprise, encouraging her with offers of every possible assistance’. On the day after she took up residence at the Legation, the Parkeses drove out to Tsukiji, where there was ‘a complete nest’ of churches, to introduce Bird to the missionaries Fyson and Dening and their wives.3 Bird records what Parkes said that day as follows: Sir H. and Lady Parkes enter into my travelling plans with much zest and kindness, offering the practical advice and help which their extensive travelling experience suggests, and not interposing any obstacles. Indeed, Sir H. not only approves of my plan of travelling northwards through the interior, but suggests some additions. I only hope the actual journey may be as pleasant as planning it on the map has been.4

Bird writes as if her journey was a personal matter with Parkes giving her advice out of kindness (and Stoddart’s comments earlier are in the same vein) but my feeling is that she was doing this deliberately so that the reader would form that impression, and that he was in fact offering ‘practical advice and help’ in

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his capacity as the author and planner of the journey. In other words more than good will lay behind his advice, as the ultimate aim was for her journey to be successful. Bird said that Parkes did not interpose any obstacles to her travel plans. This is important as there were forecasts of some disaster perhaps befalling her en route5 but her attitude to that is reflected in her musing about what the actual journey would be like in relation to planning it on the map. It may have been because one of the missionaries or his wife had expressed doubts about the journey itself in that afternoon’s conversation, or the subject of whether to buy a horse or use the Land Transport Agent had been raised, but Parkes’s comments served to defuse the problem. On the 25th, which was a Saturday, Parkes took her – Bird puts ‘we’ which I take to mean that Lady Parkes and Chamberlain went with them – to the Fukiage Imperial Garden. But this was not simply for recreation. Times had changed greatly and the Garden was now ‘open by ticket to the public every Saturday’; its scenery too was different from the Edo period.6 The idea of this outing was obviously for her to see the Garden but also to understand something of Japanese life and aspects of her traditional culture by viewing close-up all the sights on offer, including the clothing and accessories of people enjoying their day out, male and female, young and old, and particularly what was worn by women and children. On the afternoon of 1st June, at the end of the following week, Lady Parkes took Bird in her carriage to the residence of Mr Hawes at the Zo¯jo¯ji (໇кሪ) at Shiba, as mentioned in the preceding chapter.7 One can detect in this Lady Parkes’s intention to impress on her that the police officer preceding the carriage on horseback as escort was there to lead the way, as recounted in Letter V,8 and that unlike ten years earlier when Legation staff including her husband were attacked in Kyoto on their way to the Imperial Palace, it was now safe for foreigners to move about in Japan.

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Next, when Bird returned to the Legation after the interviews with potential servant-interpreters at Hepburn’s house in Yokohama were over, she found that Lady Parkes had almost completed the necessary arrangements for her and had prepared everything including ‘two light baskets (with covers of oiled paper), a travelling bed (or stretcher), a folding-chair and an indiarubber bath’ that she thought were essential ‘for a person in feeble health on a journey of such long duration’. Parkes, in true Parkes style, cheered Bird up when she looked askance at the itinerary received from the Foreign Ministry with no comments attached, saying: ‘“You will have to get your information as you go along, and that will be all the more interesting.” Ah! but how?’9 The depth of Sir Harry and Lady Parkes’s concern is apparent from their efforts to cheer Bird up, worried as she was at Hepburn’s opposition to the journey itself and her employment of Ito. On the 7th, a Friday, she was invited to the first day of the ceremony that was held on an unheard-of scale that day and the next to mark the opening of the Shintomi Theatre. There she was able to witness an event that was to mark a sea change in Japanese traditional theatre.10 Though this was not going to make her an aficionada of Kabuki as such, it was a golden opportunity for her to experience one aspect of Japan’s traditional culture. Invited to this opening ceremony were ‘the Prime Minister, the foreign, interior, army, navy, education and justice ministers, other government officials, the governor of Tokyo, the police commissioner and people of high standing in the academic world’ and ‘the British Minster and other foreign gentlemen’ together with ‘foreigners living in Yokohama with notables from banking, commercial and newspaper circles’;11 Parkes’s name being put at the head of the list of foreign guests shows that Bird’s invitation was of his doing. This is not an invitation that would have been obtainable by the average visitor to Japan. I believe that it was also Parkes’s intention to introduce Bird, who was to set off on her journey three days later, to the senior

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officials who had been of assistance in obtaining her special Interior Travel Permit, Terashima Munenori the Foreign Minister,12 Ito¯ Hirobumi the Home Minister13 and Kuroda Kiyotaka the Head of the Hokkaido¯ Development Commission, or at least to show them that he was accompanying Bird. The special consideration shown by Kuroda to Bird, as mentioned earlier when he gave her the use of his Commission’s transport, and the favour granted to her by the Tokyo Governor Kusumoto Masataka in connection with her visit to the cremation ground at Kirigaya, are assumed to have been because of their having got to know of her on that occasion. Bird merely writes of the people invited to the opening ceremony that they were diplomats, foreign employees of the government and high government officials, but it occurred to me in the course of doing my translation that her vivid portrayal of the opening ceremony itself was much better than anything that had appeared in numerous other articles in Japan, and I could picture Parkes’s satisfaction at that being the case.14 It is also worth noting that Heinrich von Siebold (the younger son of the famous Philipp Franz von Siebold), who was an interpreter at the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Legation and who later, when he visited Biratori on Ezo, came to have a significant association with Bird, was present at the opening ceremony; this can be established from material in ‘Morita Kanya XII’. The lengths to which the support for Bird from Sir Harry and Lady Parkes went can also be seen in his having had the Legation’s messenger deliver a packet of letters from her sister Henrietta to her at Kasukabe, where she was spending her first night away from Tokyo in a mood of deep unease; she had been waiting for these letters since leaving San Francisco. He even went to the trouble of adding a note of his own that expressed his concern.15 There are four other cases where Bird writes of Parkes’s support. The first is in ‘Notes on Yezo’ where she tells us that Yasuda Sadanori, First Secretary of the Development Commission, provided information relating to the population of the Ainu

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at Parkes’s request.16 The second is the fact that Parkes’s name appeared as the first of five individuals she singles out in her Preface for acknowledgement and thanks. The other four people she mentions are Satow of the British Legation, Principal Dyer, Chamberlain of the Naval College and Mr F.V. Dickins.17 This in itself is not a direct indication of support but taken together with Bird having dedicated her book to Lady Parkes, who had died a year before its publication, it bears out my own view that Parkes’s support was in his capacity as the originator of her journey. The third relates to her visit to the crematory ground which I describe in Chapter 3.18 Bird asked Parkes to arrange this and he applied to Mori Arinori,19 the Vice-Foreign Minister, who in turn passed his request on to the Tokyo Governor Kusumoto Masataka for action to be taken. This is clear from Letter LIX where she says that Parkes was kind enough to obtain approval for her to visit the Kirigaya cremation ground, one of five.20 I think it is also possible that rather than Bird herself bringing up the idea, it was actually Parkes who wanted her to go and see what went on there. The fourth and last point is that Bird dedicated her book to Lady Parkes with the words ‘To the memory of Lady Parkes whose kindness and friendship are among my most treasured remembrances of Japan, these volumes are gratefully and reverently dedicated.’21 This may be taken as an indirect reference to the assistance given by the Parkeses for two reasons, the first being that her journey had an official dimension because it was promoted by Sir Harry as Britain’s Minister and the second that it is an expression of gratitude to Lady Parkes for having supported her husband’s efforts to make it a success. The Foreign Ministry

There are other records apart from Bird’s own writings that demonstrate Parkes’s support. The most important of these is a letter that Parkes sent to Terashima. It was kept for many

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years by the Terashima family and is now in the Constitutional Records Section of the National Diet Library.22 It has been translated into Japanese in ‘Collected Records relating to Terashima Munenori’23 but suffers from errors and omissions and so, in view of its importance for this book, I have transcribed the original here. H.B.M. Legation Tuesday Afternoon Oct 15 Dear Mr Terashima, Miss Bird, - the English lady who has been travelling in Japan, and who you met at Mr Mori’s party at the Shiba Pavilion - proceeds tomorrow to Kobé, in order to visit Kiyoto and the neighbouring country. She wishes to be allowed to see the Mikado’s Palace at Kiyoto. Would you kindly send the Kiyoto Fu instructions to show it to her, either by letter by tomorrow’s steamer, or by telegraph, as you may find most convenient. Thanking you beforehand for this kindness, Believe me Yours very truly Harry S. Parkes This consists of one sheet of thick official notepaper with the Royal Arms stamped in an oval at the top, folded in half, and is in Parkes’s own handwriting on both sides of the paper. It is important for two reasons, the first being that though an Interior Travel Permit normally had to be re-issued for a new journey, it is clear from this that in Bird’s case, because of her special travel permit, this request was made on the assumption that a new one was not necessary. The other and more significant reason is that it shows that Parkes himself made the request directly to Terashima. Normally a request to visit the Imperial Palace would be a matter for the Kyoto authorities and handled by the Home Ministry whereas in this case, significantly, it was made directly

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to the Foreign Minister. Bird does not make it clear whether she actually made this visit, and no reply from Terashima to Parkes has survived, but this need not concern us. I say this because on the one hand, with the Do¯shisha Women’s School where Bird stayed for fifteen days being just across the road from the northern boundary of the Imperial Palace, it is hardly likely that she did not go there while on the other, where Parkes and Terashima were concerned, action on the part of the latter rather than a written reply would suffice. And even if Parkes had had his letter taken directly to the Foreign Ministry this would have been in the afternoon of the previous day, which leads me to think that Terashima made his request not by sea mail but by telegram. We can also see from Bird saying in Letter LII that she enjoyed the time she spent visiting various places with the English-speaking Mr Noguchi who the Governor had sent to be her guide, that Governor Makimura Masanao (ᵐᮧṇ┤) had made appropriate arrangements upon receipt via Terashima of Parkes’s urgent request. 24 The Noguchi in question is Noguchi Tomizo¯ (㔝ཱྀᐩⶶ) who had a very close connection with Satow and in fact Bird had met him before she left Kobe. This is something I talk about later, but I am certain that Satow too asked Noguchi to undertake this task. It was essential from a procedural point of view that Parkes should make a request to the Japanese Government in this matter. This letter shows that he did that, and that Terashima took appropriate action. It is also a significant document in that it endorses my view that Parkes added substance to his proposal in the form of support from the Japanese side, which enabled Bird to put the scheme into practice. As I mention in the next section, Parkes had already met Makimura, and was hospitably received by him, when he and his wife accompanied the English lady traveller Marianne North25 to Kyo¯to three years before Bird’s visit. This acquaintance meant that Makimura was all the more willing to grant Parkes’s request, via Terashima, for Bird to be allowed to visit the Imperial Palace. One

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of the key features of the letter is that it tells us that Terashima met Bird at the reception given by Mori Arinori, his direct subordinate, but with his brief reference to Bird and Mori also having met, Parkes’s feel for the niceties of his request shows through. The second thing to corroborate Parkes’s support for Bird’s journey is that the 1880 ‘Complete Original’ of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan is kept in the Cabinet Library of the National Archives of Japan (ഭ・‫ޜ‬᮷ᴨ佘) and has had Foreign Ministry Book Catalogue and State Council Library provenance stamps applied in red.26 The State Council Library collected and housed books from all the Government departments and in January 1884 was relocated to within the Imperial Palace precincts in order to achieve a unified operating system and ‘up to about 1891 many Chinese, Japanese and Western books were transferred there’ and its stamp in Bird’s book dates from that period.27 The Foreign Ministry Book Catalogue stamp in seal-script style (ㇶᴨ) shows that the book was transferred from the Foreign Ministry whose collection ‘had assumed extremely large proportions’ and it is clear from its position and style that this was the first stamp of the two to be applied. Since the numbers 939 and 940 were given to Vol. I and Vol. II respectively of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan before the State Council Library’s red stamp was applied, they are the numbers from the time when the books were in the possession of the Foreign Ministry. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan was published in October 1880 which establishes that the example in question was in the Foreign Office’s collection from 1881 to 1883. The original binding has been lost and there are signs of both volumes having been handled extensively and so it is interesting that the ‘abridged edition’, though published in the following year which was after the State Council Library had been re-established, does not feature there. This leads on to the idea that the book was presented by the British Legation to the Foreign Ministry as a record of Bird’s journey, which I think is indirect evidence of the Foreign Ministry’s support. The Cabinet Library also has a

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copy of her Hawaii book but this is the 1905 edition, not the 1875 original; they do not have a copy of her Rocky Mountains book. Accounts by Stoddart and North

There is also evidence for Parkes’s support in Stoddart’s book. She writes of Bird, who had finished her journey to Hokkaido¯, ‘About September 20 she was back at the British Legation in Tokio, with Sir Harry and Lady Parkes’ and says, omitting the hyphen in her name, that: ‘Miss Gordon Cumming was there too’. She adds that: ‘Sir Harry Parkes promoted her short excursions in every possible way’ while she was staying at the Legation.’28/29 This third extract shows that she was receiving help with the Notes on Tôkiyô she was probably writing during her second stay at the Legation. The scheduled fifty hours for the voyage from Hakodate stretched to seventy-two as the ship encountered a typhoon and Bird only finally arrived at Yokohama in the middle of the night on 17 September. This first point makes it clear that she travelled to Shinbashi on the reopened railway ‘with Mr. Wilkinson’ to be greeted by Sir Harry and Lady Parkes when she arrived at the Legation.30 Consul Wilkinson most probably did not act on his own initiative in accompanying Bird from Yokohama to the Legation, but on instructions from Parkes. There is no evidence for Wilkinson actually having gone to meet Bird at the boat but it is very possible that he did so as the Parkes’s would have known how perilous the voyage had been because of the foul weather and would have wanted to show their appreciation to Bird for having safely completed her major task, and thank Dr Hepburn and his wife for having gone to Hakodate with letters and medicine to hand over to Bird on her return there from Biratori, and then brought her safely back to Yokohama. The precise date of Bird’s arrival at the Legation is the 18th, which is confirmed by reports in the Yu¯bin Ho¯chi Shinbun (㒑౽ሗ▱ ᪂⪺) and the Cho¯oya Shinbun (ᮅ㔝᪂⪺) that the railway was re-opened on that day.

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The second point of interest is when Stoddart writes that the lady traveller Gordon-Cumming was at the Legation at the time, as it shows that the plan for her to meet Bird in Japan that had been laid more than a year before did in fact come about. The date of Gordon-Cumming’s arrival in Japan that Bird recorded as the middle of September31 was actually 6 September but Gordon-Cumming herself writes that she arrived earlier than expected, which means that it is right to view her visit as being timed to coincide with Bird’s return from Hokkaido¯.32 In my view the fact that Parkes let Gordon-Cumming stay at the Legation was not unconnected with his support for Bird. When Bird was invited, as mentioned earlier, to the reception held by Vice-Foreign Minister Mori Arinori at the Shiba Detached Palace for the diplomatic corps, she writes that she went with Gordon-Cumming33 and from her account we understand that Mori, who rated Bird’s trip to Hokkaido¯ as ‘unprecedented’,34 recognised Gordon-Cumming as someone who was involved with it. It is, moreover, of great interest that Gordon-Cumming not only visited the local crematory ground immediately before Bird went on her inspection of the one at Kirigaya, but records that the two of them discussed what they had seen.35 There was also another lady traveller whom Parkes made welcome. This was the Marianne North mentioned earlier. She was one year older than Bird and when she visited Japan from November 1875 to January 1876, three years before Bird’s visit, Parkes allowed her to stay at the Legation and he and his wife also took her to Kyoto. But we should not take this to mean that Parkes was thinking in terms of North being a candidate for taking on a journey through Japan. North’s speciality as a traveller was to paint remarkable pictures of botanical subjects against a scenic background, which was totally unconnected with what Parkes had in mind for his Japan journey, and even if this trip to Kyoto had been a trial run of sorts, it bore no relation to the Interior or Ezo. Corroborating this view is the fact that her visit

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was from late autumn extending into winter, and was part of her world tour that lasted from 1875 to 1878. I think that the reason why Sir Harry and his wife gave Marianne North such a warm reception, apart from her being of good family background and a well-known traveller, was that her visit was a first step towards the idea he already had for Bird’s journey. According to the account of North’s visit to Japan in the first volume of her autobiography, edited by her sister, on several occasions she and Parkes enjoyed the good offices of Makimura who had just become Deputy Governor of Kyoto (he became Governor in January 1877) and were helped by Noguchi Tomizo¯ as interpreter and guide.36 After Parkes and his retinue had left she spent a number of enjoyable days alone in Kyoto with no hint of danger, this in the city where Parkes had nearly been assassinated and Alcock forbidden from entering, and at the Nishihonganji met the priest Akamatsu Renjo¯ who had returned from England. This is all brought into better focus when we understand that it was Parkes’s idea to lay solid ground for Bird’s subsequent visit to Kyoto. Bird’s letters

I have already referred to the letter Bird wrote to her publisher John Murray III from Hakodate on 11 August. This too contains some important information. In it she wrote that ‘Sir Harry Parkes and all the English and American residents are urging me to write a book on Japan which shall include my letters on my journey of 700 miles from Tokio through the interior of Northern Japan’ and said that Sir Harry had written to her promising: ‘all the aid which he and the staff of the Legation can possibly give’. In the batch of letters to her that the Hepburns brought with them from Tokyo to Hakodate there was one from Sir Harry and this is the one she quotes from; it also shows that he was looking forward to her writing a book about her travels.

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I imagine that some will find it odd that Parkes raised this subject at such a late stage, as he must have passed on the idea to Bird when he first thought of it, or at least when she arrived in Japan; otherwise she would not have made ‘careful notes’ at journey’s end each day. But this need not be a problem. For if we assume that Murray did not know that Parkes had asked Bird to write about her journey, there is nothing strange about her having told him at that point that Parkes was eager for her to do just that. More to the point is that Parkes had now expressed his wishes on the subject and made it clear that the support of the whole Legation would be forthcoming. He also wrote that it was not just the English residents in Japan who wanted this, but the Americans too. I believe that the latter is a reference to Hepburn. I think it was then that Parkes made his intentions known because of talk of the impending publication of ‘A Full Account of a Tour of Europe and America’, the official report of the Iwakura Delegation that visited America and countries in Europe from 1871 to 1873.37 This was a massive 2,110-page report in five volumes that was published in 1878, six or so years after the delegation’s return to Japan, it is true, though it was in the October of that year which was a mere two months after Bird’s letter to John Murray. It is hard to imagine that Parkes had not already had word that summer that the report was ready for publication and my view is that the delegation’s tour was one of the reasons for Parkes planning Bird’s journey. Parkes had taken home leave to coincide with the delegation’s visit to England and assisted with its programme. This meant that he knew of its objectives, some of which corresponded with the aims of Bird’s trip. There is another point of interest in Bird’s letter to John Murray. She starts by saying ‘I write regarding a matter of business’ and towards the end thanks Murray for his note to Sir Harry Parkes and tells him that Sir Harry wanted him to know that he was glad to hear from him. She goes on to say that ‘I also brought letters to him from the Duke of Argyll and Sir

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Wyville Thomson. The three letters ensured a kind reception from Sir H. and Lady P.’ Thomson was the chief civilian scientist on the official three-and-a-half-year marine survey expedition of HMS Challenger which called at Japan for two months in 1875, during which time Thomson met Parkes. That Bird brought letters from him to Parkes, to say nothing of the one from the Duke of Argyll, is indicative of how close she and her journey were in a personal sense to high levels of the British establishment and clearly points to Sir Harry being a core figure in its arrangement.38/39 Parkes’s support for Bird continued after her return home. We know from his letters to Bird in The Life of Sir Harry Parkes that in August 1880 Parkes produced the draft of the section on foreign trade in A Chapter on Japanese Public Affairs and Tables IV and V in Appendix D. – Foreign Trade, which shows that he was providing support up to two months before the printing and publication of her book. The Japanese Government clearly provided Bird with much in the way of statistics that enabled her to compile the chapter on Japanese Public Affairs,40 but they would not have been available in the first place had Parkes not asked for them. It is evident from his letters to Bird that Parkes’s support was not confined to her journey in Japan, but extended to the resulting book too. There is one other instance of Parkes’s support for Bird that we should not miss, which is that Parkes’s assistance also covered the journeys she made on her way back from Japan. For instance, as we discover from her correspondence with her sister from Hong Kong (Stoddart), Parkes wrote a letter enclosing an introduction to Bird to be given to Hong Kong residents, and sent similar introductory letters to all the British governors and consuls resident in Cairo. This concludes my review of the assistance that Parkes and his wife gave Bird where, as her letters show, Parkes himself was the most enthusiastic contributor. Next, I will consider the help Bird received from other Legation staff and from the British Consulates.

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Satow and the three consuls

The first person we need to introduce in this context is Ernest Satow. Towards the end of Letter III where she describes her arrival at the Legation, Bird writes that ‘the Japanese Secretary of Legation is Mr Ernest Satow’41 and in the Preface to her book he is the second person after Parkes whom she thanks by name. Satow ranked second in terms of seniority and was of course party to Parkes’s assurances that where preparations for Bird’s journey were concerned ‘all the aid which he and the staff of the Legation can possibly give’ would be forthcoming. Earlier than Parkes, Satow had built up a cordial relationship with Ito¯ Hirobumi and other leading figures and using his status as a diplomat had travelled extensively in Japan. He wrote about his experiences in articles and booklets and later produced a guidebook.42 He was rated as the foremost Japan traveller of his time and though he himself had not yet taken Bird’s route beyond Nikko¯ to Ezo he was still able to take advantage of the new information he gained from her having done so. When she was writing up her visits to the Ise Shrines and the Nikko¯ To¯sho¯gu¯ Bird says that she took Satow’s work as her authority and it is not surprising that she should have drawn on his expertise at that draft stage. The articles of his that she said she relied on are two that were published in 1875, in the Japan Weekly Mail and the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, and his booklet A Guide to Nikko¯.43 Stoddart writes that when Bird stayed at the Legation on the second occasion Satow helped her with checking and revising her notes and statistics, which goes to support my view.44 She also took with her An English-Japanese Dictionary of the Spoken Language compiled by Satow, so that he was also of no small help where language was concerned. Since attending the opening ceremony at the Shintomi Theatre, Bird had had a good deal of time to absorb aspects of the cultural life of the general population, and so while she was still at the Legation Satow organised a Gagaku performance at his house so that she could experience a form of Japanese traditional enter-

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tainment different from Kabuki.45 Bird does not record the date but we know that it was 5 October from The Diaries and Letters of Sir Ernest Mason Satow.46 The timing of the performance took account of the fact that Bird’s second stay at the Legation was nearing its end and that she was scheduled to leave ten days later. There is one particular example of Satow having played a direct part in Bird’s journey. This was at the end of her visit to the Kansai and Ise, when it is safe to say that he was on board the Hiroshima-maru that departed Kobe for Yokohama late on the night of 3 December. In the same way as her journey to Hokkaido¯ was concluded in the company of the Hepburns, so her Kansai trip also came to an end with an ‘escort’. This is an important point and so I will expand on it. At the end of his successful inspection tour of Korea that began on 13 November Satow returned to Kobe from Nagasaki on the Hiroshima-maru on 1 December. He used the time while the ship was in port at Kobe to visit Kyoto where he met his former servant Noguchi Tomizo¯ and stayed for one night. He owed his life to Noguchi who had saved him when he was attacked by ultra-nationalists at Kakegawa in 1867, and he never forgot that, but I do not think Satow visited him simply for that reason. I believe that it was also to thank him for the help he had given Bird during her visit to Kyoto, and to the Parkeses and Marianne North when they were there two years earlier. In Noguchi’s curriculum vitae it has it that he was employed in the industrial promotion department of the Kyoto government in August 1877 fourteen months before Bird’s visit,47 but going by what North says in her autobiography, that in November 1875 he was their party’s official interpreter, it is very possible that he was formally seconded from his position as an official at the Army Ministry to assist them. I think that his having donated Western textiles and raw silk obtained while he was studying abroad to the Kyoto government had a bearing on his employment there, and Satow’s hand can also be seen in this, for he had taken Noguchi with him on one of his home leaves and encouraged him to study in England, with emphasis placed on textile manufacturing.48

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One of the main purposes of Bird’s visit to Kyoto was to get an idea of the current state of progress being made in missionary and education work by the likes of Niijima Jo¯,49 as well as seeing what effects modernisation was having on Japan’s former capital. And so when Noguchi acted as Bird’s guide to inspect traditional industries like Nishijin textiles and Awata pottery it was a feather in his cap of course, but also in Satow’s I think, and my view is that separately from the request Parkes had made to the prefectural governor, Satow too rendered assistance when Bird was in Kyoto. On his return to Kobe, Satow went to lunch at Consul Flowers’s house and boarded the Hiroshima-maru late that same night50 and one imagines that Bird was there with him at this lunch too, if only because it would have been distinctly odd had she not been invited, when the Legation was united in lending her its support and she was heading back there in the company of its Japanese language secretary. I think that this was a special event held by Flowers in his official capacity to mark the successful conclusion of Satow’s visit to Korea and Bird’s trip to the Kansai and the Ise Shrines. These facts all suggest that Satow’s help was not insignificant, but what Bird wrote about it takes up considerably less space than that devoted to the support the Parkeses gave her. And though Letter III51 gives a hint of the existence of other members of the Legation apart from Satow, like W.G. Aston and J.H. Gubbins, there is actually nothing written about their input. Now let us consider what kind of assistance was given by the Consuls at other posts.We have seen how Wilkinson, the Consul at Yokohama visited Bird at the Oriental Hotel there on the day of her arrival and was ‘extremely kind’. About her plans for travelling in the Interior ‘he thinks that my plan for travelling in the interior is rather too ambitious, but that it is perfectly safe for a lady to travel alone’ which made her ‘long to get away into real Japan’.52 He probably telegraphed Parkes with news of her arrival and it is logical to suppose that when she went by train to Tokyo, he went with her.

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As for Eusden, the Consul at Hakodate, he went with her when she went ever the local hospital, and when she visited the prison his wife went with her too. Of particular note is that he negotiated with the Hokkaido¯ Development Commission and obtained a Sho¯mon for her, that document ‘which enables me to dispense with my passport’.53 He was also present when Bird met Maries in the matter of Ito’s contract with him, and arranged for Bird to meet Count Diesbach of the French Legation, Heinrich von Siebold and Lieutenant Kreitner over lunch. This is dealt with in more detail later. The part played by Consul Flowers of Kobe is as mentioned above. This all goes to show that these three men carried out the tasks assigned to them by Parkes in their consular capacities. Assistance from missionary organisations

I have already made mention of the fact that the support for Bird’s journey is characterised by the diversity of its composition, among which the help she received from the organisations and their people engaged in Christian missionary work is particularly noteworthy. Here I will add some points not touched on earlier. The first point to note is that the support from the Church Missionary Society, the CMS, and the American Board was not provided just by their missionaries stationed in Japan. Where the CMS is concerned the visit to Japan in May 1878 of Bishop Burdon and his wife from Hong Kong is important. The History of the Church Missionary Society54 tells us that Bishop Burdon’s visit to Japan provided the opportunity for the First Missionary Conference to be convened, and this was duly held with Sir Harry and Lady Parkes in attendance, but there are indications that this was not the bishop’s only reason for going there. For instance, the CMS in Japan was under his supervision and he wanted to give it some encouragement, while where Bird was concerned he would certainly have wanted to meet her in advance of the trip she was going to make to Hong Kong. More than that, though, she was a person he had to meet given

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that her own plans were to explore the current state of missionary work not just in Japan as a whole but also among the Ainu, as a way of throwing light on their social life.55 Burdon was present when Bird visited Hepburn’s house for the interview with her servant-interpreter, which is consistent with this view, and he was also acquainted with Bird’s father.56 In his Letter from Bishop Burdon there is a reference to his having met Bird in Yokohama where he says that she was about to set off on a long journey, accompanied by just one Japanese servant, that would take her from Tokyo via Niigata to the northernmost point of Honshu¯, from where she would cross the strait bound for Hakodate. We can take this to mean that Bird’s journey was a subject of interest for the CMS even at that stage.57 In Hong Kong Bird stayed with the Burdons who helped her with her tours of the city and, as we have seen, Parkes also had a hand in this with his letters of introduction. Miss Gordon-Cumming’s book Memories tells us that she too was in Hong Kong at almost the same time and benefited from the Burdons’ kindness. Bird’s association with the episcopal couple continued after she left Hong Kong and in 1882 they stayed with her and her husband in Edinburgh for two weeks where they helped her with her medical missionary work. Then, in 1895, during her Far East journey of 1894–97, she visited the bishop in Hong Kong and gave lectures there. It has always been somewhat unclear why she was made an Honorary Member of the Oriental Society of Peking in 1892, well before she embarked on her journey along the valley of the Yangtze which was not until 1896, but it makes sense if we regard the bishop’s involvement as being the factor behind the award. Her lectures in Hong Kong achieved added status from his imprimatur and we can well imagine that they were influential in obtaining the safeconduct pass that assured her consular treatment in China. This was a document she did not have when she travelled in Korea, but now it enabled her to make her trip to the Yangtze valley and its hinterland and showed how close her connection with the Church Missionary Society was (see Chapter 2).

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In Niigata Fyson and his wife helped her and she also received co-operation from Dr Palm of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society. The assistance the Fysons gave Bird during her stay in Niigata is touched on in the enlarged and amended version by Warren of the Osaka station of the Church Missionary Society of the first edition of the book authored by Stock in 1879.58 But more important was Dening’s work at Hakodate, not just because he helped Bird while she was there and gave her an insight into his own activities, but because his visit to Biratori in 1876 marked the start of mission work among the Ainu and laid the ground for the success of Bird’s own researches there in 1878. Where assistance from the American Board is concerned, the letter of introduction that Bird had asked its General Secretary to provide was obviously important but during her visit to Hawaii six years earlier she had been close to Peter Gulick,59 the doyen of missionaries there, and his colleagues and this relationship was also significant. His eldest son Luther Halsey Gulick60 was there when she arrived at Yokohama and it is likely that this was not just to meet his daughter who was a passenger on the City of Tokio too, but also to greet Bird. On 18 October when she disembarked at Kobe ‘in torrents of rain, accompanied by a high wind’ his younger son Orramel Hinckley Gulick met Bird and immediately took her to his house which was ‘built like a Hilo house’ and brought back memories of Hawaii.61 After that, until she boarded the ship for Yokohama on 3 December, he and his wife Ann Eliza62 put Bird up for two weeks providing their house as her base from which to observe the Board’s activities in Kobe and not only assisted her in those observations but arranged for her to be accommodated at the Do¯shisha Women’s School while she was in Kyoto. Not content with this, Ann Eliza, having accompanied Bird to Kyoto, was then with her for the whole of her eleven-day round-trip that began nineteen days later and took in Nara, the ¯ tsu before Hase temple (Hasedera 䮧䉧ሪ), the Ise Shrines and O returning to Kyoto. Orramel also accompanied them from Kyoto to Miwa.

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Ann Gulick also took Bird with her when she went to Sanda, which was one of the places where she was doing her missionary work, to attend a meeting of Christian converts. This was a visit that involved a one-night stay there. The detailed accounts in Letters LI and LVIII of their pastoral work attest to the importance of the help the Gulicks gave Bird. Without this, she said, there would have been virtually no point in writing her book. One episode of the care they provided can be seen in Tsu when ‘in the evening Mrs Gulick went to a lonely quarter of the town to call on the parents of a girl who had been in the American School in Kiyôto, and the next morning, the father returned the visit, dressed very richly in silk, and bringing a present of fine sweet-meats, with a symbolical piece of seaweed attached’, a gesture which made the trip meaningful for Ann Eliza as well.63 Bird’s account suggests that Mrs Gulick obtained the girl’s address and sent word to the parents in advance that she would be in Tsu shortly and would call on them when she arrived. The girl in question was Honma Haru (ᮏ㛫ࡣࡿ), the fiancée of the Honma Shigeyoshi (ᮏ㛫㔜៞) Bird introduces in Letter LII as a preacher who ‘is meeting with singular success at Hikone on Lake Biwa’; Shigeyoshi had enrolled Haru in the Do¯shisha Women’s School in April the previous year.64 In cases such as those cited above, the organisation and personnel of the Church Missionary Society and the American Board were virtually interchangeable in terms of support. But there was a third figure in this category who gave her his help outside any organisational framework. This was James Hepburn, known for the Hepburn system of Romanisation for Japanese.65 Hepburn’s first contribution was when he made available to Bird the house at Yamate No. 245 in Yokohama he had moved to two years earlier as a place to conduct her interviews to choose a servant-interpreter, and he acted as interviewer with Consul Wilkinson. He was opposed to her journey, as can be seen from her writing that ‘The strongest, because the most intelligent, dissuasion comes from Dr. Hepburn, who thinks

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that I ought not to undertake the journey, and that I shall never get through to the Tsugaru Strait’, and so it is of interest that he still offered his house for the interviews.66 Again according to Bird’s narrative, Hepburn was critical of her not just for having engaged Ito, a man ‘without any recommendation at all’,67 but also for giving him the one-month’s advance payment he asked for, and ‘consolingly suggested that I should never see him again!’68 In fact, Bird’s choice of Ito was a major factor in the success of her journey, so one may conclude that she stated no more than the truth. But despite his opposition Hepburn was at Hakodate with his wife when Bird arrived there more than two months after the interview. He met Bird and saw her off on her trip to Biratori, waited for her return from there, and went back to Yokohama on the same ship as her. I have already explained that Parkes gave Hepburn letters for Bird, which he took with him to Hakodate. And so, in that sense, it is odd that Bird should write almost as if Dr and Mrs Hepburn just happened to be in Hakodate.69 Bird then writes that after leaving Tokyo Mrs Hepburn heard some bad reports about Ito and that Dr Hepburn was worried about her.70 I think she also happened to be there when Bird talked to Maries with Consul Eusden present, but it is hard to believe that the Hepburns went to Hakodate to get involved with that particular matter. I believe it is much more likely that Parkes asked Hepburn to do what he could to assist with Bird’s journey and that, whatever his own views on the subject might have been, he did just that. Why though did Hepburn, this Pennsylvania-born Presbyterian Church missionary doctor, go to these lengths in his support for Bird? I believe a major reason for his actions was his energy both as doctor and missionary, based on his hope that the Christian faith would spread, and that the dictionary he was editing would be of assistance to this end. This is borne out by what Bird wrote when she saved an Ainu woman who was dangerously ill, saying that when she got back to Hakodate she would talk to Dr Hepburn and get him to send her some medi-

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cine.71 This is also interesting for it shows that Hepburn did not just bring Bird letters, but medicine too. Hepburn had lived in Japan for some nineteen years and ranked alongside Satow as the man most accomplished in his knowledge of Japanese. I believe that it was this ability, and the enthusiasm with which he approached the task of spreading the Christian faith, that led Parkes to conclude that he was the most suitable person to conduct the interview for Bird’s servant-interpreter. One other thing is that when an application was made for an Interior Travel Permit a doctor’s certificate had to be attached confirming that the purpose of the journey was to recuperate from illness, and I believe that here too Hepburn’s support came into play. While Hepburn was opposed to her journey because he thought it would be too demanding it is hardly likely, given its significance, that he was against the idea of travelling in the interior per se; one assumes, therefore, that he extended a helping hand to the extent that he did in response to Parkes’s request. While Bird was staying at the Legation after she returned to Tokyo she writes that Mrs Parkes suffered from bouts of fever and paid visits to Yokohama.72 It may be that she went there to consult Dr Hepburn and, if that was indeed so, the Parkeses might have used him as their doctor before the Legation moved from Yokohama to Tokyo. In this section I have looked at the help given by Christian missionary organisations and their staff but what needs to be borne in mind is that there was no such assistance from the Catholic side and Bird writes almost nothing about their missionary work, which shows that both Bird and Parkes were only interested in such matters insofar as they related to Protestantism. In addition, the bad blood between Parkes and Roches, the French minister, and the hostile attitude of the Church of England towards Catholicism, were both factors that contributed to this situation.73 Chamberlain and others

The third group to provide assistance was the British contingent in the employ of the Government (the so-called o-yatoi-gaikoku-

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jin ǟ䳷ǙཆഭӪ). Of the five people Bird singles out for mention in her Preface three are in this category – Parkes and Satow being the other two apart from Chamberlain. The first of these is the Scotsman Henry Dyer who was Principal at the Engineering College – today’s University of Tokyo Engineering Department. Bird rated it very highly and prefaced her detailed account by saying: ‘The glory and pride of Japanese educational institutions is the Imperial College of Engineering, and the Japanese may justly be proud of it.’ She describes him as being an exceptional person ‘who has made it what it is’, which makes me think that he gave her a thorough tour of inspection of ‘what is usually termed by foreigners “Mr Dyer’s college”’. 74 In the case of Frederick Victor Dickins, who was a lawyer in Yokohama, the tanka quoted in Letters IV and LV are taken from the book he had published in 1866,75 and so a detailed explanation of the Tanabata Festival might have been involved here,76 but he was an authority not just on Japanese literature but also on botany, and ferns in particular, and it is possible that she received help from him in classifying the plants she collected. In contrast the help she got from Basil Hall Chamberlain, a teacher at the Naval College, nineteen years younger than Bird and in his fifth year in Japan, was more substantial. The first occasion was on 7 June 1878 when he sat next to Bird at the opening of the Shintomi Theatre and he did all he could to interest her, if only a little, in classical drama. Eighteen months earlier the Noh drama ‘Sessho¯seki’ (ẅ⏕▼) had appeared - as ‘The Death-Stone’ - in an English translation in an article under a nom de plume in the October 1876 issue of The Cornhill Magazine to much attention, and with this and his previous work, the school primer ‘Jitsugokyo¯’ (ᐇㄒᩍ), or Jitsu-go-Kiyo¯ as the magazine has it, he marked his début as a researcher. For him this was an opportunity not to be missed. Bird had, of course, read this article before coming to Japan and thought it was: ‘very interesting’.77 In addition to bringing it up it in her text she makes several further references to it, and to the journal in which it appeared, in notes added at the time

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her book was published and, as its author, Chamberlain was the person most qualified to explain classical theatre to her. Unfortunately, though, his efforts went unrewarded for Bird found the performance ‘most tedious, and the strumming, squalling, mewing, and stamping by which the traditional posturings are accompanied, are to a stranger absolutely exasperating’.78 But on the Sunday two days later, the day before she was due to leave for Hokkaido¯, she visited the Senso¯ji (ὸⲡᑎ), ‘one of the most impressive sights in Japan’, where the holy and the not-so-holy combined with the hustle and bustle of the crowds to give her much food for thought. And on this occasion it was none other than Chamberlain who shared her rickshaw. No detail escaped Bird’s eagle-eye in her long description of the temple in Letter VIII,79 which demonstrates how determined she was to get to grips with the real Japan on her forthcoming journey. In the passage where she talks of the Westernisation of Japanese society as reflected in the sights she saw on the drive back from Asakusa – also apparent in the section about the performance at the Shintomi Theatre – we can see that she was coming to accept that the old had to live with the new.80 She was able to express herself in this way as a result of the effort Chamberlain put in to give her a foretaste of what Japan had in store for her by way of its scenery, culture, and its people too, on their own terms. Sunday was probably chosen as the day to visit Asakusa because of Chamberlain’s work pattern and also as it was the best day on which to see the temple at its most vibrant. What is interesting is that on the second night she spent at the inn at Tochigi, with everyone including the innkeeper coming to gawp at her incessantly and for no good reason, Bird wrote that she began to think that the advice she had received elsewhere that a lady should not travel alone in Japan, was right.’81 We can also see Chamberlain’s support in the following reference from Notes on Food and Cookery where Bird writes:

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For the menus, combinations in cookery, and for much else, I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Basil Hall Chamberlain, of the Imperial Naval College, Tôkiyô, who, although an accomplished scholar, does not think anything beneath him which is in any way illustrative of Japanese life and customs.82

In her book this chapter on food comes just before the letter telling of her departure from Niigata bound for Ezo, but it was not in fact written at Niigata. Judging from the following passage in Letter L I think it might be one of the instances of assistance she received while staying at the Legation after her return from Hokkaido¯. The sentence in question reads: Mr. Chamberlain has been here for a fortnight, which has been a great pleasure to me, not only because he is an excellent cicerone, but because he is such a thorough lover of Japan, as well as a Japanese student, and is never bored by being asked any number of questions, even though many of them are trivial and unintelligent.83

This statement is extremely important because, referring as it does to events before the diplomatic reception hosted by Mori Arinori, which was several days before Satow invited Bird to his house on 5 October for the Gagaku recital, it shows that Chamberlain came to stay at the Legation as soon as Bird arrived on 18 September and made his help available for all of two weeks. Ito¯’s last task before he took his leave of Bird was to compose a letter of thanks to the Director of the Muroran Office of the Hokkaido¯ Development Commission, on which Bird wrote a most interesting passage in Letter XLVIII about Tonshu kyo¯ko¯ kingen (㡻㤳 ᜍគㅽゝ) one of the formal expressions used to end a Japanese letter. I cannot see her taking examples of letters of this kind with her to Hokkaido¯, and so I think that the translation into English of ‘letters from Japanese that Mr. Chamberlain had kindly given me’ was done while she was staying at the Legation.84

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Chamberlain also provided support after Bird returned to Tokyo from Kobe as can be seen in her writing that: The time has flown by, however, in excursions, shopping, select little dinner parties, farewell calls, and visits made with Mr. Chamberlain to the famous groves and temples of Ikegami, where the Buddhist bishop and priests entertained us in one of the guest-rooms, and to Enoshima and Kamakura.85

This passage is dated 18 December, the day on which she left Japan, and from the sentence ‘I HAVE spent the last ten days here, in settled fine weather’86 at the head of this letter we see that Chamberlain accompanied Bird on the excursions to Enoshima and Kamakura which are thought to have taken place on the 7th and 8th. He even went to the trouble of translating the article in the Yomiuri Shinbun about her visit to the cremation ground that appeared on the day of her departure. The lengths to which Chamberlain went to provide a personalised service to Bird throughout her stay in Tokyo stands out all the more because, as I have already mentioned, she says nothing of the help received from other Legation staff apart from Satow. This contrasts with her having already made the point when she first arrived at the Legation that Satow was not the only one well versed in things Japanese, when she said ‘The scholarship connected with the British Civil Service is not, however, monopolised by Mr Satow’ and added ‘for several gentlemen in the consular service… are distinguishing themselves not alone by their facility in colloquial Japanese but by their researches in various departments of Japanese history, mythology, archæology, and literature’.87 If, as I believe, this assessment is based on what Parkes told her at Yokohama then we can take it that Bird had also taken his opinion of Chamberlain into account when she talked of the contribution made by ‘a few other Englishmen and Germans’ in addition to ‘the labours’ of the British consular staff.

