n many great men."

My visitor thought a religious revival might happen under the
leadership of a Christian or of a Buddhist, or of a man who "united
Buddhism and Christianity" or "developed the primitive form of faith
among the lower people." He thought there were "already men in the
country who might be these leaders." He said that much might happen in
ten years. "Materialism is prevalent everywhere, but people will begin
to feel difficulties in following their materialism. When they cannot
go any further with it they will begin to be awakened."

And then this young man who sincerely desires to do something with his
life and has at any rate made a beginning went his way. Up and down
Japan I met several single-hearted men not unlike him.

One day I made an excursion from Tokyo and came on an extraordinary
avenue of small wooden red painted _torii_, gimcracky things made out
of what a carpenter would call "two by two stuff." By the time I got
to the shrine to which the _torii_ led I must have passed a thousand
of these erections. In one spot there was a stack of _torii_ lying on
their sides. The shrine was in honour of the fox god and there was a
curious story behind it. Twenty years before a man interested in the
"development" of the district had caused it to be given out that
foxes, the messengers of the god Inari, had been seen on this spot in
the vicinity of a humble shrine to that divinity. The farmers were
continually questioned about the matter. It was suggested that the god
was manifesting his presence. In the end more and more worshippers
came, and, with the liberal assistance of the speculator, a fine new
shrine was erected in place of the shabby one. His hand was also seen
in the building of a big burrow--of concrete--for the comfort of the
god's messenger. The top of the burrow also furnished an excellent
view of the surrounding district, and teahouses were built in the
vicinity. Indeed in a year or two quite a village of teahouses came
into existence. The place, which was on the sea-coast, had become a
kind of Southend or Coney Island, and attracted thousands of visitors.

A large proportion of these teahouses would have great difficulty in
establishing a claim to respectability. Numbers of lamps which crowded
the space before the shrine were the gifts of women of bad character
and the inscriptions on these gifts bore the _addresses and
profession_ of the donors. The final irony was the provision of a tr