Scenes at a Famous Temple During the intense heat of the Tokio summer 1 sought relief for a short period in the mountains not far from one of Japan's most noted temples, the Zenkoji, where thousands gather from year to year secking cure or amelioration of bodily ills, writes the Tokio correspondent of the " Morning Post." The ancient edifice is situated in a city of some 50,000 souls, overlooking a vast plain sloping gently from the highlands and is flanked by verdant hills. The town of Nagano has very good inns for the accommodation of devotees.
Approaching the great main gateway of the temple one gazes at the hundreds entering and departing, old and young, from every corner of the Empire; some smiling with satisfaction, others looking gravely doubtful. A toothache or a bit of chronic rheumatism is a tough task, even for a god. The high, broad gateway, with its quaint roof, is guarded on either side by colossal grotesque figures, called Nie-J, carved by a great sculptor, and costing more than Y.100,000. These are not gods, as some foreigners suppose: they are watchdogs from the nether regions frighten off demons or other forms of evil, and serve in some measure the purpose of gargoyles and other impossible pieces of sculpture seen on churches in the West.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.