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Viewing the situation as a whole, I think I am right in saying that the plan for her journey was born of Parkes’s own strong personality, rather than a consensus of the Legation, and that in putting it into practice he delegated the task of helping Bird more to Chamberlain than anyone else. Why then did Chamberlain cooperate with Parkes and continue helping Bird to such an extent? I think the main reason was that he was repaying favours, first for the kind treatment he received from Sir Harry and Lady Parkes at the British Legation (which at the time was still at Yamate in Yokohama) when he fell ill shortly after he arrived in Japan in May 187388 and, second, for Parkes having supported him in obtaining his position as a teacher at the Naval College, as it was not as a foreigner in the employ of the government that he had first come to Japan.89 Or, to put it another way, Parkes’s enthusiasm for his plan of Bird’s journey was based on this human relationship with Chamberlain. At the same time, though, I think that Chamberlain himself, in the course of reviewing events with her after she got back from Hokkaido¯, was struck by how good her account of her journey was. French and Austrian Legations

There were also people in another group of foreigners who I believe helped Bird, most probably at Parkes’s request. This applies particularly to Heinrich von Siebold, one of the three men of whom Bird writes at Hakodate that ‘Yesterday I dined at the Consulate, to meet Count Diesbach of the French Legation, Mr von Siebold, of the Austrian Legation and Lieutenant Kreitner, of the Austrian army.’90 Strictly speaking, they were not advisers in the employ of the Japanese Government but I will mention them here. Von Siebold was the interpreter at the Austrian Legation91 and Count Diesbach third secretary at the French,92 and they were visiting Hakodate with Lieutenant Kreitner93 who was one of four men who had come to Japan as part of the AustroHungarian Empire’s East and Central Asia Expedition led by

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Count Szechenyi. One cannot see it from Bird’s narrative but the three of them left Hakodate a week earlier than she did and en route, at the village of Mori, von Siebold and the Count left Kreitner, preceded Bird in going to Biratori for research and re-appeared with Chief Penriuk when Bird was arriving at Sarufuto. Their one-month tour of Hokkaido¯ was for investigative purposes and von Siebold, who also worked at the Finance Ministry, had been asked to undertake it by Finance Minister ¯ kuma Shigenobu. We can see this from the translation of O his report entitled ‘Personal Observations of Hokkaido¯’ that ¯ kuma shortly after he returned to Tokyo, he submitted to O ¯ kuma Archives at the Waseda Uniwhich is now kept in the O versity Library.94 His report consists of an overview of the current state of Hokkaido¯’s economy in the context of its topography, though the application from the Foreign Ministry to the Development Commission was for him to study silkworm rearing, but this was mere window-dressing all the more since the trip was not, as Kreitner puts it, ‘to enjoy a bit of hunting’.95 The real purpose was an ethnographical study of the Ainu, which also appeared in a German specialist journal on the subject the year after Bird’s book was published.96 I feel that this research, made over the course of a week just before Bird went to Biratori, was to assess the situation and apprise her of it; later, in Tokyo, it would also serve as a source of data for Bird to compare with and improve on her own findings. The report also tells us that in their case too the stay at Biratori took up the most time. My view is that von Siebold and Diesbach went to Sarufuto with Chief Penriuk to introduce him to Bird away from Biratori, so that she could go and do her research there while he was still in their company. We may also note that a week later, on 30 August, when she returned to Shiraoi after finishing her survey at Biratori, but had abandoned any idea of going any further the next day due to exhaustion, the two men visited her and gave her a chicken.97

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We do not know where they had been in the meantime but it is certainly the case that they went to check that Bird had safely concluded her research and show their appreciation for her efforts. Bird had been most uncomplimentary about them at that point, writing: ‘As I expected they have completely failed in their explorations,’98 but in her Preface she says that von Siebold’s research corroborated hers: ‘The Ainos supplied the information which is given concerning their customs, habits, and religion; but I had an opportunity of comparing my notes with some taken about the same time by Mr Heinrich Von Siebold of the Austrian Legation, and of finding a most satisfactory agreement on all points.’99 It is hard to believe that it was by chance that Bird and von Siebold met at two different places around the time of her research work at Biratori, when on both occasions these meetings happened not while they were en route but at her lodgings; the only conclusion is that they were pre-arranged. Bird says in a footnote in Letter XLI that she also met von Siebold in Tokyo in connection with Ainu pronunciation and obtained a satisfactory result on checking with him.100 Nor can we ignore that of the pair who ‘are much exhausted’; it was von Siebold who encouraged Bird by saying that ‘in spite of all, a visit to the mountain Ainos is worth a long journey’ or her asking ‘Mr Von S. to speak to Ito in Japanese about the importance of being kind and courteous to the Ainos whose hospitality I shall receive.’101 Nor is that the whole story. After they left Hakodate Kreitner parted with his two companions at Mori and conducted his own research, taking with him the servant Count Diesbach had provided. He met up with them again in late August at Mori and went back to Tokyo. We see from his travelogue that on the day after he got back to Yokohama he called on Parkes to take his leave of him. On her way back from Biratori Bird made a day trip to climb the volcano Mt Tarumae. Kreitner had made the ascent from Shiraoi seventeen or eighteen days before that in seven hours,102 which was perhaps a forerunner for Bird’s own

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excursion. Kreitner writes that he was taken there by a certain Japanese and the possibility that this was an Ainu cannot be discounted, an idea supported by his saying that his expenditure on drink was considerable and that it was not a service a Japanese guide could have provided. I believe that this is the person who acted as Bird’s guide and that his was a test run. If I am right then it means that Kreitner was another person who provided assistance to Bird; his calling on Parkes in Yokohama then makes sense in the context of Parkes’s overall involvement with her venture. Japanese Foreign Ministry and Hokkaido¯ Development Commission

Support for Bird’s journey from the Japanese side took various forms. At the beginning of this chapter I wrote about how the support network centred on Parkes’s extended negotiations with the Japanese Government. The main points to note in this connection are as follows. The first is that Bird’s journey could not have been the success it was simply with the Interior Travel Permit issued by the Foreign Ministry, the point of reference for foreigners’ journeys. Where Honshu¯ is concerned the co-operation of the Home Ministry was essential and for Hokkaido¯ the same was the case with the Development Commission. Only when support measures were in place in all the necessary departments would results be forthcoming. Then there is the whole host of private citizens, and the populace at large – and here even children were involved – who played their part. I cover this topic in more detail below, but any such discussion has to start with Foreign Minister Terashima Munenori. It is hard for us to understand today but foreigners’ travel in Japan was an ongoing problem that was proving hard to resolve between Japan and other countries and the differences with Britain over this were particularly marked. The reason was that the Japanese Government and Terashima himself (Vice Foreign Minister at the time) regarded this question as being inseparable from the annulment of unequal treaties and

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the abolition of extraterritoriality, the major diplomatic bones of contention, and they stuck to their position that without a solution to this problem unrestricted travel by ‘ordinary’ foreigners could not be countenanced. This was compounded by the fact that the person most strongly opposed to Japan’s position on this was Sir Harry Parkes. This matter had remained unresolved even in talks with the British Foreign Secretary Lord Granville and Parkes when the Iwakura Delegation visited England in 1872.103 Terashima, who attended these talks as Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary with Iwakura Tomomi, stood his ground on this after his elevation to Foreign Minister on his return to Japan in 1873 and sent Parkes, as the leading figure in the diplomatic corps, his ‘Proposal in the Matter of Non-Approval for Travel in the Interior’.104 But then in May 1874 he submitted his ‘Law Permitting Foreigners’ Journeys in the Interior’105 to Chancellor Sanjo¯ Sanetomi and the following month, upon its ratification, presented ‘A Private Plan for Rules for Foreigners Travelling in the Interior’106 to the foreign representatives, which recognised such travel on the part of foreigners in general subject to various restrictions applied, for instance, to the purpose of the journey. In June 1875 the ‘Interior Travel Permit’107 was introduced and this problem finally reached a conclusion of sorts. Revision of the treaty came in 1899 and with that foreigners’ freedom of residence and movement was recognised. Exactly when Parkes first came up with the notion of Bird’s journey in Japan is unclear, but one can make various assumptions from surrounding events. For instance, the publication of her Hawaii travelogue that provided a template for such a journey was in February 1875 (the Preface to it is dated January 1875) and not long afterwards, in the May of that year, the procedure by which foreign Ministers of Legation applied to the Foreign Ministry for the issue of Interior Travel Permits was instated. Parkes’s idea must, therefore, have taken shape sometime after that date. Other clues come from Brunton’s map of Japan, an essential tool on her journey, which he started working

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on in 1875 and finished in 1876, while another publication that Bird took with her, namely An English-Japanese Dictionary of the Spoken Language, first appeared in April 1876, though according to its editor, Satow, ‘it was too soon’. If we take all these facts into consideration, the likely conclusion is that he conceived of the idea when the Interior Travel Permit system was brought in and, before work on Brunton’s map started, had already reached an agreement for a special travel permit to be issued in discussions with Terashima. There are no materials relating to any discussions Parkes might have had on this with Terashima, but Bird’s account of Parkes having obtained her Interior Travel Permit, and that it was in fact examined en route, is proof that they took place.108 I think that Parkes viewed the interior travel question as having been settled in a compromise with the Japanese and asked for a special permit for a lady traveller to enable her to travel without restriction. Both sides knew that the Iwakura Delegation had received a warm welcome in Britain and America during its tour of inspection and that positive results in many areas were beginning to be seen, which put Terashima in a position where he could hardly turn down a request for travel, however unrestricted, by just one Englishwoman – and one who had a reputation as a traveller at that; Parkes, no doubt, had this in mind when he made the application. I will explain the background to this in a little more detail, as there are instances of other foreigners having been given permission to make excursions in Japan prior to Bird’s. First, the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen,109 who arrived in Japan in September 1870 and stayed until March the following year, obtained permission from the Japanese Government for his ascent of Mt. Fuji that same month via the German Minister Max von Brandt.110 As for his journey round Kyu¯shu¯ from December to March the following year, he was first made to wait three weeks before his application was rejected but it was then approved after ‘talks Minister-Resident von Brandt had with Terashima and Yoshii’,111 on condition that

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he would meet his own expenses. He duly received his ‘passport issued by the Japanese Government’ and was able to make his journey. Then, in June 1871, Charles A. Longfellow,112 the eldest son of Henry W. Longfellow,113 the American populist poet (whom Bird had met on her 1857 visit to America), visited Japan. He was appointed ‘Deputy Secretary to the Delegation of the Kingdom of Hawaii’ by Minister DeLong114 and had an audience with the Emperor when a treaty of trade and amity was made with Japan. Charles then accompanied DeLong on a journey of some two months to Ezo and the northern part of Honshu starting on 6 September, following which he went to Nagasaki and then to Kyoto, Osaka and Nara from January to July 1872. This was in effect a journey based on diplomatic privilege, despite his being a ‘civilian’. Then again, the Frenchman Georges Bousquet who came to Japan in March 1872 as a foreign advisor to the Ministry of Justice visited ‘the area round Fujiyama’ in August as his ‘first trip outside the “Treaty Limit”’ and then made a journey of twelve days to Kazusa in April 1873 followed in August by a trip to Kyoto via the Nakasendo¯ on the outward leg. He then went to Nikko¯ that winter and in August 1874 travelled to Ezo and the domain of the Ainu.115 Then there was Johannes Justus Rein who was sent to Japan by the Kingdom of Prussia ostensibly to study Japanese traditional handicrafts such as lacquer, enamel, porcelain and textiles. He arrived in December 1873 and stayed at the German Legation. By my calculations, he made six journeys from the end of May 1874 until he left Japan in September 1875, the longest of which was for four months, which took up some 280 days in all. I believe this was the result of a proposal put to Terashima by Minister von Brandt for his approval in the wake of the Iwakura Delegation’s visit to Germany. After his return to Germany, despite not having the usual qualifications for such a post, Rein became the first professor of geography at Marburg University when aged only twenty-three, in a move that showed how successful his time in Japan had been. In fact the two major works three volumes in all - that he produced round about the time of

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his appointment, one on the geography of Japan and the other on its handicrafts and industry, are models of their kind and, as far as works on Japan are concerned, superior to the likes of von Richthofen’s book.116 Letters from a German Geographer in Japan provides previously little-known details of his travels and shows that he saw most of Japan except for Hokkaido¯, moving much more freely than other foreigners who had visited Japan up to then, despite being under surveillance by local officials, adding that if he intentionally overstepped the narrow interpretation of his remit, it was in order to write a comprehensive study of Japan’s geography.117 The book also shows that Rein met Terashima by arrangement with von Brandt. Parkes was of course aware of this situation and based his request for Bird’s journey on the fact that since 1870 citizens of three other major powers, admittedly all of them men and younger than her, had been granted special permission. The Japanese Government’s approval for Rein’s activities is particularly interesting, for while his research was directed mainly at lacquer in the sense of it being a typical Japanese ‘consumer product’, it also involved a ‘traditional industry’, commercial dealings in which Terashima and his colleagues were determined to do away with; but the Japanese cooperated with him despite this. Faced with this Terashima probably had no choice but to approve Parkes’s request, even though the journey was to be made by a woman, and a woman of some years at that. There is a certain link here between Bird and Rein, in that they both regarded their Legations in Tokyo as the main base for their journeys. Rein, for instance, by my calculations, was in Japan for a total of 628 days, and of those 340, give or take, were spent at the German Legation. This is similar to Bird’s attachment to the British Legation. There is one other person of note among the Foreign Ministry officials concerned with Bird’s travels, and that was Mori Arinori. Mori returned to Japan from America at the end of 1873 to take up the post of Senior Secretary in the Foreign Ministry. This was a year in which Terashima, leader of the

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Satsuma Domain Delegation to England of which Mori had been a member, was beset with the thorny problem of travel in the interior. Mori was also named Examining Commissioner for Proposals for Foreign Treaty Revision,118 a post which entailed receiving important visitors. In 1875 he was promoted to Vice Foreign Minister which placed him after Terashima in the hierarchy. In November, he was given an overseas posting as Minister Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to China but in 1878 returned to the Ministry as Senior Vice Foreign Minister at Terashima’s ‘earnest entreaty’,119 and Bird met him and his wife at a dinner at the beginning of June just before her departure for Ezo. After her return to Tokyo she was invited to an official reception for the diplomatic corps given by Mori at the end of September. He was very friendly towards her, she said, and was most complimentary about her ‘unprecedented tour’, adding that there were not even many Japanese who had travelled in the north of Japan.120 Terashima was also present and met Bird again there, and we can take it that in speaking as he did Mori reflected the view of the Japanese Government, or the Foreign Ministry at least, that her journey was well executed. Bird’s visit to a cremation ground just before she left Japan was, as I have said, the result of Parkes’s approach to Mori on the subject, and Mori’s passing on his request to the Governor of Tokyo, Kusumoto Masataka. Where the Hokkaido¯ Development Commission is concerned, you will remember that its Head, Kuroda Kiyotaka, gave her his Syo¯mon, a special permit that overrode her interior travel permit. Bird tells of the departure from Muroran of the Agency’s ferry that she used to get from Mori, on the eastern side of the Oshima Peninsula, to Muroran being delayed by two days to suit her convenience, which shows just how effective this document was. Its provisions also entitled her to use the Agency’s jinrikisha and horses, and she found it particularly satisfying that the horses were shod as that meant her journey could be on horseback as she had wanted.121

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Bird talks of Ito being ‘very proud’ of the ‘shomon’ from the Head of the Development Commission and describes his attitude nicely when she says ‘he swaggers into hotels and Transport Offices’ with it, but it also shows very clearly the weight the document carried and its importance in the context of the assistance she received.122 The success she met at Biratori in studying the Ainu and their society is due of course to her own enthusiasm in conducting and documenting her research, and to Ito’s capability too, but in large measure it was also down to the Development Commission having asked the Ainu to cooperate by taking her in as a special guest, which they did by going about their normal daily routine to show her their way of life and answering all the questions she put to them about it. Bird may also have been helped, albeit indirectly, by the Finance Ministry for, as we have seen, von Siebold’s tour of ¯ kuma Hokkaido¯ was made at the request of the Minister, O Shigenobu, and its results also contributed to Bird’s own survey. ¯ kuma himself knew what von It is, therefore, very likely that O Siebold’s real aim was, ethnological research in other words, and its connection with Bird’s studies. Japanese Home Ministry

I will now look at the support Japan’s Home Ministry gave to Bird. At Yamagata, the capital of the prefecture of the same name, Bird visited the hospital, the Court House and a filature,123 and at Kubota, the capital of Akita prefecture, she saw the hospital, the normal school and a silk products factory.124 These visits were of course made possible on instructions from the Home Ministry to the two prefectures. Her purpose in visiting them was to see what progress the prefectures’ public works programmes were making under the new system and particularly where the hospital and the normal school at Kubota are concerned we can see from what Bird wrote about them that they were very much in the form of official visits.

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The efforts that the Japanese made to ensure that the hospital visit was a success are apparent from the importance the Director and all his staff attached to it, but just as telling were the lengths Ito went to. Bird writes of him on this occasion that ‘Ito, who is lazy about interpreting for the lower orders, but exerts himself to the utmost on such an occasion as this, went with me, handsomely clothed in silk, as befitted an “Interpreter”, and surpassed all his former efforts’.125 In a passage that reflects the support given to her by the Japanese on her travels Bird then adds that: After our round we returned to the management room to find a meal laid out in the English style, coffee in cups with handles and saucers, and plates with spoons. After this pipes were again produced, and the Director and medical staff escorted me to the entrance, where we all bowed profoundly. I was delighted to see that Dr. Kayabashi, a man under thirty, and fresh from Tôkiyô, and all the staff and students were in the national dress, with the hakama of rich silk, It is a beautiful dress, and assists dignity as much as the ill-fitting European costume detracts from it. This was a very interesting visit, in spite of the difficulty of communication through an interpreter.126

We know from Bird’s own account that the scale of her reception at the hospital was down to instructions from the prefectural governor Ishida Eikichi (▼⏣ⱥྜྷ) but it still could not have happened if he had not had sufficient notice of her visit to make the necessary preparations. Terashima might possibly have contacted him but it is more likely that any such directive would have come from the Home Ministry which was in charge of the prefectures; it had, after all, already been involved with Bird in Hokkaido¯, via the Development Commission. This raises an interesting point for it seems that instructions from the governor’s office were not just issued for this sort of programme, or arranging her meals and lodgings; they also provided for her to attend those most formal of ceremonies, a

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wedding and a funeral, which were vital as background for her understanding of traditional Japanese society. Bird saw a funeral at Rokugo¯ (භ㒓) through ‘the good offices of the police’127 and she writes that she was able to see a wedding at Kubota due to the kindness of the owner of her lodgings whose niece was the bride,128 but I do not think that those were the only reasons. She may have been dressed in a kimono, lent to her by the ‘house-master’s’ youngest wife, but we can tell from her detailed account of the proceedings that the guests were aware there was a foreigner present. This can only mean that the family had been asked in advance if she could attend and an explanation given for why the request was being made, and that they agreed to the arrangement. It is also clear that she was served Western food at her lodgings at Kubota, in the same way as at the hospital earlier, through the agency of the Governor. Three days before she attended the funeral Bird stayed for one night at Kaneyama (㔠ᒣ) at what was to be the last place she stayed at in Yamagata prefecture, and there, too, she benefited from the support of the Home Ministry. While she was staying with Shibata Kuheiji (ᰘ⏣஑ᖹ἞) at what had been a daimyo lodging and was also the relay station for the Land Transport Agent (޵ഭ䙊䙻Պ⽮㏉・ᡰ), the village head Saito¯ Sanemitsu (ᩧ⸨ᐇග) came to Bird’s room with Shibata to pay her a ‘formal visit’.129 They talked for many hours, probably in the context of an opinion poll that village heads were required by the governor to take, in order to assess the state of Japan’s regional administration and the condition of the farming community, which made up the greater part of a population caught up in the sweeping changes that had been made to the political system. Their conversation is reflected in Bird’s detailed six-page account which lists the posts and functions of the officials in the regional bureaucracy, from the governor at the top through to district and town or village heads, and also addresses the subject of landtax reform.130

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We have seen how Parkes, in the matter of his request to the Governor of Kyoto for Bird to be allowed to visit the Mikado’s Palace, directed it instead straight to Terashima, the Foreign Minister, but I believe that the instructions to the Governor of Yamagata Prefecture were from the Home Ministry. My reason for saying this is because it was not only the fact that the Development Commission was providing assistance, but more the nature of that assistance, that was the most pressing question of the day for the Home Ministry. Eager to use this opportunity the Home Ministry asked the Foreign Ministry for word of local grass-roots opinion of the regional administration, a fact that might have been made known to Parkes. Not only was Bird’s arrival at Kaneyama a mere five days before the 22 July date when the ‘Law for the Formation of Districts, Boroughs, Towns & Villages’ was enacted by Cabinet decree,131 altering the previous system of Major & Minor Boroughs, but it also has a bearing on her having written that she hoped her book might contribute to what the Japanese Government had to contend with: ‘in building up the New Civilisation’.132 Ito¯, acting as interpreter for this conversation, had dressed appropriately and Bird records him as having made strenuous efforts for the occasion,133 the only explanation for which can be that he was well aware of the purpose of Bird’s journey and of this meeting. It is interesting that Bird, while admitting that the land tax reform could provoke a backlash from the peasantry, still disagreed with the village head’s perception, shared by the farmers, that things were better in the Edo period.134 She pointed out that the tax rate had been lowered to 2.5% the previous year and took a generally positive view of the new government’s policy.135 There are also other examples to support the theory that the Home Ministry actively encouraged Bird’s journey. Having crossed the Niigata plain, she stayed for a night at the hamlet of Numa (἟) in the valley of the River Arakawa (Ⲩᕝ) where she wrote as follows:

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In estimating the number of people in a given number of houses in Japan, it is usual to multiply the houses by five, but I had the curiosity to walk through Numa and get Ito to translate the tallies which hang outside all Japanese houses with the names, number, and sexes of their inmates, and in twenty-four houses there were 307 people! In some there were four families, the grand-parents, the parents, the eldest son with his wife and family, and a daughter or two with their husbands and children. The eldest son, who inherits the house and land, almost invariably brings his wife to his father’s house, where she often becomes little better than a slave to her mother-in-law. By rigid custom she literally forsakes her own kindred, and her “filial duty” is transferred to her husband’s mother, who often takes a dislike to her, and instigates her son to divorce her if she has no children. My hostess had induced her son to divorce his wife, and she could give no better reason for it than that she was lazy.136

Bird was obviously doing some research here but it was not just the number of houses or their occupancy that she was after. She knew that the average size of a Japanese family was five people and her reference to what she had picked up about the family system, including its fundamentally patriarchal nature, shows that it was not just because she ‘had the curiosity’ to do it. As I pointed out in Note 43 to Letter XXII in my book ‘The Complete Translation’,137 we have to question the numbers of houses and people that Bird quotes and the existence of a large-family system cannot be accepted. But assuming that the average figure of five persons per house that she relied on for her study was correct, and was based on information provided by the Japanese, then even allowing for the fact that she had only been in Japan for fifty days there is real substance in her report. A feature worth noting is the door-plates, ‘tallies’ as Bird calls them, displayed outside houses. The increased use of such plates has been linked to development of the postal system but a more important factor behind them was the ‘Law for the Formation

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of Districts, Boroughs, Towns and Villages’ referred to earlier, which made it compulsory for a numbered tag to be attached below ‘the label detailing the name and style of the house owner or any temporary residents’ – three years earlier, in the February of that year, the ‘Ordinance requiring Commoners to be known by a Patronymic’138 had been enacted, which made it compulsory for every citizen to have a surname. Bird’s stay at Numa was on 11 July, so eleven days before this law was announced. In their case it was probably to show willing in anticipation of the new system that they had already displayed the required tags. This fits in with what she heard about this system from the village head at Kaneyama six days later. It was the responsibility of the police in each prefecture to see that these plates were in place so one can only conclude that in this case the Home Ministry had sent instructions to the Governor of Niigata to display them, and that he had had the necessary arrangements made to coincide with Bird’s visit. With the village head already in post, one assumes that his cooperation was readily forthcoming. I will now go on to show some examples where the kind of cooperation given by the village heads at Kaneyama and Numa also extended beyond their remit. A week after she left Akita, Bird crossed into Aomori prefecture via the Yatate Pass (▮❧ᓘ) in the teeth of floods and torrential rain and spent three nights at the village of Ikarigaseki (◽ࣨ㛵) at the foot of the pass (31 July - 2 August) where on her last day there she was shown various children’s games. As the weather was ‘fine and windy’139 the children flew kites and in the evening twelve children played the ‘game of I-ro-ha garuta, or Alphabet Cards’ but neither of these are played in the summer. Both are games for the winter. Of the latter Bird writes that ‘Ito told me that this was a game played in any Japanese house in winter’, which corroborates this.140 Bird’s account of these pursuits is all the more vivid and immediate from her having been there to see them for herself. I think the only explanation is that the owner of her lodging, Kuzuhara Daisuke (ⴱཎ ኱ຓ), and his brother Kuzuhara Isosuke (ⴱཎఀ᝷ຓ) who

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was serving as village head, put on this winter game specially for her. This might of course have been their own idea, or Bird might have asked them for a demonstration of the game via Ito¯, but in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan she had brought with her and read at her lodgings there was a paper about children’s games by Griffis, and she also knew that he had written about the proverbs on the cards in his book The Mikado’s Empire.141 After the game the conversation had turned to the proverbs themselves. This fact shows that everybody had understood the aims of the game, and it is more likely that there were instructions given to the village at prefectural level to show her these children’s games. The card game may have been arranged for her, but when Ito¯ translated the proverbs on the cards Bird could not help but burst out laughing. This was infectious and the twenty people in the room quite split their sides. This restored her spirits and she had a really enjoyable evening. The way she expressed herself makes it evident how pleased she was that everybody there had been able to enjoy themselves too.142 This episode shows how strongly Bird felt about children but they were not the only object of her interest, for we should remember that her aim was to understand the Japanese in the round, from the cradle through their childhood and married years to the grave. This is why she wanted to find a way to attend a wedding, not just because she was interested in the ceremony in its social framework, but because it was the most important event in a woman’s life. We know this from her having devoted four pages in small type to Kaibara Ekiken’s ‘Treasury of Womanly Precepts’,143 albeit in the translation by N. McLeod, after the part about marriage in Letter XXIX.144 All the more need then for her request to attend a wedding to have been made well in advance. I have already written about support for Bird from the Home ¯ kubo Toshimichi, the Foreign Minister at the time Ministry. O Parkes was drawing up his plans for Bird’s trip, was assassinated

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just before Bird arrived in Japan and was replaced by Ito¯ Hirobumi who up to then had been Minister of Public Works, and these are the two officials who responded to the request from Foreign Minister Terashima. Both of them had visited Europe and America as deputy ministers in the Iwakura Delegation and this experience is thought to have made them more receptive to Parkes’s plan. Finally, I will look at the support the Japanese Government gave for Bird’s visit to the Ise Shrines. We see from the opening sentence of Notes on the Isé Shrines145 where she talks of the Geku¯ (እᐑ), the Outer Shrine, and the Naiku¯ (ෆᐑ), the Inner Shrine, these ‘two great divine palaces’ which ‘rank first among Shinto¯ Shrines in point of sanctity’, that Bird’s visit took her as far as the Sho¯den (ṇẊ) or main temple of the Outer Shrine. A comparison with what Satow wrote shows that this is correct. Bird writes that ‘they are now open to passport holders under certain restrictions’,146 but this did not apply to everybody who held an Interior Travel Permit. According to the Shrine Office Diary (⚄ᐑྖᗇ᪥ㄅ) Parkes was only allowed to go as far as the south or main gate of the inner fence surrounding the main Shrine, known as the Uchi-tamagaki (ෆ ⋢ᇉᚚ㛛 / ෆ⋢ᇉ༡ᚚ㛛), while Satow, the first foreigner ever to have been allowed to enter the precincts, only went to the main gate of the outermost or Itagaki fence (ᯈᇉ㛛 / ᯈᇉ༡ᚚ㛛) and was not permitted entry to the Mizugaki (⍞ᇉ), the innermost one.147 This shows how favoured Bird was. In a letter to John Murray dated 29 February 1879 she told him that her experience was ‘extremely interesting’, and describes it in detail. The reason why she received this special treatment is that with the abolition of the Ministry of Religious Education (ᩍ㒊┬) in January 1878 the Ise Shrines were put under the Shrines & Temples Office of the Home Ministry (ෆົ┬♫ᑎ ¯ kubo Toshimichi, Ito¯ Hiroᒁ). With the untimely death of O bumi made a re-appearance in the Cabinet as Home Minister,

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meaning that support for Bird in this regard came from him. ‘Very understanding treatment’ on the part of State Council¯ kuma Shigenobu and Yamao Yo¯zo¯ (ᒣᑿᗤ୕), the Vicelor O Minister of Public Works, was behind the permission given to Satow to visit the Shrines as the first foreigner to do so in ¯ kuma, who by then was also November 1872; that same O Finance Minister, may have been instrumental in Parkes being allowed access to the Shrines three years later. If that was so, then Satow and Parkes being allowed into the ¯ kuma’s influence could also have had a bearing Shrines due to O on Bird being given leave to do so. We should also remember that von Siebold’s inspection-cum-research trip to Hokkaido¯ ¯ kuma was of help to Bird in making her commissioned by O own studies at Biratori. ¯ kuma in addiIf the support network involved Ito¯ and O tion to Terashima and Kuroda then it is not simply a question of interaction between the Foreign and Home Ministries and the Development Commission, for the possibility then arises that the most influential members of the Japanese Government entertained Parkes’s requests. This point merits further thought but one thing at least is clear, that Bird’s trip was never a solitary one made by a lone woman traveller as has been the commonlyheld view, and indeed the main reason why there has been so much interest in her. Nor should we forget the many ordinary citizens, of different stations in life from priests to rickshaw men, who gave Bird their co-operation and treated her as a special guest. These included her servant-interpreter Ito¯ Tsurukichi, the pastor Niijima Jo¯, the priest Akamatsu Renjo¯, or inn-keepers like Kanaya Zenichiro¯ (㔠㇂ၿ୍㑻) and, at Ise, Matsushimaya Zenzaburo¯ (ᯇᔱᒇ ၿ୕㑻). Then there were the women at the relay station for the Land Transport Agent at Tenoko (ᡭࣀᏊ) in Yamagata Prefecture who, Bird says, when they saw that she felt the heat ‘gracefully produced fans and fanned me for a whole hour. On asking the charge, they refused to make any, and would not receive anything.’148

Chapter 5

THE LEGACY OF BIRD’S STAY IN JAPAN — I will now examine the legacy of Bird’s stay in Japan in 1878, and will do this in two ways. First, I will look at what its impact was on her and the people who helped her at the time. Then I will consider its longer-term effects as reprints and translations of her book rekindled interest in an event that had long lain forgotten. PART 1 : BIRD AND HER CIRCLE On Bird herself

‘The colder, drier weather restored her, and she was fairly well when she left that most lovely and interesting land, where she had spent seven busy months, reaping a golden harvest of knowledge for her own country.’1 This is how Stoddart describes Bird’s mood as she is about to board the S.S. Volga on her departure from Japan, reflecting the satisfaction she felt at having completed her journey and recovered her health. The last part of the sentence nicely complements what Bird herself said at the beginning of her own book, namely that ‘… though I found the country a study rather than a rapture, its interest exceeded my largest expectations’.2 In a letter she wrote to John Murray from Hakodate when she arrived 173

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there from Aomori she said ‘the scenery is monotonous, the mode of travelling slow and painful’.3 So though her journey in Japan had not necessarily proved enjoyable, it amply repaid her in-depth study of a wide range of topics, which supports my idea that it was made to satisfy the responsibility placed on her by Parkes. In terms of its significance for Bird herself, this journey was the pivotal event in her life of travel, and it is important for the basis it provided for later expeditions and their successful outcome. She became the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society as a result of it, the highest honour for a traveller to attain, and it is also connected with events that unfolded later. I have already discussed in Chapter 2 the efforts Bird made to acquaint the British public with the journeys she made after her trip to Japan and so I will not dwell on them here, but there is just one point I need to re-stress, which is the following. Her journeys, which displayed an inquisitiveness for matters natural and social bordering on the risky, and the lecture tours she made with disregard for her physical condition, were all demanding but characterised by a steely determination to carry out the mission she believed she had been given as a ‘born traveller’.4 I need to make some observations about her books at this point. Leaving aside her journeys in the Sinai Peninsula and Morocco about which she only wrote articles, and the one to Lesser Tibet which took up only a very small book, Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan,5 The Yangtze Valley and Beyond 6 and Korea & Her Neighbours,7 to take three of her later books as examples, were major works similar in terms of volume to Unbeaten Tracks in Japan,8 which was already twice the size of her previous three travelogues. The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither,9 though somewhat smaller – probably because her journey there was shorter – is still closer in size to Unbeaten Tracks in Japan than to the accounts of her Hawaii and Rocky Mountains trips. The Yangtze Valley and Beyond is a single-volume book but can be compared to Unbeaten Tracks in Japan from a size point

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of view. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, the New Edition10 published in1900 also takes the original two-volume work as its model. It is important to note that these were not just changes to the size of her books, but represented a major shift away from the adventure-travel style that was designed for easy reading. Without this change and subsequent developments Bird would probably not have been accepted – and then only as an exceptional measure and after spirited debate – as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with its innately conservative streak. Nor did the freshness of her narrative or her discerning eye suffer from this change. This meant that her books continued to lack the stiffness that factual accounts can have, and still appealed to readers of both genres. I will add a few words about Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, the New Edition as it is relevant for Bird’s finally having accepted the importance of photographs and derives from the 1880 first edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, or what I call ‘the complete original’.11 Bird had already started using copper-plate engravings as an adjunct to her text for her Period II journeys and it is not surprising that she continued this policy in her Period III ones, which included Japan, and those of Period IV. Having realised the effectiveness of photography on her trip to Persia she made a thorough study of it in London when she returned in order to put it into practice and she used the knowledge thus gained in her next, Period V, journeys which were to the Far East at around the time of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. The photograph as a new medium of expression was already attracting attention at the time of her Period III Japan visit – and Bird herself used copper engravings taken from existing photographs for illustrations in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, including the frontispieces to the two volumes12 – but though she was not in the forefront in this respect she was nevertheless one of the pioneers of photography in travel books and broadened the range of expression available to a traveller. She valued the photograph as she thought that it was superior to a copper plate or a sketch in presenting a true image, a point she stresses on many occasions

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in The Yangtze Valley and Beyond. At the same time, I believe that Bird also used photographs because she was aware of the praise that had been lavished on the pictures of other lady travellers like Marianne North or Constance Gordon-Cumming, and North’s in particular, for their beauty. Seen in this light Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, the New Edition, a book that had attracted almost no interest up to then, assumes a significance one cannot ignore. Bird realised that her Far East journey of three years and two months owed much of its success to having had Japan as its base-camp, and this led to the forgotten original two-volume Unbeaten Tracks in Japan being revived in an abridged form, in line with John Murray’s editorial policy, by removing just a small part and inserting fourteen photographs illustrative of Bird’s development as a traveller, and adding a suitable preface. A photograph captioned Corner Tower of a Daimyô’s Castle formed its frontispiece.13 This is not simply a picture to show the Uto Bastion of Kumamoto Castle for it also serves as a souvenir of her taken with the group of people standing on it which includes the English missionary Hannah Riddell14 and is linked to Bird’s strong interest in Christian missionary activities.15 This photograph is not connected with her trip in 1878 but it shows that this was the most important aspect of what amounted to an almost oneyear stay in Japan during her Far East journeys from 1894 to 1897. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, the New Edition is also of singular importance for showing that Korea & Her Neighbours and The Yangtze Valley and Beyond were not the only products of her sometimes life-threatening Far East journeys. On Chamberlain

It might come as a surprise but I think that it was Chamberlain who made the best use of meeting Bird and benefited most from her journey and the publication of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. My first reason for saying this is my belief that Bird’s achievements, particularly where the Ainu were concerned, were undeniably

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the motivation for his later research into the Ainu language, based on field studies made at Biratori and other sites; he knew of course that the success of her journey was also due to support from numerous other sources. His substantial article that appeared in 188716 is the outcome of his on-site research the previous year and in it he rightly says that ‘Miss Bird has written graphically about their customs’ – the ‘their’ referring to the Ainu. He also talks of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan in the addendum to that article, the Catalogue of Books Relating to Yezo and Ainos, and nicely assesses her contribution by saying that ‘In Volume II the author’s time spent among the Ainu is graphically and picturesquely described, particularly where their customs are concerned, and an account given of the scenery of the southwest of Yezo.’ Nor had his positive view of Bird’s book, first expressed in the section Books about Japan in his Things Japanese published four years later, changed by the time its sixth and last edition appeared forty-nine years later in 1939.17 I have touched on this elsewhere. Then, in Things Japanese, the embodiment as it were of his researches as a Japanese scholar, he selects 200 or so subjects in particular that might be of interest to the foreign reader and presents his thoughts in concise descriptions. This is in nice contrast to the more leisurely narrative style that Bird uses in her book to present her own views of ‘the real Japan’. Bird’s book includes about half the subjects Chamberlain addresses and though one might ask if this was Chamberlain’s intention the fact remains that the two works, though completely different in nature, do nevertheless complement each other about Japan. If this is indicative of the support Chamberlain gave Bird then the concomitant benefits redounded to his credit too. It is also significant in this context that correspondence between the two of them continued for more than twenty years afterwards.18 The first edition in 1881 of the travel guide A Handbook for Travellers in Central and Northern Japan was compiled by Ernest Satow and Lieutenant A.G.S. Hawes,19 but this changed for the third edition of 1891 to Chamberlain and Mason and the con-

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tents were revised.20 This too is a point we should note, the reason being that this book is a serious geographic study for people to acquaint themselves with Japan through travel, and in this sense it also has a connection with Bird’s travelogue. The second edition that appeared in 1884 attributes Route 58 from Aizu to Niigata to Unbeaten Tracks in Japan and it is possible that Bird wrote the part about hot springs in the Introduction. Sho¯da Motoo, the translator of the Japanese version,21 puts Erwin Bälz as the author of that section, but though Bälz may have been an authority on hot springs the initials after it in the original are I.B. and not E.B.22 And Bird herself certainly did not lack knowledge of, or interest in, the subject. The third edition also mentions Unbeaten Tracks in Japan in the part about Route 66, in connection with the old road skirting Volcano Bay. The immediate reason for Chamberlain’s becoming editor was due to Satow having left Japan in 1884 to become Resident Representative and Consul General in Bangkok and because in its second edition the book was already included in John Murray’s Guide Book series, which necessitated further editions. There were tangible results for Chamberlain himself the more he travelled in Japan but I think it is significant that all the three works for which he is known are linked to Bird’s journey and the support he gave her. On Parkes

