60             THE  SUMMER  OF   1904.
not be thrown aside, but had to be carefully unpicked and restarted. These calico strips were bound round the body, and there was a certain regiment in which almost every man possessed one. It was said that no bullet would touch him who was wearing this piece of calico. In some places, when troops were on the eve of starting, women stood about the streets imploring passers-by to put a stitch, and they often took senninmunbi to girls' schools, as well as to private houses, for the same purpose. The worship of the Buddhists is much more ornate than that of the Shintoists, many of their temples being magnificent. There are numerous sects, one being Shinshu, the followers of which believe in salvation by faith in the merits of the all-merciful Buddha. The formula Nanu Amida Butan (" O the Adorable Buddha") is supposed, if con-