The voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe; with a historical review of previous journeys along the north coast of the Old World . gowithout wea23ons, and thecarrying of arms soon be-came so unfashionable thatone of the authorities diddare at last to issue a distinctprohibition of it. Duringour stay in Japan, accord-ingly, we did not see asingle man armed with thetwo swords formerly in use. After we had seen andadmired the treasures inthe temple vestibule, we\dsited the temple is always of wood, richly ornamented with carvings and gilding. If it is dedicatedto Shinto, there are n
The voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe; with a historical review of previous journeys along the north coast of the Old World . gowithout wea23ons, and thecarrying of arms soon be-came so unfashionable thatone of the authorities diddare at last to issue a distinctprohibition of it. Duringour stay in Japan, accord-ingly, we did not see asingle man armed with thetwo swords formerly in use. After we had seen andadmired the treasures inthe temple vestibule, we\dsited the temple is always of wood, richly ornamented with carvings and gilding. If it is dedicatedto Shinto, there are no images in it, and very few ornaments, ifwe except a mirror and a large locked press with the doorssmashed in, which sometimes occupies the wall opposite theentrance, and in which, as I have already stated, the spirit of thedeity is said to dwell. The Shinto temples are in general j) are so inconsiderable as to look almost like are often completely deserted, so that it is difficult todiscover them among the magnificent trees by which they weresurrounded. The entrance to the temple is indicated by a gate. A SAMURAI. 680 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [chap. {torryi) of wood, stone, or copper, and here and there are ropes,stretched over the way, to which written prayers and vows areaffixed. Even those who have long studied Japan and its literaturehave very little knowledge of the inner essence of religion is considered by some a pure deism, by others abelief with political aims, the followers of which worship thedeparted heroes of the country. Of a developed morality thisreligion is wholly devoid. In the same way it appears to beuncertain whether Shintoism is a survival of the original religionof the country or whether it has been brought from abroad.
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