It is clear that meeting Bird and lending her his support for her trip was of great significance for Chamberlain, but there is no doubt that the person who derived most satisfaction from the success of her journey was Sir Harry Parkes, who had planned it in the first place and in the process had benefited Chamberlain considerably by encouraging him to help her. At the beginning of this chapter I showed that upon leaving Japan Bird was satisfied with what she had achieved, and why that was so. From the letter Parkes wrote to his wife, by that time back in England, on 18 December 1878 just after Bird had

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taken her leave of him to start her journey from Yokohama to Hong Kong, one can sense that he was pleasantly relieved that she felt this way. The passage in question reads as follows: Yedo, Dec. 18 (1878) First of all I may as well mention that I have just said good-bye to Miss Bird. She has been with me ten days... She is always very entertaining when she imparts some of her large store of information, and has expressed herself most grateful for all the assistance rendered her. She has written to you, and I enclose her note, and two to me. She says she thinks I am looking much better than when she was last here – which will comfort you.23

Parkes was also happy to lend his support after she had returned home and this paid extra dividends, for when her book was published two years later to a storm of approval he learnt that she had dedicated it to his late wife. Parkes let Bird know how pleased he was at this turn of events The letter Parkes received from Satow on home leave, saying that the opinion that Bird’s book was superior to the one written by Sir Edward Reed was justified, confirms that Satow too had a high opinion of her work and I believe that it was Satow’s own endorsement that particularly pleased Parkes.24 For this was a view expressed, as they both knew, despite Reed’s book having been written in an official capacity, as his visit to Japan had been at the invitation of the Ministry of the Navy, and also been published by John Murray, in two volumes with more eye-catching covers than hers. But I believe that Parkes was pleased for a more fundamental reason, for unlike the first British Minister Sir Rutherford Alcock, who in a tenure of only three years wrote a major work that has attained historical importance, The Capital of the Tycoon,25 and one other book, Parkes did not write anything about Japan. Instead, his aim as Britain’s representative in Japan was to achieve more tangible results by energising large numbers of people. He conceived and planned Bird’s successful trip

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as part of a broader strategy that involved organising the Asiatic Society of Japan to promote academic research on Japan and nurture the researchers themselves, and presided over the new climate that emerged. In a face-to-face discussion with Haga To¯ru, Kanai Madoka asked why Parkes did not write his memoirs as Alcock had done with The Capital of the Tycoon, and left no trace of the events that he was personally involved in.26 My view is that Parkes’s attitude to this was along the lines I have just described. I can also imagine that by taking Bird’s book as representing the period following The Capital of the Tycoon and dealing with ‘parts untrodden’ that Alcock had not visited in his two journeys, Parkes thought that taking the two books together would make for cross-fertilisation and more comprehensive coverage. I think that those round Parkes, including Bird, accepted this view and that as a result Bird herself derived all the more pleasure from Alcock’s positive evaluation of her work. Earlier I pointed out that Unbeaten Tracks in Japan was in two volumes and I think it is possible that both Bird and Parkes were wedded to this format after the pattern of Alcock’s book. The special significance of Bird’s book was that, deriving as it did from Parkes’s overall plan, it reflected well on Britain and was more obviously a travelogue than the various books that had emerged before Bird’s trip from journeys made with special permission by American, German and French travellers in Japan. One event that was especially significant for demonstrating how close his ties with her were as a result of her trip to Japan, and as a means of showing his gratitude, was the visit that Parkes made when he was back in England in connection with his wife’s death to the house where Bird’s sister Henrietta had lived at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull; he told Bird about this in a long letter to her.27 Bird’s 1878 visit to Japan was a matter of great significance for Satow too. In May 1895, while Bird was in the midst of her Far East journeys of 1894–97, he had been promoted from

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his posting in Morocco to being Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan. Bird stayed at Satow’s villa on the shores of Lake Chu¯zenji in 1895 and 1896 and this resonated with both of them. He was then made Ambassador to China in 1900 and though Bird could not take him up on his invitation to visit him there, their contact was maintained till the end in that the setting for her final journey was Morocco, where he had been stationed before being promoted to Japan. When she visited Japan in 1878 Bird probably did not share quite the same fellow-feeling with him as she did with Parkes but when he returned to Japan as Ambassador in 1895 the two of them forged a strong relationship against the backdrop of a turbulent Far East. On Ito¯ Tsurukichi

Finally, what was the significance of Bird’s trip for another of the main figures who made her journey a success, Ito¯ Tsurukichi? Bird only described him by the common surname ‘Ito’ which long made him a shadowy figure, and Sekikawa Natsuo’s view that found its way into an Iwanami Shinsho publication, saying that he had faded into history, has taken root; but this is very far from the truth.28 His later life unfolded to the extent that when he died in 1913 there were obituary notices with tributes like ‘An expert interpreter dies’, or ‘The pioneer of guiding in Japan and Japan’s leading interpreter’, or ‘The elder statesman of interpreters dies’. That this all came about was due of course to his own considerable ability, but the experience of having been Bird’s servant-interpreter was the main factor. Among the obituaries there are only two that mention Bird by name. The Yorozu-Cho¯ho¯ or ‘Complete Morning News’ wrote: ‘In the account of her travels in the interior of Japan, the English lady author Miss Bird commended him for the contribution he made.’29 In the ‘Yokohama Trade News’ (Yokohama Bo¯eki Shinpo¯) we find the following statement:

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The material for ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ was mainly collected by the English authoress Mrs. Bird herself, but in commending her work the honorary Vice-President of the Japan Society of London said that her introduction to the famous places of scenic beauty and historical note in which Japan abounds was made all the more interesting by the explanations given by her interpreter Ito Tsurukichi, which is ample testament to his proficiency in English. All the more regrettable, therefore, is his death at the age of fifty-seven.30

Ito himself, though, acknowledged that it was from accompanying Bird round Japan that the opportunity came about for developing his career further in the way described in the Ho¯chi Shinbun which stated: ‘He struck up a familiarity with many gentlemen of repute and the occasions on which they expressed their favourable opinion of him are too numerous to mention.’ Among these were the American ‘railroad baron’ Edward Harriman and the President of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, Rennie Schwerin, who were ‘so taken with his abilities and intelligence that they allowed him the privilege of travelling free on their trains and ships’.31 This too goes to show the range of his own activities and is an example of the many introductions that his association with Bird led to later on. In 1880, two years after Bird’s visit, he worked as servantinterpreter for the English entomologist George Lewis and his wife and places that he had visited with Bird were on their itinerary, such as Hakodate, Nanae, Junsainuma, Moto-Muroran, Horobetsu, Shiraoi and Tomakomai.32 Then in 1882 he acted in the same capacity for the rich French brothers Hugues and Guillaume Krafft and their party on their major journey but, more than that, he also lived with them in Japan to assist them throughout their stay there.33 My article quoted on p. 86 gives further details about Ito¯.34 Bird, having given Ito the training that started him on his career, has to rank highly among the contributions other foreigners made to modern Japan’s development.

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PART 2 : WHAT BIRD’S TRIP AND UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN MEAN FOR EUROPE AND AMERICA

As far as Britain is concerned the first point to note is that the Church Missionary Society began fully-fledged missionary work among the Ainu. As I have already mentioned, I believe that Bird’s study of Ainu customs, way of life and language, particularly at Biratori where she struck a chord with Chief Penriuk, was made with this in mind. I base this on the account in The History of the Church Missionary Society of how Dening, who in 1876 had taken up preaching and acquiring the Ainu language, mainly at Biratori, reported in the Church Missionary Intelligencer on Bird’s visit and research there two years later, which she wrote up in admirable detail.35 In 1883 Dening was to lose his position as a missionary with the Society over the theological question of conditional immortality of the soul, when with his enthusiasm for preaching he should have been given more responsible work. But missions to the Ainu had already started some time before this, in 1879, the year after Bird’s visit to Biratori, in the person of the Society’s recent appointee John Batchelor, and their work developed apace. Japan and the Japan Mission of the Church Missionary Society shows that the earlier visits of Dening and Bird to Biratori led to Batchelor staying at Penriuk’s house there and studying Ainu customs and language for the commencement of his work.36 The details of the Society’s very harsh dismissal of Dening, when first they had rated his spirited work very highly, can be found in Helen Ballhatchet’s excellent Walter Dening: Case Study of a Missionary in Early Meiji Japan but there is another aspect to this.37 Batchelor had started his missionary work in Hong Kong under the tutelage of Bishop Burdon and I believe it was the latter who involved himself in this matter and sent Batchelor to Biratori to work among the Ainu in place of Dening. This is not to say that Unbeaten Tracks in Japan only informed its readers in Europe and America about missionary activities among the Ainu, for the book was one of the factors in promoting

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interest in their wider world. This can also be seen, for instance, in the travelogue of the English explorer Arnold Landor among the Ainu (1893).38 Then, in 1892, Romyn Hitchcock, an arts and science member of the National Museum in Washington DC, wrote a lengthy academic thesis about the Ainu, based on on-site research that he had done in 1888 when he was teaching English as an employee of the Government at the Osaka No. 3 Higher Middle School (the forerunner of the No. 3 High School).39 Furthermore, in 1900 the French author André Bellessort also wrote of his travels.40 There are also examples of Bird’s book having been read for reasons other than its treatment of Hokkaido¯ and the Ainu. Walter Dickson, a foreigner in the employ of the Government in the Public Works Department (1882),41 Arthur Crow, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, who spent time in Japan (1883),42 and the author Annie Butler who was closely associated with the Religious Tract Society (1888)43 all wrote about Japan. Nor were the authors of works on Japan all English. Alice Bacon,44 who had taken in Yamakawa Sutematsu45 as an exchange student and on the strength of that had been invited to Japan by her and Tsuda Umeko46 to teach at the Kazoku Women’s School,47 and Edward Morse (more of whom later)48 were Americans, while Johannes-Justus Rein, the second edition of whose major work appeared in 1905, was German. And there are numerous other similar examples. The main destination for Landor too was Hokkaido¯ but he also visited Tokyo, Nikko¯ and Kamakura. As an aside, like all Bird’s books published by the John Murray company, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan also appeared in an edition by G.P. Putnam’s Sons which had set up shop in London, and it was in this form that it would have been read by Americans. The two editions can be distinguished by their different layout and pagination. Perhaps of more interest though is that a German edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan was published as early as 1882, as a topography, and the famous German geographer Friedrich Ratzel49 drew on the original two-volume work in English for his

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research on Japan. The sections where Bird wrote Notes on Tôkiyô and Notes on Tôkiyô – (Concluded) provoked comment from him, bearing out my assessment of the book’s validity as a topography.50/51 While this shows us that Bird’s book attracted favourable attention from numerous quarters, we should also bear in mind the strong criticism levelled against her by the Chief Adviser to the Hokkaido Development Commission, Horace Capron,52 and ¯ mori shell by Edward Morse, known for having discovered the O mound, both of whom took parts of it to denigrate the whole. Though Bird writes of Hokkaido’s climate that it has ‘… in its northern parts, a Siberian winter’53 Capron criticises her for making this very point when he says she ‘pronounces it Siberian’. He goes on to say that the average Briton ‘invariably accepts this as a settled fact, because Sir Harry Parkes and the Asiatic Society have so pronounced it’ and makes the, for me at any rate, ridiculous assertion that her descriptions of Yesso ‘all help her to fill up her books with the fictions for future history’.54 In Morse’s case his anger was at the superior attitude adopted towards Japan by British residents over such matters as compensation for the bombardment of Shimonoseki, but this was directed not just to the forceful Harry Parkes, but also to Bird who had stayed with him. At the same time though it is clear that his criticism was also due to an ideological difference between Morse, a supporter of the theory of evolution, and Bird.55 This hostile attitude on the part of these two Americans can also be taken as referring not to Bird personally but to Britain as exemplified by Parkes, and a product of their stance that research into Japan, overseen by the Asiatic Society of Japan, was misdirected. This all supports my view that Bird’s journey was proposed and planned by Parkes and that she used the British Legation as her main base in Japan. John Murray’s publishing register may confirm that Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (the abridged edition, that is) was still printed on and off for some twenty years after her death and deliveries of it made in dribs and drabs, but there was a time when its

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existence was all but forgotten. Then, as I wrote in Chapter 1, it resurfaced after a reprint was published in 1971. The problem there, though, was that the reprint was of the abridged edition, so that what re-emerged came to be accepted even though it misrepresented Bird’s journey and the original version of her book, More recently, reprints of the complete work have been published but even so one still sees others based on the abridged edition. These then filter through to the reading public, despite lacking a suitable explanation of what her journey actually entailed or pointing out the differences between the complete work and the new edition. PART 3 : NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE REVIVED TRAVELOGUES Travelogues forgotten and revived

Now, how were Bird’s journey and Unbeaten Tracks in Japan received in Japan? For instance, in ‘The national characteristics of the Japanese as seen by foreigners’,56 forty-five works by foreigners who visited Japan in the Meiji period are listed, and of these two are by women writers, but Bird’s is not one of them. Narrowing this down, ‘Bird, Miss I.L., Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, 1880’ appears in the ‘Synopsis of Works Consulted’ which contains 306 documents in Western languages, but Bird herself does not feature among the 494 names of ‘leading Europeans and Americans who came to Japan and contributed to her culture’. This is not something that can be ignored as ‘The national characteristics of the Japanese as seen by foreigners’ is important for being one of those books subject to a request from the Federation of Central Educational Bodies that ‘accounts relating to the national characteristics of the Japanese by foreigners, mainly Europeans and Americans’ should be translated in abridged form, classified into ‘pre-Meiji, Meiji and Taisho/ post-Taisho periods’ and form part of the collections available to readers ‘at the Oriental Library, The Japan-German Cultural

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Society, the Franco-Japanese Cultural Society, and libraries at Ueno and Hibiya’. Judging from its contents it is hardly likely that Unbeaten Tracks in Japan was left out for having focused on national characteristics. Its not having been included in the chapter headed ‘From the restoration of the imperial system to the Russo-Japanese War’ in the Greater Japanese Cultural Association’s57 ‘Japan as seen by Europeans and Americans’ is one thing, but from a present-day perspective it is surprising that it is not included in ‘The national characteristics of the Japanese as seen by foreigners’. Strangely, the first time Bird appeared in Japanese was not by way of her book on Japan. No, it was her Korean travelogue that featured instead, in a translation by Kudo¯ Shigeo which he called ‘Korea Thirty Years Ago’.58 This was published in 1925 and reissued in 2008. It was in fact an abbreviated translation that recognised the importance of her original and the contribution her keen eye for detail and incisive style made to understanding the sweeping changes that Korea had experienced in the thirty years since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. But though Kudo¯ acknowledged these stylistic qualities in her, he did not see that Bird had also written an important travel book descriptive of early-modern Japan. In other words, he did not understand that it was only because of her having been to Japan that she travelled to Korea and her neighbours at the time of the Sino-Japanese War and that an account of it emerged as a result. Then, the next time Bird’s name appeared in a publication in Japanese after Kudo¯’s translation was also in relation to Korea & her Neighbours, though only indirectly. This was in a 1938 translation by Yanaihara Tadao59 of the Scottish medical missionary Dugald Christie’s Thirty Years in Moukden, which marked the first appearance of the publisher Iwanami Shinsho. Yanaihara’s translation was called ‘Thirty Years in Ho¯ten, Vols. 1 & 2’ and was reprinted in 1992. Bird’s visit to Moukden and the efforts she went to while she was there impressed Christie, causing him to include a reference to her in his memoirs.60

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The part about Bird starting with ‘Some years later we had a visit from the distinguished traveller Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop’ is completely different in terms of detail from what Christie says about other visitors. In fact, on the journey she was to have made to China in 1900 at the invitation of Ernest Satow, which turned out to be just to Morocco, the focus was planned to have been to visit the medical missionary hospitals at Ho¯ten and Hangchou that had been built with her contributions. It was then a matter of no little satisfaction that in 1969 the Countryside Research Co, published ‘Unknown Fastnesses of Japan – Hokkaido¯’, a translation by Kannari Toshio61 of just the Hokkaido¯ part of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan based on its abridged edition, which was re-issued in 1977 by the Hokkaido¯ Publishing Projects Centre with the addition of ‘A Visit to an Ainu Village’ to the title; this was followed in 1973 by Takanashi Kenkichi’s ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ published in Heibonsha’s Oriental Library’.62 I think that Kannari came up with the idea of his translation because Nitami Iwao’s 1963 ‘John Batchelor, Father of the Ainu’ contained a reference to Bird,63 while Takanashi translated Chamberlain’s Things Japanese, Vols 1 & 2, because of its highly complimentary words about Bird.64 I will omit the details, but these publications soon led to a number of books in this style about Bird’s journey, the first of which was ‘Significant Works by Foreigners on Japan’ edited by Saeki Sho¯ ichi and Haga To¯ ru.65 A number of books that recommended a new approach to their readers, to make their journeys after having read the appropriate travel guide, had already appeared and this type is exemplified by Kato¯ Hidetoshi’s 1984 ‘Where your Travel Guide takes you’.66 Miyamoto Tsuneichi’s ‘Furukawa Kosho¯ken / Isabella Bird’67 published in 1984 used the Takanashi book as the text for the readers’ club that he started, and analysed Bird’s narrative as a folklorist based on journeys he himself had made. It is something of an achievement that his dissection of Bird’s text in simple

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language proved that her work has merit for the professional researcher too, and his positive evaluation is important for having promoted the idea that it is not there just to be read but also repays serious study. Takanashi’s book attracted many readers and interest in Bird flourished. But it contained two major problem areas. The first is that having taken the abridged edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan as its base material, it cannot reflect the totality of Bird’s journey or her book. The second is – and this might be unavoidable given his background as a scholar of English and English literature – that Takanashi’s translation is not based on research and verification of the historical and geographical facts, including the necessary fieldwork, so that his interpretation of the basics of the journey is wrong. As I wrote in Chapter 1, the translator of a travel book has to interpret and put into concrete form the narrative presented in its text and approach the subject in a spirit of scientific enquiry. Takanashi’s book was read by a large number of people, both laymen and professionals, which led to their thinking that it had the answer to everything about Bird’s journey. Akasaka Norio, who I mentioned in Chapter 3, wrote ‘Isabella Bird’s To¯hoku Journey, the Aizu / Okitama Route – in the footsteps of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ based on his ‘Over Thirteen Passes’ and one other essay.68/69 In the afterword to ‘Isabella Bird’s To¯ hoku Journey’ he wrote that he had used the abridged edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan as his base material up to then, but had now re-drafted his book and taken my ‘The Complete Translation – Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ as his text. He goes on to say that ‘it was thoughtless of me, but the impression the abridged edition gave me was that Bird was just another foreign traveller on her way through, which was a very rash misunderstanding’. To give just one example, he writes that there was nothing in the abridged edition about the movement to destroy Buddhist temples and that he first noticed it

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referred to in Letter XV. – (Concluded).70 There are complex excisions in the abridged edition, which apply also to the parts about Tôhoku and Hokkaidô, and one has to read ‘the complete original’ to grasp the full sweep of the journey and everything that Bird saw. In the Commentary to his book Takanashi writes that the first edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan was in two volumes and this should have been enough to alert him as a researcher to this fact. All one can say is that though he did not take the basic step of accessing the original, Akasaka still had a lot to say about Bird. Naito¯ Takashi’s ‘The Culture of Noise – Japan as heard by Isabella Bird and Edward Morse (1)’,71 a study comparing what Bird and Morse wrote about sound, is of value for broaching this subject when attention is normally centred on what the eye sees, but speaking as someone who realised when working on ‘The Complete Translation’ that Bird’s references to sounds cover an immense range of subjects, I think that he could have broadened his scope. Naito¯ makes much of Bird having written of the noises that assailed her at the inns she stayed in, but she also tells of: ‘the unearthly sweetness of a temple bell’ in Letter XLV,72 and in Letter XXXVIII wrote about the priests reading the sutras and the indistinct sounds of the congregation, which brings home to us that she did not necessarily regard the sounds of Japan as discordant.73 This marks the extent to which he regards the Takanashi book as being adequate and shows that is it essential for a researcher to read the ‘complete original’. We already know how good Bird was at instantly portraying scenery and views, but she also had an uncanny knack for a ready description of sounds, and of smells both fragrant and otherwise; her expertise in this area covers many different aspects. For instance, we only have to take her way of putting across noises, both man-made and natural, to realise the extent of Bird’s soundscape.

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Understanding Unbeaten Tracks in Japan

I appreciate that Takanashi’s translation made a significant contribution to the interest in Bird’s Japan journey and Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, but it had its downside too, and my analysis above will have given you an idea of how in Japan, and more so in Europe and America, the problems associated with it and with her book having re-emerged after a long absence were overcome and gave rise to a new vibrancy and enjoyment of her work. I pointed out in Chapter 1 that the reprints that started appearing in the 1970s were of the abridged edition of Bird’s book, and that even Bird’s biographers fell foul of this. Dorothy Middleton, Pat Barr, Olive Checkland and Evelyn Kaye all thought that this cut-down version of the original two-volume book told the full story of Bird’s visit to Japan. There are even cases where ‘in two volumes’ is shown in a book’s title, but what the author had actually read was the abridged edition. This influenced all these women’s understanding not just of where Bird’s trip to Japan fitted into the scheme of things, but of the whole of her life’s travel career too. Middleton’s contribution is largely irrelevant in terms of the visit to Japan as she only devotes seven lines to it, but while Kaye alone rightly positions it as the major transitional event of Bird’s life, even she regards the abridged edition as giving the whole story. It may be exceptional that Unbeaten Tracks in Japan exists in three different forms but, as I have shown in this book, there was a good reason in each case. A closer feel for what was the central event in Bird’s travels can be had from casting one’s mind over points such as these. Travel books used to be for people who were not in a position to travel themselves, but derived vicarious pleasure from the accounts left by those who could. Now though times have changed and people can visit the places they once only read about and identify directly with those same travels of the past

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– what I call Twin Time Travel. This is the kind of reader that a translator now has to cater for. But translation is not simply a matter of transposing one language literally into another for what is needed is work based on a spirit of academic enquiry, as befits an intermediary between different cultures. Sometimes there will be errors in the original which, if not pointed out, will detract from the pleasure the reader would otherwise have obtained from putting himself in the same place as Bird. For instance, if they go to the great Buddhist temple Senjuji ¯ tsu, attracted by (ᑓಟᑎ) at Tsu in Mie prefecture, or to O the illustrations captioned by Bird ‘Temple Gateway at Isshinden’ or ‘A Lake Biwa Tea-House’,74 readers of the Tokioka or Kusuya translations will be disappointed, the reason being that what the former actually shows is the two-storey gate of the famous Kencho¯ji (ᘓ㛗ᑎ) at Kamakura75 while the latter depicts the Murataya teahouse at Hiragata Bay, known as one of the Kanazawa Hakkei, or Eight Sights of Kanazawa, in Kanagawa prefecture. Two illustrations of Mt Fuji and their message

For reasons of space I am going to have to put off doing so here, but I had intended to write about how focusing on a particular photograph or illustration, or taking her sentences and phrases word by word, reveals Bird’s journeys and her books in their true colours. But as the purpose of this book is to show how important it is to approach her work analytically and change past attitudes towards it, there is one event that it would be quite wrong not to mention. I said in Chapter 2 that while she was still in Japan Bird already knew that her Rocky Mountains travelogues were being serialised in The Leisure Hour; these were of course A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains which owed its existence to Jim Nugent. I also theorised that she might have been harbouring a place in her affections for him during this time. I now have to give my

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reason for saying this, which is to be found in the illustration of Mt Fuji at the head of her Letter I (Fig. 4). In the first edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan this illustration appears at the beginning of Letter I, placed within an arresting sentence where she says: For long I looked in vain for Fujisan, and failed to see it, though I heard ecstasies all over the deck, till accidentally looking heavenwards instead of earthwards, I saw far above any possibility of height, as one would have thought, a huge, truncated cone of pure snow, 13,080 feet above the sea, from which it sweeps upwards in a glorious curve, very wan, against a very pale blue sky, with its base and the intervening country veiled in a pale grey mist.1 It was a wonderful vision, and shortly, as a vision, vanished.76

Fig. 4 Fujisan as it appears in Letter I of Vol. 1 of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880)

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The text and the picture were positioned in this way to complement one another. As Shirahata Yo¯ zaburo¯ 77 found, and wrote about in the fourth part of his study ‘Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji as seen by Foreigners’, this illustration is clearly based on the image of Fuji in Steinmetz’s book.78 He had also written in the first part of that study that previous to Bird it had appeared in Dickson, which was not in fact the case, but the question of why Bird has not used the illustration in that same form remains. Looking at Steinmetz’s book, the original illustration (Fig. 5) is seen as showing Mt. Fuji from ground level. It is well-wooded in the foreground, with some of the trees resembling palm-trees,

Fig. 5 The Fudsi Jamma as it appears in Steinmetz’s book

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and a lake stretches away towards the mountain. But in producing her version Bird changed the lake to the sea, made the foliage more Japan-like, and altered the outline of Fuji so that it no longer resembles the real thing. Her redrawn illustration views the mountain from the sea which makes it look unnaturally high. She has departed from reality in depicting this Fuji which ‘shortly, as a vision, vanished’. Shirahata’s interpretation is that this is obviously how Fuji appeared to Bird, but this is not the case. In the days before coming to Japan Bird had been doing everything she could to complete her Rocky Mountains book. She had taken the transcontinental railway through the landscape that provided its setting and now to see Fuji just as her three-week crossing of the Pacific was drawing to a close was to associate it in her mind with the Matterhorn, or rather the Long’s Peak that she climbed with Jim Nugent – Long’s Peak being referred to as the American Matterhorn. This is her frame of mind against which we have to interpret her unusual depiction of Fuji. The last sentence in the passage quoted above, where Bird says: ‘It was a wonderful vision, and shortly, as a vision, vanished’, provides a link with the scene where ‘Jim appeared to her and then quietly vanished’ while she was in Switzerland, which she believed was the moment of his death. She went so far as to add a note about Fuji in that unconventional form, marked by a 1, to her passage above which states: ‘This is an altogether exceptional aspect of Fujisan, under exceptional atmospheric conditions. The mountain usually looks broader and lower, and is often compared to an inverted fan’, and in the circumstances one can understand her determination to use her amended illustration. It is important to note, however, that in the last letter in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Letter LIX, she reverted to using a more natural image of Mt. Fuji (Plate 9) in an illustration captioned Fujisan, from a Village on the Tokaido79 and she ends that letter with the following striking sentence:

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The snowy dome of Fujisan reddening in the sunrise rose above the violet woodlands of Mississippi Bay as we steamed out of Yokohama Harbour on the 19th, and three days later I saw the last of Japan – a rugged coast, lashed by a wintry sea.80

The descriptive passages about Mt Fuji at the beginning and end of her journey, and the two plates showing the mountain, have to be seen as complementing each other. The tendency has been for Fuji as depicted in her book to be associated just with the first, the unconventional, illustration but this is to lose sight of what Bird intended. Her main purpose was to shed light on the ‘real’ Japan, and to restrict herself to an inaccurate picture of Fuji would have run counter to that aim. Bird was well aware that using an illustration such as this would be provocative but it was with thoughts of Jim Nugent that she went ahead, in the knowledge that without him there would have been no nostalgic account of her Rocky Mountains trip that even then was being serialised in an English magazine. It is an illustration that attests to her heartfelt bond with Jim. The edition of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan in German that I mentioned earlier was not a complete translation but on the whole it used all that book’s illustrations. The only ones it left out were Letter I’s Fuji, the inaccurate depiction, and another that had nothing to do with sights or scenery showing the ‘Tomoe’ comma pattern.81 This can be taken to mean that in a book that he regarded as being of value for its graphic descriptions of Japan’s geography, the translator into German did not think it worth using an illustration that was not true to its subject. This is the way in which I view it too. There is no reason for readers worldwide to have known about what I have just said, but I do not think that my interpretation should be dismissed as unreasonable. Where the frontispiece photograph to The Yangtze Valley and Beyond is concerned, Bird adopts the same approach and uses a photograph from a different source, not from the eastern margin of the Tibetan world, but one from its west in Lesser Tibet. Though

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this is a book where she takes her photographs very seriously, Bird in fact uses Lal Singh’s. She instils a deep purpose in all her sentences, illustrations and photographs, and their interpretation is what I mean by examining her journey and Unbeaten Tracks in Japan from a scientific viewpoint.

ENDNOTES

PREFACE TO THE JAPANESE EDITION 1

2

3

4

5

6

7 8 9

Kaibara Ekken or Ekiken (㈅ཎ┈㌺), 1630–1714. Edo-period Confucianist philosopher and botanist. ‘The Precept of Pleasure’ (ࠗᴦカ࠘ Rakukun) is one of his so-called ‘Manuals of Deportment’. Li Po (ᮤⓑ), 701–762. One of the two most noted poets, with Tu Fu (ᮭ ⏠ 712–770), of Tang-dynasty China. Xuanzang or Hsuan-tsang (⋞ዔ), 602–664. Tang-dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar and traveller, particularly to India. Ibn Battuta, 1304–1369. Moroccan explorer whose travels took him throughout the Middle East and across Asia as far as China. This map was produced by Richard Henry Brunton (1841–1901), a foreign advisor to the Japanese Government, whose main task was the building of lighthouses around the coast of Japan. See Richard Henry Brunton and the Japan Lights 1868–1876, a brilliant and abrasive engineer in The International Journal of the History of Engineering & Technology, Vol. 63, Issue 1, (1991) pp. 217–228, by Olive Checkland. Also, Building Japan, 1868–1876, Brunton’s own memoir introduced by Hugh Cortazzi, Japan Library, 1991. ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻᴟᮾࡢ᪑㸰࠘2005. Referred to later as ‘Far East Journeys 2’ ࠗᴟᮾࡢ᪑㸰࠘. ࠗ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘(᪂∧ᗎᩥ࡜෗┿)2005. ࠗ᏶ヂ ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘ 2012–2013. ࠗ᪂ヂ ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘ 2013. All published by Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko (Heibonsha Oriental Library ᖹซ♫ᮾὒᩥᗜ )

CHAPTER 1: INTERPRETING BIRD’S TRAVELS AND UNBEATEN TRACKS IN JAPAN 1

Said, Edward Wadie (1935–2003). Palestinian-American literary theorist. Professor of English at Columbia University from 1991. Best known for his 1978 book Orientalism. 199

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See The Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing, Cambridge University Press, 2002, edited by Peter Hulme and Tim Youngs. See In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird: Adventures in Twin Time Travel, Heibonsha, 2014 (ࠗࢶ࢖ࣥ㺃ࢱ࢖࣒㺃ࢺࣛ࣋ࣝ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢ᪑ ࡢୡ⏺࠘ᖹซ♫ࠊ஧‫୍ۑ‬ᅄ . Takanashi Kenkichi (㧗᲍೺ྜྷ), 1919–2010. Scholar of English philology. Frequent author and translator who also researched Basil Hall Chamberlain (ࠗ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘࢖ࢧ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻⴭࠊ㧗᲍೺ྜྷヂࠊᖹซ♫ᮾὒ ᩥᗜࠊ୍஑୐୕). See Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. I, pp. xxi-xxiii. See Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. II, pp. 362–368: Tables of the Estimated Revenue and Expenditure for the Financial Year 1879–80. See Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. II, pp. 311–347. Korea & Her Neighbours. A Narrative of Travel with An Account of the Recent Vicissitudes and present position of the Country. By Mrs Bishop (Isabella L. Bird), John Murray, 1898. The Yangtze Valley and Beyond. An Account of Journeys in China, chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan, and among the Man-Tze of the Somo Territory. By Mrs. J.F. Bishop (Isabella L. Bird), F.R.G.S., John Murray, 1899. ‘Bird’s Travels in Japan’ translated by Kusuya Shigetoshi (ᴋᐙ㔜ᩄ), born 1952, historian in the field of relations between Britain and Japan; Hashimoto Kahoru (ᶫᮏ࠿࡯ࡿ), born 1944; Miyazaki Michiko (ᐑᓮ ㊰Ꮚ), Yu¯sho¯do¯ Publishing, 2002 (ࠗࣂ࣮ࢻ ᪥ᮏ⣖⾜࠘ 㞝ᯇᇽฟ∧ࠊ஧‫ۑۑ‬஧). To avoid unnecessary repetition, whenever the three translators of this book are grouped together in references below, this translator has used the name Kusuya collectively. ‘Isabella Bird, Untrodden Paths in Japan, A Complete Supplement’ translated with commentary by Takahata Miyoko (㧗⏿⨾௦Ꮚ), Member of the English Philological History Society of Japan, Chu¯o¯ Ko¯ron Enterprise Publishing, 2008 (ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ ࠕ᪥ᮏࡢᮍ㋃㊰ࠖ᏶ ඲⿵㑇࠘㧗⏿⨾௦Ꮚヂ㺃ゎㄝࠊ୰ኸබㄽ஦ᴗฟ∧, ஧‫ۑۑ‬ඵ). ‘Isabella Bird’s Travels in Japan’ translated by Tokioka Keiko (᫬ᒸᩗᏊ), two volumes, Ko¯dansha Academic Library, 2008 (ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢ ᪥ᮏ⣖⾜ ୖ㺃ୗ࠘᫬ᒸᩗᏊヂࠊ ㅮㄯ♫Ꮫ⾡ᩥᗜࠊ ஧‫ۑۑ‬ඵ). Bo¯shi (ᖗᏊ) the general word for any kind of hat. Sugegasa (Ⳣ➟) a pointed straw or rush hat worn in the fields or by pilgrims. Manju¯gasa (㤝㢌➟) is similar but with a rounded top, shaped like the Manju¯ confectionery item, but sliced in two horizontally. See Letter IX. – (Continued.) , Vol. I, p. 94/95: ‘The boatmen, travellers, and cultivators, were nearly or altogether without clothes, but the richer

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farmers worked in the fields in curved bamboo hats as large as umbrellas, kimonos with large sleeves not girt up, and large fans attached to their girdles.’ There is an illustration of Bird wearing a Manju¯gasa (and a straw rain-cloak) at Letter XXXI, Vol. I, p. 337. Jingasa (㝕➟) a soldier’s ‘camp hat’ or helmet. See Letter LVII, Vol. II, p. 291: ‘The cars were dragged along by a curious team, marshalled by two men in glazed peaked hats and winged garments of calico, carrying ancient staffs with rings at the top of much-corroded iron, such as are often placed in the hands of statues of Buddhas, the team, consisting of thirty men in blue and white striped trousers and dark-blue haori with the characters representing the god upon them. These tugged the unwieldy erections by stout ropes, and as many more, similarly attired, assisted the ponderous wheels with levers.’ For ‘Trousers and an open shirt’ see Letter XXII, Vol. I, p. 245 ‘The houses are very poor, the summer costume of the men consists of a maro only, and that of the women of trousers with an open shirt, and when we reached Kurosawa last night it had dwindled to trousers only.’ Maro is included in Bird’s Glossary of Japanese Words for which actual English Equivalents do not exist in Vol. I, p. xxii. Bird marks it as Polynesian and it means ‘a loin cloth six inches broad’. Zubon (ࢬ࣎ࣥ) general word for trousers Monpe (ࡶࢇ࡮) baggy trousers secured at the ankles Juban (え⿑) undershirt, singlet. For ‘Red blanket’ See Letter LV, Vol. II, p. 259: ‘Then our three kurumarunners glided in, and after prostrating themselves, knelt in a row on the floor. The eldest, a tall and very ugly man having nothing but a maro and a short, loose jacket, had wrapped a red blanket round his lower limbs ….. ’ Kyahan (⬮⤎) leggings, gaiters For ‘Short petticoat’ see Letter XIV, Vol. I, p. 150: ‘Few of the women wear anything but a short petticoat wound tightly round them, or blue cotton trousers very tight in the legs and baggy at the top, with a blue cotton garment open to the waist tucked into the band, and a blue cotton handkerchief knotted round the head. From the dress, no notion of the sex of the wearer could be gained, nor from the faces, if it were not for the shaven eyebrows and black teeth. The short petticoat is truly barbarous-looking, and when a woman has a nude baby on her back or in her arms, and stands staring vacantly at the foreigner, I can hardly believe myself in “civilised” Japan.’ Koshimaki (⭜ᕳ) a loincloth. For ‘Western-style suit’ see Letter LVII, Vol. II, p. 291: ‘The master of the ceremonies was a mannikin in a European dress suit of black broadcloth, with a broad expanse of shirt front, and a white necktie with long ends !!!’

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Happi (ἲ⿕) a stout liveried jacket. Tenugui (᪥ᮏᡭᣔ) a Japanese hand towel. For ‘Blue dresses’ see Letter XXV. – (Continued.), Vol. I, p. 292: ‘Bannerets of small size and ornamental staves were outside the house door. Two men in blue dresses, with pale blue over-garments resembling wings, received each person, two more presented a lacquered bowl of water and a white silk crêpe towel, and then we passed into a large room round which were arranged a number of very handsome folding screens, on which lotuses, storks and peonies were realistically painted, on a dead gold ground.’ Kamishimo (⿤) formal or ceremonial dress. Daikon (኱᰿) the ‘giant’ radish. Sengiri daikon (༓ษࡾ኱᰿) sliced radish. Daikon oroshi (኱᰿࠾ࢁࡋ) grated radish. Namasu (⮊) raw fish and vegetables seasoned with vinegar. Takuan (ἑᗡ) pickled radish. See Letter XV. – (Concluded.) Vol. I, p. 172 ‘Sesamum Orientale, from which an oil is made, which is used both for the hair and for frying fish, began to be cultivated. The use of this in frying is answerable for one of the most horrific smells in Japan. It is almost worse than daikon.’ Notes on Food and Cookery Vol, I, pp. 232–240 p. 233 ‘I have left to the last the vegetable par excellence, the celebrated daikon (Raphanus sativus), from which every traveller and resident suffers. It is a plant of renown – it deserves the honorific! It has made many a brave man flee! It is grown and used everywhere by the lower classes to give sipitidy to their otherwise tasteless food. Its leaves, something like those of a turnip, are a beautiful green, and enliven the fields in the early winter. Its root is pure white, tolerably even, and looks like an immensely magnified radish, as thick as an average arm, and from one to over two feet long. In this state it is comparatively innocuous. It is slightly dried and then pickled in brine, with rice bran. It is very porous, and absorbs a good deal of the pickle in the three months in which it lies in it, and then has a smell so awful that it is difficult to remain in a house in which it is being eaten. It is the worst smell that I know of except that of a skunk!’ Also Letter XXII, Vol. I, p. 245: ‘The shops, such as they are, contain the barest necessities of life. Millet and buckwheat rather than rice, with the universal daikon, are the staples of diet.’ Formal cuisine ‘honzen ryo¯ri’ (ᮏ⮃ᩱ⌮) Serranus marginalis (a synonym for Epinephelus fasciatus or Grouper). The names of fish in English are often not standardised and are either inexact or

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provide too many options. Suffice it to say that the scientific name Serranus marginalis that Bird uses – see Notes on Food and Cookery, Vol. I, p. 238 (‘Carp is used with bean soup only, while Serranus marginalis is reserved for that especially ascetic soup the basis of which is salt and water’) – does not apply to Sea Bream (‘tai’) which is Pagrus major. Sandfish ‘hatahata’ (㫰or 㫈) Arctoscopus japonicus. Sea Bass ‘suzuki’ (㫺) Lateolabrax japonicus. Sea Bream ‘tai’ (㪉) Pagrus major. Grouper ‘akahata’ (㉥⩚ኴ) Epinephelus fasciatus. Sea Bream soup ‘tai no ushiojiru’ (㪉ࡢ₻Ồ). See Letter LV, Vol. II, p. 258 ‘There was an exhibition at Nara not long ago, and a few wonderful things from the Imperial Treasury are still to be seen at the rear of the great temple, but among the objects replaced in the monster “godown” were screens, pictures, masks, books, sculptures, soap in round cakes the size of quoits, copper bowls and dishes, beads and ornaments, tortoise-shell “back-scratchers”, pottery and glass, dresses, bells, hats, weapons, and utensils of various kinds, bronzes, writing paper, clay statuettes, wooden statues, etc. etc. What would we not give for such a collection made by Charlemagne or Alfred?’ Ibid. p. 257. Bird wrote of the Sho¯so¯in: ‘Among the most curious is a monstrous wooden magazine, made of heavy timbers laid horizontally, supported on pillars consisting of solid trunks of trees eight feet high, the most drearily uncouth building that can be imagined.’ Letter XLI, Vol. II, p. 58: ‘About nine the stew was ready, and the women ladled it into lacquer bowls with wooden spoons. The men were served first, but all ate together. Afterwards saké, their curse, was poured into lacquer bowls, and across each bowl a finely-carved “saké-stick” was laid.’ Also ‘Itangi’. See An Ainu-English-Japanese Dictionary by the Rev, John Batchelor F.R.G.S. published by the Methodist Publishing House, Ginza, Tokyo and Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, Co., London 1905. For Ainu Words see Appendix A., Vol. II, pp. 349–353: ‘Aino Words taken down at Biratori and Usu, Yezo.’ Letter XLII. – (Continued.) p. 87: ‘In this house there are twenty-four lacquered urns, or tea chests, or seats, each standing two feet high on four small legs, shod with engraved or filigree brass. Behind these are eight lacquered tubs, and a number of bowls and lacquer trays, and above are spears with inlaid handles, and fine Kaga and Awata bowls.’ Letter XLVIII, Vol. II, pp. 162/163 ‘A Japanese letter always begins with a compliment, usually to the health of the person addresses, and in the case of

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an inferior at least concludes with an expression of humiliation, followed by the names of the sender and the person addressed, the latter with a honorific title. I was made to regret that I had not been able “to worship the Governor’s most exalted visage”, and to thank him “with veneration for the use of his august kuruma, and for the other exalted kindnesses which it had pleased him to show”. The letter concluded with, “My august mistress lifts this up for your august information. I knock my head against the floor. Tremblingly said.”’ Letter XVIII, Vol. I, p. 194 ‘Tea-houses with many balconies studded the river-side, and pleasure parties were enjoying themselves with geishas and saké, but on the whole, the water-side streets are shabby and tumble down, and the landward side of the great city of western Japan is certainly disappointing; and it was difficult to believe it a Treaty Port, for the sea was not in sight, and there were no consular flags flying.’ Notes on Tôkiyô, Vol. II, pp. 182/183: ‘Of the 1400 streets of Tôkiyô, about two-thirds derive their names from natural objects, another proof of the love of nature which is so strong among the Japanese. There is a Matsu or Pine Street in nearly every one of the ninety-six subdivisions of the city. Scores of streets are named after the willow and bamboo, and a number after the cedar, peony, rush, rice plant, wormwood, holly, and chrysanthemum. Among the more fanciful names are Plum Orchard, Pure Water, Sun Shade, Morning Sun, Flowing River, Mountain Breeze, and New Blossom; and beasts and birds are not forgotten, for there are Badger, Tortoise, Monkey, Stork, Bear, and Pheasant Streets re-duplicated, and twenty streets are called after that unworthy brute the Japanese horse, Pack Horse Relay Street being the oldest in Tôkiyô. Invention languishes there as with us. There are more than twenty timber streets; and the names of trades are frequently repeated, such as Carpenter, Blacksmith, Dyer, Sawyer, Farmer, Coolie, and Cooper. A farther descent is to File, Kettle, Pot, and Table. Many are named from Salt, Wheat, Indigo, Charcoal, Hair, Leather, Pen, Mat, and Fan, and there are Net, and Fresh, Roasted, and Salt Fish Streets. A few are called after such obsolete military weapons as are only to be found in the Museum, others are named Abounding Gladness, Same Friend, Conjugal Love, Congratulation, and Peace.’ ‘Japanese place names and words recorded by Isabella Bird – the requirements for translating her travelogues, especially in relation to incorrect or suitable translations of words and place names’ in ‘Place Names Research’ No. 12, 2014 (ࠕ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡀグࡋࡓ᪥ᮏࡢᆅྡ࡜ゝⴥ – ᪑⾜グࡢ⩻ ヂ࡟ồࡵࡽࢀࡿ࡭ࡁࡇ࡜ࠊ≉࡟ゝⴥࠊᆅྡࡢㄗヂ㺃㐺ヂ࡟㛵ࢃࡗ ࡚ࠖࠊࠗᆅྡ᥈✲࠘➨12ྕࠊ஧‫୍ۑ‬ᅄ). A Chapter on Japanese Public Affairs, Vol. II, pp. 311–347.

