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CHAPTER XIV
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 The following morning Kittrick dropped in to discuss the news. But there was little to discuss; all Japan was unanimous in the belief that the official statement constituted but a very crudely contrived1 whitewash2. "I think though that the Foreign Office might have summoned courage to challenge the General Staff had it been able to get irrefutable proof that it engineered the deal to Chang Tse-lin," said Kittrick. "But they failed to get it, so they were in fact quite wise in not making a charge which they could not back up. I think, though, that the Premier3 made a mistake in issuing the statement over his own signature. Now he has tarred himself with the same brush as the militarists, and if the world loses whatever confidence it gained in Japan at the Washington Conference, Japan has only herself to blame."
 
"I think——" began Kent, but he was interrupted by a noise at the door, and the Great Nishimura strode in, radiant, flatulent with self-importance.
 
"Hello, Nishimura-san," Kent waved him to a chair. "We were just talking about the Premier's proclamation. What do you think of it?"
 
"Bunk4!" He dismissed the matter with a scornful sweep of the hand. "Gentlemen, congratulate me; I'm going to be a candidate for the House of Representatives."
 
"Good for you; congratulations. What party will it be, Seiyukai or Kenseikai?"
 
"Ah, that's a detail that hasn't been decided5 yet. We shall find out first which party seems to be the[Pg 176] strongest in my native place where I'm going to run; we're a little uncertain yet. But the most important part, the financial arrangement, has all been fixed6 up, so probably, gentlemen, a short time from now you shall address me as the Honorable Nishimura, and, who knows, some day it may be His Excellency Nishimura. Finally my talents are being recognized by the people that count. I know the game, and I shall go far—and I shan't forget my friends." He smiled effusively7. "In fact, that's what I came in about, to see if you two gentlemen would care to join me in a little celebration, just us three. Now, you know, it is not the common thing for us Japanese gentlemen to go to the Yoshiwara. It isn't done, at least not openly. We go to geisha houses when we want relaxation8 for 'the tired business man,' as you Americans say. But the fact is, an old client of mine owns one of the first-class houses in the Yoshiwara, and to tender his respects to me he has invited me to come with a few friends to his place—so I thought you might like to come."
 
"Why, thanks, Nishimura-san, I think I'd like to go." Kent had never seen the Yoshiwara. He had meant to see it, just as he had meant to see the Imperial Museum and the tombs of the Forty-seven Ronin, some day, ever postponing9 with the knowledge that he might go at any time. "What about you, Kittrick?"
 
"Sure I'll go. The Yoshiwara isn't what it used to be, is it, Nishimura-san?" The great man shook his head sadly. "Still we shall enjoy the excellent hospitality of the coming Premier of Japan."
 
"Who knows?" he smiled deprecatingly. "All right, gentlemen, I shall be here at seven with a car."
 
The car he brought must have been one of the largest in Tokyo, an enormous thing with an interior [Pg 177]resplendent with mirrors, cut-glass flower holders10 and manifold glittering nickel trimmings. "Not a hired car, this," explained Nishimura. "It belongs to the Watanabe interests, my backers, who are now assisting me. Step in."
 
They swept through Tokyo, through a dimly lighted section of narrow streets, emerging presently into a quarter where great buildings, brilliantly lighted, presented a vivid contrast to the surrounding squalor. "Here we are," announced Nishimura. "The nightless city of wine, and song, and beautiful women. You have nothing like that in America."
 
"I'd like to take a look around before we go to your place," said Kent. "Do you mind?"
 
"I shall show you the place, and then you two can walk about a bit. I shall wait for you. I cannot well be seen in these streets, you know."
 
Their destination was an enormous house, three-storied, gorgeous with elaborate carvings11 and gilt12 ornamentation. Kittrick and Kent set out down the wide street, bright in the blaze thrown out from the scintillating13 glare from the great buildings, all spotless, prosperous looking, glittering with light and tinsel. Along the front of each house ran a great hall-like space. One entered and faced a show-window-like arrangement, where rows of large portraits of women, each bearing a name, appeared, set in variously arranged backgrounds of gilt screens, vases with flowers, heavy hangings of brocade, excellently executed silk scroll14 pictures. At each end of this was a small box, ludicrously like a pulpit, in which sat men, the doorkeepers, who drove the bargains with the guests. Some sat silently, impassively suffering the crowds to flow by, stirred to action only when inquiries15 were made of them. Others were busy, after the fashion of barkers at a fair, praising their wares16, calling attention[Pg 178] to the beauties displayed, to the cheap prices. In some houses huge open gateways17 allowed glimpses of gardens, meticulously18 arranged with stone lanterns, miniature shrines19, grotesquely20 gnarled pine trees throwing their shadows in the soft light flooding the space from the windows above, each a delicately contrived, entrancing little fairyland, inviting21, alluring22.
 
