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OVEE THE TOKAIDO TO YEDO. 273
stirred.
" It must be true," he thought to himself,
" as Mr. Koba
'
said, Our country can never equal
in civilization the western nations so long as human
life is so cheap.'
"
Reaching Yedo, Mr. Rai occupied a room in
the
Superior, or chief one of the three yashikiz, or
houses, of the lord of Echizen. All of the wealthier
and more important of the daimios had these
dwellings, which may be described as being half-way
between a palace and a caravanserai, in which the men
and families of the clan dwelt while in Yedo. They
were named in their order, Superior, Middle, and
Lower. The Superior Yashiki was inside the castle
circuit; the secondary one was within the quarter
occupied by the samurai, but beyond the outer moat
of the castle, and the third, or Lower, was over in
the less important part of Yedo across the river.
The relative wealth, grandeur, or rank of each feudal
lord was indicated by the massiveness of the
gate entrances, the number of beams projecting
towards the street, and the gorgeousness of the
golden crests on each beam-end. Some of the gardens
within these palaces were of surpassing natural
loveliness, cultivated to the utmost of the florist's
art, and rich in objects of taste and skill. Within
the buildings, or fire-proof stone houses, were amazing
stores of paintings on silk, carved ivory and
crystal, bronzes and gold-damaskened iron-work, lacquered
cabinets, costly libraries of manuscript, block,
printed, and illuminated books, brocades and silk,
and all that art and wealth and cunning workman-