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CHAPTER 2: ISABELLA BIRD – A LIFE OF TRAVEL 1

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Kanasaka Kiyonori, ‘Sources and Studies in the Isabella Bird Debate’, Report of the Study Centre for Travel Culture, Vol. 3, 1996 (㔠ᆏΎ ๎ ࠕ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻㄽࡢࡓࡵࡢ㛵ಀ㈨ᩱ࡜ᇶ♏ⓗ᳨ウࠖࠗ᪑ࡢ ᩥ໬◊✲ᡤ◊✲ሗ࿌࠘Vol. 3ࠊ ୍஑஑භ). See Kanasaka Kiyonori, ‘Isabella Bird - Far East Journeys 2’, Commentary (ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻᴟᮾࡢ᪑ 㸰࠘ ゎㄝཧ↷). Letters to Henrietta - Isabella Bird, edited by Kay Chubbuck, London, John Murray, 2002 Siebold, Philipp Franz von (1796–1866), German doctor and botanist. Entered service with the Dutch East India Company in 1823 and was sent to the trading post of Dejima at Nagasaki. He started a medical school there and pursued his main interest, the study of flora & fauna. While in Edo on an official visit he acquired detailed maps of Japan and Korea by Ino¯ Tadataka which he was forbidden to have. When this was discovered he was accused of being a spy and expelled from Japan in October 1829. Lawson, Marmaduke. also former MP for Boroughbridge. Sumner, John Bird (1780–1862), Bishop of Chester in 1828 and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1848. Sumner, Charles Richard (1790–1874), brother of John Bird Sumner. Bishop of Llandaff in 1826 and of Winchester in 1827. He continued to live at the official residence at Farnham until his death in 1874, though he had resigned his seat in 1869. There are references to Isabella having visited Farnham. The father of the two bishops was Robert Sumner and their mother, Hannah Bird, was a first cousin of William Wilberforce. Sparrow, Lady Olivia Bernard, born c. 1778 at Market Hill, Mullaghbrack, Co. Armagh. Lived at Brampton Park in Huntingdonshire with her husband Brigadier Robert Bernard Sparrow (1773–1805). She was an extremely religious woman with a deep-seated belief in the education and care of the poor. She died in 1863. Of Wyton Anna Stoddart writes: ‘Lady Sparrow presented Mr. Bird to the living of Wyton in Huntingdonshire. This was a small parish, less than 2000 acres in extent, with a population of scarcely 300 souls. The village is on the Ouse, and to the west some three miles off is the town of Huntingdon. South-east lies St. Ives, two miles away. Not very far off is Olney, the poet Cowper’s home. The cure included Houghton.’ The Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), Anna M. Stoddart, London, John Murray, 1906.

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The Leisure Hour, a general-interest magazine published by the Religious Tract Society which appeared weekly from 1852 to 1905. Religious Tract Society. Founded in 1799 as a publisher of Christian literature with an evangelistic bent, including The Leisure Hour. Also published books designed to appeal to children and the poorer section of society. Its evangelist founders were among those who also established the London Missionary Society in 1795. West Highlands Relief Fund. The Highland potato famine that lasted from 1848 to 1856, though not as extensive as the disaster that overtook Ireland when the potato blight destroyed the potato crop, still led to the resettlement or emigration of some third, or 90,000, of the Highland population between 1841 and 1861. Many of the emigrants went to Canada. The work and support of charitable institutions in Scotland meant that the loss of life was much less than in Ireland. Murray’s Hand-book. Variously described as Murray’s Handbooks for Travellers or the Murray Handbooks, Murray’s Hand-book is how the name appears on the covers of the books. This was a popular series of travel guides published from 1836 to the 1910s covering countries from Algeria to Turkey. The range included Japan, whose ninth edition appeared in 1913. Cullen, Reverend G.D. Scottish churchman and philanthropist. Minister of the Congregational Church in Leith where he remained until 1856. Became a vice-president of the National Bible Society of Scotland. Guthrie, Thomas (1803–73), Scottish divine and philanthropist, also an active temperance campaigner. Founded a Ragged School in Edinburgh in the early 1840s after the idea of John Pounds in Portsmouth, who he called the originator of the scheme. Hanna, Dr W. (1808–82), Scottish minister and theological author. In 1850 he was made a colleague of Thomas Guthrie as minister of St. John’s Free Church in Edinburgh. Ragged Schools were charitable institutions for the free education of the poor in industrialising cities in nineteenth-century Britain. They probably originated with lessons that John Pounds started giving to destitute children in Portsmouth in 1818, a fact that was acknowledged after his death in 1839 by Thomas Guthrie. The Ragged Schools Union was formed in 1844. Blackie, John Stuart (1809–95), Scottish scholar especially of the classics. Professor of Greek at Edinburgh University. Also an advocate of Scottish nationhood, he concerned himself with Highland matters and the problems faced by crofters. He was responsible for the establishment of the chair of

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Celtic at Edinburgh University. Author of numerous books on classical and Scottish subjects. See Stoddart’s The Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), Jan. 1906, p. 49 Stewart, Sir Thomas Grainger (1837–1900), eminent Scottish physician. Professor at the University of Edinburgh and contributor to the journal Athenaeum. Physician-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria for Scotland in 1882. Knighted in 1894, he became Isabella’s main doctor and was one of her closest confidants until his death. The Athenaeum was a literary magazine published in London from 1828 to 1921 and had a reputation for using the best writers of the age. Dunlop, Nathaniel (1830–1919) was an influential Glasgow ship-owner to whom Isabella turned for help with relocating crofters from the Outer Hebrides to Canada. He wrote that she: ‘astonished me by her energy and her capacity in making arrangements for the conveyance of the emigrants’ (Chubbuck). See The Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), Anna M. Stoddart, London, John Murray 1906, p. 79. The Hawaiian Archipelago: Six Months among the Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, & Volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands, London, John Murray, 1875. Translated by Kondo¯ Sumio as ‘Isabella Bird’s Journey to Hawaii’, Heibonsha, 2005 ( ㏆⸨⣧ኵヂࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢࣁ࣡࢖⣖⾜࠘ᖹซ♫ࠊ஧‫ۑۑ‬஬). Mrs Brigham appears as ‘Mrs Dexter’ in The Hawaiian Archipelago. It appears to be because of Mrs Brigham that Isabella landed at Hawaii instead of going straight from New Zealand to California, but the reasons are conflicting (Chubbuck). Miss Karpe actually Miss Park. Described by Bird as: ‘the typical American travelling lady, who is encountered everywhere from the Andes to the Pyramids, tireless, with indomitable energy’. She and Bird did not get along and the pseudonym is Bird’s expression of her tendency to complain (Chubbuck). Damon, Samuel Chenery (born 1815 at Holden, Massachusetts, died 1885 at Honolulu). Seamen’s chaplain in Hawaii who nevertheless travelled extensively worldwide during his time there from 1842. Editor and publisher of The Friend, a monthly paper for seamen. His wife was the daughter of one of the participants at the Haystack Convention which led to the foundation of the American Board. Severance, Luther ‘There is no hotel in Hilo. The residents receive strangers and Miss Karpe and I were soon installed in a large buff frame-house, with two deep verandahs, the residence of Mr. Severance, Sheriff of Hawaii.’ Severance was appointed sheriff, postmaster and customs collector by King Kamehameha V after he moved to Hilo in 1867 (Chubbuck).

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Coan, Titus (born 1801 at Killingworth, Connecticut, died 1882 at Hilo, Hawaii). Missionary with the American Board who spent most of his working life in Hawaii, where he arrived in 1835. Lyman, David Belden (born 1803 at Hartford, Connecticut, died in 1884 at Hilo). American Board missionary to Hawaii, who arrived there in 1832. Austin, Samuel. He and his wife were members of the elite expatriate community of Hilo, Hawaii, intimately connected with the missionary world. Initially appointed police magistrate of Hilo, Austin rose to become Circuit Court Judge within two years (Chubbuck). Rice, William Hyde and his wife, worked tirelessly for the people of Kauai. William Rice was both rancher and legislator, serving as the last Governor of Kauai (Chubbuck). Sinclair, Elizabeth McHutchison was one of Kauai’s most prominent foreign settlers who bought the island of Niihau for $10,000 from King Kamehameha V in 1863 (Chubbuck). Green, William Lowthian (born 1819 London, died 1890 Honolulu). Adventurer, merchant and amateur geologist, with a particular interest in Hawaiian volcanoes. Arrived in Hawaii in 1850. Served under King Kalakaua as Minister of Foreign Affairs at various times and once as Minister of Finance. Judd, Charles Hastings (born 1835 Honolulu, died 1890 Kualoa, Oahu). Chamberlain to King Kalakaua for eight years and an official in various responsible capacities under Kamehameha V, Lunalilo and Kalakaua. King Kamehameha V (1830–72). Reigned 1863–72. King Lunalilo (1835–74). Reigned January 1873 – February 1874, the shortest reign of a king of Hawaii. King Kalakaua (1836–91). Reigned 1874 until his death in San Francisco. He was the last reigning king of Hawaii. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was formed in 1810 and was the largest and most influential of the American missionary organisations. The First Transcontinental Railroad was the 1,097-mile part of the American railway system that connected the existing eastern railway network to the Pacific Coast at San Francisco Bay. It was built between 1863 and 1869 and ran from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Sacramento, California. The ‘Last Spike’ was driven home at Promontory Summit, Utah, on 10 May 1869. Onozaki Akihiro (ᑠ㔝ᓮᬗ⿱ࠗࣟࢵ࣮࢟ᒣ⬦㋃◚⾜࠘ᖹซ♫ࣛ࢖ࣈ ࣮ࣛࣜࠊ ୍஑஑୐). Hunt, Alexander Cameron (1825–94) was the fourth Governor of the Colorado Territory, serving from 1867–69.

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Edmund Gurney, Frederic W.H. Myers and Frank Podmore Phantasms of the Living, Vol. 1 of 2, London, Rooms of the Society for Psychical Research, Trübner and Co., Ludgate Hill, EC, 1886. By Constance F. Gordon-Cumming, published in two volumes by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, London, 1876. Stoddart, p. 95: ‘The next year found her taking an energetic interest in the proposed Bazaar for the erection of a “National Livingstone Memorial,” in the form of a non-sectarian college for the training of medical missionaries and of lady nurses for Africa and India.’ Stoddart: p. 99 ‘On December 18 she wrote to Mrs. Willoughby: “The Bazaar was a most splendid success, and the very pleasantest thing of the kind I was ever at. Hennie edited a Bazaar Gazette, which was printed and sold in the Hall at three o’clock daily, and took immensely. I wrote a Bazaar Guide, of which two thousand copies were sold. Lady Paton and I took £630 – not bad, as raffling was prohibited. Our most expensive things sold best. I hope to answer your very delightful letter shortly. In the meantime, I will only say that it did me good.”’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Preface, Vol. I, p. vii: ‘Having been recommended to leave home, in April 1878, in order to recruit my health by means which had proved serviceable before, I decided to visit Japan ….. .’ Published in two volumes by Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green, London, 1863 and translated in three volumes by Yamaguchi Ko¯saku (1926– 93), Japanese historian, as ‘The Taikun’s Capital – Residence in Japan in the last days of the Tokugawa regime’, published by Iwanami Shoten, 1962. (ᒣ ཱྀග᭾ ࠗ኱ྩࡢ 㒔 ᖥᮎ᪥ᮏᅾ⣖࠘ ᒾἼ᭩ᗑࠊ ୍஑භ஧ ). See Ishii Takashi, ‘International Relations in the Early Meiji Period’, Yoshikawa Ko¯bunkan, 1977 (▼஭Ꮥࠗ᫂἞ึᮇࡢᅜ㝿㛵ಀ࠘ྜྷᕝᘯᩥ㤋୍஑ ୐୐) Letter from Isabella to John Murray dated 30 May 1879. Rein, Johannes Justus (1835–1918), German geographer, author and traveller in East Asia. Studied lacquerware while in Japan in 1874 and having made a report of his research on the subject was allowed to travel widely throughout the country. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIX, Vol. II, pp. 22–24. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter II, Vol. I, p. 22. Published in two volumes by Richard Bentley and Son, London, 1885. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LVIII, Vol. II, p. 302: ‘ … while the acts of “Christian” nations and the lives of “Christian” men are

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regarded as a more faithful commentary on the Law of Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount than that which is put upon them by the missionaries’. Reed, Sir Edward J. ‘Japan: Its History, Traditions, and Religions. With the Narrative of a Visit in 1879, in two volumes., London, John Murray, 1880. Sir Edward Reed was a Member of Parliament who went to Japan in January 1879 at the invitation of the Ministry of the Navy. He was Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 to 1870. Published by Librairie Hachette et Cie., Paris, 1887 Mrs. Bishop (Isabella L. Bird), ‘Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan: Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs’, in two volumes, London, John Murray, 1891. See Note 1 above. Weber, Karl Ivanovich, also Carl von Waeber (1841–1910). Russian diplomat particularly involved with Korea where he was Russia’s first Consul-General and a friend of King Gojong. Author of books on Korean transcription and phonology. See commentary to ‘Travels in the Interior of China 2’ and ‘Far East Journeys 2’ (ࠗ୰ᅜዟᆅ⣖⾜2࠘ and ࠗᴟᮾࡢ᪑࠘ゎㄝ). Mrs. Bishop (Isabella L. Bird) Korea & Her Neighbours: A Narrative of Travel, with an Account of the Recent Vicissitudes and Present Position of the Country, London, John Murray, 1898, translated by Bok Sang-tok, Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko, 1993/94 (ᮔᑦᚓヂ ࠗᮅ㩭ዟᆅ⣖⾜㸯࣭㸰࠘ࠊᖹซ♫ ᮾὒᩥᗜࠊ ୍஑஑୕㺃஑ᅄ). Mrs. J.F. Bishop (Isabella L. Bird) ‘The Yangtze Valley and Beyond: An Account of Journeys in China, Chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan and among the Man-tze of the Somo Territory’, London, John Murray, 1899, translated by Kanasaka Kiyonori as ‘Journeys in the Interior of China’, two volumes, Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko 2002, Heibonsha Library 2013, 2014 (㔠ᆏΎ๎ ヂ ࠗ୰ᅜዟᆅ⣖⾜㺃࠘ ᖹซ♫ᮾὒᩥᗜࠊ஧‫ۑۑ‬஧ࠋᖹซ♫ࣛ ࢖ࣈ࣮ࣛࣜࠊ஧‫ࠊ୕୍ۑ‬஧‫୍ۑ‬ᅄ). Published by Cassel & Co., Ltd., London, Paris, New York and Melbourne Olive Checkland, Isabella Bird and ‘A Woman’s Right to Do What She can do Well’, Aberdeen, Scottish Cultural Press, 1996, translated by Kawakatsu Takami, ‘Isabella Bird A Life of Travel’ Nihon Keizai Hyo¯ronsha, 1995 (ᕝ຾㈗⨾ヂࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ ᪑ࡢ⏕ᾭ࠘᪥ᮏ⤒῭ホㄽ♫ࠊ୍ ஑஑஬). Stoddart p. 392.

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Messrs. Bradley & Rolufson, an early San Francisco photographic firm run by Henry William Bradley (1813–91), originally from Wilmington, North Carolina, and his younger partner William Herman Rolufson (1826–78). The studio of Adolfo Farsari (1841–98) in Yokohama was one of Japan’s largest and most successful photographic houses and had a significant influence on the country’s photographic development as a whole.

CHAPTER 3: ASPECTS OF BIRD’S 1878 VISIT TO JAPAN 1

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‘Ordinance Permitting Foreigners’ Travel in the Interior’, May 1874. From the Cabinet Records Office’s Compendium of Legislation, Vol. 24, 1891, in the reproduction by Hara Shobo¯, 1977, chief editors Ishii Ryo¯suke and Hayashi Shu¯zo (ࠕእᅜேෆᆅ᪑⾜ඔ‽᮲౛ࠖ᫂἞୐ ᖺ஬᭶ ෆ㛶グ㘓ᒁ⦅ ࠗἲつศ㢮኱඲➨஧༑ᅄᕳ࠘ ୍ඵ஑୍ࠊ ᚟้ ∧┘ಟ▼஭Ⰻຓ㺃ᯘಟ୕ࠊ ཎ᭩ᡣࠊ୍஑୐୐ᡤ཰). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter IX, Vol. I, pp. 80/81. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Letter XL, Vol. II, pp. 27/28. Ernest Mason Satow and Lieutenant A.G.S. Hawes, A Handbook for Travellers in Central & Northern Japan, 2nd Edition, revised, London, John Murray, Yokohama, Kelly & Co., Shanghai and Hongkong, Kelly & Walsh, 1884. Translated by Sho¯da Motoo (ᗉ⏣ඖ⏨) as ‘A Travel Guide to Meiji Japan’ ࠗ᫂἞᪥ᮏ᪑⾜᱌ෆ࠘, 3 volumes, Heibonsha 1996. F.V. Dickins, The Life of Sir Harry Parkes, Vol, II London, MacMillan and Co., 1894. Translated by Takanashi Kenkichi (㧗᲍೺ྜྷ) as ‘A Biography of Parkes – Days in Japan’ ࠗࣃ࣮ࢡࢫఏ  ᪥ᮏ㥔ᅾࡢ᪥ࠎ࠘ in ᒣࠑ⽮ᶡ⌻᮷ᓛ / Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko, 1984) . ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VI, Vol. I, p. 52. See Letter IX, Vol. I, p. 81 and also Note 2 above. Blakiston, Thomas Wright (1832–91), English explorer, naturalist and businessman who lived in Hakodate from 1861 to 1884. He originally went there to set up a lumber business but is better known for his zoological legacy, namely the Blakiston Line along the Tsugaru Strait which marks the zoo-geographical boundary between Hokkaido¯ and Honshu¯ and derives from his observations, and as the discoverer of the fish-owl named after him, Bubo (formerly Ketupa) blakistoni. See his book ‘Japan in Yezo: A Series of Papers Descriptive of Journeys Undertaken in the Island of Yezo, at Intervals between 1862 and 1882 ’, by T.W.B., Yokohama, Japan Gazette 1883 (translated as ‘Japan in Yezo’ by Kondo¯ Tadakazu and

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revised by Takakura Shinichiro¯, Yagi Shoten, 1979 (ࠗ⼎ዀᆅࡢ୰ࡢ᪥ ᮏ࠘ ㏆⸨၏୍ヂ, 㧗಴᪂୍㑻ᰯゞ, ඵᮌ᭩ᗑ, ୍஑୐஑). On p. 94 of his book Blakiston says: ‘Neither do I find Miss Bird more correct in some of her botanical statements’ and later writes: ‘Here, however, as elsewhere in Unbeaten Tracks, there seems to be an unnecessary parade of latin names, or else why should we find the ordinary bracken-fern given as Pteris Aquilina, and an array of others such as Stephanandra flexuosa, Calystegia soldanella, et cetera, which no ordinary reader could make head or tail of without reference to a botanical dictionary.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XL, Vol. II, p. 40. See Letter IX. – (Continued.), Vol. 1, p. 103: ‘At the house, with the appearance of which I was at once delighted, I regretfully parted with my coolies, who had served me kindly and faithfully. They had paid me many little attentions, such as always beating the dust out of my dress, inflating my air-pillow, and bringing me flowers, and were always grateful when I walked up hills; and just now, after going for a frolic to the mountains, they called to wish me good-bye, bringing branches of azaleas.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VI, Vol. 1, p. 49: ‘He said that he had lived at the American Legation, that he had been a clerk on the Osaka railroad, that he had travelled through northern Japan by the eastern route, and in Yezo with Mr. Maries, a botanical collector, that he understood drying plants, that he could cook a little, that he could write English, that he could walk twenty-five miles a day, and that he thoroughly understood getting through the interior!’ See Letter XXXIX, Vol. II, p. 20: ‘Mr. Maries is here, and I now find that he had a contract with Ito …… Mr Maries has been put to the greatest inconvenience by his defection, and has been hindered greatly in completing his botanical collection, for Ito is very clever, and he had not only trained him to dry plants successfully, but he could trust him to go away for two or three days and collect seeds. I am very sorry about it.’ Maries, Charles (1851–1902), English botanist and plant collector sent by James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea to Japan, China and Taiwan between 1877 and 1879 where he discovered many new species. Morse, E.S., on the other hand, was Edward Sylvester Morse (1838– 1925), American zoologist and orientalist. His specialisation was the study of seashells. He went to Japan first in 1877 and this turned into a three-year stay when he became the first professor of zoology at Tokyo Imperial University. He was also interested in Japanese ceramics and pottery.

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Takakura Shinichiro¯ (㧗಴᪂୍㑻) 1902–90. Agricultural economist and historian, especially of Ainu culture; known as the father of Ainu studies. See Takakura in his revisions to ‘An Account of a Visit to Ezo in the Early Meiji Period’ by Isabella Bird, translated by Kobari Takaya, Sarorun Shobo, 1977 (࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ ࣮ࢻⴭࠊᑠ㔪Ꮥဢヂ ࠗ᫂἞ึᮇࡢ⼎ዀ ᥈ゼグ࠘ ࡉࢁࡿࢇ᭩ᡣࠊ ୍஑୐୐). Ito¯ Takahiro (ఀ⸨Ꮥ༤), born in 1948, writer on local subjects relating to northern Japan, including Bird’s travels through To¯hoku and Hokkaido¯. See ‘Isabella Bird’s Travels, Interpreting the Riddle of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’, Mumyo¯sha Publications, 2010 (ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ⣖⾜  ࠕ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜ࠖࡢㅦࢆㄞࡴ࠘↓᫂⯋ฟ∧ࠊ஧‫)ۑ୍ۑ‬. See Shirahata Yo¯zaburo¯, ‘Plant Hunter - Europe’s Plant Fever and Japan’, Ko¯dansha, 1994 (ࠗࣉࣛࣥࢺࣁࣥࢱ࣮ ̽ ࣮ࣚࣟࢵࣃࡢ᳜≀⇕࡜ ᪥ᮏ࠘ ⓑᖭὒ୕㑻ࠊㅮㄯ♫ࠊ୍஑஑ᅄ). James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea was one of Britain’s largest nurseries when Charles Maries joined them in 1876. See Letter XXXIX, Vol. II, p. 20: ‘You will remember that I engaged him without a character, and that he told both Lady Parkes and me that after I had done so his former master, Mr Maries, asked him to go back to him, to which he had replied that he had “a contract with a lady”.’ See Letter XLIII, Vol. II, p. 111: ‘I had some tea and eggs in the daidokoro and altered my plans altogether, on finding that if I proceeded farther round the east coast as I intended, I should run the risk of several days’ detention on the banks of numerous “bad rivers”, if rain came on, by which I should run the risk of breaking my promise to deliver Ito to Mr Maries by a given day.’ From Letter XLVIII written at Hakodate, September 14, 1878, Vol. II, p. 162: ‘I have parted with Ito finally to-day, with great regret. ….. He goes to a good, manly master, who will help him to be good, and set him a virtuous example, and that is a satisfaction.’ Kanasaka Kiyonori, ‘Materials and Information concerning Ito, otherwise Ito¯ Tsurukichi’ in ‘Regions and the Environment’ No. 3, 2000 (㔠ᆏΎ ๎ 㺀࢖ࢺ࣮ࠊࡍ࡞ࢃࡕఀ⸨㭯ྜྷ࡟㛵ࡍࡿ㈨ᩱ࡜▱ぢ㺁ࠗᆅᇦ࡜⎔ ቃ࠘No. 3, ஧‫)ۑۑۑ‬. ‘Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures’ / ‘Memories of Recent Celebrities’, Chikuhaku-sha, 1914. Then ‘A Dictionary of Images of Noted Japanese Families’, Vol.6, Yumani Shobo¯, reproduction. 1988.ࠉ ࠗ㏆௦ྡኈஅ㠃ᙳ࠘➉ᖆ♫ࠊ୍஑୍ᅄࠊᚋ࡟ࠗ᪥ᮏྡᐙ⫝̸ീ ஦඾➨භᕳ࠘ࡺࡲ࡟᭩ᡣࠊ୍஑ඵඵࠊ」〇).

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Letter VI, Vol. I, pp. 47–49 describe the interview with candidates for the post of servant-interpreter. Letter IX, Vol. I, p. 91: ‘Ito told me that the well was badly contaminated, the odours were fearful; illness was to be feared as well as robbery! So unreasonably I reasoned!’ Letter XIV, Vol. I, p. 161: ‘The house-masters here and at Fujihara are not used to passports, and Ito, who is posing as a town-bred youth, has explained and copied mine, all the village men assembling to hear it read aloud.’ Letter XXVIII, Vol. I, pp. 310–313 are virtually all about Ito. Letter VI, Vol. I, p. 48 ‘However, when I had nearly made up my mind in his favour, a creature appeared without any recommendation at all, except that one of Dr Hepburn’s servants was acquainted with him.’ Letter VI, Vol. I, p. 49: ‘Mr Maries was not forthcoming, and more than this, I suspected and disliked the boy.’ Letter VI, Vol. I, pp. 48/49. See the Ho¯chi Shinbun (ሗ▱᪂⪺) dated 9 January 1913. In 1863 Britain and France stationed troops in Yokohama to protect the foreign settlement there in the wake of the Namamugi Incident of the previous year. This happened when four British subjects riding through this village near Yokohama were attacked by the bodyguard of a daimyo’s procession for failing to show proper respect by dismounting, resulting in one of them being killed and two others badly wounded. The British troops were known as the Red Unit from the colour of the Royal Marines Light Infantry’s uniforms. In ‘Images of Modern Celebrities’ (ࠗ㏆௦ྡኈ஀㠃ᙳ࠘). Letter VI, p. 52 1880 edition, Vol. I, p. 52: ‘…. but little seems known by foreigners of northern Japan, and a Government department, on being applied to, returned an itinerary, leaving out 140 miles of the route that I dream of taking, on the ground of “insufficient information”, on which Sir Harry cheerily remarked, “You will have to get your information as you go along, and that will be all the more interesting.” Ah! but how?’ Ushu¯ Kaido¯ (⩚ᕞ⾤㐨), an Edo-period local trunk road, a sub-route of ¯ shu¯ Kaido¯ (ዟᕞ⾤㐨), linking the latter with Aomori. the O ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIV, Vol. 1, p. 371: ‘In one town two very shabby policemen rushed upon us, seized the bridle of my horse, and kept me waiting for a long time in the middle of a crowd, while they toilsomely bored through the passport, turning it up and down, and

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holding it up to the light, as though there were some nefarious mystery about it’. The Rinno¯ji (㍯⋤ᑎ) enshrines Tokugawa Iemitsu (ᚨᕝᐙග), the third Shogun. See Letter XI, Vol. I, p. 117: ‘The Shrines are the most wonderful work of their kind in Japan.’ ¯ shu¯ Kaido¯ (ዟᕞ⾤㐨) One of the five centrally-administered trunk O roads of the Edo period, connecting Edo with Mutsu Province, presentday Fukushima Prefecture. The other official highways were the To¯kaido¯ (ᮾᾏ㐨), Nakasendo¯ (୰ᒣ㐨), Ko¯shu¯ Kaido¯ (⏥ᕞ⾤㐨) and Nikko¯ Kaido¯ (᪥ග⾤㐨). Dallas, Charles H., Notes Collected in the Okitama Ken, with an Itinerary of the Road Leading to It, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol. III, Part III, 1875. Dallas was born in London in 1841 and died in Shanghai in 1894. He started as a merchant in Yokohama in 1874, was employed by the Japanese government as an English teacher in Tokyo in 1870/71 and then in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, from 1872 to 1875. There he also developed an interest in the local dialect. He left Japan in 1885 for China. ‘The Complete Translation’, Notes on Missions in Niigata, Vol. I, p. 200. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXVI, Vol. I, p. 390: ‘I noticed that formal politeness prevailed in the bath-house as elsewhere, and that dippers and towels were handed from one to another with profound bows. The public bath-house is said to be the place in which public opinion is formed, as it is with us in clubs and public-houses, and that the presence of women prevents any dangerous or seditious consequences; but the Government is doing its best to prevent promiscuous bathing; and though the reform may travel slowly into these remote regions, it will doubtless arrive sooner or later. The public bath-house is one of the features of Japan.’ Sketch Map Showing the Route taken by Mr. Troup in his Tour through the Niigata District in June & July, 1870 (Harrison & Sons, Lith. St. Martin’s Lane, W.C., 1975 reprint). The Report of a Tour of Japan by Mr. Troup from June 16 to July 1, 1870 was presented to both Houses of Parliament in 1871. The Boshin War (ᠾ㎮ᡓத), 1868–69, was a civil war between the Shogunate and forces seeking to re-establish the Imperial system. Opposition to the policy of the Tokugawa bakufu towards the incursion of foreigners into Japan and the influence they were having on the country’s economic affairs meant that Shogun Yoshinobu was unable

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to reach an accommodation with Emperor Meiji, despite surrendering political power to him. Military action resulted and after the fall of Edo the remaining Tokugawa forces were pushed back into northern Honshu¯ and Hokkaido¯ where the short-lived Ezo Republic’s defeat at Hakodate marked the end of the Tokugawa dynasty and the establishment of imperial rule throughout Japan. Re ‘Land Transport Company’ see Letter XIII. – (Completed), Vol. I, 145: ‘In Japan there is a Land Transport Company, called Riku-un-kaisha, with a head-office in Tôkiyô, and branches in various towns and villages’. ‘Transport Agent’ is also a term she uses, in Letter XV. – (Concluded), Vol. I, p. 173. Letter IV, Vol. I, pp. 33/34. ‘At the C.M.S. house I met Mr Fyson from Niigata on the Sea of Japan, and Mr Dening from Hakodaté in Yezo, with their respective wives, who were very kind, and asked me to visit them. We talked over the pros and cons of my proposed journey, some thinking it impracticable, others encouraging it. The special points discussed were “the Food Question”, which is yet unsolved, and whether it is best to buy a pony or trust to pack-horses.’ Letter IV, Vol. I, p. 35. Letter XIII. – (Completed.), Vol. 1, p. 145: ‘It arranges for the transport of travellers and merchandise by pack-horses and coolies at certain fixed rates, and gives receipts in due form.’ Ibid., pp. 145/146: ‘[This Transport Company is admirably organised. I employed it in journeys of over 1200 miles, and always found it efficient and reliable.] I intend to make use of it always, much against Ito’s wishes, who reckoned on many a prospective “squeeze” in dealings with the farmers.’ Letter XXXI, Vol. I, pp. 339–341 for the Yoneshiro River, which she calls the Yonetsurugawa. Letter L, Vol. II, p. 210: ‘I have been purposing to go to Kiyôto, by the Nakasendo, or inland mountain route, a journey of fourteen days, and have engaged a servant interpreter for the impossible task of replacing Ito! The rain, however, has never ceased for four days, and at the last moment I have been obliged to give up this land journey, the less regretfully, as my new servant, though a most respectable-looking man, knows hardly any English, and I shrink from the solitude of detentions in rain and snow in lonely and elevated yadoyas.’ Letter LIX, Vol. II, p. 306 ‘The time has flown by, however, in excursions, shopping, select little dinner parties, farewell calls, and visits made with

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Mr Chamberlain to the famous groves and temples of Ikegami, where the Buddhist bishop and priests entertained us in one of the guest-rooms, and to Enoshima and Kamakura, “vulgar” resorts which nothing can vulgarise so long as Fujisan towers above them.’ Letter to John Murray from Hakodate dated 11 August 1878: ‘The three letters ensured a kind reception from Sir H. and Lady P. but far more than that has been the result, for a cordial and hearty friendship has arisen and the British Legation is my happy home for the whole time of my residence in Japan and Sir H. and his wife do all that the most considerate kindness can devise for my comfort and enjoyment.’ Clara Whitney, 1860–1936. She arrived in Japan in 1875 with her American father who had been given a position as a lecturer at the Commercial Law Institute, and lived in Tokyo with her parents from 1875 to 1889, teaching English and engaging in missionary activities. In 1886 she married Kaji Umetaro¯, son of Katsu Kaishu¯. She kept diaries from 1873 to 1887 about aspects of Japanese life, customs and culture. Selections from these can be found in Clara’s Diary, an American Girl in Meiji Japan edited by M. William Steele and Tamiko Ichimata, Kodansha International Ltd., Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, 1979. See Stoddart’s The Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), John Murray, 1906, pp. 105/106. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LI Vol. II, p.218 ‘This Mission has at Kôbe nine men missionaries, all but one with wives, and five single ladies; in Ôsaka four men and three single ladies, and in Kiyôto, three men and one single lady.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LI Vol. II, p. 217 ‘The Secretary of the American Board of Missions most kindly wrote, commending me to the missionaries here, and I am made very welcome consequently.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, A Chapter on Japanese Public Affairs, Vol. II, p. 347. Letter LI, 1880 Edition, Vol. II, p. 214 ‘Somehow when one thinks of Kôbe it is less as a Treaty Port than as a Mission centre.’ ‘Prospects of Christianity’ Letter LVIII, Vol. II, pp. 302–304. Letter LVIII, Vol. II, pp. 299/300: ‘I do not share the sanguine expectations of those about me as to a rapid spread of Christianity, but that it is destined to be a power in moulding the future of Japan, I do not doubt.’ Introductory Chapter, Vol. I, pp. 9/10: ‘Many Europeans ridicule Japanese progress as “imitation”, Chinese and Coreans contemplate it with ill-

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concealed anger, not unmixed with jealousy, yet Japan holds on her course and without venturing to predict her future, I see no reason to distrust the permanence of a movement which has isolated her from other Oriental nations, and which, in spite of very many extravagances and absurdities, is growing and broadening daily. The religion, letters and civilisation which she received from China through Corea (“veneering”, it may have been said) have lasted for twelve centuries. The civilisation which comes from the far West in the nineteenth century is not a more sweeping wave than that which came from Corea in the sixth, and is likely to produce equally enduring results, specially and certainly if Christianity overthrows Buddhism, the most powerful influence from without which has hitherto affected Japan.’ Letter IV, Vol. I, p. 33: ‘There is a complete nest of Missionary Church edifices, a wonderful testimony to the shattered unity of the Christian Church, and the number of houses occupied by missionaries is very large.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter V, Vol. I, p. 43: ‘“And the next day was the Sabbath.” This is a word which has no meaning here, so it was through streets of unresting industries that we drove to the quiet groves of Shiba, to the small temple in which liturgical worship is held, where a simple communion-table has taken the place of the altar and Shrine of Buddha, and a few seats on the matted floor accommodate the scanty congregation.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VIII, Vol. I, p. 63: ‘Some temples are packed full of gods, Shrines, banners, bronzes, brasses, tablets, and ornaments, and others, like those of the Monto sect, are so severely simple, that with scarcely an alteration, they might be used for Christian worship to-morrow.’ Letter XIX, Vol. 1, p. 207: ‘On the whole, the Niigata temples are ecclesiastical and devotional-looking, and if a few of the Buddhist insignia were removed, they might be used for Christian worship without alteration. Their brass vessels are very beautiful, and their chalices, flagons, lamps, and candlesticks are classical in form and severely simple.’ Letter XIX, Vol. I, p. 209/210. Letter XIX, Vol. I, pp. 211/212: ‘Another obstacle in the way of Christianity (and all these are apart from the deeply rooted and genuine dislike to the purity of its morality) is that the Japanese students who are educated by their Government in England or America return and tell their countrymen that no one of any intelligence or position now believes in Christianity, and that it is an exploded system, only propped up by the clergy and the uneducated masses. Yet, for all this and much more, and

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in spite of the very slow progress which Christianity has made, any one who attempts to forecast the future of Japan without any reference to it, is making a very serious mistake.’ Letter XXV. – (Continued.), Vol. I, p. 295: ‘The temple at Rokugo was very beautiful, and, except that its ornaments were superior in solidity and good taste, differed little from a Romish church.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXVI, Vol. I, pp.305/306: ‘Before leaving, knowing what the reply would be, I asked the teacher if they taught religion, and both the gentlemen laughed with undisguised contempt. “We have no religion”, the teacher said, “and all your learned men know that religion is false.” An Imperial throne founded on an exploded religious fiction, a State religion receiving an outward homage from those who ridicule it, scepticism rampant among the educated classes, and an ignorant priesthood lording it over the lower classes: an Empire with a splendid despotism for its apex, and naked coolies for its base, a bald materialism its highest creed and material good its goal, reforming, destroying, constructing, appropriating the fruits of Christian civilisation, but rejecting the tree from which they spring – such are among the contrasts and incongruities everywhere!’ ‘A Trembling Hope’, see Vol. I, Letter XXXVI, p. 387. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXVI, Vol. I, p. 391, footnote 1: ‘I leave these sentences as they stood in my letter; but, lest they should be supposed to be written in disparagement of mission work, or doubt of its necessity, I reiterate the belief expressed in the chapter on Niigata Missions, that our Lord’s parting command concerning the promulgation of His gospel is binding on all His followers until the world’s end, and that hopes and speculations as to the ultimate destiny of the heathen have no bearing at all upon the positive duty of the Church, or indeed any practical bearing of any kind.’ Ibid., also on p. 391, but at the very end of the main body of the text: ‘These remarks may seem a digression; but such questions are forced upon me every hour of every day.1’ The 1 refers to the footnote quoted above. ‘Such questions’ are on pp. 390/391. Jo¯do Shinshu¯ (ίᅵ┿᐀), Sukhavati or the Pure Land, the Jo¯do sect of Buddhism, with the Nishi Honganji (すᮏ㢪ᑎ) its main temple. She writes in Letter LIII, Vol. II, p. 236: ‘Of the many sects and sub-sects into which Buddhism is divided, none interests me so much as the Shinshiu, sometimes called the Monto Sect, founded by Shinran in 1262’. … ‘If the Monto is not the largest sect, it stands first in intelligence, influence, and

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wealth, it is putting forth immense energies, and has organised theological schools on a foreign system, in which its acolytes are being trained in Buddhist and Western learning for the purpose of enabling them not only to resist or assail both Shinto¯ and Christianity, but the corruptions of the Buddhist faith.’ Akamatsu Renjo¯ (㉥ᯇ㐃ᇛ) Bird calls him Akamatz in Letter LIII, p. 237: ‘Foremost in this movement, which has as its object a new reformation, and the re-establishment of Buddhism as a moral power in Japan, is Akamatz, a priest of great intellect, high culture, indomitable energy, wide popularity, and far-reaching ambitions for the future of his faith.’ Hiunkaku (㣕㞼㛶) A pavilion set in a formal garden facing a lake in the precincts of the Nishi Honganji. Built in an asymmetrical style so that it looks different from whatever angle one views it. It ranks alongside the Kinkakuji (㔠㛶ᑎ) and Ginkakuji (㖟㛶ᑎ) among Kyoto’s pavilions. Experts are undecided as to whether it was built under Toyotomi Hideyoshi or later, in the 1620s. See also Letter LIII, p. 242, when Bird saw: ‘in the most exquisite garden that I have seen in Japan’ that: ‘There were fountains and a small lake, over whose clear waters, through which large gold-fish were glancing, hung the fantastic balconies of Hideyoshi’s summer palace, an irregular three-storied building of most picturesque appearance.’ Letter LIII, Vol. II, p. 246: ‘Is it the Hindu teacher in his passionless repose, who, from the dimness of the dead ages, offers men an immortality of unconsciousness, or is it the eternal Son of God, the living Brother of our humanity, who in the living present offers to “the weary” rest and service in an endless life, and fellowship in His final triumph over evil, who shall mould the religious future of Japan?’ ‘The Complete Translation’ Letter LI, 1880 Edition, Vol II, p. 221. ‘The Complete Translation’ Notes on Tôkiyô – (Concluded.), Vol. II, p. 193: ‘Probably there is scarcely an atheism so blank, or a materialism so complete, on earth as that of the educated modern Japanese.’ Re Davis Letter LII, Vol. 2, p. 228: ‘He distinguished himself in the American war, and a soldierly frankness and spirit are so blended with a very earnest Christianity, that his military rank clings to him, and he is often called “Colonel Davis”.’ And: ‘He is sanguine regarding the spread of Christianity in Japan, and his students imbibe something of his hopeful spirit.’