They passed down narrower streets, mere23 alleys24, where the lights were dim, the houses smaller, some displaying but three or four portraits, and where the barkers were more insistent25. But throughout it all was noticeable the almost entire absence of women. Here and there, especially in the smaller places, a painted face might be glimpsed for an instant between parted curtains, titters might be heard behind drawn26 shoji, and from above would come the strident whimper of samisen and high-pitched female voices; but that was all.
 
As they progressed, the sameness grew tiring; one became irritated at the monotony of these rows and rows of stiffly smiling portraits staring at one, all so curiously27 alike that soon they gave the impression of a vast composite picture.
 
"I don't see much in it," commented Kent. "It seems to me drab, tedious. Many of the settings are fine, beautiful even, but so much of it is sordid28, these barkers and the pictures, the gross commercial hawking29 of women with as little feeling as if they were meat in a butcher shop. I can't see the temptation."
 
"You came too late," said Kittrick. "You ought to have seen this place a few years ago, when the women were displayed, when these fronts faced right up to the street, showing the girls behind gilded30 bars. You could look down an entire street, a blaze of light and gorgeous color. Here would be a dozen girls with[Pg 179] high coiffures, whitened faces and painted lips, all clad alike in costly31 silks, gold and crimson32, set against a background of heavy brocade and among massive, carved hibachi and mirrors; here, in the next place, would be a score of women in purple and silver, shimmering33 against hangings of soft-toned velvet34; farther on would be another row, in dark blue and white, in the background marvelous carvings and dwarf35 pines and flowers, and so on, as far as eye could see, a kaleidoscope of glittering and glimmering36 gilt, and lacquer, and bronze, and constant, restless flittering of soft textures37, blazing colors, riotously38 bewildering, all decking and displaying thousands of women for sale,—a truly barbaric phantasy of the Orient, where, if one could forget the beastly commercialism of it all, one might at least have a picture, flamingly, prismatically dazzling eye and imagination. And then came the reformer. He pointed39 out, quite rightly, of course, that it was degrading to the great Japanese nation to have its women displayed, like animals, in cages. So they put an end to that part of it, the beauty, the splendor40, and did away with the only excuse that the Yoshiwara ever had for existence; for then, by the gods, you might well have called it one of the Seven Wonders of the World."

