Chapter 2: Two major climbers in the spread of mountain climbing

Chapter 2 introduces two people and their books who played a major role in the spread of mountain climbing in Japan during the Meiji period. They are SHIGA Shigetaka, a geographer and journalist, and Walter Weston, an English missionary.
As we saw in the first chapter, Japanese and Western climbers began to climb various mountains in Japan after the opening of the country. Their actions and writings had a great impact on the Japanese people, leading to the establishment of mountaineering groups and the spread of school climbing.

SHIGA Shigetaka Nihon Fukei Ron

SHIGA Shigetaka was born in 1863 and entered the Sapporo Agricultural College in 1880. Records of landscapes and other observations he made while traveling around Hokkaido during his college years were reflected in Nihon Fukei Ron later.
In 1887, he became famous for his work Nanyo Jiji (南洋時事, lit. South Sea News) [33-137], which described Pacific islands that were being colonized. The following year, he published a magazine, Nihonjin (日本人, lit. Japanese) [雑54-36], with MIYAKE Setsurei and others, promoting "nationalism." His nationalism was not anti-foreign and reactionary, but an attempt to voluntarily accept Western civilization（“I will convey the essence of "Japanese people" in one’s heart.”）.
In October 1894, after the Sino-Japanese War broke out, Nihon Fukei Ron [45-67] was published.

Nihon Fukei Ron received good reviews and was reprinted many times. It became a bestseller book of the time. Depending on the edition, there are changes in the writing and illustrations. You can read and compare each version in the Digital Collection of the National Diet Library（To digital collection search results）.
The book is considered a turning point for the spread of mountain climbing in modern Japan because it contains passionate appeals for mountaineering and was read by many as a bestseller. Further supporting this reputation, SHIGA later became an honorary member of the Japanese Alpine Club.

After that, SHIGA continued his activities discussing geography. He was also elected a member of the House of Representatives and worked in politics. Later, he wrote a book about the Russo-Japanese War, Taieki Shoshi (大役小志, lit. Observations of the Great War). Taieki Shoshi describes mountains and mountain climbing when he was informed while at war that the theme of Utakai Hajime (annual poetry reading contest convened by the Emperor) was "Shinnen Yama (新年山, lit. New Year Mountain)". Unlike Nihon Fukei Ron, he praised Chinese scenery and poetry.
In March 1927, he died at the age of 63, and an article mourning his death was published in the journal of the Japanese Alpine Club, Sangaku (山岳, The Journal of the Japanese Alpine Club) [Z11-375]. It gave high praise to the influence of Nihon Fukei Ron which is said to have changed people's awareness of landscapes during the Meiji period. It said, "As a pioneer of mountaineering, he taught us about what we call "mountains" and influenced our tastes."

Walter Weston, Mountaineering and exploration in the Japanese Alps

Weston returned to Japan in 1902 to do missionary work, famine relief work, and mountain climbing. At that time, by chance, he had an impressive encounter with mountain climber KOJIMA Usui. This encounter was the event that led Usui to establish the Japanese Alpine Club. This event also marked an important turning point in the spread of mountaineering in modern Japan. KOJIMA Usui and the Japan Alpine Club are introduced in detail in Chapter 3.

After returning to the U.K., Weston helped Japanese people climb mountains in Europe. He wrote several books about his second and third trips to Japan, such as The playground of the Far East [特38-0182]（Japanese translation version : Kyokuto no Yuhojo (極東の遊歩場) [GB645-311] and Nihon Alps Saiho (日本アルプス再訪) [GC117-G20]）.
From these activities, it can be said that Weston also played a major role in the popularization of mountain climbing in modern Japan. In 1937, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette. In the same year, the Japanese Alpine Club also set up his monument in Kamikochi.

