ed for one yen, or fifty cents in American money.

The scenery along the line of the railway varied. The road skirts the
coast for many miles, then cuts across several mountain ranges to
Nagoya, then along the shores of Owari bay (an arm of the ocean), thence
across the country to the lower end of Lake Biwa, near which Kyoto is
situated. In the old days this journey consumed twelve days, and the
road twice every year furnished a picturesque procession of the retinues
of great nobles or daimiyos traveling from Kyoto to Tokio to present
their respects to the shogun. The road was skirted by great cryptomeria,
and avenues of these fine trees may still be seen near Nikko.

Kyoto was a great city in medieval days, when it was the residence of
the Mikado. From 793 until 1868, when the court removed to Tokio, Kyoto
remained the capital. Its importance, however, began to decline with
the founding of Yedo, or Tokio, in 1590, and to-day many miles of its
former streets are devoted to the growing of rice. In this way several
of the finest temples, which were once in the heart of the old city, are
now relegated to the suburbs. Besides the Mikado's palace and Nijo
castle, which may be visited only by special permit, Kyoto boasts of an
unusual number of richly decorated temples, among which the most
noteworthy are the Shinto temple of Inari; the temple of the one
thousand images of Kwannon, the Deity of Mercy; the great Buddhist
temple of Nishi-Honguanji, celebrated for its art work in paintings and
decorated woods; the great bronze Buddha, fifty-eight feet high; the big
bell near by, nearly fourteen feet high, and the other in the Cheon-in
temple here--these being two of the four largest bells in all Japan. To
describe the treasures in art and decoration, in gold and lacquer, in
these palaces, would be tiresome. Unless one is a student of Japanese
art the visiting of temples soon becomes a great bore, for one temple or
one palace is a repetition of others already seen, with merely minor
differences in architecture and decoration, which appeal only to the
specialist.

Kyoto, however, is of great interest for its many art shops--since
applied art, as seen in satsuma and cloissone ware and in damascene,
have almost reached the level of pure art. A visit to one of the satsuma
factories is an interesting experience, as it shows how little the art
of Japan has been influenced by the foreigner. Here one sees the potter
at his wheel, preci