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Letter LII, Vol. II, p. 228: ‘Mr Neesima, a Japanese, at present the only ordained Japanese pastor’ and pp. 232/233: ‘He is a Christian pastor, ordained in America, and teaches natural philosophy, etc., in the Kiyôto College.’ Niijima Jo¯ (᪂ᓥ〴), 1843–90. Known in English as Joseph Hardy Neesima. Educationalist and missionary. Founder of Do¯shisha University. While in America he met the Iwakura Delegation and was taken on as interpreter. Later he travelled widely overseas in connection with the Japanese government’s study of foreign educational methods. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LII, Vol. II, p. 234: ‘He is a genial, enlightened Christian, and an intensely patriotic Japanese.’ Then, on the same page: ‘He takes a less hopeful view of the prospects of Christianity than his American colleagues, thinks that there is great unlikelihood of its spreading much in the cities, but hopes for successful results from the preaching of the students in the country districts.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LVIII. See also Letter LVIII, Vol. II, p. 297/298: ‘On November 26, Mrs Gulick and I went on a day’s journey into the mountains, through exquisite scenery, glorious with autumnal colouring, to Arima, a picturesque village, much resorted to by foreigners during the heat of summer, and famous for bamboo-baskets and strawboxes, which can now be bought in any quantity in London; and thence rattled down, through a woodland region, to Sanda, a town of 2000 people (formerly a daimiyô’s town), in a rice valley.’ Letter LVIII, Vol. II, p. 301 See Note 56 above re ‘A Chapter on Japanese Public Affairs’, Vol. II, p. 347, e.g.: ‘Of the shadows which hang upon the horizon of Japan, the darkest, to my thinking, arises from the fact that she is making the attempt, for the first time in history, to secure the fruits of Christianity without transplanting the tree from which they spring.’ See ‘Far East Journey 2’. K, JAPAN: Review of Miss Bird’s, Sir E. Reed’s and Sir R. Alcock’s Works on Japan, The Church Missionary Intelligencer and Record, A Monthly Journal of Missionary Information. Vol. VI. New Series, 1881. Preface to the 1880 Edition, Vol. I, p. viii: ‘It was with some reluctance that I decided that they should consist mainly of letters written on the spot for my sister and a circle of personal friends; for this form of publication involves the sacrifice of artistic arrangement and literary treatment, and necessitates a certain amount of egotism; but, on the other hand, it places the reader in

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the position of the traveller, and makes him share the vicissitudes of travel, discomfort, difficulty, and tedium, as well as novelty and enjoyment.’ Kano¯ Takayo (ຍ⣡Ꮥ௦) in ‘Japanese Literature – Interpretation & Appreciation’, Vol. 60, No. 3, 1995 (࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ 㺀᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖ ⾜㺁༑஑ୡ⣖᭱኱ࡢዪᛶ᪑⾜ᐙ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࠖࠗᅜᩥᏛゎ 㔘࡜㚷㈹࠘ᕳྕࠊ୍஑஑஬  Takeuchi Masahiro (➉ෆṇᾈ) in Syu¯kan Shinsetsu Rekishi no Michi No. 50, Sho¯gakkan, 2011 (㺀࢖ࢨ࣋ ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࠕ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜ࠖ ࠗ㐌ห┿ㄝṔྐࡢ㐨࠘➨ྕ,ᑠᏛ㤋஧‫ ୍୍ۑ‬ Shibuya Mitsuo (῰㇂ගኵ), Mumyo¯sha Publishing, 2011 (ࠕ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃 ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢᒣᙧ㊰ࠖ↓᫂⯋ฟ∧஧‫ ୍୍ۑ‬ Published by Kawade Shobo¯ Shinsha 2011 (᪑ࡢᩥ໬◊✲ᡤ⦅㺀᪑࡜ ほගࡢᖺ⾲㺁 Ἑฟ᭩ᡣ᪂♫ࠊ஧‫ ୍୍ۑ‬ 㥐㏴ᒁ 㺀᫂἞༑୍ᖺ᪥ᮏᖇᅜ㒑౽つ๎ཬ⨩๎㺁 ⸣Ӆ┤⋫㐘 㺀኱᪥ᮏᖇᅜ⚄㑅㔛⛬඲ᅗ㺁 ෆᅜ㏻㐠఍♫ ⛅⏣ศ♫ ୍ඵඵ୍ In Letters to Henrietta Isabella Bird, p. 205, Chubbuck says: ‘Unfortunately, there appear to be no letters to Henrietta from the six months Isabella spent in Japan. All that remains are a few torn pages from her diary, covering a two-week journey from Kyoto to Ise in late November of 1878 – a journey, incidentally, that does not appear in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. These notations are brief, perfunctory and lack interest: a tedious chronicle of inns, temples and mud, unlit by the enthusiasm that had shone so brilliantly in her earlier travels.’ Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Preface, Vol. I, p. viii: ‘It was with some reluctance that I decided that they should consist mainly of letters written on the spot for my sister and a circle of personal friends; for this form of publication involves the sacrifice of artistic arrangement and literary treatment, and necessitates a certain amount of egotism; but, on the other hand, it places the reader in the position of the traveller, and makes him share the vicissitudes of travel, discomfort, difficulty and tedium, as well as novelty and enjoyment.’ At Hakodate ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXVII’, Vol. I, p. 396. At Kasukabe ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter IX, Vol. 1, p. 92. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XIV, Vol. I, p. 161: ‘The housemasters here and at Fujihara are not used to passports, and Ito, who is posing as a town-bred youth, has explained and copied mine, all the village men assembling to hear it read aloud. He does not know the word used for “scientific investigation,” but in the idea of increasing his own

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importance by exaggerating mine, I hear him telling people that I am gakusha, i.e. learned! ) ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXIV, Vol. 1, p. 273: ‘I have had so much pain and fever from stings and bites that last night I was glad to consult a Japanese doctor from Shinjô. Ito, who looks twice as big as usual when he has to do any “grand” interpreting, and always puts on silk hakama in honour of it, came in with a middle-aged man dressed entirely in silk, who prostrated himself three times on the ground, and then sat back on his heels.’ Letter LIX, Vol. II, p. 310. As in Letter LIX, Vol. II, p. 310. See Note 104. ‘Bold’ is her name misrepresented in the original by the approximate spelling in katakana. Kaji Shinbun (㐥㑑᪂⪺): The present Akita Sakigake Shinpo¯ (⛅⏣㨥᪂ ሗ) newspaper of Akita Prefecture started out in 1874 as the Kaji Shinbun but written in a very difficult and highly antiquated set of two characters (Akita Sakigake Shinpo¯ undated). The Sakigake homepage offers both the reading and the meaning of this particular Kaji as ‘far and near’. Then in 1878, Akita was added to the name, making it the Akita Kaji Shinbun, but four years later, the name was changed again to Akita Nippo¯ (⛅⏣᪥ ሗ). See Japan’s Local Newspapers: Chiho¯shi and Revitalization Journalism by Anthony S. Rausch, Routledge, 2012. Isabella Bird’s name appears as a garbled approximation in the original katakana (࢖ࢧ࣋࢘ࣅࣝࢺ) and so this translator has thought it better to call her by her real name in this case. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXVI, Vol. I, p. 301: ‘Ito, who is lazy about interpreting for the lower orders, but exerts himself to the utmost on such an occasion as this, went with me, handsomely clothed in silk, as befitted an “Interpreter”, and surpassed all his former efforts.’ Here again, Bird’s name appears in the original text in fractured form in katakana (࣑ࢵࢫࣈ࢔࢖ࣝࢻ) and as before this translator has simply put her real name. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIX, 1880 Edition, Vol. II, pp. 22–24: ‘It is a pleasant prison, standing in extensive gardens at some distance from the town, perhaps too pleasant!’ ‘They have a tannery, and make cabinet-work, candles of vegetable wax, soap, alcohol, and scents, besides which they do engraving and block-printing.’ In a note on p. 23 Bird says ‘Since I visited the prison of the Naamhoi Magistrate, the great prison of Canton, where unmitigated barbarism and cruelty, the outgrowth of unmitigated rapacity, still regulate the treatment of criminals, I have felt

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inclined to condone what appeared to me, at the time, the exaggerated leniency of the Hakodaté system.’ Preface, Vol. I . p. vii. Ibid. p. ix, continues: ‘Accuracy has been my first aim, but the sources of error are many, and it is from those who have studied Japan the most carefully, and are the best acquainted with its difficulties, that I shall receive the most kindly allowance, if, in spite of carefulness, I have fallen into mistakes.’ Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Preface, Vol. I, p. vii: ‘This is not a “Book on Japan”, but a narrative of travels in Japan, and an attempt to contribute something to the sum of knowledge of the present condition of the country, and it was not till I had travelled for some months in the interior of the main island and in Yezo, that I decided that my materials were novel enough to render the contribution worth making.’ Akasaka Norio (㉥ᆏ᠇㞝), born 23/5/53, folklorist. ‘Across Thirteen Passes – the People of Okitama seen by Isabella Bird’, in ‘Studies of Travel in the North – Yamagata’, Syo¯gakkan, 2004 ( 㺀༑୕ᓘࢆ㉺࠼࡚̽࢖ࢨ ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢぢࡓ⨨㈷ࡢேࠎࠖࠗ໭ࡢ᪑Ꮫ  ࡸࡲࡀࡓ࠘ ᑠᏛ 㤋ࠊ஧‫ۑۑ‬ᅄࠊᡤ཰  See their ‘Recollections of a Departed World’, Heibonsha Library, 2005; originally ‘Recollections of a Departed World – Sketches of Modern Japan 1’, Ashi Shobo¯, 1998 ࠗ㏽ࡁࡋୡࡢ㠃ᙳ࠘ᖹซ♫ࣛ࢖ࣈ࣮ࣛࣜࠊ ஧‫ۑۑ‬஬ࠋཎ∧ࠗ㏽ࡁࡋୡࡢ㠃ᙳ  ᪥ᮏ㏆௦⣲ᥥ㸯࠘ⴺ᭩ᡣࠊ ୍஑஑ඵ Miyamoto Tsuneichi (ᐑᮏᖖ୍), Folklorist; Watanabe Kyo¯ji (Ώ㎶ி஧) Historian, commentator, scholar of the History of Thought. Letter IX, 1880 Edition, Vol. I, p. 79, dated Kasukabe, June 10 ‘From the date you will see that I have started on my long journey, though not upon the “unbeaten tracks” which I hope to take after leaving Nikkô, and my first evening alone in the midst of this crowded Asian life is strange, almost fearful.’ Letter IX, Vol. I, p. 79: ‘The preparations were finished yesterday (9 June), and my outfit weighed 110 lbs., which, with Ito’s weight of 90 lbs., is as much as can be carried by an average Japanese horse.’ Ibid. p. 80. Discussion in Great Voyages / ࠗ኱⯟ᾏ࠘ No. 4, 1995 between Ikeuchi Osamu (ụෆ⣖), born 1940, essayist and scholar of German literature, and Kabayama Ko¯ichi (ᶟᒣ⣫୍), born 1941, historian, specialising in French & Western medieval history and history of Western culture. Ikeuchi had read Unbeaten Tracks in Japan thoroughly and Kabayama combined this with an extensive knowledge of travel matters.

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Kanasaka Kiyonori, ‘Bird’s Journey, Brunton’s Map’ in ‘Regions and the Environment’, No. 1, 1998 (㔠ᆏΎ๎ 㺀ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢ᪑ࠊࣈࣛࣥࢺࣥࡢ ᆅᅗ㺁ࠗᆅᇦ࡜⎔ቃ࠘No. 1 ୍஑஑ඵ  Reproductions of four sheets are appended to two articles in the magazine Maps, 36–3, 36–4, 1998. Compiled by R.H. Brunton, Nippon [Japan], Messrs. Trübner and Co., 1876 , and is to a scale of 1,267,000:1. ‘Modern Japan as seen by a Foreigner in Government Employment’ translated by Tokuriki Shintaro¯, Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko, 1986 ( ᚨ ຊ┿ኴ㑻ヂࠗ࠾㞠࠸እᅜேࡢぢࡓ㏆௦᪥ᮏ࠘ㅮㄯ♫Ꮫ⾡ᩥᗜࠊ ୍஑ඵභ  Ernest Mason Satow and Ishibashi Masakata, An English-Japanese Dictionary of the Spoken Language, London, Trübner & Co, Yokohama, Lane, Crawford & Co., 1876. J.C. Hepburn, A Japanese-English and English-Japanese Dictionary, Second Edition, Shanghai, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1872. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIII. – (Continued.), Vol. I, p. 363 at Ikarigaseki: ‘I HAVE well-nigh exhausted the resources of this place. They are to go out three times a day to see how much the river has fallen …… and read the papers of the Asiatic Society, and to go over all possible routes to Aomori.’ Post horses (‘Temma’ ఏ㤿) and the Post-village system (‘Sukego¯-seido’ ຓ㒓ไᗘ). See The To¯kaido¯ Road, travelling and representation in Edo & Meiji Japan by Jilly Traganou, 2004, Routledge Curzon. See Ueki Tetsuya ‘Scholarship Assaulted’, Shumpu¯sha, 2008 (᳜ᮌဴ ஓ ࠗᏛၥࡢᭀຊ࠘ ᫓㢼♫ ஧‫ۑۑ‬ඵ). Harada Nobuo ‘Heinrich von Siebold and Hokkaido’ (᫓㢼♫ࠗࣁ࢖ࣥࣜࢵࣄ㺃ࣇ࢜ࣥ㺃ࢩ࣮࣎ࣝ ࢺ࡜໭ᾏ㐨࠘), Harada Nobuo with translation and notes by Harald Suppanschitsch and Josef Kreiner ‘The younger Siebold’s Travels in Ezo’, Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko, 1996 (ཎ⏣ಙኵヂὀࠗᑠࢩ࣮࣎ࣝࢺ⼎ዀぢ ⪺グ࠘ ᖹซ♫ᮾὒᩥᗜ ୍஑஑භ ). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLI Living with the Ainos pp. 49–60; Letter XLI. – (Continued.) Aino Hospitality pp. 61–72; Letter XLII Savage Life pp. 73–81; Letter XLII. – (Continued.) Costume and Customs pp. 82–93; Letter XLII. – (Continued.) Religion of Ainos pp. 94–108. All references are to Vol. II of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. John Batchelor, ‘The Ainu and their Folk-lore’ Kyo¯bunkan, 1901 (ࠗ࢔ ࢖ࢾேཬ඼ㄝヰ࠘ ᩍᩥ㤋୍஑‫ ୍ۑ‬ Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Notes on Yezo, Vol. II, pp. 1–10.

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The Treaty of St. Petersburg (ᶟኴ㺃༓ᓥ஺᥮᮲⣙) was signed on 7 May 1875 between Japan and Russia and ratified on 22 August the same year. It stipulated that Japan would give up all claims to the Island of Sakhalin in exchange for undisputed sovereignty over all the Kuril Islands up to the Kamchatka Peninsula. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Letter XLVII. Ibid., Letter XLII. – (Continued.), translator’s note #27. Basil Hall Chamberlain, Things Japanese, London and To¯kyo¯, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., The Hakubunsha, 1890. Takanashi Kenkichi, in his translation of ‘Things Japanese 1’ published by Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko, 1969, takes this sixth edition as his base text. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XL, Vol. II, p. 27: ‘I am not yet off the “beaten track”, but my spirits are rising with the fine weather, the drier atmosphere, and the freedom of Yezo.’ Ibid. p. 39: ‘The night was too cold for sleep … ’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLI, Vol. II, p. 59: ‘I crept back again and into my mosquito net, and suffered not from fleas or mosquitoes, but from severe cold.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLIV, Vol. II, p. 113: ‘ … but the Pacific was as unrestful as a guilty thing, and its crash and clamour and the severe cold fatigued me so much that I did not pursue my journey the next day … ’ In a letter to Mrs Blackie from Hakodate dated 12 August.

CHAPTER 4: SUPPORT AND CO-OPERATION DURING HER VISIT TO JAPAN PP. 181–236 1

See Letter II, Vol. I, p. 22: ‘The foreign merchants keep kurumas constantly standing at their doors, finding a willing, intelligent coolie much more serviceable than a lazy, fractious, capricious Japanese pony, and even the dignity of an “Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary” is not above such a lowly conveyance, as I have seen today. My last visitors were Sir Harry and Lady Parkes, who brought sunshine and kindliness into the room, and left it behind them.’ Bird uses the term ‘kuruma’ instead of ‘jin-ri-ki-sha’ (sic), i.e. rickshaw, after her first reference to the latter in her Letter I, p. 18, as it was the word used by the rickshaw-men themselves. She writes in a footnote: ‘I continue hereafter to use the Japanese word kuruma instead of the Chinese word

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Jin-ri-ki-sha. Kuruma, literally a wheel or vehicle, is the word commonly used by the Jin-ri-ki-sha men and other Japanese for the “man-powercarriage”, and is certainly more euphonious. From kuruma naturally comes kurumaya for the kuruma runner.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter II, Vol. I, pp. 22/23 See Letter IV, Vol. I, p. 33. Messrs. Fyson and Dening were missionaries from Niigata and Hakodate respectively. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter IV, Vol. I, pp. 34/35: ‘Sir Harry advises me not to buy a pony, as it would fall sick for want of proper food, lose its shoes, and involve an additional plague in the shape of a betto.’ One such event did actually take place later, when she saw a member of a ship’s crew drown in front of her in a torrential rainstorm. See ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXI, Vol. I. p. 340. Bird describes the boat involved as a large house-boat. The crew member who went overboard and drowned was at the head of a line of eight men who were hauling on a hawser and trying to make the boat fast in appalling conditions. The hawser then snapped. See Letter IV, Vol. I, p. 35: ‘The weather is once more fine, with the mercury a little over 70°, and taking advantage of it, we walked in the Fukiage Gardens, private pleasure-grounds of the Mikado, which in these new days are open by ticket to the public every Saturday.’ The Zo¯jo¯ji (ቑୖᑎ) had been the family temple of the Tokugawas and was the burial place of six of the fifteen Tokugawa shoguns. Their graves and much of the temple complex were destroyed in the Second World War and only one original structure remains today. Lieutenant Albert G.S. Hawes (?-1897), formerly of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, was one of the teachers at the Imperial Naval College. He also produced A Handbook for Travellers in Central and Northern Japan with Ernest Satow (London, John Murray, 1884). See Letter V, Vol. I, p. 41: ‘Lady P. drove a pair of chestnut ponies of perfect beauty, fiery creatures, much given to belligerent and other erratic proceedings, and apparently only kept from running away by skilful restraint. The inspector of the escort rode in front, but only to show us the way, for Yedo, which lately swarmed with foreigner-hating, two-sworded bravos, the retainers of the daimiyô, is now so safe that a foreign lady can drive through its loneliest or more crowded parts without any other attendant than a betto.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VI, Vol. I, p. 52.

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‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VII, Vol. 1, p. 53: ‘On Friday we went by formal invitation to the opening of the new Shintomi Theatre, which is to introduce a new era in the Japanese drama. Hitherto, though a passion for the play is general in Japan, theatre-going has been an enjoyment confined by custom to the middle and lower classes, and the idea of the Mikado, Iwakura, Terashima, or any others of the Ministry honouring public theatricals with their presence would be regarded as simply monstrous.’ ¯ tsuki Nyoden ‘Morita Kanya XII’, Morita Jusaku, Morita Ko¯saku, See O 1906 (བྷ‫ྲ‫‬䴫ࠗㅜॱҼцᆸ⭠ईᕼ࠘ᆸ⭠༭֌. ᆸ⭠ྭ֌ аҍƻ ‫ – )ޝ‬Morita Kanya XII, 1846–97. Terashima Munenori, ሪጦᇇࡷ (1832–1893), a former samurai of the Satsuma domain. He studied in London in 1862 and led the Satsuma Mission to Britain in 1865. He was Minister at the Japanese Embassy in London in 1872. He became a leading political figure in the new Meiji government and at the time of Bird’s visit to Japan in 1878 he was Foreign Minister, a post he had held since 1873. He proved to be a capable negotiator and arranged the Treaty of St. Petersburg (q.v.) in 1875 but was unable to renegotiate the ‘Unequal Treaties’ due to opposition from Britain and the European powers concerned, where Sir Harry Parkes was uncompromising in his representation of his and the other countries’ interests. This is ironic for Parkes worked closely with him where Bird’s visit was concerned, a project in which Terashima appeared to take a genuine interest. Parkes evidently had no hesitation in contacting him personally when he wanted favoured treatment for her itinerary, and the travel permits for the Interior that Terashima granted were especially important for the success of her trip. A good example of the special access Parkes had to Terashima is his short note of 15 October 1878, written directly to him on the eve of Bird’s departure for Kobe, asking him to instruct the Kyoto-fu to show her the Mikado’s Palace at Kyoto. Ito¯ Hirobumi (ఀ⸨༤ᩥ) 1841–1909. First Prime Minister of Japan, and served in that post on three other occasions. In 1905 he became the first Resident-General of Korea after the ‘annexation’ of Korea by Japan following the Russo-Japanese War. Assassinated by a Korean nationalist at Harbin Station in 1909. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VII, Vol. I, p. 57: ‘Morita’s invitation was extended to the diplomatic body, the foreigners in Government employment, and to a large number of the higher Japanese officials. The whole neighbourhood was en fête. The great tea-houses, which sell theatre

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tickets which ensure both seats and refreshments, were gay with flags and coloured paper lanterns, and the theatre doors were only kept clear for visitors by rows of policemen, who quietly kept back the crowd which blocked the street.’ Her lengthy account of the history of ancient drama, the modern theatre and the proceedings themselves occupies most of this letter which runs from p. 53 to p. 61. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter IX, Vol. I, pp. 91/92: ‘I lay for three hours, not daring to stir lest I should bring the canvas altogether down, becoming more and more nervous every moment. She also says: I opened the Yedo parcel, and found that it contained a tin of lemon sugar, a most kind note from Sir Harry Parkes, and a packet of letters from you.’ See Notes on Yezo, Vol. II, p. 8. In connection with the Ainu Bird says: ‘The Letters which follow contain all that I could learn about them from actual observation, but Mr Yasuda Sadanori, First Secretary of the Kaitakushi Department, has supplied a few additional facts at the request of Sir Harry Parkes.’ Yasuda Sadanori (ᶒ኱᭩グᐁ Ᏻ⏣ ᐃ๎). See Preface, Vol. I, p. ix. ‘The Transactions of the English and German Asiatic Societies of Japan, and papers on special Japanese subjects, including “A Budget of Japanese Notes,” in the Japan Mail and Tôkiyô Times, gave me valuable help, and I gratefully acknowledge the assistance afforded me in many ways by Sir Harry S. Parkes, K.C.B., and Mr Satow of H.B.M.’s Legation, Principal Dyer, Mr Chamberlain of the Imperial Naval College, Mr F.V. Dickins, and others, whose kindly interest in my work often encouraged me when I was disheartened by my lack of skill.’ Henry Dyer (1848–1918), Scottish engineer, served as Professor of Engineering at the Imperial College of Engineering in Tokyo from 1873 to 1882. F.V. Dickins (1835–1915) was medical officer at the British Legation in Yokohama from 1863 to 1870 and also a prolific translator of Japanese texts. See Chapter 3, p. 43, ‘Reported in the Press’. Mori Arinori (᳃᭷♩) 1847–89. Diplomat, statesman and educationalist. Japan’s first Education Minister and founder of Hitotsubashi University. Assassinated in 1889 by an adherent of the old regime. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LIX, Vol. II, p. 307. Bird says: ‘Sir H. Parkes applied for permission for me to visit the Kirigaya ground, one of five, and after a few delays it was granted by the Governor of Tôkiyô at Mr. Mori’s request, so yesterday, attended by the Legation

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linguist, I presented myself at the fine yashiki of the Tôkiyô Fu, and quite unexpectedly was admitted to an audience of the Governor.’ See Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. I, after title page. Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan Kensei Shiryo¯shitsu (ᅜ❧ᅜ఍ᅗ᭩㤋᠇ᨻ ㈨ᩱᐊ) Compiled by the Terashima Munenori Research Society, Vol. 2, Shijinsha, 1987 (ᑎᓥ᐀๎◊✲఍⦅ࠗᑎᓥ᐀๎㛵ಀ㈨ᩱ㞟࠘ୗᕳ ( ♧ே♫ࠊ ୍஑ඵ୐). ࠉࠉ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LII, Vol II, pp. 224/225. Bird writes: ‘I came here a fortnight ago with Mrs. Gulick, intending to spend two or three days alone in a yadoya, but on arriving found that it had been arranged that I should be received here, where I have spent a fortnight delightfully, seeing a great many of the sights with my hostess, and others with Mr. Noguchi, an English-speaking Japanese, deputed by the Governor to act as my cicerone.’ Marianne North (1830–90) travelled the world, including Japan, painting plants. More than 800 of her pictures, oil-painted which has preserved their vivid colours, are exhibited in the Marianne North Gallery at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, whose building she herself paid for. She writes of Japan in her autobiography Recollections of a Happy Life, Vol. I (Macmillan, London and New York, 1892) on pp. 213 et seq. Cabinet Library of the National Archives (Kokuritsu Ko¯bunshokan Naikaku Bunko ᅜ❧බᩥ᭩㤋ෆ㛶ᩥᗜ); Foreign Office Book Catalogue (Gaimusho¯ Toshoki እົ┬ᅗ᭩グ); State Council Library (Dajo¯kan Bunko ኴᨻᐁᩥᗜ). See ‘A revised and enlarged Catalogue of Seal Impressions in the Cabinet Library’ by the National Archives, 1981 (ࠗᨵゞቑ⿵ෆ㛶ᩥᗜⶶ᭩༳ ㆕࠘ᅜ❧බᩥ᭩㤋 ୍஑ඵ୍). See The Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), third edition, Jan. 1908, pp. 105/106 where Stoddart writes of Bird: ‘About September 20 she was back at the British Legation in Tokio, with Sir Harry and Lady Parkes. Miss Gordon Cumming was there too, and is mentioned in a note to Lady Middleton dated September 30: I hope to execute some of your commissions, but good things have become immensely dear, owing to the incursions of curio hunters from every part of Europe. Miss Gordon Cumming left for Nikkô with the French minister this morning. She is beautifully dressed, and is strong and well.

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35 36

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Miss Bird’s headquarters were now at the British Legation in Tokio for nearly two months. Mr Satow helped her verify and correct her notes and statistics, and Sir Harry Parkes promoted her short excursions in every possible way. He secured permission to visit one of the cremation stations, to which the governor of Tokio, Mr Kusamoto, sent her in his own carriage, accompanied by a Government interpreter, and supplied her the next day with a translated account of cremation and its introduction into Japan.’ Constance Frederica Gordon-Cumming (1837–1924). Prolific world traveller and watercolour artist. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLIX, Vol. II, p. 167. This letter was written at H.B.M.’s Legation, Yedo, on 21 September. The typhoon encountered on Bird’s way back from Hakodate with Dr and Mrs Hepburn flooded the railway between Yokohama and Tokyo. Thus Bird writes: ‘Late in the afternoon, the railroad was re-opened, and I came here with Mr Wilkinson, glad to settle down to a period of rest and ease under this hospitable roof.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter L, Vol. II, p. 202. Bird writes: ‘The few bright days have been very bright, and like our English midsummer (when we have summer at all). On one of the brightest we, with Miss Gordon Cumming, who arrived in the middle of September, went to an afternoon entertainment given to the diplomatic body in the Shiba Pavilion, one of the Mikado’s smaller palaces, by Mr Arenori Mori, Viceminister for foreign affairs1. 1Recently appointed Minister to England.’ C.F. Gordon-Cumming, Memories, Edinburgh and London, William Blackwood and Sons, 1904. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter L, Vol. II, p. 202. See Note 36. Bird writes in the same letter, p. 204: ‘Mr Mori complimented me with much bonhommie on my “unprecedented tour,” and remarked that people rarely travelled in Northern Japan.’ In Memories, see Note 32. Recollections of a Happy Life, Being the Autobiography of Marianne North, 2 volumes, London and New York, MacMillan & Co., 1892. ¯ Kairan Jikki (ࠗ⡿Ḣᅇぴᐇグ࠘ 5 Vols., 1878. Reprinted by Bei-O Iwanami Bunko in five volumes, 1977–1980. Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (1830–82), Scottish natural historian and marine zoologist. Chief civilian scientist on the Challenger expedition of 1873–76. In her letter of 11 August to John Murray Bird writes: ‘I thank you much for your note to Sir H. Parkes. He desires me to tell you that he was

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“very glad to hear of and from” you. I also brought letters to him from the Duke of Argyll and Sir Wyville Thomson. The three letters ensured a kind reception from Sir H. and Lady P. but far more than that has been the result, for a cordial and hearty friendship has arisen and the British Legation is my happy home for the whole time of my residence in Japan and Sir H. and his wife do all that the most considerate kindness can devise for my comfort and enjoyment.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Preface, Vol. I, p. ix. Bird writes: ‘The concluding chapter, which treats briefly of Public Affairs, is based upon facts courteously supplied by the Japanese Government, and on official documents, and may be useful in directing attention to the sources from which it is taken.’ Appendix D. – Foreign Trade has Tables IV (Return of British and Foreign Shipping entered at all Ports in Japan for Nineteen Years, p. 372, Vol. II) and V (Return of Foreign Residents and Firms at the Open Ports of Japan, for Five Years, from 1874–78, Vol. II, p. 373). A Chapter on Japanese Public Affairs runs from p. 311 to p. 347, Vol. II. The section on Foreign Trade is from p. 341, starting ‘The foreign commerce of Japan is a subject of great practical interest to foreigners … and there is a note saying that ‘In Appendix D. will be found three returns compiled at the British Legation, Tôkiyô, which furnish in a condensed form particulars of the import and export trade of Japan for a period of thirteen years; also a return showing the large amount of foreign tonnage which that trade employs, and a table of foreign residents, the majority of whom are engaged in mercantile occupations.’ See Letter III, Vol. I, p. 31. Bird writes: ‘The Japanese Secretary of Legation is Mr Ernest Satow, whose reputation for scholarship, specially in the department of history, is said by the Japanese themselves to be the highest in Japan1 – an honourable distinction for an Englishman, and won by the persevering industry of fifteen years. 1Often in the later months of my residence in Japan, when I asked educated Japanese questions concerning their history, religions, or ancient customs, I was put off with the answer, “You should ask Mr Satow, he could tell you.”’ A Handbook for Travellers in Central and Northern Japan: Being a guide to ¯ zaka and other cities; the most interesting parts of the main To¯kio¯, Kio¯to, O island between Ko¯be and Awomori, with ascents of the principal mountains, and descriptions of temples, historical notes and legends with maps and plans, by Ernest Mason Satow and Albert George Sidney Hawes, Yokohama: Kelly & Co., Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh 1881. Yokohama, The Japan Mail Office, 1875.

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Stoddart p. 105: ‘Miss Bird’s headquarters were now at the British Legation in Tokio for nearly two months. Mr. Satow helped her to verify and correct her notes and statistics, and Sir Harry Parkes promoted her short excursions in every possible way.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter L, Vol. II, p. 204 where Bird writes of a reception: ‘A very interesting one was given a few days afterwards by Mr. Satow, in his beautiful Japanese house, the furnishing of which is the perfection of Japanese and European good taste and simplicity.’ Her detailed account of the evening’s entertainment and the instruments used continues up to p. 210 though on p. 207 she confesses that: ‘Of the musical performance, as is fitting, I write with great diffidence. If I was excruciated, and experienced twinges of acute neuralgia, it may have been my own fault. The performers were happy, and Mr Satow’s calm, thoughtful face showed no trace of anguish. Oriental music is an agonising mystery to me.’ Ian C. Ruxton, The Diaries and Letters of Sir Ernest Mason Satow (1843– 1929), A Scholar-Diplomat in East Asia, New York, Edwin Mellen Press, 1998. Translated by Nagaoka Sho¯zo¯ & Sekiguchi Hideo, Yu¯sho¯do¯ Publishing, 2003 (㛗ᒸ⚈୕㺃㛵ཱྀⱥ⏨ヂ ࠗ࢔࣮ࢿࢫࢺ㺃ࢧࢺ࢘ࡢ⏕ ᾭ – ࡑࡢ᪥グ࡜ᡭ⣬ࡼࡾ࠘㞝ᯇᇽฟ∧ ஧‫)୕ۑۑ‬. Kokumai Shigeyuki, ‘The Life of Noguchi Tomizo¯ – Secretary to Ernest Satow, a British Diplomat in the closing Days of the Tokugawa Regime’, Rekishi-syunju¯-syuppan, 2013. (ᅧ⡿㔜⾜ࠗ㔝ཱྀᐩⶶఏ ࣮ ᖥᮎⱥᅜ እ஺ᐁ࢔࣮ࢿࢫࢺ㺃ࢧࢺ࢘ࡢ⛎᭩࠘Ṕྐ᫓⛅ฟ∧ ஧‫)୕୍ۑ‬.ࠉࠉ See ‘A Diplomat’s View of the Meiji Restoration – Vol. 2’ Niijima Jo¯ (᪂ᓥ〴), 1843–90. Known in English as Joseph Hardy Neesima. Educationalist and missionary. The founder of Do¯shisha University. While in America he met the Iwakura Delegation and was taken on as interpreter. He later travelled widely overseas in connection with the Japanese government’s study of foreign educational methods. Hagihara Nobutoshi ‘Leaving Japan – Distant Shores Extracts from Ernest Satow’s Journals 14’ Asahi Shinbunsha, 2001 (ⴗཎᘏኖ ࠗ㞳᪥ 㐲࠸ᓴ ࣮ ࢔࣮ࢿࢫ㺃ࢧࢺ࢘᪥グᢒ14࠘ᮅ᪥᪂⪺♫ ஧‫)୍ۑۑ‬. See Letter III, Vol. I, p. 31. Bird writes: ‘The scholarship connected with the British Civil Service is not, however, monopolised by Mr Satow, for several gentlemen in the consular service, who are passing through the various grades of student interpreters, are distinguishing themselves not alone by their facility in colloquial Japanese, but by their researches in various departments of Japanese history, mythology, archæology, and literature.’