In 1940, Weston died in England. After World War II, monuments and sculptures were set up in various places in addition to Kamikochi, and "Weston Festivals" were held. Even after his death, his name has remained in Japan.
On his second visit to Japan, he was accompanied by his wife, Francis Emily, who was also a mountaineer. As we saw in Chapter 1, Japanese mountains were already open to women, so she performed great feats such as the first female ascent of Mt. Yarigatake.

Japanese tradition seen by SHIGA and Weston

In the first chapter, we say both Western and Japanese people climbing mountains in various ways. The main people in this chapter, SHIGA and Weston, also wrote about Japanese climbers of the time and traditional mountain climbing techniques. Let us look at some examples.

Mountain people

When Weston went into the deep mountains, he was helped by people who were familiar with the area. Among them, his interaction with KAMIJO Kamonji, one of his guides, is well known. In Mountaineering and exploration in the Japanese Alps, he was guided by Kamonji when he was trying to reach the summit of Mt. Hotaka. Kamonji’s advanced skills are depicted, such as cutting open a bush with a woodman’s hatchet and clambering down an essentially vertical rock wall. Weston also met Kamonji on his second and third visits to Japan. He praised Kamonji’s professionalism and kindness in his books such as The playground of the Far East.
In addition to Kamonji, Weston met many other mountain people, including hunters. There are descriptions and photographs of their equipment, such as their clothes and footwear for snow.
SHIGA, perhaps from his experience at Sapporo Agricultural College, recommended that climbers build huts using the skills of "The Ezo who led the way" and go deep into the mountains for hunting and gathering, according to "Pleasure, pain, and warnings during mountain climbing in Hokkaido" in Nihon Fukei Ron. The "Tateyama Volcanic Chain" section also describes the services of the Sanka no Tami (mountain guides) and equipment such as clothing and hemp ropes.
This suggests that the knowledge and assistance of these people played an important role in the spread of mountain climbing.

Footwear

Good footwear is essential for mountain climbing, and Westerners were all interested in Japanese traditional straw sandals, waraji. Weston wrote, “At one of these points, I had an impressive reminder of the fact that waraji (straw sandals) give better hold on water-worn boulders than hobnailed boots." At the same time, SHIGA referred to KYOKUTEI Bakin's words, "Waraji (straw sandals) are armor for travelers" and recommended having more than one pair.
Comparing straw sandals and shoes, Weston says, "The waraji give a better foothold on smooth rocks than hob nailed boots, but the latter are best for ordinary walking." In contrast, SHIGA says, "Each person has their own taste.” It seemed that there are some differences between advice written for Westerners and that for Japanese.
Weston sometimes tied waraji to his shoes. It may be because he wanted to make use of both of their advantages, the ease of walking in shoes and the good grip of waraji. In addition to his writings and photographs, a bronze statue of Weston in Oyashirazu, Itoigawa City, Niigata Prefecture also shows Weston with waraji on his shoes.
Weston was not the only Westerner to pay attention to these sandals. Waraji are also mentioned in the book Nihon Sangaku Kiko (日本山岳紀行, Japanische Bergfahrten) [GC81-L3] by German tourist Wilhelm Steinitzer and in A handbook for travellers in central & northern Japan, a travel guidebook for Westerners which was introduced in Chapter 1. KOJIMA Usui wrote that foreign climbers used straw sandals in Nihon Sansui Ron (日本山水論, lit. Treatise on Japanese Mountains and Waters) [99-106] and Alpinist no Shuki (アルピニストの手記, lit. Notes by an Alpinist) [712-60].

