The Boy Travellers in the Far East [Part First]: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Japan and ChinaKnox, Thomas Wallace
General
The Boy Travellers in the Far East [Part First]: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Japan and China
Knox, Thomas Wallace
China -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature; Japan -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
From the tea-house at the top of the hill, Doctor Bronson led the way
down a steep path to the sea. At the end of the path, and opening upon
the sea, there is a cavern which the Japanese consider sacred. Formerly
they would not allow a stranger to enter the cavern for fear of
polluting it; but at present they make no opposition, for the double
reason that they have found the cave remains as if nothing had happened,
and, moreover, the stranger is so willing to pay for the privilege of
exploration that a considerable sum is annually obtained from him. When
the tide is in, the cave can only be entered by means of a boat; but at
low-water one can creep along a narrow ledge of rock where a pathway has
been cut, which he can follow to the terminus. Our party engaged a guide
with torches, and were taken to the end of the cave, where they found a
hideous-looking idol that was the presiding divinity of the place. A
shrine had been erected here, and when it was lighted up the appearance
was fairly imposing. The pilgrims consider it a pious duty to visit this
shrine whenever they come to the island, and it has become quite famous
throughout Japan.
The boys were not inclined to stay long in the cave, as the sound of the
waters beating in at the entrance was almost deafening. They very soon
sought the open air, where a new entertainment awaited them. There was a
group of men and boys on the rocks at the entrance of the cavern, and
they called to the strangers to throw coins into the water and see how
soon they could be recovered by diving. Frank threw a small piece of
silver into the clear water of the Pacific, and in an instant half a
dozen boys sprang for it. One of them caught it before it reached the
bottom, and came up with the piece in his mouth. Several coins were
thrown, with a similar result; and finally it was proposed to let the
money reach the bottom before the divers started. This was done, and, as
the depth was about twelve feet, the work of finding the bit of silver
was not very easy. But it was found and brought to the surface; and
after the divers had been complimented on their skill, our friends moved
on. It is hardly necessary to add that the money thrown into the water
became the property of the youth who secured it; though it was rumored
that the divers were associated, and everything obtained went into a
common purse. The Oriental people are famous for their guilds, or labor
and trade associations, and nearly every occupation in life is under the
control of a guild, which has very arbitrary rules. It is not at all
impossible that the boys who dive for small coins at Enoshima are under
the control of an association, and that its rules and regulations may
have been in force for hundreds of years.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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