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‘The Complete Translation’, Letter I, Vol. I, pp. 20/21. Bird writes: ‘I long to get away into real Japan. Mr Wilkinson, H.B.M.’s acting consul, called yesterday, and was extremely kind. He thinks that my plan for travelling in the interior is rather too ambitious, but that it is perfectly safe for a lady to travel alone, and agrees with everybody else in thinking that legions of fleas and the miserable horses are the great drawbacks of Japanese travelling.’ See Letter XL, Vol. II, pp. 27/28 Bird writes about the Sho¯mon (ドᩥ): ‘With this document, which enables me to dispense with my passport, I shall find travelling very easy, and I am very grateful to the Consul for procuring it for me.’ Vol. III, E. Stock ed., London, CMS, 1899. Eugene Stock and Rev. C.F. Warren, Japan and the Japan Mission of the Church Missionary Society, Second edition, London, Church Missionary House, 1887. Mignon Rittenhouse, Seven Women Explorers, Philadelphia and New York, J.B. Lippincott, 1964. See the Church Missionary Intelligencer, Vol. IV, 1879. Bishop Burdon’s Letter appeared after an introductory outline in the section on the Japan Mission, which in turn was the first item in the World Mission Record. See Note 62, which refers to the second edition of the same book. Peter Johnson Gulick (1796–1877), US missionary in Hawaii and Japan His family followed him in missionary work and many of them were active in Japan. Luther Halsey Gulick (1828–91), Peter Gulick’s eldest son, US missionary physician, born in Honolulu. Orramel Hinckley Gulick (1830–1923), younger son of Peter Gulick, US missionary born in Honolulu. See Letter LI, 1880 Edition, Vol. II, p. 213 where Bird writes: ‘We anchored here in the early morning in torrents of rain, accompanied by a high wind, and neither had ceased when Mr. Gulick came off for me, and in a very short time took me to his New England home. He is a son of one of the early missionaries to the Sandwich Islands, who has six missionary children, four of whom are in Japan, three living here under the same roof with their venerable mother. Mrs Gulick is also a born Sandwich Islander, a sister of my friends Mrs. Severance and Mrs. Austin of Hawaii; the house is built like a Hilo house, and has many Polynesian “effects” about it, and you can imagine how we revel in Hawaiian talk …’

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Ann Eliza Gulick, née Clark (1833–1938), wife of Orramel Gulick. Julia Ann Eliza Gulick (1845–1936), daughter of Luther, moved in 1874 with her parents to live with Orramel in Ko¯be ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LVII, Vol. II, p. 283. This was a quiet area of the town where there were former samurai mansions. See Letter LII, Vol. II, pp. 230/231 where Bird writes: ‘These young men bear their own expenses and wear the Japanese dress, but their Japanese politeness has much deteriorated, which is a pity, and the peculiar style of manner and attitude which we recognise as American does not sit well upon them. They are an earnest body of students, their moral tone is very high, they all abstain from saké, they are all heartily convinced of the truth of Christianity, they are anxious to be furnished with every weapon of attack against the old heathenism and the new philosophies, and they mean to spend their lives in preaching Christianity. Several of them already preach in the vacation, and just now, one, named Hongma, is meeting with singular success at Hikone on Lake Biwa, the changed lives of some of the converts being matter of notoriety.’ Hepburn, James Curtis (1815–1911), born in Milton, Pennsylvania, was an American doctor and lay Christian missionary. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VI, Vol. I, p. 50. See Letter VI, p. 48. See Letter VI, p. 49. Bird writes: ‘The next day he asked me for a month’s wages in advance, which I gave him, but Dr H. consolingly suggested that I should never see him again!’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIX, Vol. II, p. 20 Bird first writes: ‘I AM enjoying Hakodaté so much that, though my tour is all planned and my arrangements are made, I linger on from day to day. There has been an unpleasant éclaircissement about Ito.’ Then, about Dr and Mrs Hepburn, she writes (on p. 21): ‘Dr and Mrs Hepburn, who are here … ’., (heard a bad account of the boy after I began my travels, and were uneasy about me, but except for this original lie, I have no fault to find with him, and his Shintô creed has not taught him any better.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIX, Vol. II, p. 21 (see also Note 74): ‘Dr. and Mrs. Hepburn, who are here, heard a bad account of the boy after I began my travels, and were uneasy about me, but except for this original lie, I have no fault to find with him, and his Shintô creed has not taught him any better.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLI. – (Continued.), Vol. II, pp. 68 & 70. Bird first writes (p. 68): ‘During the evening a man came to ask

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if I would go and see a woman who could hardly breathe; and I found her very ill of bronchitis, accompanied with much fever.’ Then (p. 70): ‘However, they are ignorant; and one of the men who had been most grateful because I said I would get Dr. Hepburn to send some medicine for his child, came this morning and begged me not to do so, as, he said, “the Japanese Government would be angry”.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter L, Vol. II, p. 201. Bird writes: ‘Sir Harry, much worn out, has gone to Hakone, Lady Parkes, who has been suffering from intermittent fever, has gone to Yokohama, and Mr Chamberlain, the two children, “Rags,” and I, are all feeble.’ In Sir Harry Parkes 1828–1885 by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, edited by Ian Nish, and translated by the Japan-British Cultural Exchange Research Society as ‘Britain and Japan – Lives of Figures in Japan-British Relations’, Hakubunkan Shinsha, 2002 (ࠗⱥᅜ࡜᪥ᮏ ࣮ ᪥ⱥ஺ὶே≀ิఏ࠘ ᪥ⱥᩥ໬஺ὶ◊✲఍ヂࠊ ༤ᩥ㤋᪂♫ࠊ ஧‫ۑۑ‬஧ࠊᡤ཰). ‘The Complete Translation’, Notes on Tôkiyô – (Concluded), Vol. II, p. 188: ‘The glory and pride of Japanese educational institutions is the Imperial College of Engineering, and the Japanese may justly be proud of it, for it is not only the finest modern building in Japan, worthy to take a humble place beside the Cam or Isis – academical in its aspects, noble in its proportions, suited for its purpose, and placed in an elevated and commanding position – but, in the opinion of many competent judges, is the most complete and best equipped engineering college in the world … ’. Then on pp. 189/190: ‘This college is under the Ministry of Public Works. Principal Dyer, who has made it what it is, is intensely a Scotchman, and not only very able in his own profession, but a man of singular force, energy, and power of concentration, with a resolute and indomitable will.’ On pp. 190/191 Bird then writes: ‘The question arises, What is to be done with the fifty “masters in engineering” who hereafter will be turned out annually by what is usually termed by foreigners “Mr Dyer’s college,” and how is work to be provided for them in a country which has overspent itself, and is obliged to economise?’ See Letter IV, Vol. I, p.36 where Bird writes: ‘The sleeve is used invariably for wiping away tears, and is mentioned frequently in very ancient poetry, as in an ode translated by Mr F.V. Dickens, which is not less than 600 years old.’ When last each other we embraced, A solemn vow of faith we swore,

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And sealed it with the tears that chased Adown our cheeks, our drenched sleeves o’er. and Letter LV, Vol. II, note to p.265 where Bird writes: ‘But odes of a thousand years ago represent the dread with which the Japanese peasant contemplates the coming winter,1 and our hostess shivered when we admired, and said that another six weeks would shut out her beautiful village from the world. 1Such as the following, among many others, translated by Mr F.V. Dickins: The hamlet bosomed mid the hills, Aye lonely is. In winter time, The solitude with misery fills My mind. For now the rigorous clime, Hath banished every herb and tree, And every human face from me.’

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From F.V. Dickins, Hyak-nin-Is’shiu, Or Stanzas by a Century of Poets, Being Japanese Lyrical Odes, Translated into English (i.e. Hyakunin Isshu – ⓒ ே୍㤳), London, Smith Elder & Co., 1866 ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIV, Vol. I, p. 372/373. Bird writes: ‘This festival is called the tanabata or seiseki festival, but I am unable to get any information about it.1 1Mr. F.V. Dickins, has kindly given me the following notes on this curious festival.’ There follows a long explanation. (Frederick Victor Dickins (1838–1913). Bird mis-spells his name as Dickens in Letter IV but has got it right here). See the note to Letter VII, Vol. I, p. 54 which reads in part: ‘In the Cornhill Magazine, Oct. 1876, Mr. B.H. Chamberlain gives a very interesting and popular account of the Nô, the ancient lyric drama, accompanied by a translation of The Deathstone, a play with two dramatis personæ, a priest and a maiden, and a chorus.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter VII, Vol. I, pp. 60/61. Bird writes: ‘After an interval, during which tea and champagne were provided in the galleries, and much feasting went on in the pit, the curtain rose upon the Nô stage and its performers. Mr Chamberlain, the scholarly author of the paper on this performance, in the Cornhill Magazine for October 1876, tried to rouse me to some enthusiasm about this ancient lyric drama; but in spite of his explanations, the splendour of the dresses, and the antique dignity of the actors, I found it most tedious, and the strumming,

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squalling, mewing, and stamping by which the traditional posturings are accompanied, are to a stranger absolutely exasperating.’ Letter VIII, Vol. I, pp. 62–77 in which Bird gives a detailed account of this and associated temples and sights. On p. 64: ‘Mr Chamberlain and I went in a kuruma hurried along by three liveried coolies, through the three miles of crowded streets which lie between the Legation and Asakusa.’ On p. 62: ‘ONCE for all I will describe a Buddhist temple, and it shall be the popular temple at Asakusa, which keeps fair and festival the whole year round, and is dedicated to the “thousandarmed” Kwan-non, the goddess of mercy.’ This is followed by a long footnote containing information given to Bird on this subject by Mr F.V. Dickens (sic), which concludes with the words: ‘It is one of the most impressive sights in Japan.’ Then, on p. 77. She writes: ‘This letter is far too long, but to pass over Asakusa and its novelties when the impression of them is fresh would be to omit one of the most interesting sights in Japan.’ See Letter VIII, p. 77 where she writes further: ‘On the way back we passed red mail-carts like those in London, a squadron of cavalry in European uniforms and with European saddles, and the carriage of the Minister of Marine, an English brougham with a pair of horses in English harness, and an escort of six troopers – a painful precaution adopted since ¯ kubo, the Home Minister, three weeks ago. the political assassination of O So the old and the new in this great city contrast with and jostle each other.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter IX. – (Continued), Vol. I, p. 97. Bird writes: ‘Besides the constant application of eyes to the shôji, the servants, who were very noisy and rough, looked into my room constantly without any pretext; the host, a bright, pleasant-looking man, did the same; jugglers, musicians, blind shampooers, and singing girls, all pushed the screens aside; and I began to think that Mr Campbell was right, and that a lady should not travel alone in Japan.’ Notes on Food and Cookery, Vol. I, pp. 232–240, footnote to p. 239. These Notes come between Letter XXI (at Niigata, July 9) and Letter XXII (at Ichinono, July 12, which starts with her departure from Niigata). See Letter L, Vol. II, p. 201. This is headed: ‘Written at H.B.M.’s Legation, Yedo, October 11.’ Letter XLVIII, pp. 161 etc. in Vol. II. Then, pp. 162/163, under subheading ‘My letter of thanks’ ‘He (Ito) wrote a letter for me to the Governor of Mororan thanking him on my behalf for the use of the

ENDNOTES

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kuruma and other courtesies. The letter concluded with “My august mistress lifts this up for your august information. I knock my head against the floor. Tremblingly said”. I cannot get a completely literal translation of this remarkable document, but Mr Chamberlain kindly gave me some examples of Japanese letters which will interest you from the extreme orientalism of their expressions, though possibly they do not go very far beyond “your obedient humble servant”.’ See also Chapter 1 for valedictions to letters. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LIX, Vol. II, p.306 Letter from H.B.M.’s Legation, Yedo, 18 December. In the opening sentence to this letter Bird writes (p. 306): ‘I HAVE spent the last ten days here, in settled weather, such as should have begun two months ago, if the climate had behaved as it ought.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter III, Vol. I, p. 31. Bird writes: ‘The Japanese Secretary of Legation is Mr Ernest Satow, whose reputation for scholarship, especially in the department of history, is said by the Japanese themselves to be the highest in Japan1 – an honourable distinction for an Englishman, and won by the persevering industry of fifteen years. The scholarship connected with the British Civil Service is not, however, monopolised by Mr. Satow, for several gentlemen in the consular service, who are passing through the various grades of student interpreters, are distinguishing themselves not alone by their facility in colloquial Japanese, but by their researches in various departments of Japanese history, mythology, archæology, and literature. Indeed it is to their labours, and to those of a few other Englishmen and Germans, that the Japanese of the rising generation will be indebted for keeping alive not only the knowledge of their archaic literature, but even of the manners and customs of the first half of this century. 1 Often in the later months of my residence in Japan, when I asked educated Japanese questions concerning their history, religions, or ancient customs, I was put off with the answer, “You should ask Mr. Satow, he could tell you.”’ Recorded in The Life of Sir Harry Parkes, Vol. II, p.358. It is worth noting that it was not the first British Minister Sir Rutherford Alcock, but Parkes, who merited an entry in Chamberlain’s Things Japanese. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIX, Vol. II, p. 21 Bird writes: ‘Yesterday I dined at the Consulate, to meet Count Diesbach, of the French Legation, Mr Von Siebold, of the Austrian Legation, and Lieutenant Kreitner, of the Austrian army, who start to-morrow on an exploring expedition in the interior, intending to cross the sources of the rivers

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which fall into the sea on the southern coast, and measure the heights of some of the mountains. They are “well found” in food and claret, but take such a number of pack-ponies with them that I predict that they will fail, and that I, who have reduced my luggage to 45 lbs., will succeed!’ Siebold, Heinrich Freiherr von (1852–1908), second son of Philipp Franz von Siebold. Arriving in Japan at the very start of the Meiji era, he served at the Austrian Legation in Tokyo as an interpreter and translator and, like his father, became one of the best-known scholars of things Japanese. Diesbach, Count Charles Théodore Gonzalve de Diesbach de Belleroche (1847–99). He was Third Secretary at the French Legation (1878–80) and then Second Secretary in 1881. Kreitner, Gustav Ritter von (1847–93), geographer for Count Bela von Szechenyi’s research expedition to the Far East that began on 4 December 1877 in Trieste and lasted two-and-a-half years. ‘Personal Observations of Hokkaido¯’ / ‘Hokkaido¯ Rekikan Hiken’ (ࠕ໭ ᾏ㐨Ṕほ༝ぢࠖ ኱⇃ᩥ᭩ࠊ ᪩✄⏣኱Ꮫᅗ᭩㤋ⶶ). See Gustav Kreitner, ‘Im fernen Osten – Reisen des Grafen Bela Széchenyí in Indien, Japan, China, Tibet und Birma in den Jahren 1877–1880’, Wien 1881, Alfred Hölder, Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko, 1992, translated by Kodani Hiroyuki and Morita Akira. (ࠗᮾὒ⣖⾜㸯࠘ᑠ㇂⿱ᖾ࣭᳃⏣ ᫂ヂ ᖹซ♫ᮾὒᩥᗜ ୍஑஑஧). Siebold, Heinrich Freiherr von, Ethnologische Studien über die Aino auf der Insel Yesso, Zeitschrift für Ethnologie: Organ der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte 13, Berlin, Verlag von Paul Parey, 1881. There is a Japanese translation ‘The younger Siebold’s Observations of Ezo’, which also contains the ‘Hokkaido Rekikan Hiken’, his Personal Observations of Hokkaido¯ (ࠗᑠࢩ࣮࣎ࣝࢺ⼎ዀぢ⪺グ࠘). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLIV, Vol. II, p. 113. Speaking of Shiraoi Bird writes: ‘ … but the Pacific was as unrestful as a guilty thing, and its crash and clamour and the severe cold fatigued me so much that I did not pursue my journey the next day, and had the pleasure of a flying visit from Mr Von Siebold and Count Diesbach, who bestowed a chicken upon me.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XL. – (Continued), Vol. II, p. 47: ‘A short time ago Mr von Siebold and Count Diesbach galloped up on their return from Biratori, the Aino village to which I am going; and Count D., throwing himself from his horse, rushed up to me with the exclamation, Les puces! les puces! They have brought down with them the chief, Benri, a superb but dissipated-looking savage. Mr Von Siebold called on me

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this evening, and I envied him his fresh, clean clothing as much as he envied me my stretcher and mosquito-net. They have suffered terribly from fleas, mosquitoes, and general discomfort, and are much exhausted; but Mr. Von S. thinks that in spite of all, a visit to the mountain Ainos is worth a long journey. As I expected, they have completely failed in their explorations, and have been deserted by Lieutenant Kreitner.’ Then (p. 48): ‘I have been introduced to Benri, the chief; and, though he does not return for a day or two, he will send a message along with us which will ensure me hospitality.’ See Preface to Vol. I, p. viii, where the sentence quoted above is preceded by: ‘In Northern Japan, in the absence of all other sources of information, I had to learn everything from the people themselves, through an interpreter, and every fact had to be disinterred by careful labour from amidst a mass of rubbish.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLI, Vol. II, in the note to p. 58 Bird writes about words in Ainu: ‘These words are given in the Appendix. I went over them with the Ainos of a remote village on Volcano Bay, and found the differences in pronunciation very slight, except that the definiteness of the sound which I have represented by Tsch was more strongly marked. I afterwards went over them with Mr Dening, and with Mr Von Siebold at Tôkiyô, who have made a larger collection of words than I have, and it is satisfactory to find that we have represented the words in the main by the same letters, with the single exception that usually the sound represented by them by the letters ch, I have given as Tsch, and I venture to think that this is the most correct rendering.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XL. – (Continued), Vol. II, p. 47. She adds that Ito is very indignant at this. See ‘Far East Journey 1’ (ᮾὒ⣖⾜1) Lord Granville was Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (1815–91). A Liberal Party statesman, he was Foreign Secretary three times, including from 1870–1874. Naichi-ryoko¯ fukyoka-no-gi (ෆᆅ᪑⾜୙チྍஅ㆟) Gaikokujin naichi-ryoko¯ injun-jo¯rei (እᅜேෆᆅ᪑⾜ඔ‽᮲౛) Gaikokujin naichi-ryoko¯ kisoku-shian (እᅜேෆᆅ᪑⾜つ๎⚾᱌) Naichi-ryoko¯ menjo¯ (ෆᆅ᪑⾜ච≧) – See also Chapter 3 ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter IX, Vol. I, pp. 80/81. Richthofen, Ferdinand von (1833–1905), German traveller, geographer and scientist. Member of the Eulenburg Expedition of 1860–62. Uncle

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of Manfred von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’ and famous fighter ace of the First World War. See ‘An Account of Richthofen’s Time in Japan – Bakumatsu and Meiji as seen by a German Geographer’, by F. von Richthofen, translated by Kamimura Naomi, Kyushu University Publishing, 2013 ( ࠗࣜࣄࢺ࣮࣍ࣇ࢙ࣥ᪥ᮏᅾ⣖ ࣮ࢻ࢖ࢶே ᆅ⌮Ꮫ⪅ࡢほࡓᖥᮎ᫂἞࠘ୖᮧ┤ᕫヂࠊ ஑ᕞ኱Ꮫฟ∧఍ࠊ ஧ ‫)୕୍ۑ‬, von Richthofen, Ferdinand von, Ferdinand von Richthofens Aufenthalt in Japan. Brandt, Max August Scipio von (1835–1920). German diplomat who served as Consul and Consul-General in Japan from 1863 to 1869, and from 1873 to 1875. Also served in China and Korea. Member of the Eulenburg Expedition, a Prussian mission to East Asia which resulted, in the case of Japan, in a Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation in 1861. Yoshii Tomozane, Vice Minister of Public Affairs (ྜྷ஭཭ᐇ Ẹ㒊኱㍜), 1828–91, former Satsuma clansman. Longfellow, Charles Appleton (1844–93) was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s eldest son. Having been severely wounded in the Union Army he took up yachting which remained a passion throughout his life. He travelled extensively in Europe and Asia and was particularly attracted to Japan where he lived for two years from 1871. See ‘Longfellow’s Time in Japan – Nippon as seen by a young American in the early Meiji period’, by C.A. Longfellow, translated by Yamada Kumiko, Heibonsha, 2004. (ࠗࣟࣥࢢࣇ࢙࣮ࣟ ᪥ᮏᅾグ – ᫂἞ึᖺࠊ࢔࣓ࣜ࢝ே㟷ᖺࡢぢ ࡓࢽࢵ࣏ࣥ࠘ᒣ⏣ஂ⨾Ꮚヂࠊᖹซ♫ࠊ஧‫ۑۑ‬ᅄ). Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807–82), American poet, literary scholar, linguist and translator. He was proficient in eight or nine European languages and translated, for instance, Dante’s Divine Comedy. He held various modern language professorships including at Harvard University. DeLong, Charles Egbert (1832–76), was Resident Minister at the American Consulate in Japan from 1869–1872, when he was upgraded to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, in which position he served until 1873. He went with the Iwakura Mission when it visited the United States in 1871. Bousquet, Georges Hilaire (1845–1937) was a French legal scholar who was recruited to serve as an advisor to the Meiji Government in that field. He went to Japan in 1872 and stayed there for four years. He assisted in translating the Napoleonic Code into Japanese and taught at the Ministry of Justice’s

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Law School. He wrote about his time in Japan in Le Japon de nos jours et les échelles de l’Extrême-Orient, 2 vols., Paris, Librairie Hachette et Cie., 1877. Japan nach Reisen und Studien im Auftrage der Königlich Preussischen Regierung dargestellt, 2 Vols., Engelmann, Leipzig, 1881, 1886. Matthias Koch und Sebastian Conrad (Hg.), Johannes Justus Rein. Briefe eines deutschen Geographen aus Japan 1873–1875, Muenchen, Monographien aus dem Deutschen Institut für Japanstudien, Band 40, 2006. The extracts are from the editor’s abstract. Gaikoku Jo¯yaku Kaitei Shoan Torishirabe Rijikan (እᅜ᮲⣙ᨵ⥾᭩᱌ ྲྀㄪ⌮஦ᐁ). See Inuzuka Takaaki & Ishiguro Keisho¯ ‘Meiji’s Young Bloods – from the Library of Mori Arinori’, Heibonsha, 2006 (≟ሯᏕ᫂㺃▼㯮ᩗ❶ࠗ᫂἞ ࡢⱝࡁ⩌ീ - ᳃᭷♩ᪧⶶ࢔ࣝࣂ࣒࠘ᖹซ♫ ஧‫ۑۑ‬භ). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter L, Vol. II, p. 202. Bird writes: ‘The few bright days have been very bright, and like our English midsummer (when we have summer at all). On one of the brightest we, with Miss Gordon Cumming, who arrived in the middle of September, went to an afternoon entertainment given to the diplomatic body in the Shiba Pavilion, one of the Mikado’s smaller palaces, by Mr Arenori Mori, Viceminister for foreign affairs.1 1 Recently appointed Minister to England.’ Then on p. 204, she says: ‘Mr. Mori complimented me with much bonhommie on my “unprecedented tour”, and remarked that people rarely travelled in Northern Japan.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XL, Vol. II, pp. 26/27. Bird writes: ‘Not the least of the charms of the evening is that I am absolutely alone, having ridden the eighteen miles from Hakodaté without Ito or an attendant of any kind; have unsaddled my own horse, and by means of much politeness and a dexterous use of Japanese substantives have secured a good room and supper of rice, eggs, and black beans for myself and a mash of beans for my horse, which, as it belongs to the Kaitakushi, and has the dignity of iron shoes, is entitled to special consideration!’ Later, on pp. 28/29, she adds: ‘As there was some difficulty about getting a horse for me, the Consul sent one of the Kaitakushi saddle-horses, a handsome, lazy animal, which I rarely succeeded in stimulating into a heavy gallop. Leaving Ito to follow with the baggage, I enjoyed my solitary ride and the possibility of choosing my own pace very much, though the choice was only between a slow walk and the lumbering gallop aforesaid.’ ‘The Complete Translation, Letter XL, Vol. II, p. 30. Bird writes: ‘Ito is in an excellent humour on this tour. Like me, he likes the freedom of the

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Hokkaidô. He is much more polite and agreeable also, and very proud of the Governor’s shomon, with which he swaggers into hotels and Transport Offices.’ The Prefectural Industrial Promotion Department’s Silk-Reeling Mill (┴ ່ᴗㄢ〇⣒ᕤሙ). Akita Textile Industry Factory (⛅⏣ᶵᴗሙ). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXVI, Vol. I, p. 301. Ibid, p. 304. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXV. – (Continued), Vol. I, p. 290. Bird writes: ‘There, through the good offices of the police, I was enabled to attend a Buddhist funeral of a merchant of some wealth. It interested me very much from its solemnity and decorum, and Ito’s explanations of what went before were remarkably distinctly given.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXIX, Vol. I, p. 317. Bird writes: ‘The house-master, who is a most polite man, procured me an invitation to the marriage of his niece, and I have just returned from it.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXIV, Vol. I, p. 276. Bird writes: ‘The host and the kôchô, or chief man of the village, paid me a formal visit in the evening, and Ito, en grande tenue, exerted himself immensely on the occasion.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXIV, Vol. I, p. 278. Bird writes: ‘These men were an exception to the general rule, and we managed to conduct a conversation which lasted till midnight with frequent relays of tea and sweetmeats.’ By ‘the general rule’ Bird is referring to how difficult it is to get any information, in every agricultural place where she had the opportunity of talking with intelligent people, ‘either from a natural incapacity for truth-telling, or from a lingering dread of espionage’. Gunku-cho¯son Henseiho¯ (㒆༊⏫ᮧ⦅ไἲ) enacted on 22 July 1878. ‘The Complete Translation’, Preface, Vol. I, pp. viii/ix. Bird writes: ‘Some of the Letters give a less pleasing picture of the condition of the peasantry than the one popularly presented, and it is possible that some readers may wish that it had been less realistically painted; but as the scenes are strictly representative, and I neither made them nor went in search of them, I offer them in the interests of truth, for they illustrate the nature of a large portion of the material with which the Japanese Government has to work in building up the New Civilisation.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXIV, Vol. I, p. 276. Bird writes that ‘Ito, en grande tenue, exerted himself immensely on the occasion.’

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See Letter XXIV, Vol. I, p. 280 where Bird writes: ‘I failed to extract much from the Kôchô as to the actual condition of the peasantry. He seemed to think that it was better formerly, but I cannot agree with him.’ Ibid, p. 281. ‘The chief weight of taxation does, however, fall on the peasant proprietors, even though last year the land tax was reduced to 2½ per cent on the value of the land, and the tax for local Government purposes, also chargeable on the land, was limited at its maximum to onefifth of the land tax. It remains to be seen whether these people are capable of retaining the singular advantages conferred upon them.’ ‘The CompleteTranslation’, Letter XXII, Vol. I, pp. 246/247. ‘The Complete Translation’, Vol. 2, p. 301, Note 43 to Letter XXII: ୍ ㌺ᙜࡓࡾࡢேᩘࡣ༑஧㺃ඵே࡟ࡶ࡞ࡿࡀࠊ㛵ᕝᮧᮧྐ⦅ࡉࢇጤဨ ఍⦅ ࠗ㛵ᕝᮧྐ ㏻ྐ⦅࠘ 㛵ᕝᮧࠊ୍஑஑஧࡟ࡼࡿ࡜ࠊ἟ᮧࡢ ᐙᩘ࡜ேᩘࡣࠊ஽࿴ඖᖺ (୍ඵ‫୕ࡀ ୍ۑ‬ᅄ㌺ࠊ୍஬୐ேࠊᩥ໬ ஬ᖺ (୍ඵ‫ۑ‬ඵ ࡀ୕ᅄ㌺ࠊ୍භ஧ேࠊᩥᨻ஑ᖺ ୍ඵ஧භ ࡀ୕ ୕㌺ࠊ୍ᅄභே࡛࠶ࡾࠊ୍㌺ᙜࡓࡾேᩘࡣࡑࢀࡒࢀᅄ㺃භேࠊᅄ㺃 ඵேࠊᅄ㺃ᅄே࡛࠶ࡾࠊ㛵ᕝ㒓඲య࡛ࡳ࡚ࡶࡑࢀࡒࢀᅄ㺃୐ேࠊ ᅄ㺃ඵேࠊᅄ㺃஑ே࡟࡞ࡿࠋࡲࡓࡇࡢ஧஬ᖺ㛫࡟୕୕ ࠥ ୕ᅄ㌺ ࡛࡯࡜ࢇ࡝ኚࢃࡽ࡞࠿ࡗࡓᐙᩘࡀࠊ୍ඵ୐ඵᖺ࡟஧ᅄ㌺࡟ࡲ࡛ ᛴῶࡍࡿ୍᪉ࠊேᩘࡀ୍ᅄභே࠿ࡽ୕‫୐ۑ‬ே࡟ᛴቑࡋࡓ࡜ࡶ⪃ ࠼ࡽࢀ࡞࠸ࠋࡋࡓࡀࡗ࡚ࠊࣂ࣮ࢻࡀぢࡓ㛛ᮐ⾲ᮐ ࡣ࠸ࢃࡺࡿ ศᐙࡶࡲ࡜ࡵ࡚グࡉࢀࠊ࠿ࡘࠊࡍ࡛࡟ஸࡃ࡞ࡗࡓேࡶࡑࡢࡲࡲ ࡟࡞ࡗ࡚࠸ࡓ࡜⪃࠼ࡊࡿࢆᚓࡎࣂ࣮ࢻ⮬㌟ࡶᅄᐙ᪘ࡶྠᒃࡍࡿ ᐙࡶ࠶ࡗࡓ࡜グࡋ࡚࠸ࡿ ࠊᐙ᪘ࡢつᶍࡀࡁࢃࡵ࡚኱ࡁ࠸࡜ゝ࠺ ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢグ㏙࡟ࡣၥ㢟ࡀ࠶ࡿࠋࡓࡔࠊ୍ࡘࡢᐙ࡟࠸ࢃࡺࡿ」ᩘ ࡢᐙ᪘ࡀྠᒃࡋ࡚࠸ࡓ࡜࠸࠺グ㏙⮬యࡣ⯆࿡῝࠸ࠋBird’s figure of 307 people in twenty-four houses gives us an average of 12.8 persons per house. In the ‘History of Sekikawa Village’ in the edition compiled in 1992 by the Sekikawa Village History Committee the number of houses and people in the hamlet of Numa was 34 and 157 in 1801 (Kyo¯wa 1), 34 and 162 in 1808 (Bunka 5) and 33 and 146 in 1826 (Bunsei 9) giving averages of 4.6, 4.8, and 4.4 people per house respectively. The equivalent figures for all the hamlets within Sekikawa village were 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9. The number of houses hardly changed over that twenty-five year period, remaining at 33/34, and it is extremely unlikely that the number of houses should have dropped to twenty-four and the number of inhabitants increased from 146 to 307 by 1878. The only conclusion to be drawn is that the ‘tallies’ that Bird saw included branch families, or that the names of people who had

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died were still recorded on them – Bird herself writes that there were houses with four families, four generations, living together in them, but her statement that families were very large-scale is open to question. However, her saying that there were multiple families in the same house is of great interest in itself. Heimin-myo¯ji hissho¯-gimurei (ᖹẸⱑᏐᚲ⛠⩏ົ௧) enacted on 13 February 1875. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIII. – (Continued), Vol. I, p. 365. Bird writes: ‘This afternoon has been fine and windy, and the boys have been flying kites, made of tough paper on a bamboo frame, all of a rectangular shape, some of them five feet square, and nearly all decorated with huge faces of historical heroes.’ Ibid., p. 366: ‘There are twelve children in this yadoya, and after dark they regularly play at a game which Ito says “is played in the winter in every house in Japan”…. This game of I-ro-ha garuta, or Alphabet Cards, is played with small cards, each one containing a proverb. On another is a picture which illustrates it. Each proverb begins with a letter of the Japanese syllabary.’ William Elliot Griffis, The Mikado’s Empire, New York, Harper & Brothers Publishers, Franklin Square, 1876. ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXXIII. – (Continued), Vol. I, p. 366/367. Bird writes: ‘Then Ito made a rough translation of many of the proverbs, some of which, partly from the odd language into which he put them, and partly from their resemblance to our own, made me laugh uncontrollably, and my mirth, or my unsuccessful efforts to restrain it, proving contagious, it ended in twenty people laughing themselves into a state of exhaustion! I feel much better for it and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.’ Kaibara Ekiken, ‘Treasury of Womanly Precepts’ (㈅ཎ┈㌺ࠗዪ኱Ꮫᐆ ⟽࠘ாಖඖᖺ). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXIX, Vol. I, pp. 320–322, The Marriage Ceremony / A Wife’s Position. In connection with the addendum referred to Bird writes (p. 322): ‘The following translation of the Japanese “Code of Morals for Women” is deeply interesting, and throws more light upon some social customs, and upon the estimation in which women are held, than many pages of description.’ The addendum itself takes up pp. 323–326 under the title Japanese Code of Morals for Women, to which Bird adds a note to say: ‘This translation is from a curious little book on the history and customs of Japan, by Mr N. Macleod.’

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See Vol. II, between Letters LV and LVI, Notes on the Isé Shrines1. Bird adds a note to the title: ‘1The account of the Isé Shrines in my letter is so incomplete and fragmentary, that I prefer to give these Notes taken on the spot, and corrected subsequently by the help of a paper by Mr. Satow.’ She also writes (p. 271): ‘These temples of Isé, the Gekû and the Naiku, called by the Japanese by a name which literally means “The two great divine palaces”, rank first among Shintô Shrines in point of sanctity, and are to Shintôists, even in the irreligious present, something of what Mecca is to Mussulmen, and the Holy Places of Jerusalem to Greeks and Latins.’ Her first use of the word shôden is on p. 275: ‘Another thatched gateway gives entrance to the last enclosure, an area neatly square, being 134 feet by 131, surrounded by a very stout palisade. Within this stands the shôden or Shrine of the gods, and on the right and left two treasuries.’ Ibid. p. 277: ‘They are now open to passport holders under certain restrictions, and are singularly interesting to those who have made either an original or second-hand study of Shintô, for relics of Isé are in every house, the deities of Isé are at the head of the national Pantheon, a pilgrimage to Isé forms an episode in the life of every Shintôist, and throughout Japan thousands of heads are daily bowed in the direction of “the Divine Palaces of the most holy gods of Isé”.’ There are four such fences in all, the Innermost (Mizugaki / ⍞ᇉ), the Inner (Uchi-tamagaki / ෆ⋢ᇉ), the Outer (Soto-tamagaki / እ⋢ᇉ) and the Outermost (Itagaki / ᯈᇉ). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XXIII, Vol. I, p. 252. Bird writes (at the Transport Office at Tenoko): ‘They were dirty and pressed very close, and when the women of the house saw that I felt the heat they gracefully produced fans and fanned me for a whole hour. On asking the charge, they refused to make any, and would not receive anything.’ Similarly, on p. 264 of the same letter: ‘If the widow and her handsome girls had not fanned me perseveringly for an hour, I should not have been able to write a line.’

CHAPTER 5: THE LEGACY OF BIRD’S STAY IN JAPAN 1 2 3

Anna M. Stoddart, The Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), p. 106. ‘The Complete Translation’, Preface, Vol. I, p. vii. Letter dated Hakodate, Yesso, August 11/78. In the John Murray Archive at the National Library of Scotland.

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The Yangtze Valley and Beyond, Chapter 32, p.407. Bird writes: ‘Climbing the Peh-teo-shan spur by a long series of rocky, broken zigzags, cut on its side through a hazel wood, and reaching an altitude of about 9270 feet in advance of my men, I felt the joy of a “born traveller” as I watched the mules with their picturesque Man-tze muleteer , the eleven men no longer staggering under burdens, but jumping, laughing, and singing, some of them with leaves of an artemisia stuffed into their nostrils to prevent the bleeding from the nose which had troubled them since leaving Weichou, the two soldiers in their rags, and myself the worst ragamuffin of all. There were many such Elysian moments in this grand “Beyond”.’ Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, 1891 (ࠗ࣌ࣝࢩࣕ㺃ࢡࣝࢹ࢖ࢫࢱࣥ⣖⾜࠘ . The Yangtze Valley and Beyond, 1899 (ࠗ୰ᅜዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘). Korea & her Neighbours, 1897 (ࠗᮅ㩭ዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘). Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, 1880 (ࠗ᏶ヂ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘). The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither, 1883 (ࠗɦɴόॺጦǽDzǨ ȍȃ䚃࠘). Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, the New Edition, 1900 (ࠗ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜ ᪂∧࠘). Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, the Complete Original (᏶඲ᮏཎⴭ). See Chapter 1. See Preface to Vol. I, pp. ix/x where Bird writes: ‘The illustrations, with the exception of three, which are by a Japanese artist, have been engraved from sketches of my own, or Japanese photographs.’ See Frontispiece on p.2 of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, New Edition, George Newnes, Limited, 1900, which shows the Uto Bastion of Kumamoto Castle (⇃ᮏᇛᏱᅵᷳ). Hannah Riddell (1855–1932), born in Barnet, north London, arrived in Kumamoto in 1891 with the Church Missionary Society but later left the organisation to open a leper hospital, having decided to devote her life to the care of lepers in the city. See ‘Far East Journeys 2’ and the series of articles by Kanasaka in the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun for 4–6 April 2009 (ࠗᴟᮾࡢ᪑㸰࠘ࡸ ஧‫ۑۑ‬஑ᖺᅄ᭶ᅄࠥභ᪥௜ࠗ⇃ᮏ᪥᪥᪂⪺࠘㔠ᆏ㐃㍕グ஦). Basil Hall Chamberlain, The Language, Mythology, and Geographical Nomenclature of Japan Viewed in the Light of Aino Studies, Including “An Ainu Grammar” by John Bachelor and A Catalogue of Books Relating to Yezo and Ainos, in ‘Memoirs of the Literature College’, Imperial University of Japan No. I, Imperial University, 1887. Things Japanese: being Notes on Various Subjects connected with Japan, for the Use of Travellers and Others ran into six editions from 1890 to 1936.

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See ‘Nezumi wa mada ikite iru – A Biography of Chamberlain’, Kusuya Shigetoshi, published by Yu¯sho¯do¯, 1986 (ࠗࢿࢬ࣑ࡣࡲࡔ⏕ࡁ࡚࠸ࡿ ࢳ࢙ࣥࣂࣞࣥࡢఏグ࠘ ᴋᐙ㔜ᩄࠊ 㞝ᯇᇽฟ∧ ୍஑ඵභ). A Handbook for Travellers in Central and Northern Japan, Ernest Mason Satow and Lieutenant A.G.S. Hawes, Yokohama, Kelly & Co., First Edition 1881 A Handbook for Travellers in Japan, Basil Hall Chamberlain and W.B. Mason, Third Edition, London, John Murray, 1891 See ‘A Travel Guide to Meiji Japan Vol. I’ translated by Sho¯da Motoo (ᗉ⏣ඖ⏨ヂࠗ᫂἞᪥ᮏ᪑⾜᱌ෆୖ࠘). Erwin Bälz (1849–1913) was a German doctor and anthropologist who, having treated a Japanese exchange student in Leipzig in 1875, was contacted by the Japanese government and given a two-year contract at the Medical College of Tokyo Imperial University. He went to Japan in 1876 and ended up staying for twenty-seven years, the longest of any of the ‘o-yatoi gaikokujin’ foreign advisors, and only returned home in 1905. He is regarded as the co-founder, with his fellow German Julius Karl Scriba (1848–1905), of modern Western medicine in Japan. From The Life of Sir Harry Parkes by F.V. Dickins (Japan) and Stanley LanePoole (China), Vol. II Minister Plenipotentiary, p. 267. See The Life of Sir Harry Parkes, Vol. II, p. 293. A letter from the Japanese Secretary of Legation, now Her Majesty’s Minister to Morocco, refers to Miss Bird’s book: (From E.M. Satow, Yedo, Jan. 10 1881): ‘I am extremely obliged to you for sending me the Quarterly with --- ‘s article on two books of travel which every one out here has been most anxious to read. Very few copies of either have yet reached this country, but I am one of the recipients. The verdict which pronounces in favour of Miss Bird is most just. One can read her work with great pleasure, and the account of the Ainos will be most valuable.’ The Capital of the Tycoon, 2 vols., London, Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green, 1863. See ‘Japan in historical times as seen through the eyes of foreigners’, Rekishi Ko¯ron Vol. 10, No. 3, 1984 (ࠕእᅜேࡢ┠࡟ᫎࡌࡓṔྐ᫬௦ ࡢ᪥ᮏࠖࠗṔྐබㄽ࠘➨㸯㸮ᕳ㸱 ྕ୍஑ඵᅄ). Kanai Madoka (㔠 ஭෇) 1927–2001. Historian specialising in the development of relations with foreign countries from the early-modern to the modern period. Haga To¯ru (ⰾ㈡ᚭ), born 1931. Literary researcher specialising in comparative literature.