Faith

SHIGA mentions "Japanese religious worship of mountains" in Nihon Fukei Ron. This book states that in Japan, Shinto and Buddhist deities are enshrined in many mountains, and yamabushi (mountain priests) and pilgrims climb mountains for worship. This is an excerpt from his book Chirigaku Kogi (地理学講義, lit. Lectures on Geography) [68-327ロ], which appears to have been taken from the 6th edition published in 1894, the same year as the first edition of Nihon Fukei Ron was published.
For Weston, a Christian, this was heresy, but Mountaineering and exploration in the Japanese Alps describe these Japanese beliefs in a non-negative way. It describes a pilgrimage of climbing a mountain with one-tooth geta (wooden sandals with a single support) in order to reduce the possibility of stepping on living things. This description comparing it to Western pilgrimages seems to be respectful. There is a picture of the pilgrimage, and you can see the group wearing white outfits and holding canes.
Their books show that religious mountain climbing, which was popular in the Edo period, was still popular in the Meiji period. There are cases of people climbing mountains in groups for worship in recent years, and worshipping the sunrise is still practiced until now, so reverence for nature may be an important element for mountain climbing even now.

Modern evaluation of their achievements

Nihon Fukei Ron was very popular at the time, but it has been criticized for some points, including the climbing skills depicted. For example, it has been suggested that SHIGA himself had little experience in mountain climbing. He owes a lot of his descriptions of mountains and mountain climbing techniques to foreign books, such as A handbook for travellers in central & northern Japan, which we introduced earlier, and The art of travel [60-99]（full text available in the Internet Archive）, which explains techniques for travel in detail as the title suggests. Also, some readers say that the part of Nihon Fukei Ron recommending mountain climbing is just an appendix. Certainly, when you compare the illustrations from each material, the similarities seems obvious.

KOJIMA, who claims to have started climbing after being inspired by SHIGA, points out that “In Nihon Fukei Ron,......the article of the scenery in the mountains was Japanese translation of the English text, A handbook for travellers in central & northern Japan, which is published by John Murray in London."（Alpinist no Shuki）.
As for Weston, he belongs to the second group of Western climbers in Japan. It is pointed out that it was easier for him because he could read travel guides in English, whereas the first group of Western climbers in Japan had to meet Japanese people directly to climb many mountains. In the same period, there were many other Japanese and Western climbers as well, so some state that today’s people should not consider him special. Weston himself thanked Gowland and Satow in the preface of his book, too.
However, as we will see in Chapter 3, the Meiji climbers often refer to SHIGA and Weston. The influence of their actions and writings can be seen from the fact that Nihon Fukei Ron was widely read and from Weston Festivals being held in various places. From a modern point of view, there may be some limitations of the times. However, it can be said that they were the two greatest leaders who promoted the spread of mountain climbing in modern Japan.

Column: Raw eggs in shoes?

If you take a look at the mountain climbing techniques introduced in Nihon Fukei Ron, you will notice the description, "A raw egg broken into a boot, before putting it on, greatly softens the leather," in the "boot" section. At that time, raw eggs were sometimes used for tanning leather, but from the modern point of view, people might be reluctant to put raw eggs in shoes. (Since it smells bad, tanning using raw eggs is not often done nowadays.)
This description was transcribed from the original book, The art of travel. The same method is described in Military dictionary [64-26], which was compiled by U.S. commissioned officers. Boots were important for Western tourists and military personnel to wear every day, but didn't they mind the smell?
The description of putting raw eggs in boots is not mentioned in KOJIMA Usui's Nihon Sansui Ron [99-106] and MURAKAMI Dakuro's Boken Ryoko Jutsu (冒険旅行術, lit. The art of adventure travel) [96-45], which also seem to use descriptions from The art of travel like Nihon Fukei Ron does. On the other hand, these documents include descriptions of waraji that are not found in The art of travel. As we confirmed in Chapter 2, Nihon Fukei Ron includes descriptions of waraji.
Putting raw eggs into boots and using straw sandals. The footwear descriptions in these materials may be characteristic of the early days of mountain climbing, when a lot of trial and error was carried out, such as copying Western methods that seem strange to us from the modern point of view and making good use of Japanese traditions.
...... Even so, we wonder if anyone really put a raw egg in their boots, and if so, how they felt about the smell after doing so.

Next　Chapter 3:
Establishment of the Japanese Alpine Club
and promotion of mountain climbing