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1 contrived ivBzmO     
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的
参考例句:
  • There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
  • The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。
2 whitewash 3gYwJ     
v.粉刷,掩饰;n.石灰水,粉刷,掩饰
参考例句:
  • They tried hard to whitewash themselves.他们力图粉饰自己。
  • What he said was a load of whitewash.他所说的是一大堆粉饰之词。
3 premier R19z3     
adj.首要的;n.总理,首相
参考例句:
  • The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
  • He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。
4 bunk zWyzS     
n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位;废话
参考例句:
  • He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
  • Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。
5 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
6 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
7 effusively fbc26a651b6272e4b186c66a03e5595b     
adv.变溢地,热情洋溢地
参考例句:
  • We were effusively welcomed by the patron and his wife. 我们受到老板和他妻子的热忱欢迎。 来自辞典例句
  • The critics praised her effusively. 评论家们热情洋溢地表扬了她。 来自互联网
8 relaxation MVmxj     
n.松弛,放松;休息;消遣;娱乐
参考例句:
  • The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
  • She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。
9 postponing 3ca610c0db966cd6f77cd5d15dc2b28c     
v.延期,推迟( postpone的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
  • I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句
10 holders 79c0e3bbb1170e3018817c5f45ebf33f     
支持物( holder的名词复数 ); 持有者; (支票等)持有人; 支托(或握持)…之物
参考例句:
  • Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
  • It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识,才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事,同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。
11 carvings 3ccde9120da2aaa238c9785046cb8f86     
n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 );雕刻术;雕刻品;雕刻物
参考例句:
  • The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 gilt p6UyB     
adj.镀金的;n.金边证券
参考例句:
  • The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。
  • The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。
13 scintillating 46d87ba32ffac8539edf2202d549047e     
adj.才气横溢的,闪闪发光的; 闪烁的
参考例句:
  • Statistics on unemployment levels hardly make for scintillating reading. 失业统计数据读来不大会有趣味。
  • You were scintillating on TV last night. 您昨晚在电视上妙语如珠。
14 scroll kD3z9     
n.卷轴,纸卷;(石刻上的)漩涡
参考例句:
  • As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时,黄河的景象展现在眼前。
  • He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴,以表彰其所做出的成就。
15 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
16 wares 2eqzkk     
n. 货物, 商品
参考例句:
  • They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
  • The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。
17 gateways 15fd82cde2a6c5cde8ab669e8d349305     
n.网关( gateway的名词复数 );门径;方法;大门口
参考例句:
  • Police bullets raked the gateways car. 警察的子弹对着门口的汽车扫射。 来自辞典例句
  • No Internet gateways are needed for the programs operation. 该软件的操作不需要互联网网关的支持。 来自互联网
18 meticulously AoNzN9     
adv.过细地,异常细致地;无微不至;精心
参考例句:
  • The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的,雕刻着神圣符文,而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
  • She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句
19 shrines 9ec38e53af7365fa2e189f82b1f01792     
圣地,圣坛,神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪,并且初步鉴定为神庙。
  • Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。
20 grotesquely grotesquely     
adv. 奇异地,荒诞地
参考例句:
  • Her arched eyebrows and grotesquely powdered face were at once seductive and grimly overbearing. 眉棱棱着,在一脸的怪粉上显出妖媚而霸道。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • Two faces grotesquely disfigured in nylon stocking masks looked through the window. 2张戴尼龙长袜面罩的怪脸望着窗外。
21 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。
22 alluring zzUz1U     
adj.吸引人的,迷人的
参考例句:
  • The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
  • Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。
23 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
24 alleys ed7f32602655381e85de6beb51238b46     
胡同,小巷( alley的名词复数 ); 小径
参考例句:
  • I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。
  • The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷,来到城边。
25 insistent s6ZxC     
adj.迫切的,坚持的
参考例句:
  • There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
  • He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。
26 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
27 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
28 sordid PrLy9     
adj.肮脏的,不干净的,卑鄙的,暗淡的
参考例句:
  • He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively.他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。
  • They lived in a sordid apartment.他们住在肮脏的公寓房子里。
29 hawking ca928c4e13439b9aa979b863819d00de     
利用鹰行猎
参考例句:
  • He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
  • We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。
30 gilded UgxxG     
a.镀金的,富有的
参考例句:
  • The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
  • "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们,这只不过是些镀金的铅饼! 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
31 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
32 crimson AYwzH     
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色
参考例句:
  • She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
  • Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。
33 shimmering 0a3bf9e89a4f6639d4583ea76519339e     
v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
  • The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句
34 velvet 5gqyO     
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的
参考例句:
  • This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
  • The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。
35 dwarf EkjzH     
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小
参考例句:
  • The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
  • The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀,摇摇头。
36 glimmering 7f887db7600ddd9ce546ca918a89536a     
n.微光,隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思,我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
  • Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑,赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
37 textures c5e62798e528da9080811018cbb27cd3     
n.手感( texture的名词复数 );质感;口感;(音乐或文学的)谐和统一感
参考例句:
  • I'm crazy about fabrics textures and colors and designs. 我喜欢各式各样的纺织物--对它的质地,色彩到花纹图案--简直是入了迷。 来自辞典例句
  • Let me clear up the point about the textures. 让我明确了一点有关的纹理。 来自互联网
38 riotously 2c55ec2208d9a60b81d359df6835cd13     
adv.骚动地,暴乱地
参考例句:
  • Humboldt riotously picketed Von Trenk but the play was a hit. 尽管洪堡肆意破坏《冯·特伦克》的上演,然而这个剧还是轰动一时。 来自辞典例句
  • Flung roses, roses, riotously with the throng. 随着人群欢舞,狂热地抛撒玫瑰,玫瑰。 来自互联网
39 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
40 splendor hriy0     
n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌
参考例句:
  • Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
  • All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。


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