En Route to Korea by James E. Shultz

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 19, 1907

En Route to Korea

By James E. Shultz

Our trip was quite pleasant, although we encountered an equinoctial storm. The ship “Minnesota,” which is the largest on the Pacific, found ample room to roll and toss. I think that I can best convey my first impressions of a storm at sea in the words of a new Methodist missionary, when he said that his experience had led him to have more love and admiration for the poor missionaries than ever before. I had only one touch of what one would term seasickness. I then determined that I should not get sick, and accordingly spent two hours walking the main deck in the face of a terrific storm. This completely cured me, and the remainder of the voyage was pleasant. Mrs. Shultz did not fare so well, but the sickness was not fatal, and after one day’s stay on land, she expressed herself as feeling fine.

We stopped for two days at Tokyo, having been met at Yokohama by Elder Field and family. They were glad to see us, and we were as happy to see them. We traveled on the Japanese railroad to the capital of the empire. The railroads are all narrow gauge, and the cars are all built on the English plan, impressing an American as being insignificant. The engines are small, and their shrill piping whistles reminded me of school days, when we boys would amuse ourselves by making whistles from willow twigs. We had the privilege of traveling first, second, or third-class. We chose second-class, which is somewhat cheaper than traveling in the States on the two-cent fare. As there were neither conductors nor brakemen on the train, we retained our tickets until we arrived at the Tokyo station gate, where the gateman took them up.

The scenery between Yokohama and Tokyo is very beautiful. The quaint Japanese houses, with their large thatched roofs and broad verandas, were a pleasing sight. I also observed that the Japanese are very good gardeners, and I saw that most vegetables that we were accustomed to seeing in the States were growing here. The orchards were quite strange-looking, since all the trees are quite small, and are trained among arbors, very much like our grape arbors. The pear-tree thrives in this section of Japan. The pears, if placed on the American market, would not be distinguished from the large russet apples, since they closely resemble them in shape and color. The bamboo groves along the railroad track were very pretty, as well as the many varieties of flowers which I had never seen before. Surely Japan is a land of flowers. My imagination had drawn a true picture of the land, and I was not disappointed.

When we arrived at the home of Professor Field, he entertained us by taking us out under the fig-trees to eat the ripe figs. I thought of many incidents in the life of our Saviour as I sat beneath the spreading branches of the beautiful trees.

It was our privilege to ride in the jinrikishas while in the capital of the nation, a city of over 1,500,000 inhabitants. We found the rides very pleasant, and the speed at which the men carry one is a marvel. The muscles of these men are developed to the full, and they certainly are able to use them. Very few horses are seen here, and when one is seen, it is quite inferior. Food for animals is very scarce, hence their scarcity. The dress of the Japanese varies from the full European dress to the kimona and clog shoes, while some are attired like our father Adam before he acquired the art of dressmaking. The ordinary American is liable to be shocked by what he terms the indecency of the natives at every turn.

Sunday morning we took our dinners and went to visit the largest Shintoo park in the empire. The great Shintoo temple impresses one as the park is neared. The great massive gods on either side of the gate guard well the approaches to the sacred shrine. This shrine has many things of interest, but among the gods that impressed me were the medicine god and the god of travel. The medicine god is supposed to cure all diseases. The patient approaches it and rubs the part corresponding to the afflicted part of his body; then he rubs the diseased member, which is supposed to be healed by the process. When you stop to consider that many of the people who are afflicted in Japan are lepers, you can appreciate how easily that disease may be transmitted. The medicine god in this shrine has been completely defaced by this process of rubbing. The god of travel is accosted by chewing a small paper prayer, and then throwing it at the god. If the prayer adheres to the god, it is a good omen. While there, we saw aged women hobble up to the shrine, and after tossing a two-sen piece (which corresponds to one cent of our money) into the large offering chest, would cause little children whom they led, who were not so large as our son Harold, to bow and worship these hideous

idol monsters. I have watched those little innocent children as they bowed before those heathen gods, and have heard them lisp their innocent prayers with all the earnestness that should characterize the worship of the true God. It really caused me to feel ashamed that I had delayed so long to carry the grand gospel message to this benighted people. I thought, as I stood there, that if many of our people could witness some of the sights we have seen, it would soon lead them to renounce their selfish ambitions, and come to the rescue of those who are in such great need of their assistance.

JAMES E. SHULTZ.