order that they might be
used by the shogun's messengers when they bore important letters to him
during his summer residence in Nara.

IN KYOTO, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF JAPAN

Next to Nikko, one of the most interesting cities in Japan is Kyoto, the
old capital under the shoguns, the seat of several fine palaces and many
beautiful temples, and the center of large manufacturing works of
satsuma and cloissone ware, damascene work and art work on silk and
velvet. Kyoto may be reached by a short ride from Kobe, but from Tokio
it is an all-day trip of twelve hours by express train. This ride, which
would be comfortable in well appointed cars, is made tedious by the
Japanese preference for cars with seats arranged along the side, like
the new American pay-as-you-enter street cars. For a short ride the side
seat may be endured, but for hours of travel (especially when one is a
tourist and wishes to see the scenery on both sides of the road) the
cars are extremely tiresome.

By selecting the express train and buying first-class tickets it was
hoped to avoid any crowd but, unfortunately, the day chosen saw many
other tourists on their way across Japan. The result was that the
first-class car was packed and many who had paid first-class fares were
forced to ride in the second-class cars. In my car one side was occupied
almost wholly by Japanese. Two were in American dress, one was an army
officer in uniform, another a clerk with many packages, and the
remaining two were an old couple, richly dressed. The Japanese, in
traveling first-class, generally brings a rug or fur, which he spreads
over the seat. On this he sits with his feet drawn up under him in the
national style. Smoking is not prohibited even in the first-class cars,
so that the American ladies in the cars had to endure the smell of
various kinds of Japanese tobacco, in addition to the heat, which was
rendered more disagreeable by the frequent closing of the windows as the
train dashed through many tunnels. The old couple carried lunch in
several hampers and they indulged in a very elaborate luncheon, helped
out by tea purchased in little pots from a dealer at a station. The army
officer bought one of the small wooden lunch boxes sold along all
Japanese railways, which contain boiled rice, fried fish and some boiled
sweet potatoes. This, with a pot of tea, made a good lunch. The Japanese
in European costume patronized the dining-car, where an excellent lunch
was serv