Identifier: mikadosempire05grif (find matches)
Title: The mikado's empire
Year: 1894 (1890s)
Authors: Griffis, William Elliot, 1843-1928
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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uperstition tothe purity of nature, from the pent-up closeness of the priests templeinto the boundless freedom of Gods glorious creation, how welcomethe change! It stirs the pulses of the divine life within us to beholdhow priestcraft and sanctified avarice and blind superstition of ageshave united, and then to remember how One said, Have faith inGod. To the left of the temple are gardens famed for their displays offlowers in season—the plum-blossoms in February, cherry blooms inApril, the lotus in July, azaleas in summer, chrysanthemums in Octo-ber, camellias in December, and evergreens always. Here are dwarfedtrees in every shape. Fuji appears over and over again in miniature.Tortoises, cats, male foreigners with hats, and females in crinoline,houses, wagons, and what not, appear in living forms of green. Tinytrees, an inch or two high, balmy pines, oaks and bamboo, cacti,striped - grass, rare plants of all varieties known in Japan, are here. pipiiiiwiiipiiijliifiiiiiiiifft -^>
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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS IN A PAGAN TEMPLE. 387 An open clirysantliemum, the crest of tlie emperor, is emblazoned onall the barracks of the soldiers, on their caps, buttons, and banners,and on all buildings devoted to governmental purposes. In the cultivation of these flowers the native gardeners excel. Intheir limited specialties, the Japanese florists distance those of anyother country. The borders of the Asakiisa gardens are made ofclipped tea-plants. Dwarfing, unnatural local enlargement, variegationof leaf and petal, the encouragement of freaks of nature by carefulartificial selection—these are the specialties of the natives of Nippon,which have been perfected by the hereditary patience, tact, and laborof a thousand years. The guild of florists in Tokio is large andwealthy. As the florist father, so is the son. Some of the streets ofthe city are noted for their floral displays and fairs. These are oftengiven at night, the street being lighted by candles, as in the picture. The temple

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