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See The Life of Sir Harry Parkes, Vol. II, p. 290 (an extract from his letter to Miss Bird, Sevenoaks, Aug. 19 1880 spanning pp. 289–292): ‘During my recent Scotch trip I sighted dear Tobermory twice. Once we only passed it, but on returning we arrived there shortly before nine in the evening, and as we stayed there during the night I went on shore. An intelligent girl at the Post Office provided me with a boy who showed me the way to the beloved cottage of your sainted sister.’ Sekikawa Natsuo (㛵ᕝኟኸ), born 1949, novelist, author of non-fiction works, columnist. Yorozu Cho¯ho¯ (ࠗⴙᮅሗ࠘). Yokohama Bo¯eki Shinpo¯ (ࠗᶓ὾㈠᫆᪂ሗ࠘). Harriman, Edward Henry (1848–1909), American ‘railroad baron’ who at the time of his death controlled the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads, having started his career in railways by buying up and reviving struggling lines and selling them to larger groups. In 1893 the Southern Pacific Railroad gained control of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, whose General Manager was Rennie P. Schwerin Kusama Keiichi (ⲡ㛫៞୍), ‘In the footsteps of George Lewis’, 2 vols., ‘Gekkan Mushi’ 1971, November and December issues (ࠕࢪ࣮ࣙࢪ㺃ࣝ ࢖ࢫࡢ㊊㊧࡟ࡘ࠸࡚ୖ㺃ୗࠖࠗ᭶หࡴࡋ୍࠘஑୐୍ ༑୍᭶ࠊ༑஧ ᭶ྕ Lewis, George (1839–1926), English entomologist specialising in coleoptera. Fellow of the Linnean Society. Interested in the fauna of Japan. Ito accompanied them to Hakodate (ภ㤋), Nanae (୐㣤 ), Junsainuma ( ⶍ⳯἟), Moto-Muroran (ඖᐊ⹒), Horobetsu (ᖠู), Shiraoi (ⓑ⪁) and Tomakomai (Ɫᑠ∾). See also the reference below from p. 252 in Arthur Crow’s book. Hugues Krafft (1853–1935) was born in Paris and inherited wealth enabled him to travel the world and take photographs. He spent six months in Japan from 1882 to 1883, having landed at Yokohama on 25 August 1882. See Hugues Krafft au Japon de Meiji – photographies d’un voyage 1882–1883, Suzanne Esmein, December 2003. See Kanasaka Kiyonori’s ࠕ࢖ࢺ࣮ࠊࡍ࡞ࢃࡕఀ⸨㭯ྜྷ࡟㛵ࡍࡿ㈨ᩱ ࡜▱ぢࠖࠗᆅᇦ࡜⎔ቃ࠘No. 3, ஧‫ۑۑۑ‬. Stock, Eugene (1836–1928), The History of the Church Missionary Society, its Environment, its Men and its Work, London Church Missionary Society, 1899 Stock, E. and Warren, C.F. Japan and the Japan Mission of the Church Missionary Society, Second Edition, Vol. 3, London, Church Missionary House, 1887 Balhatchett, Helen ‘Walter Dening: Meiji-shoki ni okeru senkyoshi no katsudo’, Ajia Bunka Kenkyu, 16 (1987). 㺀࢘࢜ࣝࢱ࣮㺃ࢹࢽࣥࢢ࣮᫂἞

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ึᮇ࡟࠾ࡅࡿᐉᩍᖌࡢάືࠖࠗள⣽ளᩥ໬◊✲࠘➨ 16 ྕᅜ㝿 ᇶ╩ᩍ኱Ꮫ୍஑ඵ୐ Landor, Arnold Henry Savage (1865–1924), English painter, author, explorer and anthropologist. Grandson of the author Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864). He travelled extensively worldwide including, in Asia, Japan, China and Korea and was the author of numerous travel books. In connection with Japan he wrote Alone with the Hairy Ainu or, 3,800 Miles on a Pack Saddle in Yezo and a Cruise to the Kurile Islands, London, John Murray, 1893. See A.S. ɱɻɑό㪇ᡨ⭠⾀ᆀ䁣 ࠗȰɆൠаઘȇǽȟ᯵࠘ᵚᶕ⽮аҍ‫ޛ‬ӄ. Hitchcock, Romyn (1851–1923), American chemist, mining engineer, academic and archaeo-anthropologist. Professor of Chemistry at Chicago Medical College (1876–77). Went to Japan in 1887 on the United States Eclipse Expedition in charge of photography. Professor at Osaka Ko¯to¯ Chu¯-gakko¯ 1887–89. Wrote, among other books, The Ainos of Yezo, Japan, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1892. Bellessort, André (1866–1942), French writer, journalist and traveller. Was sent to Japan in May 1895. On Japan he also wrote La Société Japonaise (Perrin, Paris, 1904), Le Nouveau Japon (Perrin 1918) and Les Journées et les Nuits Japonaises, which includes a section Journal de Route au Yezo. Dickson, Walter George (1821–94), English physician and painter. Born in Edinburgh. He went to Japan in 1860–61 and published his drawings in Japan, being a Sketch of the History, Government and Officers of the Empire (W. Blackwood and Sons, 1869). He returned to Japan in 1883–84, and then published Gleanings from Japan (1889) when he returned home. Crow, Arthur H., FRGS, wrote Highways and Byeways in Japan: The Experiences of Two Pedestrian Tourists, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, London, 1883. See p. 61, under Thursday, June 9th (1881), Kioto, where he writes: ‘Mr and Mrs L. of London, arrived this evening, the former to continue, near Kioto, his collection of insects, which he has been prosecuting for some months in Yezo. They have an interpreter named Ito, who accompanied Miss Bird through the country.’ Butler, Annie R. wrote Stories about Japan published by the Religious Tract Society, London, 1888. On p. 5 in her Preface she writes: ‘These “Stories about Japan” are meant for children. They are a mosaic from many sources; amongst others, from J.J. Rein’s learned work on Japan, Sir Edward James Reed’s Japan, Miss Bird’s Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Eugene Stock’s masterly résumé of the history of Japan and the Japan Mission, and Coleridge’s Life and Letters of Xavier; also from various American periodicals – Life and

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Light, Mission Dayspring, Missionary Link, Helping Hand, Little Helpers, and Children’s Work for Children.’ Bacon, Alice Mabel (1858–1918), American writer, women’s educator and a foreign advisor to the Japanese government. In 1888 she was invited by Yamakawa Sutematsu and Tsuda Umeko to go to Japan to teach English at the Gakushu¯in Women’s School for Japanese girls from aristocratic families. Yamakawa Sutematsu (ᒣᕝᤞᯇ), 1860–1919, Japan’s first woman overseas student. Tsuda Umeko (ὠ⏣ᱵᏊ), 1864–1929, Japanese educator, feminist and pioneer of education for women in Meiji Japan. Kazoku Women’s School (⳹᪘ዪᏛᰯ). Established in 1885 by Shimoda Utako (ୗ⏣ḷᏊ) forthe education of daughters of the gentry. Merged in 1906 to become Gakushu¯in Women’s School (Ꮫ⩦㝔ዪᏛ㒊). Morse, Edward Sylvester (1838–1925) was an American zoologist interested mainly in coastal marine molluscs, in pursuit of which he visited Japan for the first time in 1877. After a stay of three years he was offered the post of the first Professor of Zoology at Tokyo Imperial University. His discovery ¯ mori shell mound contributed to the development of archaeology of the O and anthropology as academic disciplines in Japan. He was also interested in Japanese pottery and ceramics and built up a large collection which is now kept at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Ratzel, Friedrich (1844–1904). German geographer and academic who taught at Munich and Leipzig. Originally a biologist and zoologist, Ratzel broadened these disciplines on a series of travels after his university years into bio- and cultural geography. His idea that states develop organically in proportion to the prosperity of their populations, outgrowing notional geographic borders, led to his use of the term Lebensraum. Notes on Tôkiyô and Notes on Tôkiyô – (Concluded.) in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Vol. II, on pp. 168–183 and 184–200 respectively. See Tanaka Kazuko ‘Friedrich Ratzel “On Japan”’, ‘Jimbun Chiri’ Human Geography, Vol. 48, No. 4, 1996 (⏣୰࿴Ꮚࠕࣇ࣮ࣜࢺࣜࢵࣄ㺃ࣛࢵࢶ ࢚ࣝࡢ᪥ᮏㄽࠖࠗேᩥᆅ⌮࠘➨48 ᕳ4 ྕ ୍஑஑භ. Capron, Horace (1804–85), American businessman and agriculturalist. A founder of Laurel, Maryland, a Union officer in the American Civil War, the US Commissioner of Agriculture under US Presidents Andrew Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant. Advisor to Japan’s Hokkaido Development Commission. Asked by Kuroda Kiyotaka (a vice-chairman of the Commission), visiting the US, to be a special advisor. He spent four

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years in Hokkaido, 1871–75, and did much work on the development of agriculture and farming there. ‘The Complete Translation’, Notes on Ezo, Vol. II, p. 1. Bird writes: ‘Separated from the main island of Japan by the Tsugaru Strait, and from Saghalien by the narrow strait of La Perouse, in shape an irregular triangle, extending from long. 139° 50’ E. to long. 146° E., and from lat. 41° 30’ N. to lat. 45° 30’ N., its most northern point considerably south of Land’s End, Yezo has a climate of singular severity, a heavy snowfall, and, in its northern parts, a Siberian winter.’ ‘Capron’s Diaries – Ezo and Edo’, by Horace Capron, translated by Nishijima Teruo, Hokkaido¯ Shinbunsha, 1985 (࣮࣍ࣞࢫ㺃ࢣࣉࣟࣥⴭ すᓥ↷⏨ヂࠗࢣࣉࣟࣥ᪥ㄅ⼎ዀ࡜Ụᡞ࠘໭ᾏ㐨᪂⪺♫୍஑ඵ ஬). See Memoirs of Horace Capron, Volume 2, Expedition to Japan, 1871– 1875. This is the second volume of Capron’s autobiography, which was never actually published but can be found in typescript in the library of the United States Department of Agriculture. On p. 285 Capron writes: Mrs. Bird in her “Unbeaten Tracks” in Japan starts off with the stereotyped phrase - - Yesso with its Siberian climate.’ He then says, on the same page: ‘He or she, as the case may be, invariably accepts this as a settled fact, because Sir Harry Parkes and the Asiatic Society have so pronounced it.’ On p. 290, having listed various descriptions by Bird of fauna and events that befell her that he deems exaggerated, he says that they: ‘… all help her to fill up her books with the fictions for future history’. Nakanishi Michiko, ‘Morse’s Sketchbook’, Yu¯sho¯do¯ Publishing, 2002 (୰ す㐨Ꮚ࣮ࠗࣔ ࢫࡢࢫࢣࢵࢳࣈࢵࢡ࠘ 㞝ᯇᇽฟ∧ ஧‫ۑۑ‬஧). ‘The National Characteristics of the Japanese as seen by Foreigners’, jointly edited by Sakurai Tasuku, Furuno Kiyoto, Ishizu Teruji and Narita Masanobu under chief editor Yabuki Keiki and published by the Chu¯o¯ Kyo¯ka Dantai Rengo¯kai (Federation of Central Educational Bodies), 1934. (▮྿៞㍤┘ಟࠊᱜ஭໷ࠊྂ㔝Ύே▼ὠ⎛ࠊᡂ⏣ᫀಙඹ⦅ࠗእே ࡢほࡓࡿ᪥ᮏᅜẸᛶ࠘㈈ᅋἲே୰ኸᩍ໬ᅋయ㐃ྜ఍ࠊ୍஑୕ᅄ ) Greater Japan Cultural Association (኱᪥ᮏᩥ᫂༠఍). Set up in 1908 ¯ kuma Shigenobu, its aims were to improve and at the suggestion of O deepen popular knowledge and harmonise Western and Eastern cultures by translating major world literary works and, from, 1918, holding lectures by leading figures from all walks of life. Kudo¯ Shigeo, ‘Korea Thirty Years Ago’, To¯a Keizai Jiho¯sha, 1925, reissued by Ryu¯kei-shosha in 2008 (ᕤ⸨㔜㞝ヂࠗ୕༑ᖺ๓ࡢᮅ㩭࠘ᮾள⤒῭ ᫬ሗ♫ࠊ୍஑஧஬ࠊ㱟῱᭩⯋஧‫ۑۑ‬ඵ᚟้).

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See Yanaihara Tadao’s translation (▮ෆཎᛅ㞝ヂࠗዊኳ୕༑ᖺୖ㺃ୗ࠘ ᒾἼ᪂᭩෌ห୍஑஑஧). Christie, Dugald (1855–1936), Scottish doctor and surgeon who was sent as a medical missionary in 1882/83 to Mukden/Moukden, today’s Shenyang, in Northeast China, where he founded the Mukden Medical College. He wrote Thirty Years in Moukden, 1883–1913: being the experiences and recollections of Dugald Christie, C.M.G., edited by his wife, London, Constable, 1914. On p. 72 he writes: ‘Some years later we had a visit from the distinguished traveller Mrs Isabella Bird Bishop. She was in Korea when the revolt broke out which ushered in the Chino-Japanese war, and with other ladies was ordered out. Her plans being thus overturned, she came to Newchwang and took boat for Moukden.’ Christie adds that on the way to his house her cart overturned and she seriously injured her right arm. She had to stay for over five weeks in Moukden and wrote ‘part of the MS of her book on Korea’ there, having learnt to write with her left hand. Mukden or Moukden was called Fengtien (ዊኳ) in Chinese at the time, which accounts for the Japanese pronunciation Ho¯ten. It is the present-day Shenyang (℘㝧ỿ㜶). ‘Unknown Fastnesses of Japan – Hokkaido’, translated by Kannari Toshio (࢖ ࢧ࣋ࣛ㺃࢚ࣝ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻⴭࠊ⚄ᡂ฼⏨ヂࠗ᪥ᮏࡢ▱ࡽࢀࡊࡿ㎶ቃ໭ ᾏ㐨⠍࠘㒓ᅵ◊✲♫ࠊ୍஑භ஑ࠋࠗࢥࢱࣥ᥈ゼグ᪥ᮏࡢ▱ࡽࢀࡊ ࡿ㎶ቃ໭ᾏ㐨⦅࠘ᨵ㢟ࠊ໭ᾏ㐨ฟ∧௻⏬ࢭࣥࢱ࣮ࠊ୍஑୐୐  ‘Isabera Baado’ or ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’, translated by Takanashi Kenkichi (࢖ࢧ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ㧗᲍೺ྜྷヂࠗ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘) Nitami Iwao, ‘John Batchelor, Father of the Ainu’ (ோከぢᕑࠗ࢔࢖ࢾࡢ ∗ࢪ࣭ࣙࣥࣂࢳ࢙࣮ࣛ࠘ᴌ᭩ᡣࠊ୍஑භ୕  Chamberlain, ‘Things Japanese, Vols. 1 & 2’) translated by Takanashi Kenkichi, Heibonsha To¯yo¯ Bunko, 1969 (ࢳ࢙ࣥࣂࣞࣥⴭࠗ᪥ᮏ஦≀ ㄅ㸯㺃㸰࠘ᖹซ♫ᮾὒᩥᗜࠊ୍஑භ஑  Saeki Sho¯ichi, Haga To¯ru (బ఑ᙲ୍࣭ⰾ㈡ᚭ ࠗእᅜே࡟ࡼࡿ᪥ᮏㄽ ࡢྡⴭ࠘୰බ᪂᭩ ୍஑ඵ୐). Kato¯ Hidetoshiຍ⸨⚽ಇࠗ⣖⾜ࢆ᪑ࡍࡿ࠘୰ኸබㄽ♫୍஑ඵᅄ. Miyamoto Tsuneichi (ᐑᮏᖖ୍), 1907–81. Folklorist and prolific writer. Conducted extensive fieldwork from the 1930s until his death. See his ‘Furukawa Kosho¯ken / Isabella Bird’, Miraisha publishing, which was later included in the Heibonsha Library as ‘Reading Isabella Bird’s Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ (ࠗྂᕝྂᯇ㌺࢖ࢧ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ࠘ᮍ᮶♫ࠊᚋ࡟ ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢࠗ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘ࢆㄞࡴ࠘ᖹซ♫ࣛ࢖ࣈࣛ ࣮ࣜ  Furukawa Kosho¯ken (ྂᕝྂᯇ㌺), 1726–1807, was a late Edoperiod traveller and geographer.

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Akasaka Norio (㉥ᆏ᠇㞝), ‘Isabella Bird’s Tohoku Journey – the Aizu/ Okitama Section; retracing the course of ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’’, Heibonsha 2014 (ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢᮾ໭⣖⾜>఍ὠ㺃⨨㈷⦅@ࠕ᪥ ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜ࠖࢆṌࡃ࠘), ᖹซ♫ࠊ஧‫୍ۑ‬ᅄ . ‘Over Thirteen Passes’ (༑୕ࡢᓘࢆ㉺࠼࡚). ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XV. – (Concluded), Vol. I, p. 174. Bird writes: ‘The Buddhist temples have lately been few, and though they are much more pretentious than the Shintô Shrines, and usually have stone lanterns and monuments of various kinds in their grounds, they are shabby and decaying, the paint is wearing off the wood, and they have an unmistakable look of “disestablishment”, not supplemented by a vigorous “voluntaryism”.’ The anti-Buddhist movement in the Meiji era that led to the destruction of Buddhist temples was known as ‘Haibutsu-kishaku’ (ᗫ௖ẋ㔘). Naito Takashi (1949–2008), ‘The Culture of Noise – Japan as heard by Isabella Bird and Edward Morse’, Do¯shisha Gaikoku Bungaku Kenkyu¯ 66, 1993. Later ‘The Sounds of Meiji – how Westerners heard Modern Japan’, Chu¯ko¯shinsho, 2005 (ࠕ㦁㡢ࡢᩥ໬㸦୍㸧  ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ࡜࢚ࢻ࣮࣡ ࢻ㺃࣮ࣔࢫࡢ⫈ࡃ᪥ᮏࠖࠗྠᚿ♫እᅜᩥᏛ◊✲࠘ࠊ୍஑஑୕ࠋᚋ ࡟ࠗ᫂἞ࡢ㡢すὒேࡀ⫈࠸ࡓ㏆௦᪥ᮏ࠘୰බ᪂᭩ࠊ஧‫ۑۑ‬஬  ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter XLV, Vol. II, pp. 131/132, where Bird writes (from Lebungé, Volcano Bay, Yezo, September 6): ‘Wooded, rocky knolls, with Aino huts, the vermilion peaks of the volcano of Usu-taki redder than ever in the sinking sun, a few Ainos mending their nets, a few more spreading edible seaweed out to dry, a single canoe breaking the golden mirror of the cove by its noiseless motion, a few Aino loungers, with their “mild-eyed, melancholy” faces and quiet ways suiting the quiet evening scene, the unearthly sweetness of a temple bell – this was all, and yet it was the loveliest picture I have seen in Japan.’ See Letter XXXVIII, Vol. II, p. 17 where Bird writes: ‘A bell sounds, fourteen shaven heads are bowed three times to the earth, more lamps are lighted; a bell sounds again, and then litanies are chanted monotonously, with bells tinkling, and the people responding, at intervals, in a tongue to them unknown, Namu Amida Butsu.’ ‘The Complete Translation’, Letter LVII, Vol. II, p. 285 ‘Temple Gateway at Isshinden’ and p. 287 ‘A Lake Biwa Tea-House’. Founded in 1253, Kencho¯ji (ᘓ㛗ᑎ) is a Rinzai-sect temple which ranks first among Kamakura’s Five Great Zen Temples. The gate shown in Bird’s illustration was built in 1754.

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See Letter 1, Vol. I, p. 13. See below, p. 264, for her note marked by 1 in the above passage after ‘… pale grey mist’ that says: ‘This is an altogether exceptional aspect of Fujisan, under exceptional atmospheric conditions. The mountain usually looks broader and lower, and is often compared to an inverted fan.’ Shirahata Yo¯zaburo¯ (ⓑᖭὒ୕㑻), born 1949. Emeritus professor at International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken ᪥ᩥ◊㺃 ᅜ㝿᪥ᮏᩥ໬◊✲ࢭࣥࢱ࣮). Doctor of Agriculture. Speciality is History of Comparative Culture. See his ‘Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji as seen by Foreigners’ (‘Hekigan Fugaku Sanju¯rokkei’ (No. 1), Nichibunken, No. 7, 1992 and ‘Hekigan Fugaku Sanju¯rokkei’ (No.4), ‘pointed Fuji’ and ‘level Fuji’, Nichibunken, No. 10, 1994. ࠕ☐║ᐩᓅ୕༑භᬒ ࡑࡢ୍ ࠖ ࠗ᪥ᩥ◊࠘No. 7, 1992 andࠕ☐║ᐩᓅ୕༑භᬒࡑࡢᅄ ᑤࡾᐩ ኈࠊᖹࡽᐩኈࠖࠗ᪥ᩥ◊࠘No. 10, 1994). Steinmetz, Andrew (1816–1877), Japan and her People, Routledge, Warnes, and Routledge, London, 1859, p. 23. See Letter LIX, Vol. II, p. 307. Letter LIX, Vol. II, p. 310, written on board S.S. Volga, Christmas Eve, 1878. Vol. II, p. 288, insert captioned Tomoyé with a footnote.

FOREWORD BY SIR HUGH CORTAZZI, GCMG 1

The Japanese term for ‘interior’ was naichi, which simply means ‘inland’ or areas not included in the designated areas of the Treaty Ports.

POSTSCRIPT TO THE JAPANESE EDITION

— The study of travel and travel books should be viewed through a scientific prism and the aim of this book is to do just that, by focusing on Isabella Bird’s life-long travel career, particularly her trip to Japan in 1878, and the resulting Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. I do not know if I have been able to convey this adequately in the limited space available here but hope that I may at least have made my basic position clear, which is that there is a serious problem in our having come this far without that insight, and that we have to distance ourselves from prevailing views both for Bird’s and our own sake. I think that I have also been able to go some way to showing that this book has capitalised on my ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, The Complete Translation’ and is closely knit with it. I propose to write about how even more enjoyment can be had from reading Unbeaten Tracks in Japan by focusing on an image or a word, but that will have be when a suitable opportunity arises, as the basic reality of her journey only emerges in the company of a book that explains it. I hope that day is not too far off. In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird: Adventures in Twin Time Travel, my compilation of photographs with English and Japanese text, is a Heibonsha publication that appeared at the same time as this book. It is the core of my research into Isabella Bird and as such is inseparably related to it and to my other translations and articles. Her actual books are reproduced in it, and it contains numerous detailed maps, views, illustrations and other items connected 257

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with her journeys. The photographs in the exhibition I mentioned in Chapter 1 are a permanent record that will, I hope, interest a wider audience in the idea of twin time travel. Scenery, naturally, always forms the backdrop to any of her journeys and a comparison by way of a photo-montage of the situation then and now should enable the viewer to get a better feel for her exploits. I would be very pleased if it proved popular. A book cannot be judged by its cover, as it does not make of its subject something it is not, but Bird’s journey tells its own story. I would like to express my gratitude to Oikawa Michihiko (ཬᕝ㐨ẚྂ), my editor at Heibonsha, who accepted my reasons for wanting to write this book only once ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – the Complete Translation’ had been published, and was understanding enough to wait while I made changes to the text and the style of writing while it was under way. And finally, without Bird and my late wife Nobuko I would not have been able to make the Isabella Bird Debate the hub of my research and teaching as a geographer, and so I dedicate this book to both of them. Kanasaka Kiyonori September 2014 At my home in Higashiyama Awataguchi, a district of Kyoto that Isabella Bird visited 136 years ago.

CHRONOLOGY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA BIRD 1831, October 15 1832 1834 1842 1848 1850 1854, June – December 1856, January 1857, early summer to April 1858 1858, May 1859, summer

1860

1861 – 1865

Born in Boroughbridge in Yorkshire, England Moves to Maidenhead, Berkshire Moves to Tattenhall in Cheshire. Her sister Henrietta born in November. Moves to Birmingham Moves to Wyton in Huntingdonshire Visits the West Highlands of Scotland and the Hebrides with her family Trip to America and Canada The Englishwoman in America published Trip to America and Canada Death of her father Edward A 3-week visit to Ireland. The Aspects of Religion in the United States of America published Moves with her family to Edinburgh. Contributions to magazines gain pace. Begins social benevolent work. Frequent visits to the Hebrides to encourage emigration.

259

260

1866, August 1869, February 1872, July – December 1873, January August 1873, August – January 1874 1875, February 1878, April – December

ISABELLA BIRD AND JAPAN

Her mother Dora dies. Isabella goes to London. Her sister goes to Tobermory on Mull. Notes on Old Edinburgh published Trip to Australia and New Zealand

Trip to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands Trip to the Rocky Mountains. Meets and parts from Jim Nugent. The Hawaiian Archipelago published Lands at Yokohama in May and makes her Japan trip with the help of Minster Sir Harry Parkes 1878, December - Trip to Canton, Hong Kong, SaiFebruary 1879 gon and the Malay Peninsula 1879, April - May Returns home after trip to the Sinai Peninsula 1879, October A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains published 1880, June Her sister Henrietta dies at Tobermory 1880, October Unbeaten Tracks in Japan published in two volumes 1881, March Marries Dr John Bishop 1883, April The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither published 1885, June Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (abridged version) published 1886, March Her husband John taken ill and dies at Cannes 1886, November Visits St Mary’s Hospital in London. Plans a visit to the Indian Medical Missionary Society

CHRONOLOGY

1887, January 1887, April-June 1887, December – 1888, January 1889, FebruaryDecember 1889, December – 1890, December 1891, November 1891, December 1892, December 1893, April 1893, May 1893, November

1894, February 1894, January – 1897, March Of which 1894 April – October 1894 October -1895, February 1895, February June

261

Starts her lecture tours Does a 3-month nursing course at St. Mary’s Trip to Ireland to write a travelogue for Murray’s Magazine Trip to Kashmir and Lesser Tibet. Sets up two hospitals in memory of her husband and sister Trip to Persia and Kurdistan Elected a fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan published Elected the first lady fellow of the Royal Geographical Society Studies photography in London An audience with Queen Victoria as a noted traveller Gives an address to the ‘Gleaners’ Union’, a Church Missionary Society support organisation Among the Tibetans published Far East journey

Boat trip in the Han basin, then stays in Mukden and Peking To the Maritime Provinces and then stays in Seoul Visits Hankow after going to Hong Kong and cities on the China Coast

262

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1895, June - Octo- Stays at Tokyo, Ikaho and Nikko. ber Hears rumours of assassination of Queen Min and goes to Seoul 1895, October – After staying in Seoul travels in November northwest of Korea 1895, December – Travels in the Yangtse Valley and 1896, June its interior 1896, June – Sep- Stays in Japan. Visits Kumamoto, tember Tokyo, Nikko, Yumoto 1896, Autumn Photographic collection Views in the Far East published in Tokyo in colotype 1896, October – Stays in Seoul. Sets out for home at 1897, March the end of January 1897, May – Lectures at various places in England November and Scotland. Writes instalment articles for magazines and books 1898, January Korea & Her Neighbours published 1899, November The Yangtze Valley and Beyond published 1900 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. New Edition and Chinese Pictures published. Gives up her house at Tobermory 1900, December – Trip to Morocco 1901, July 1901, August – Lectures and writes instalment pieces for 1903, August magazines. Falls ill in August 1903 and returns to Edinburgh 1904, 7 October Dies at Edinburgh. Buried at Dean Cemetery alongside her parents and husband and sister 1905 According to her wishes, a clock tower in memory of her sister built at Tobermory

BIBLIOGRAPHIES — Works by Isabella Bird referred to in the text Among the Tibetans (1894), 66 Aspects of Religion in the United States of America, The (1859), 23 Bazaar Guide (1877), 41, Ch.2, n.46 Bazaar Gazette (1877), ed. Bird, Henrietta, 41, Ch.2, n.46 Chinese Pictures, Notes on Photographs Made in China (1900), 69, Ch.2, n.64 Englishwoman in America, The (1856), 21 Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither, The (1883), 51, 56, 58; 174, Ch.5, n.9 Hawaiian Archipelago: Six Months among the Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, & Volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands, The (1875), 29, Ch.2, n.24 Heathen Claims and Christian Duty (1893–4), 65 Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan: Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs (1891), 63, Ch.2, n.58; 174, Ch.5, n.5 Korea & Her Neighbours: A Narrative of Travel with an Account of the Recent Vicissitudes and present position of the Country (1898), 6, Ch.1, n.8; 67, Ch.2, n.62; 69; 174, Ch.5, n.7; 187, Ch.5, n.59 Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, A (1879), 35 Letters from the Rocky Mountains (1878), 43 Notes on Old Edinburgh (1869), 26 Revival in America, The (1858), 22 Some Account of the Great Religious Awakening now going on in the United States (1858), 22 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, An Account of Travels in the Interior, Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrines of Nikkô and Isé (1880), xvi, xxi, xxiii, xxiv, xxvi, 3, 12, 14, 33–4, 48, 51, 57, 83, 90, 98, 118, 123–5, 136, 174–8, 180, 183–4, 186–7, 191, 193, 196–7 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, An Account of Travels in the Interior, Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrine of Nikkô (1885), 4, 107, 185, 185–91 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, A Record of Travels in the Interior, Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrines of Nikkô and Isé, New Edition (1900), xvi, xvii, 5, 69, 105, 175–6, 191, Ch.1, n.5, n.6, Ch.5, n.10, Ch.5, n.11 Views in the Far East (1896), 69 Yangtze Valley and Beyond. An Account of Journeys in China, Chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan and among the Man-Tze of the Somo Territory, The (1899), 6, Ch.1, n.9; 68, Ch.2, n.63; 69; 174, Ch.5, n.4, n.6 __________________ 263

264

ISABELLA BIRD AND JAPAN

Works by Kiyonori Kanasaka referred to in the text ‘Isabella Bird – Far East Journeys 2’ (ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻᴟᮾࡢ᪑㸰࠘ , xxx, Preface, n. 6; ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – new edition with preface and photographs’ (ࠗ᪥ᮏ ዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘᪂∧ᗎᩥ࡜෗┿ , xxx, Preface, n.7; ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The Complete Translation’ (ࠗ᏶ヂ ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖ ⾜࠘̽), xviii, xxx, Preface, n.8; 6–7, 14, 48, 75, 89–90, 93–4, 124, 168, 210 ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan – The New Translation’ (ࠗ᪂ヂ ᪥ᮏዟᆅ⣖⾜࠘), xxx, Preface, n.9; 6 In the Footsteps of Isabella Bird: Adventures in Twin Time Travel, (ࠗࢶ࢖ࣥ㺃ࢱ࢖ ࣒㺃ࢺࣛ࣋ࣝ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡢ᪑ࡢୡ⏺࠘), 2, Ch.1, n.3; ‘Japanese place names and words recorded by Isabella Bird - the requirements for translating her travelogues, especially in relation to appropriate or mistaken translations of words and place names’ in ‘Place Names Research’ No. 12, 2014 (ࠕ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻࡀグࡋࡓ᪥ᮏࡢᆅྡ࡜ゝⴥ – ᪑⾜グࡢ⩻ヂ ࡟ồࡵࡽࢀࡿ࡭ࡁࡇ࡜ࠊ≉࡟ゝⴥࠊᆅྡࡢㄗヂ㺃㐺ヂ࡟㛵ࢃࡗ࡚ࠖࠊ ࠗᆅྡ᥈✲࠘➨12ྕࠊ஧‫୍ۑ‬ᅄ), 14, Ch.1, n.53; ‘Sources and Studies in the Isabella Bird Debate’, Report of the Study Centre for Travel Culture, Vol. 3, 1996 (㔠ᆏΎ๎ࠕ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻㄽࡢࡓࡵ ࡢ㛵ಀ㈨ᩱ࡜ᇶ♏ⓗ᳨ウࠖࠗ᪑ࡢᩥ໬◊✲ᡤ◊✲ሗ࿌࠘Vol.3, ୍஑஑ භ), 15, Ch.2, n.1; ‘Isabella Bird - Far East Journeys 2’, Commentary (ࠗ࢖ࢨ࣋ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻᴟᮾࡢ ᪑㸰࠘ゎㄝ16, Ch.2, n.2; ‘Materials and Information concerning Ito, i.e. Ito¯ Tsurukichi’, 86, Ch.3, n.21 ‘Bird’s Journey, Brunton’s Map’, 118, Ch.3, n.115, n.116 articles in the Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun, 176, Ch.5, n.15; re Ito¯ Tsurukichi, 182, Ch.5, n.34 ‘The Yangtze Valley and Beyond’ (1, 2) ࠗ୰ᅜዟᆅ⣖⾜㺃࠘Ch 2, n.63

INDEX —

Abdul Aziz, Sultan, 70 Across the Continent: A Stage Ride Over the Plains to the Rocky Mountains, the Mormons, and the Pacific States, in the Summer of 1865, with Speaker Colfax, 37 Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The, 32 Aganogawa (㜿㈡㔝ᕝ), river, 93 Ainu, the people, xvi, xvii, 3, 10–11, 57, 91, 99, 106, 120, 123–7, 132, 146–7, 149, 156–8, 164–5, 176–7, 183–4, 188 Ainu, the language and words in, 10–1, 121, 123, 177, 183–4, Ch.1, n.48 Aizu (఍ὠ), 76, 89, 91, 95, 178 Akamatsu, Renjo¯ (㉥ᯇ㐃ᇛ), 104, 139, Ch.3, n.73, n.76, 172 Akasaka Daimachi (㉥ᆏྎ⏫), 13 Akasaka-ku (㉥ᆏ༊), 13 Akasaka, Norio (㉥ᆏ᠇㞝), 116–7, 189, Ch.3, n.109, Ch.5, n.68, n.69 Akita Prefecture (⛅⏣┴), 76, 81, 88, 93, 103, 164 Alcock, Sir Rutherford, 45–7, 57, 106, 139, 179, Ch.5, 180 n.25 Aldborough, 17 Alfred the Great, 10 Algeria, 70 Allison, Archibald, History of Europe, 19 America, 12, 16, 19–24, 26–7, 32–3, 37, 40, 47, 65, 90, 102–3, 111–2, 140, 146, 160–2, 171, 183, 191 America, South, 44, 112–3

265

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, The, 31–2, 89, 99–100, 105, 145, 147–8, Ch.2, n.39, Ch.3, n.54, n.55 American Matterhorn, the, 195 American Switzerland, the, 37, 39 Amritsar, 60 Andes, the, 44 Aomori (㟷᳃), 76, 89, 92, 93, 169, 174 Applecross, 55 Arakawa (Ⲩᕝ), river, 167 Argyll, Duke of, 46, 48, 98, 140, 141 Arnold, Sir Edwin, 62–3 Asakusa (⍵㥹), 152 Asiatic Society of Japan, The, 180, 185 Aston, W.G., 144 Athenaeum, The, 57 Auckland, 28, 30, 32 Austin, Samuel, 31, Ch.2, n.31 Australia, 16, 27–8, 33–4, 41, 59 Azabu-ku (㯞ᕸ༊), 13 Azabu Mikawa Daimachi (㯞ᕸ୕Ἑ ྎ⏫), 13 Back-scratchers, tortoiseshell, 9, Ch.1, n.44 Bacon, Alice Mabel, 184, Ch.5, n.44 Baghdad, 61 Ballhatchet, Helen, 183, Ch.5, n.37 Ballarat, 28 Bälz, Erwin, 178, Ch.5, n.22 Bange (ᆏୗ), 91 Barr, Pat, 51, 191

266

INDEX

Basho¯ (ⰸⷀ), xxix Batchelor, John, 124, 127, 183, 188, Ch.1, n.47, Ch.3, n.125, Ch.5, n.63 Beagle, HMS, xxix, 16 Bellessort, André, 184, Ch.5, n.40 Ben Nevis, steamer, 28 Benri (Ainu Headman), see Penriuk Betto¯ (ูᙜ), 92 Bias, 60 Biratori (ᖹྲྀ), 76–8, 91, 94–6, 106, 109, 115, 118, 122–4, 126, 132, 147, 149, 156–7, 164, 172, 177, 183 Bird, Edward, 16, 18, 73 Bird, Edward Mrs (Lawson, Dora), 17–8 Bird, Henrietta, xvi, 16, 18–9, 24–5, 41, 43, 55–7, 60, 74, 107–8, 110, 132, 180, Ch.5, n.27 Birmingham, 17, 21, 26 Bishop, John F., Bird’s husband, xxx, 41, 43, 57, 60, 71, 74, 83 Biwa, Lake (⍇⍈†), 77, 148, 192 Blackie, John Stuart, 24, 29, Ch.2, n.19 Blackie, Mrs, 57, 96, 108–10 Blakiston, Thomas Wright, 83, Ch.3, n.8 Blue Book, 62 ‘Blue Dresses’, 8, Ch.1, n.27 Boroughbridge, 16–7 Borujerd, 61, 63 Bo¯shi (ᖗᏊ), 7–8, Ch. 1, n.13 Boshin War (ᠾ㎮ᡓத), 91, 122, Ch.3, n.42 Bousquet, Georges Hilaire, 50, 161, Ch.4, n.115 Bowles, Samuel III, 36–7 Bowl(s), for drinking, 10, Ch.1, n.46 Bradley & Rolufson, Messrs., Ch.2, n.67 Brandt, Max August Scipio von, 160–2, Ch.4, n.110 Brigham, Mrs or Mrs Dexter, 30, Ch.2, n.25 British Association, 63 British Legation (in Japan), 46, 49, 80, 84–5, 92, 95–100, 109–10, 129–34, 136–44, 150, 153–5, 162, 185 Brunton, Richard Henry, xxiv, xxx, 118–20, 160, Preface, n.5

Buddhism, 90, 101, 103–4 Burdon, Bishop John Shaw, 51–2, 127, 145–6, 183, Ch.4, n.54, n.55, n.56, n.57 Butler, Annie R., 184, Ch.5, n.43 Cairo, 53 Cambridge Companion to Travel Writing, The, Ch.1, n.2 Canada, 16, 19–21, 25–7, 33 Cannes, 58 Canterbury, New Zealand, 28 Canton, 50–1, 108 Cape of Good Hope, 16 Capital of the Tycoon: A Narrative of Three Years’ Residence in Japan, The, 45, 57, 179–80, Ch.2, n.48, Ch.5, n.25 Capron, Horace, xxiv, 185, Ch.5, n.52–n.54 Carolina, South, 22 Central Asia, xxii, 15, 62, 155 Central Pacific Railway, 34 Ceylon, 52, 69 Challenger, HMS, 141 Chamberlain, Basil Hall, xxiii, 63, 91, 97–8, 111–2, 121, 125, 130, 133, 151–5, 176–8, 188, Ch.3, n.130, n.131, Ch.4, 72, n.77–n.80, n.82–n.86, n.88, n.89, Ch.5, n.16–n.20 Charlemagne, 10 Checkland, Olive, 51, 73, 191, Ch.2, n.65 Chersonese with the Gilding Off, The, 53, Ch.2, n.54 Cheyenne, 35, 38, 49 Chicago, 49 China, 6, 15, 51–2, 65–72, 84, 108, 115, 120, 146, 163, 181, 188 China Inland Mission, 65, 68 Cho¯ (⏫), 12 Cho¯ya Shinbun (ᮅ㔝᪂⪺), 137 Christianity, xvii, 2, 22–3, 25, 32–3, 54, 61, 73, 89, 99–106, 120, 122 Christie, Dugald, 187, Ch.5, n.60, 188 Chubbuck, Kay, xxii, 16, 36, 108, Ch.2, n.3, Ch.3, n.93 Church Missionary Intelligencer, The, 106, 183, Ch.3, n.85, Ch.5, n.35

INDEX

Church Missionary Society, 51, 65, 67, 68, 71, 73, 89, 99, 100, 103, 105–6, 127, 145–8, 183 Chu¯zenji, Lake (୰⚙ᑎ†), 181 Cincinnati, 20 City of Tokio, steamer, 49, 147 Clark, G.N., 100, Ch.3, n.55 Coan, Titus, 31, Ch.2, n.29 Cochin-China, 52 Colombo, 53 Colorado, 36–7, 39, 42 Colorado Territory, 35–6 Contemporary Review, 64 Cook, Captain James, 31 Countryside Research Co. (㒓ᅵ◊✲♫), 188, Ch.5. n.61 Crow, Arthur H., 184, Ch.5. n.42 Cullen, Revd G.D., 24, Ch.2, n.15 ‘Culture of Noise – Japan as heard by Isabella Bird and Edward Morse (1), The’ (㦁㡢ࡢᩥ໬㸫 ࢖ࢨ࣋ ࣛ㺃ࣂ࣮ࢻ࡜࢚ࢻ࣮࣡ࢻ㺃࣮ࣔࢫ ࡢ⫈ࡃ᪥ᮏ୍ ), 190, Ch.5, n.71 Curzon, Lord, 64 Daikon (኱᰿), 9, Ch.1, n.29, n.36, smell of, 9, Ch.1, n.34, n.35 Daikon oroshi (኱᰿࠾ࢁࡋ), 9, Ch.1, n.31 Daily Chronicle, The, 70 Daishaka (኱㔘㏑), 93 Dallas, Charles Henry, 89, 120, Ch.3, n.38 Damien, Fr., among lepers in Hawaii, 32 Damon, Samuel Chenery, 30, Ch.2, n.27 Dar el-Bida (Casablanca), 70 Darwin, Charles, xxix, 16, 21, 44 Davis, Colonel, 105, Ch.3, n.78 Dening, Walter, missionary at Hakodate, 89, 92, 99, 102, 106, 110, 127, 129, 147, 183, Ch.4, n.3 DeLong, Charles E., 161, Ch.4, n.114 Denver News, 37 Dexter, Mrs or Mrs Brigham, 30–1, Ch.2, n.25 Dickins, Frederick Victor, 91, 133, 151, 188, Ch.4, n.17, n.75

267

Dickson, Walter George, 184, 193, Ch.5, n.41 Diesbach, Count Charles, xxiv, 126, 145, 155–7, Ch.4, n.90, n.92, n.97, n.98 Dieulafoy, Madame Jane, 62–3, Ch.2, n.57 Do¯shisha Women’s School (ྠᚿ♫ዪ Ꮫᰯ), 99, 104, 135, 147–8 Dublin, 59 Dunlop, Nathaniel, 27, Ch.2, n.22, 59 Dyer, Henry, 133, 151, Ch.4, n.17, n.74 Eastbourne, 17 Echigo (㉺ᚋ), 91 Edinburgh, 23–7, 33, 38, 40–1, 49, 60, 71, 113, 115, 146 Edinburgh Review, 57 Edo Period, 130 Egham, 71 Emma, Queen, 47 Estes Park, 28, 35, 38–9 Eusden, British Consul at Hakodate, 79–80, 115, 145, 149, Ch.4, n.53 Evans, Griff, 39 Exeter Hall, London, 65, 73 Ezo (⼎ዀ), see Hokkaido¯ Far East, 5, 45, 65–7, 72, 105, 146, 176, 180–1 Farnham, 26 Farsari, Adolfo, Ch.2, n.68 Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, The, 174 Fez, 70 Fiji, 40 Finance Minister, 156 Finance Ministry, The, 122, 164 Flowers, British Consul at Nagasaki & Kobe, 80, 144–5 Flowers, botanical, types of, 83–4, Ch.3, n.9 ‘Food Question’, 92, Ch.3, n.44 Foreign Minister, 79–80, 132, 135, 158, 167, 170 Foreign Ministry, The, 79, 81, 85, 131, 136, 156, 159, 162–3 ‘Foreigners’ Free Movement Zones’ (እᅜே㐟Ṍ༊ᇦ), 77–8

