The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

JAPANESE WAX-WORKS. 133
charge of bootlis, wliere, for a suiall consideration, a visitor can practise
shooting with bows and arrows. The bows were very small, and the
arrows were blunt at the ends. The target was a drum, and consequent-
ly the marksman's ear, rather than the eye, told when a shot was success-
ful. The drums were generally square, and in front of each there was a
little block of wood. A click on the wood showed that a shot was of
more value than when it was followed by the dull boom of the drum.
The girls brought tea to the boys, and endeavored to engage them in
conversation, but, as there was no common language in which they could
talk, the dialogue was not particularly interesting. The boys patronized
the archery business, and tried a few shots with the Japanese equipments
but they found the little arrows rather difficult to handle, on account of
their diminutive size. An arrow six inches long is haixUy heavy enough
to allow of a steady aim, and both of the youths declared they would
prefer something more weighty.
Near the archery grounds there was a collection of so-called wax-
works, and the Doctor paid the entrance-fees for the party to the show.
These wax-works consist of thirty-six tableaux with life-size figures, and
are intended to represent n:iracles wrought by Ku-wanon, the goddess of
the temple. They are the production of one artist, who had visited the
temples devoted to Ku-wanon in various parts of Japan, and determined
to represent her miracles in such a way as to instrnct those who were
unable to make the pilgrimage, as he had done. One of the tableaux
shows the goddess restoring to health a young lady who has jjrayed to
her ; another shows a woman saved from shipwreck, in consequence of
ha\ing prayed to the goddess ; in another a woman is falling from a lad-
der, but the goddess saves her from injury; in anotlier a pious man is
saved from robbers by his dog; and in another a true believer is over-
coming and killing a serpent that sought to do him harm. Several of the
groups represent demons and fairies, and the Japanese skill in depicting
the hideous is well illustrated. One of them shows a robber desecrating
the temple of the goddess ; and
the result of his action is hinted at by a
group of demons who are about to carry him away in a cart of iron,
which has been heated red-hot, and has wheels and axles of flaming fire.
lie does not appear overjoyed with the free ride that is in prospect for
him. These figures are considered the most remarkable in all Japan, and
many foreign visitors have pronounced them superior to the celebrated
collection of Madame Tussaud in London. Ku-wanon is represented as a
beautiful lady, and in some of the figures there is a wonderfully gentle
expression to her features.