268

INDEX

‘Foreigners’ Free Movement Regulations’ (እᅜே㐟Ṍつᐃ), 77 ‘Foreigners’ Interior Travel Permit’ (እᅜேෆᆅ᪑⾜ච≧), 77–79, 82, 88, 134, 150, 158–60, 171 ‘Foreigners’ Kyoto Access Permit’ (እᅜேධிච≧), 77 ‘Foreigners’ Travel Permit Amendment’ (እᅜே᪑⾜ච≧ᨵṇ), 83 From the Hebrides to the Himalayas: A Sketch of Eighteen Months’ Wandering in Western Isles and Eastern Highlands, Gordon-Cumming, Constance, 40, Ch.2 n.44 Fuji, Mt (ᐩኈᒣ), 160–1, 193–4, Ch.5, n.76, 195 Fujikura, Kentatsu (⸨಴ぢ㐩), 119 Fukiage Imperial Garden, 130, Ch.4, n.6 Fukuzawa, Yukichi (⚟ἑㅍྜྷ), 63 Furukawa Kosho¯ken (ྂᕝྂᯇ㌺), 188, Ch.5, n.67 Fyson, missionary at Niigata, 92, 99, 102, 129, 147, Ch.4, n.3, n.58 Gagaku (㞞ᴦ), 142–3, 153, Ch.4, n.45 Geelong, 28 George Newnes, 5–6 Georgia, 22 Gladstone, William Ewart, 64 Gleaner’s Union, 65 Glen Affric, 40 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, xxix Gojong, King of Korea and Queen Min, 67, Ch.2, n.61 Gong, Prince (ᜤぶ⋤), 51 Good Words, 25 Gordon-Cumming, Constance Frederica, xxiv, 40–1, 47, 52, 97–8, 137–8, 146, 176, Ch.2, n.44, Ch.3, n.53, Ch.4, n.28, n.29, n.32, n.33, n.35 Grand Tour, xxix Great Game, 61–2, 66 Greater Japan Cultural Association (኱᪥ᮏᩥ᫂༠఍), 187, Ch.5, n.57 ‘Greater Japanese Empire Selected Mileage Chart’ (኱᪥ᮏᖇᅜ⚄㑅 㔛⛬඲ᅗ), 107, Ch.3, n.92

Greeley, 38 Green, William Lowthian, 31, Ch.2, n.34 Griffis, W. E., 120–1 Grouper, 9, Ch.1, n.42 Gubbins, J.H., 120, 144 Gulick, Ann Eliza, 147–8, Ch.4, n.62 Gulick, Luther Halsey, 147, Ch.4, n.60 Gulick, Orramel Hinckley, 147, Ch.4, n.61 Gulick, Peter Johnson, 147, Ch.4, n.59 Guthrie, Thomas, 24–6, Ch.2, n.16 ‘Gyalpo’, Bird’s horse in Lesser Tibet, 60 Haga, To¯ru (ⰾ㈡ᚭ), 180, 188, Ch.5, n.26, n.65 Hai (┃), 10 Hakodate (ภ㤋), 51, 76–8, 81, 84, 89, 92, 94–6, 99, 108–10, 122, 123, 125, 137, 139, 145–7, 149, 155–7, 173, 182, Ch.3, n.8, n.20, n.42, n.44, n.61, n.95, n.136, Ch.4, n.3, n.30, n.69, n.121, Ch.5, n.3, n.32 Hakodate Prison, 115 Hakodate Shinbun (ภ㤋᪂⪺), 115, Ch.3, n.104 Halifax, Nova Scotia, 20 Hanna, Dr W., 24, Ch.2, n.17, 26 Han, River, 67 Handbook for Travellers in Central and Northern Japan, A, 177, Ch 3, n.4 Happi (ἲ⿕), 8, Ch.1, n.25 Harriman, Edward Henry, 182, Ch.5, n.31 Hartford Hurst, 71 Hase-dera (㛗㇂ᑎ), 147 Hashimoto, Kahoru (ᶫᮏ࠿࡯ࡿ), 6, Ch. 1, n.10 Hawaii, 4, 29–35, 56, 82–3, 92, 147, 159 Hawaii Report, Mark Twain, 32 Hawaiian Islands, 29, 31 Hawes, Lieut. Albert G.S., 102, 130, Ch.4, n.7 Hearn, Lafcadio, 9 Hebrides, 18, 23, 25–7, 40 Heibonsha Oriental Library Series, 5–6, 186, 188

INDEX

Hennessy, Sir John Pope, 51 Hepburn, James Curtis, 84, 86–8, 110, 119–20, 131, 137, 139, 140, 143, 146, 148–50, Ch.4, n.65, n.66, n.69, n.70, n.71, n.72 Hepburn system of Romanisation, 148 Hillier, Sir Walter, 71 Himalayas, the, 60, 62 Hirosaki (ᘯ๓), 88 Hiroshima-maru, 143–4 History of the Church Missionary Society, The, 145, 183, Ch.5, n.35 Hitchcock, Romyn, 184, Ch.5, n.39 Hiunkaku (㣕㞼㛶), 104, Ch.3, n.74 Hokai (⾜ჾ), 11 Hokkaido¯ (໭ᾏ㐨), also Ezo/Yezo/ Yesso (⼎ዀ), xvi,–xvii, xxiii–xxiv, 3, 4, 44, 49, 75–6, 78–81, 83–5, 91, 94–7, 99, 109, 112–3, 120–6, 132, 138, 143, 152–3, 155–6, 158, 161–5, 172, 177, 184–5, 188, 190 Hokkaido¯ Development Commission / Kaitakushi (㛤 ᣅ౑), 79, 81, 91, 94–5, 123, 125–6, 132, 145, 153, 156, 158, 163–5, 167, 172, 185, Ch.4, n.16, n.121 Home Ministry, The, 81, 134, 158, 164–7, 169–71 Hongakuji (ᮏぬᑎ), at Rokugo¯, 103 Hong Kong, 49–52, 108, 141, 145–6, 179, 183 Hongo¯ Daimachi (ᮏ㒓ྎ⏫), 13 Hongo¯-ku (ᮏ㒓༊), 13 Honma, Haru (ᮏ㛫ࡣࡿ), 148 Honma, Shigeyoshi (ᮏ㛫㔜៞), 148, Ch.4, n.64 Honolulu, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 54 Honolulu Missionary Society, 32 Honorary Member of the Oriental Society of Peking, 146 Honshu¯ (ᵜᐎ), xxiii, 12, 90, 123, 126, 146, 158 Honzen ryo¯ri (ᮏ⮃ᩱ⌮), 9, Ch.1, n.37 Horobetsu (ᖠู), 94, 182 Ho¯ten (ዊኳ), present-day Shenyang, 188 Houghton, 39

269

Hsuan-tsang or Xuanzang (⋞ዔ), xxix, Preface, n.3 Hudson Bay Territory, 22 Humboldt, Alexander von, xxix Hunt, Governor A.C., 36, Ch.2, n.42 Ibn Battuta, xxix, Preface, n.4 Ikari (஬༑㔛), 111 Ikarigaseki (◽ࣨ㛵), 88, 120, 169, Ch.3, n.121, Ch.4, n.139, n.140 Ikegami Honmonji (ụୖᮏ㛛ᑎ), 98, 154 Ikeuchi, Osamu (ụෆ⣖), 118, Ch.3, n.114 ‘Imperial Japanese Post Regulations and Penalty Provisions 1878’ (᫂἞༑୍ᖺ᪥ᮏᖇᅜ㒑౽つ๎ ཬ⨩๎), 107, Ch.3, n.91 Imperial College of Engineering, 151 Imperial Naval College, 97, 151, 153, 155 Imperial Palace, 134–6 Innes, Emily, 53 Ino¯ Map, 119 Interior (ෆᆅ), xii, xvii, xxiii, 44–5, 48, 77, 82, 122, 129, 138–9, 144, 159 Interlaken, 39 Iona, 41 Ireland, 23, 35, 59 I-ro-ha-garuta (࠸ࢁࡣ࢞ࣝࢱ) Alphabet Cards, 169, Ch.4, n.140 Isabella Bird Study, 2 Ise Shrines (ఀໃ⚄ᐑ), xvii, xxiii, 3, 4, 49, 76–8, 90, 95, 98, 105, 121, 142, 144, 147, 172 Ise Shrines (ఀໃ⚄ᐑ), features, Geku¯ (እᐑ), Naiku¯ (ෆᐑ), Sho¯den (ṇẊ), Uchi-tamagaki (ෆ⋢ᇉ), Itagaki (ᯈᇉ), Mizugaki (⍞ᇉ), 171, Ch.4, n.145, n.146, n.147 Isfahan, 61 Ishida, Eikichi (▼⏣ⱥྜྷ), 165 Itanki (࢖ࢱࣥ࢟), 10, Ch.1, n.47 Ito¯, Hirobumi (ఀ⸨༤ᩥ), 131–2, 171, 172, Ch.4, n.13 Ito¯, Takahiro (ఀ⸨Ꮥ༤), 84, Ch.3, n.16

270

INDEX

Ito¯, Tsurukichi (ఀ⸨㭯ྜྷ), i.e. Bird’s ‘Ito’, xxiii, xxx, 84–7, 90, 93, 111, 115, 119, 123–4, 149, 153, 157, 164–5, 166–7, 170, 172, 181–2, Ch. 3, n.12, n.21–n.31, 87, n.103, Ch.4, n.67–n.70, n.84, n.101, n.122, n.129, n.133 Iwakura Delegation, 102, 115, 140, 159–61, 171, Ch.4, n.37 Iwakura, Tomomi (ᒾ಴ලど), 50, 159 Iwashiro (ᒾ௦), 91 Japan and the Japan Mission of the Church Missionary Society, 183, Ch.5, n.36 Japanese Government, The, 88, 90–1, 116, 118, 122, 135, 141, 150, 158–62, 167, 172, 184 Japanese Public Affairs, 5, 14, 57, 106, 112, 141 Jingasa (㝕➟), 8, Ch.1, n.15 Jing u¯ji (⚄ᐑᑎ), 93 Jinrikisha (see also Kuruma, Rickshaw), 84, 90, 92–4, 128, 163, 227, Ch.4, n.1 Jo¯do Shinshu¯ (ίᅵ┿᐀), sect of Buddhism, 104, Ch.3, n.72 ‘John Batchelor, Father of the Ainu’ (࢔࢖ࢾࡢ∗ࢪࣙࣥ㺃ࣂࢳ࢙ࣛ ࣮), 188, Ch.5, n.63 Juban (え⿑), 8, Ch.1, n.19 Judd, Charles Hastings, 31, 33, Ch.2, n.35 Junsainuma (咜⳯἟), 182 Kabayama, Ko¯ichi (ᶟᒣ⣫୍), 118, Ch.3, n.114 Kabuki (ḷ⯙ఄ), 131, 143 Kaibara, Ekiken (㈅ཎ┈㌺), xxix, 170, Preface, n.1, Ch.4, n.143 Kaitakushi (㛤ᣅ౑), see Hokkaido¯ Development Commission Kaji Shinbun (忸怯᪂⪺), 114, Ch.3, n.101, n.102 Kalakaua, King, 31, 33, 58, Ch.2, n.38 Kamakura (㙊಴), 192 Kamehameha V, King, 31, Ch.2, n.36 Kamishimo (⿤), 8, Ch.1, n.28 Kanai, Madoka (㔠஭෇), 180, Ch.5, n.26 Kanaya Cottage Inn, 88

Kanaya, Zenichiro¯ (㔠㇂ၿ୍㑻), 172 Kaneyama (㔠ᒣ), 95, 169 Kannari, Toshio (⚄ᡂ฼⏨), 188, Ch.5, n.61 Kano¯, Takayo (ຍ⣡Ꮥ௦), 107, Ch.3, n.87 Kansai (㛵す), 3, 4, 49, 75–8, 90, 94–6, 101, 104, 113, 143–4, Ch.3, n.49 Kapiolani, Order of, 33 Karachi, 60, 62 Karakoram Pass, 62 Karpe, Miss (actually Miss Park), 30, Ch.2, n.26 Kashmir, 60 Kasukabe (⢑ቨ), 110, 132, Ch.3, n.96 Kato¯, Hidetoshi (ຍ⸨⚽ಇ), 188, Ch.5, n.66 Kauai, 31 Kawaguchi (ᕝཱྀ), 93 Kaye, Evelyn, 51, 191 Kazoku Women’s School (⳹᪘ዪᏛ ᰯ), 184, Ch.5, n.47 Kazusa (ୖ⥲), 161 Kema (ࢣ࣐), 11 Kemauspe (ࢣ࣐࢘ࢩ࣌), 10 Kencho¯ji (ᘓ㛗ᑎ), at Kamakura, 192, Ch.5, n.75 Keswick, Mrs, daughter of Sir Harry Parkes, 71–2 Kimono (╔≀), 166, 201 Kingdom of Hawaii, the, 31 Kingsley, George, 36 Kingsley, Charles, 37 Kingsley, Mary, 36 Kingsley, Rose Georgina, 36–7 Kinugawa Valley (㨣ᛣᕝἙ㇂), 89 Kioizaka Incident (㌰ቮӅ൲ȃ༹), 122 Kiyôto College (ྠᚿ♫ⱥᏛᰯ), 104–5 Kirigaya (᱒ࣨ㇂), cremation ground, 111–3, 133, 138, Ch.3, n.99, Ch.4, n.20 Kiriishi (ษ▼), 93 Kizaki (ᮌᓮ), 93 Ko-Aganogawa (ᑠ㜿㈡㔝ᕝ), river, 93 Kobe (⚄ᡞ), 76–7, 89, 94, 96, 99–101, 105, 122, 134–5, 143–4, 147, 154

INDEX

Kohinata Daimachi (ᑠ᪥ྥྎ⏫), 13 Komatsu (ᑠᯇ), 95 Korea, 6, 66, 68, 146, 187 ‘Korea Thirty Years Ago’ (୕༑ᖺ๓ ࡢᮅ㩭), 187, Ch.5, n.58 Korean Peninsula, 66–7, 71 Koshimaki (⭜ᕳ), 8, Ch.1, n.23 Kotsunagi (ᑠ⧅), 93 Krafft, Hugues and Guillaume, 182, Ch.5, n.33 Kreitner, Lieutenant Gustav Ritter von, xxiii, 145, 155–8, Ch.4, n.93, n.95, n.102 Kubota (ஂಖ⏣), Akita Prefecture, 81, 93, 103, 164, 166 Kuki Takayoshi (஑㨣㝯⩏), 89 Kumamoto Castle, 176, Ch.5, n.13 Kurdistan, 60, 61, 64–6 Kuroda, Kiyotaka (㯮⏣Ύ㝯), 132, 163, 172, Ch.4, n.121 Kuroishi (㯮▼), 88, 90, 103 Kuruma (i.e. Jinrikisha, q.v.), 80, 227. Ch.4, n.1 Kusumoto, Masataka (ᴋᮏṇ㝯), 98, 113, 132–3, 163 Kusunoki (ᴋ), former clan doctor, 111 Kusuya, Shigetoshi (ᴋᐙ㔜ᩄ), 6–10, 12, 192, Ch. 1, n.10 Kuzuhara, Daisuke (ⴱཎ኱ຓ), 169 Kuzuhara, Isosuke (ⴱཎఀ᝷ຓ), 169 Kyahan (⬮⤎), 8, Ch.1, n.21 Kyo¯gen (≬ゝ), 121 Kyoto (ி㒔), xvii, xxvi, 77, 94, 96, 99–100, 105, 130, 134–5, 138–9, 143–4, 147, 161, 167 Kyoto Circle for Toponymy ‘Place Names Research’, 14, Ch.1, n.53 Lacquered urns, 10, Ch.1, n.49 Ladakh (Lesser Tibet) see under Lesser Tibet (Ladakh) Lady Travellers, xvi, xxii, xxv, xxix Lahore, 60 Landor, Arnold Henry Savage, 184, Ch.5, n.38 Land Transport Agent (޵ഭ䙊䙻Պ ⽮), 92–4, 121, 172, Ch.3, n.43, n.46, n.47

271

Land Transport Company (㝣㐠఍ ♫), 92, 122 Law for the Formation of Districts, Boroughs, Towns & Villages (㒆༊ ⏫ᮧ⦅ไἲ), 167–9, Ch.4, n.131 Lawson, Dora (Bird, Mrs Edward), 17, 18, 74 Lawson, Marmaduke, 17, Ch.2, n.5 Leisure Hour, The, 19, 22, 25–6, 28, 41–3, 54–5, 65–6, 70–1, 73, 192, Ch.2, n.11 Lesser Tibet (Ladakh), xvi, 60–2, 65, 174, 197 Letters from a German Geographer in Japan, 162 Letters from Bishop Burdon, 146 Letters to Henrietta, Kay Chubbuck, 16, Ch.2, n.3 Leveson-Gower, Granville George / Granville, Lord, 159, Ch.4, n.103 Lewis, George, 182, Ch.5, n.32 Life of Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), The, (by Stoddart, Anna M., q.v.) 62, Ch.2, n.10 Light of Asia, The, Arnold, Sir Edwin, 62 Li Po (ᮤⓑ), xxix, Preface, n.2 Lister, John, 58 Liverpool, 28, 55 Livingstone, Dr. David, 41–3 London, 17, 26–7, 31, 37, 39–40, 60, 64–7, 69, 71, 115, 175 Longfellow, Charles Appleton, 50, 161, Ch.4, n.112 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 23, 161, Ch.4, n.113 Long’s (or Longs), Peak, 35, 38, 195 Low, Sir Hugh, 52 Lunalilo, King, 31–2, Ch.2, n.37 Lyman, David Belden, 31, Ch.2, n.30 Machi (⏫), 12–3 MacDonald, Dr., 24 Macgregor, Dr., 42 MacLean, Sir Harry Aubrey de Vere, 70 Macleod, N., 170, Ch.4, n.144 Magellan, xxix Mago-no-te (Ꮮࡢᡭ), 9 Maidenhead, 17

272

INDEX

Makimura, Masanao (ᵐᮧṇ┤), 135, 139, Ch.4, n.24, n.36 Malacca, 52 Malay Peninsula. 3, 51–3, 90, 108 Malta, 69 Manju¯gasa (㤝㢌➟), 8, Ch.1, n.14 Map of Japan by Brunton, 117–19, 159, Ch.3, n.114–n.118 Marco Polo, xxix Maries, Charles, 84–5, 87, 123, 145, 149, Ch.3, n.13, n.17, n.28 Marrakesh, 70 Matsushimaya, Zenzaburo¯ (ᯇᔱᒇၿ ୕㑻), 172 Matterhorn, 195 Mauna Kea, volcano, 31 Mauna Loa, volcano, xxiv, 31 Mazagan, 70 Meiji Period, xxiv, 8, 50, 76, 186 Melbourne, 28 Middleton, Lady, 41, 46, 48, 55, 98 Middleton, Dorothy, 191 Mikado’s Empire, The, 170, Ch.4, n.141 Mikado’s Palace, The, 167 Milford, John, 21 Milton, John, Paradise Lost, 51 Min, Queen of Korea and King Gojong, 67 Mississippi, river, 20, 37 Mita Daimachi 1-, 2-cho¯me (୕⏣ྎ ⏫୍㺃஧୎┠), 13 Mitadai Uramachi (୕⏣ྎ⿬⏫), 13 Miwa (୕㍯), 147 Miyamoto, Tsuneichi (ᐑᮏᖖ୍), 117, 188, Ch.3, n.110, Ch.5, n.67 Miyazaki, Michiko (ᐑᓮ㊰Ꮚ), 6, Ch.1, n.10 Mizutani, Kazuhiko (Ỉ㇂୍ᙪ), 16, 76 Moir, Dr, 26–7 Monbetsu (㛛ู), 94 Monpe (ࡶࢇ࡮), 8, Ch.1, n.18 Montesquieu, xxix Monto Sect of Buddhism, the (䮰ᗂ ᇇ), 102, 104 Monthly Review, The, 70 Mori (᳃), 76, 91, 94, 124, 156–7, 163 Mori, Arinori (᳃᭷♩), 98, 133–4, 136, 138, 153, 162–3, Ch.4, n.19, n.34, n.118–n.120

Mori, Mitsutoshi (᳃୕⣖), 15–6 ‘Morita Kanya XII (ㅜॱҼцᆸ⭠ई ᕼ), 132 Morocco, 15, 69–71, 174, 181, 188 Morse, Edward Sylvester, 84, 184, 185, 190, Ch.3, n.14, Ch.5, n.48, n.55 Moto-Muroran (ඖᐊ⹒), 94,182 Moukden (ዊኳ), 187 Mull, Isle of, 25, 41, 180 Muroran (ᐊ⹒), 76, 91, 94, 153, 163 Murray, John III, xvii, xxi, xxii, xxvi, 3–4, 20–1, 35, 38–9, 42, 44, 47, 51, 55–9, 72, 90, 97, 108–9, 139–40, 171, 173, 178, 179, 184–5, Ch.5, n.3 Murray, John IV, 70 Murray’s Hand-book, 21, Ch.2, n.14 Murray’s Magazine, 59 Musashino Daichi (Ṋⶶ㔝ྎᆅ), 13 Nagasaki (㛗ᓮ), 76, 143, 161 Naito¯, Takashi (ෆ⸨㧗), 190, Ch.5, n.71 Nakano (୰㔝), 90 Nakasendo¯ (୰ᒣ㐨), 161 Namaqua, 38–9 Namasu (⮊), 9, Ch.1, n.32 Nanae (୐㣤), 182 Nara (ዉⰋ), 77, 147, 161 National Archives of Japan, The, 136, Ch.4, n.26, n.27 ‘National Characteristics of Japan as seen by Foreigners, The’ (እேࡢほ ࡓࡿ᪥ᮏᅜẸᛶ), 186, Ch.5, n.56 National Diet Library, 134, Ch.4, n.22 National Library of Scotland, 108 National Livingstone Memorial College, 41, Ch.2, n.45 Nature, 30, 57 Nazareth, 60 Neesima, Joseph Hardy, see Niijima Jo¯ Nevada, mail steamer, 29 New York, 26, 27, 49 New Zealand, 28, 33 Niigata (᪂₲), 11, 76, 89, 91–3, 95, 99, 102–3, 122, 146–7, 153, 167, 169, 178

INDEX

Niihau, 31 Niijima Jo¯ (᪂ᓥ〴), i.e. Neesima, Joseph Hardy, 105, 144, 172, Ch.3, n.79, n.80, Ch.4, n.49 Nikko¯ (᪥ග), 3, 76, 84, 88, 89, 93, 99, 142, 161, 184 Nishihonganji (すᮏ㢪ᑎ), 104, 139 Noguchi, Tomizo¯ (㔝ཱྀᐩⶶ), 135, 139, 143, 144, Ch.4, n.24, n.36, n.47, n.48, Noh (⬟⬟ᴦ), 151 Non-Christian World, 15 North British Review, The, 23 North, Marianne, xxiv, 135, 138–9, 143, 176, Ch.4, n.25, n.36 Nubra, River, 62 Nugent, Jim, 38–9, 42–3, 192, 195–6, Ch.2, n.43 Numa (἟), 167–9, Ch.4, n.136 Nuruyu ( ‫)‮‬, hot spring, 90, 103 Nyo-i (ዴព), 9 Oakland, 34 Oban, 25, 27, 39, 55 ¯ date (኱㤋), 76 O Odds and Ends, 26 Okitama (⨨㈷), Okitama-ken (⨨㈷ ┴), prefecture, 89, 91, 93, 120, 189 ¯ kubo, Toshimichi (኱ஂಖ฼㏻), O 122, 170–1 ¯ kuma Shigenobu (኱㝰㔜ಙ), O 156, 164, 172 Omaha, 38 Omonogawa (㞝≀ᕝ), river, 93 ¯ no (኱㔝), 89 O Onoe Village (ᑿୖᮧ), 88, Ch.3, n.34 Onozaki, Akihiro (ᑠ㔝ᓮᬗ⿱), 35, Ch.2, n.41 ‘Open-fronted Shirt’, 8, Ch.1, n.16 Ordinance Permitting Foreigners’ Travel in the Interior (እᅜேෆᆅ᪑⾜ඔ ‽᮲౛), 77–8, 82–3, Ch.3, n.1 Ordinance requiring Commoners to be known by a Patronymic (ᖹẸⱑᏐ ᚲ⛠⩏ົ௧), 169, Ch.4, n.138 Orient Express, 60 Osaka (኱㜰), 76–7, 99–100, 105, 108, 147, 161

273

Oshima Peninsula (Ώᓥ༙ᓥ), 163 ¯ shu¯ Kaido¯ (ዟᕞ⾤㐨), 89, Ch.3, O n.37 Otago, 28 Otoshibe Village (ⴠ㒊ᮧ), 124 ¯ tsu (኱ὠ), 77, 105, 147, 192 O ¯ tsu Festival (བྷ⍕⾝), 7–8 O ¯ u, (ྕ㗭), 122 O Ouazzane, 70 ¯ uchi (኱ෆ), 95 O O-yatoi gaikokujin (࠾㞠࠸እᅜே), xxvi, 150–1 Pack-horse, 92–3 Palm, Dr, at Niigata, 89, 102, 147, Ch.3, n.39 Paoningfu, China, now Liangchung (ಖᑀᗓ㺃㛾୰), 68–9, 71 Parkes, Sir Harry, xvii, xxiii, xxiv, 46–8, 50–1, 56–7, 72, 78–83, 85, 87–8, 91–2, 97–8, 100, 102, 108, 110, 118–41, 144, 146, 149–51, 154–5, 157–60, 162, 167, 170–2, 178–81, 185, Ch.2, n.50, Ch.4, n.1, n.108, Ch.5, n.23, n.24 Parkes, Lady Fanny, 56, 86, 92, 97, 99, 102, 128–33, 137, 139, 141, 145, 155 Passport, for travel by foreigners, 77–9, Ch.3, n.2 Patriot, The, 22 Penriuk, Ainu Chief of Biratori, 11, 95, 106, 125–6, 156, 183 Persia, xvi, 60–5, 175 Photography/Photograph(s), references to, xv, xxx, 5, 63 66, 68, 69, 71, 175–6, 197 Prince Edward Island, 20 Public bath-house, 90, Ch.3, n.40 Punch, 64 Pusan, 67 Quarterly Review, 57 Quebec, 20, 26 Ragged Schools, 24, 26, Ch.2, n.18 Ratzel, Friedrich, 184–5, Ch.5, n.49, Ch.5, n.51 Rebunge (♩ᩥ⳹), and coast Ainu, 91, 124

274

INDEX

‘Red Blanket’, 8, Ch.1, n.20 ‘Red Unit’, at Yokohama, 87, Ch.3, n.30 Reed, Sir Edward James, 55, 57, 106, 118, 179, Ch.2, n.56 Rein, Johannes Justus, 50, 121, 161–2, 184, Ch.2, n.51, Ch.4, n.116, n.117 Religious Revivalism, 21 Religious Tract Society, 19, 66, 73, 184, Ch.2, n.12 Rice, William Hyde, 31, Ch.2, n.32 Richthofen, Ferdinand von, 50, 160, 162, Ch.4, n.109 Rickshaw (see also Kuruma, Jinrikisha), 93, 94, 227, Ch.4, n.1 Riddell, Hannah, 176, Ch.5, n.14 Rinno¯ji (㍯⋤ᑎ), 88, Ch.3, n.35, n.36 Robinson, Sir William, 52 Roches, Léon, French minister to Japan, 1864–1868, 150 Rocky Mountains, 4, 28, 30, 34–9, 41–4, 56, 57, 92, 108, 109, 194, 196 Rokugo¯ (භ㒓), 93, 103, 166, Ch.4, n.127 Royal Geographical Society, 63–4, 174–5, 184 Royal Scottish Geographical Society, 63–4 Saeki, Sho¯ichi (బ఑ᙲ୍), 188, Ch.5, n.65 Said, Edward Wadie, 1, Ch.1, n.1 Saigon, 52 Saito¯, Sanemitsu (ᩪ⸨ᐇග), 166, Ch.4, n.129 Sakazuki (ᮼ), 10 Salisbury, 39 Sanda (୕⏣), 89, 105, 148, Ch.3, n.81 Sanda Clan (୕⏣⸬), 89 Sandfish, 9, Ch.1, n.39 Sandwich Islands, The, xxii, 29, 55, 112 San Francisco, 28–9, 34, 49, 113, 132 Sanjo¯, Sanetomi (୕᮲ᐇ⨾), 159 Sanno¯ Pass (ᒣ⋤ᓘ), 89 Sapporo New Road, 94 Sarufuto (బ⍠ኴ), 76, 156 Satow, Sir Ernest, xiii, xxiii, xxiv, 15, 57, 70, 72, 88, 91, 96–7, 118–21, 142–3, 144, 150–1, 153–4, 160, 171, 172, 177–81, 188, Ch.4, n.41–n.46, n.50, n.87, Ch.5, n.24

Sawyer, Major Herbert, 61, 63 Schwerin, Rennie, 182, Ch.5, n.31 Scientific Approach, xxxi Scientific Study, 1–2, 6–7, 14 Scientific Viewpoint, 197 Scotsman, The, 57 Sea Bass, 9, Ch.1, n.40 Sea Bream, 9, Ch.1, n.41 Sea Bream soup, 9, Ch.1, n.43 Sea of Japan, 76 Seinan War (す༡ᡓத), 122 Sekiguchi Daimachi (㛵ཱྀྎ⏫), 13 Sekikawa, Natsuo (㛵ᕝኟኸ), 181, Ch.5, n.28 Sengiri daikon (༓ษࡾ኱᰿), 9, Ch.1, n.30 Senjuji (ᑓಟᑎ), at Tsu, 192, Ch.5, n.74 Senso¯ji (ὸⲡᑎ), 102 Seoul, 67 Serranus marginalis, 9, Ch.1, n.38 Servant-interpreter, 84–6, 120 Severance, Luther, 31, Ch.2, n.28 Shiba-ku (Ⱚ༊), 13 Shiba Detached Palace, 138 Shibata, Kuheiji (ᰘ⏣஑ᖹ἞), 166 Shibuya. Mitsuo (῰㇂ගኵ), 107, Ch.3, n.89 Shimonoseki, 185 Shinagawa Daimachi (ရᕝྎ⏫), 13 Shinbo (᪂ಖ), 91 Shinjo¯ (᪂ᗉ), 111, Ch.3, n.98 Shintô (⚄㐨), 90, 104, 121 Shintoko (ࢩࣥࢺࢥ), 10 Shintomi Theatre (᪂ᐩᗙ), 131, 142, 152, Ch.4, n.10 Shirahata Yo¯zaburo¯ (ⓑᖭὒ୕㑻), 193, Ch.5, n.77 Shirakozawa (ⓑᏊἑ), 91, 93 Shiraoi (ⓑ⪁), 124, 126, 156–7, 182, Ch.4, n.97, n.98, n.102 Shirokane Daimachi 1-, 2-cho¯me (ⓑ㔠ྎ⏫୍㺃஧୎┠), 13 Sho¯da, Motoo (ᗉ⏣ඖ⏨), 178, Ch.5, n.21 Shogunate Government, 88–9 Sho¯mon (ドᩥ), Bird’s ‘Shomon’, 79–80, 145, 163–4, Ch.3, n.3, Ch.4, n.53, n.121

INDEX

‘Short Petticoat’, 8, Ch.1, n.22 Sho¯so¯in (ṇ಴㝔), 9, Ch.1, n.45 Shrine of Yoshitsune (⩏⤒⚄♫), 125 Shyok (Shayok), River, 62 Siebold, Heinrich Freiherr von, xxiv, 126, 132, 145, 155–7, 164, 172, Ch.4, n.90, n.91, n.94, n.95, n.96, n.101 Siebold, Philipp Franz von, 16, 132, Ch.2, n.4 Sierra Nevada Mountains, 34 ‘Significant Works by Foreigners on Japan’ (እᅜே࡟ࡼࡿ᪥ᮏㄽࡢྡ ⴭ), 188, Ch.5, n.65 Simla, 61 Sinai, Mt, 54 Sinai Peninsula, 3, 53, 174 Sinclair, Elizabeth McHutchison, 31, Ch.2, n.33 Singapore, 50, 52 Sino-Japanese War, 66–7, 175, 187 Snowden, acting Chief Justice, Hong Kong, 52 Somo Territory, 66 South by West: or, Winter in the Rocky Mountains and Spring in Mexico, 37 Sparrow, Lady Olivia Bernard, 18, Ch.2, n.8 Spectator, The, 30 Spurgeon, Charles, 61, 65 Srinagar, 60 Steinmetz, Andrew, 193–4, Ch.5, n.78 Stewart, Sir Thomas Grainger, 27, 44, Ch.2, n.21 St. James Gazette, 57 St. Mary’s Hospital, London, 60 Stoddart, Anna M., 18, 24, 40, 42–6, 48, 52, 54, 56, 66, 71, 97, 129, 137–8, 141–2, 173, Ch.2, n.46 St. Petersburg, Treaty of (ᶟኴ㺃༓ᓥ ஺᥮᮲⣙), 124, Ch.3, n.127 Strabo, xxix Suez Canal, 16, 53 Sugegasa (Ⳣ➟), 8, Ch.1, n.14 Sumner, Charles Richard, 17, Ch.2, n.7 Sumner, John Bird, 17, Ch.2, n.6

275

Sunday at Home, 73 Sunday Magazine, The, 25 Switzerland, 39, 56, 59, 195 Switzerland of America: A Summer Vacation in the Parks and Mountains of Colorado, The, 37 Szechenyi, Count Bela, 156 Szechuan Province, xxiv, 68 Tahoe, Lake, 34 Takahata, Miyoko (㧗⏿⨾௦Ꮚ), 7, 9, 11, 14, 107, Ch.1, n.11 Takakura, Shinichiro¯ (㧗಴᪂୍㑻), 84, Ch.3, n.15 Takanashi, Kenkichi (㧗᲍೺ྜྷ), 5–8, 10, 12, 14, 49, 86, 107, 188–91, Ch.1, n.4, Ch.5, n.62, n.64 Takanawa Daimachi (㧗㍯ྎ⏫), 13 Takanawa Nishi Daimachi (㧗㍯すྎ ⏫), 13 Takebashi Incident (➉ᶫ஦௳), 122 Takeuchi, Masahiro (➉ෆṇᾈ), 107, Ch.3, n.88 Taku (༟), 12 Takuan (ἑᗡ), 9, Ch.1, n.33 Tamagawa (⋢ᕝ), 93 Tanabata Festival (୐ኤ⚍), 151, Ch.4, n.76 Tangier, 70 Tanikaze (㇂㢼), 12 Tarumae (ᶡ๓ⅆᒣ), volcano, 157, Ch.4, n.102 Tattenhall, 17 Teheran, 61 Tenoko (ᡭࣀᏊ), 172, Ch.4, n.148 Tenugui (ᡭᣔ), 8, Ch.1, n.26 Terashima Munenori (ᑎᓥ᐀๎), xxiii, 46–7, 79, 81–2, 119, 122, 131–5, 158–63, 165, 167, 171–2, Ch.2, n.49, Ch.4, n.12, n.23, n.104–n.108 Things Japanese, 125, 177, Ch.3, n.130, n.131 Thomson, Sir Charles Wyville, 140–1, Ch.4, n.38 Thusis, 56 Tibetan World, The, 60, 66, 197 Times, The, 56

276

INDEX

Tobermory, 39, 55, 58, 180, Ch.5, n.27 Tochigi (ᰣᮌ), 152 To¯hoku (ᮾ໭), 3, 189, 190 Tokchon, Korea (ᚨᕝ), 67 Tokioka, Keiko (᫬ᒸᩗᏊ), 7–12, 14, 107, 192, Ch.1, n.12 Tokugawa, Iemitsu (ᚨᕝᐙග), 89 Tokugawa, Ieyasu (ᚨᕝᐙᗣ), 88 Tokyo (ᮾி), xxvi, 3, 12–3, 49, 76–7, 93, 95–9, 113, 121, 126, 144, 150, 154–7, 162–3, 184 Tomakomai (Ɫᑠ∾), 94, 182 Tomoe / Tomoyé comma pattern, 196, Ch.5, n.81 Tonshu kyo¯ko¯ kingen (㡻㤳ᜍគㅽ ゝ), valediction in letters, 11, 153, Ch. 1, n.50 To¯ri (㏻ࡾ), 12 To¯sho¯gu¯ (ᮾ↷ᐑ), 88, 142 Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, 89, 120, 142, 170, Ch.3, n.38 Transcontinental Railway, The, 34, 49, Ch.2, n.40 Travel Permit, application for, 80, Ch.3, n.4, for ‘health, botanical research, or scientific investigation’, 83, Ch. 3, n.7 ‘Travel & Tourism Yearbook’, 107, Ch.3, n.90 Trebizond (Trabzon), 60–1 Troup, James, 91, Ch.3, n.41 ‘Trousers’, 8, Ch.1, n.16 Truckee, 34 Tsu (ὠ), 148, 192, Ch.4, n.63 Tsuchizaki-minato (ᅵᓮ‖), 93 Tsuda, Umeko (ὠ⏣ᱵᏊ), 184, Ch.5, n.46 Tsugawa (ὠᕝ), 91, 93 Tsukiji (⠏ᆅ), 129 Tsukue (ᮘ), 12 Tuki (ࢺ࢘࢟), 10 Tunbridge Wells, 26, 40 Twain, Mark, 32 Twin Time Travel, xi, xv, 2, 192

‘Unknown Fastnesses of Japan – Hokkaido¯’ (᪥ᮏࡢ▱ࡽࢀࡊࡿ㎶ ቃ – ໭ᾏ㐨⠍), 188, Ch.5. n.61 Ushigome-ku (∵㎸༊), 13 Ushigome Yamabuki-cho¯ (∵㎸ᒣ྿ ⏫), 13 Ushu¯ Kaido¯ (⩚ᕞ⾤㐨), 88, Ch.3, n.33 Usu (᭷⌔), and coast Ainu, 91, 124 Utsunomiya (Ᏹ㒔ᐑ), 89 Uzen (⩚๓), 91

Ulster Reform Movement, 23 Union Pacific Railway, 38

Xuanzang or Hsuan-tsang (⋞ዔ), xxix, Preface, n.3

Valedictions in Japanese letters, 11 Vancouver, 67 Veitch, James & Sons, 84 Victoria, Queen, 65 Victorian Period, the, xxix Volcano Bay (ᄇⅆ‴), 76, 80, 124–5 Volga, S.S., 49, 50, 173 Walter Dening: Case Study of a Missionary in Early Meiji Japan, 183, Ch.5, n.37 Wan (᳐), 10 Warren, C.F., 100, 147 Watanabe, Kyo¯ji (Ώ㎶ி஧), 117, Ch.3, n.110 Weber, Karl Ivanovich (also Waeber, Carl von), 67, Ch.2, n.60 West Highlands of Scotland, 18–19, 23, 25, 40–1 West Highlands Relief Fund, 19, Ch.2, n.13 Wester Ross, 41, 55 ‘western Japan’ / West Japan, 11, Ch.1, n.51 ‘Western-style suit’, 8, Ch.1, n.24 Westernisation, 99, 152 Whitely, Henry, 123–4, Ch.3, n.123 Whitney, Clara, xxiv, 97–8, Ch.3, n.52 Wilberforce, William, 17 Wilkinson, Consul at Yokohama, 128, 137, 144, 148, Ch.4, n.30, n.52 Wyton, Huntingdonshire, 18, 23, 69, Ch.2, n.9

INDEX

Yamabuki (ᒣ྿), 13 Yamagata (ᒣᙧ), 164 Yamagata Prefecture 91, 93, 95, 167, 172 Yamakawa, Sutematsu (ᒣᕝᤞᯇ), 184, Ch.5, n.45 Yamakaze (ᒣ㢼), 12 Yamao, Yo¯zo¯ (ᒣᑿᗤ୕), 172 Yangtze Valley, The, 67–8, 146, 174, 176, 197 Yasuda, Sadanori (Ᏻ⏣ᐃ๎), 132–3, Ch.4, n.16 Yatate Pass (▮❧ᓘ), 169 Yezo / Yesso (⼎ዀ), see Hokkaido¯ Yokohama (ᶓ὾), 49, 76–7, 81, 87, 96, 119, 122, 128, 131, 137, 143, 146–51, 154–5, 157–8, 179

277

Yokohama Bo¯eki Shinpo¯ (ᶓ὾㈠᫆᪂ ሗ), 181–2, Ch.5, n.30 Yomiuri Shinbun (ㄞ኎᪂⪺), 111–2, 154, Ch.3, n.99 Yoneshirogawa (⡿௦ᕝ), river, 93, Ch.3, n.48 Yorozu Cho¯ ho¯ / Complete Morning News (ⴙᮅሗ), 181, Ch.5, n.29 Yoshii, Tomozane (ྜྷ஭཭ᐇ), 160, Ch.4, n.111 Yu¯bin Ho¯chi Shinbun (㒑౽ሗ▱᪂⪺), 137, 182 Yu¯futsu Plain (ຬᡶཎ㔝), 83 Yumoto (‫‮‬ඖ), 88 Zagros Mountains, 60–1 Zo¯jo¯ji (ቑୖᑎ), 102, 130, Ch.4, n.7 Zubon (ࢬ࣎ࣥ), 8, Ch.1, n.17