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Unbeaten Tracks in Japan: An Account of Travels in the Interior Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrine of Nikko

Isabella Lucy Bird

3.85 · Rating details · 358 ratings · 60 reviews

The first recorded account of Japan by a Westerner, this 1878 book captures a lifestyle that has nearly vanished. The author traveled 1,400 miles by horse, ferry, foot, and jinrikisha.

Isabella Lucy Bird (1831–1904) was a pioneering woman adventurer who wrote many books about faraway places.

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Paperback, 352 pages

Published April 1st 2007 by Stone Bridge Press (first published 1885)

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Mar 18, 2011 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

One of my favorite travel books by this intrepid Englishwoman, traveling through the "backwoods" of Japan in 1878. Though she was an invalid when at home, she rode horseback through wild country, was out in the elements during downpours that led to landslides and washed-out roads, slept on the floor, clawed her way up mountains, and generally put any one of us to shame with her ambition and her tenacity. She was not politically correct, yet she had a deep concern for the people among whom she tr ...more

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Mar 24, 2021 Chrissie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: epistolary, librivox, japan, travel, history, 2021-read, bio

Free download at Librivox here: https://librivox.org/unbeaten-tracks-...

In 1878 the English-born Isabella Lucy Bird (831 – 1904) traveled to Japan. Suffering from spinal pain and “nerves,” she was advised by her doctor to get fresh air. Consistently this was her doctor’s remedy. She had previously taken sea voyages and traveled in the American Rocky Mountains by stagecoach and horseback. Over the span of her life, she came to travel in China, Tibet, Korea, islands of the Pacific, Australia and o ...more

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Apr 01, 2015 Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned, rather-heavy-going, memoirs

While the content was interesting, I found the narrator so annoying that it really took away from the experience from me. Isabella Bird was one of those "invalids" who enjoy poor health--they can't be expected to lead a normal productive life at home because they are "delicate"--and yet she could travel all over the world in very primitive conditions.The Sandwich Islands (Hawaii to you and me) Persia and Kurdistan, Morroco, Korea, China, etc. It wasn't confined to the 19th century, either; I kno While the content was interesting, I found the narrator so annoying that it really took away from the experience from me. Isabella Bird was one of those "invalids" who enjoy poor health--they can't be expected to lead a normal productive life at home because they are "delicate"--and yet she could travel all over the world in very primitive conditions.The Sandwich Islands (Hawaii to you and me) Persia and Kurdistan, Morroco, Korea, China, etc. It wasn't confined to the 19th century, either; I know a few people like that today, who suffer from mysterious illnesses (cause and cure unknown) that keep them from holding a job or doing housework or being responsible for their kids...but their disabilities don't seem to stop them going camping in the rough, or travelling, or spending the day shopping all over town--or basically doing whatever they really want to do!
Everything is seen through the filter of her innate attitudes of superiority...to a country to which she went voluntarily, with no one's coercion! No one asks her to go anywhere, but whenever she shows up in a town she expects there to be accomodation, comfort and food to her taste. She fixates on the dirty children, the "straw coloured, bitter" tea (no milk and sugar!) and the food--so different to her English tastes. It never occurs to her that no one asked her to go there. She also seems to forget that those living in poverty in English cities were living in worse squalor than the Japanese version. (After all, the Japanese already had the bathhouse culture firmly in place a few centuries before Miss Bird set foot there.)
To enjoy this book you have to be able to sift the wheat from the chaff...I was fascinated by the idea of straw slippers for horses instead of horseshoes, and paper for rain wear! I must see if I can find a less biased author, to discover more about life in Japan in those years.

I realise that yes, she was a product of her time and place in imperialist England. Yes, I got this book for free from Gutenberg, and no one forced me to read it, either. Which is why I didn't finish it; it was starting to take forever. I don't think I'll bother with any of her other adventures.
...more

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Jul 22, 2013 Elisa rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I take a deep breath before reviewing this book to remind myself that the author is a British woman from the 19th century and it took a lot of guts for her to travel all alone.

That being said...Isabella L. Bird is a boring, self-righteous, narrow-minded bigot who decided to publish the letters she sent to her sister while she visited Japan. Why anyone bothered to give her the right, I can only guess is due to the fact that she is supposed to be the first woman to have travelled there.

Not only ...more

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Sep 02, 2014 Ameya Warde rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: wtw-their-books

Like all of Bird's books, this was a really fantastic glimpse into a country at a certain time from the perspective of a 19th century person, a woman, and a Brit at the height of empire. I very much enjoyed seeing what life was life for average folks across Japan back then, I love her for traveling the world by herself in an era where that was quite scandalous and not done.

HOWEVER, more so than any of her other books, this book is extremely heavy with what we would now consider absolutely racis Like all of Bird's books, this was a really fantastic glimpse into a country at a certain time from the perspective of a 19th century person, a woman, and a Brit at the height of empire. I very much enjoyed seeing what life was life for average folks across Japan back then, I love her for traveling the world by herself in an era where that was quite scandalous and not done.

HOWEVER, more so than any of her other books, this book is extremely heavy with what we would now consider absolutely racist language (and thought!) I'm used to reading travelogues from this time so I often think about this topic. Some words did not then carry the weight or insult that developed over time from malicious use, or just use by malicious people, and of course there was still so very much unknown about biology, anthropology and so forth back then. So I do always try to recover after i've recoiled in horror and evaluate if these writers were using the word with all the same connotations they have now, if it was true and innocent ignorance of the time (especially about comments on biological differences which, while totally wrong, also weren't actually attached to any sort of judgement or value statement) and not out of willful ignorance, etc. Usually Bird passes muster on this the vast majority of the time, but in many parts of this book, she didn't.

Yes, what she said at the time was absolutely standard thought for the time, she was not trying to be malicious, there was absolutely no concept of being "PC" in thought, so long as you are polite in action, and *for* the time she does appear to be very progressive in these matters. But still, many things I still will not condone, even though she is just parroting that which is instilled into the "children of empire" back then. I do accept that she was taught to think in this way, but I do not accept that despite her capabilities, she still could not break free of such things. A perfect example on how even though she very much liked and respected the "Ainos" (Ainu people, indigenous to Northern Japan) and complimented them in many ways, she still could say such:

"The profusion of black hair, and a curious intensity about their eyes, coupled with the hairy limbs and singularly vigorous physique, give them a formidably savage appearance; but the smile, full of "sweetness and light," in which both eyes and mouth bear part, and the low, musical voice, softer and sweeter than anything I have previously heard, make me at times forget that they are savages at all. The venerable look of these old men harmonises with the singular dignity and courtesy of their manners, but as I look at the grand heads, and reflect that the Ainos have never shown any capacity, and are merely adult children, they seem to suggest water on the brain rather than intellect. I am more and more convinced that the expression of their faces is European. It is truthful, straightforward, manly, but both it and the tone of voice are strongly tinged with pathos."

Capacity = developed civilization or the almighty "industriousness" which were all-important to Victorians.

Also, the use of savage was ubiquitous when speaking about those societies that the Victorians did not consider sufficiently "civilized" and did not necessarily always have the same connotations that it always does today. A point worth noting this savage/child-like connection is this (from http://www.representingchildhood.pitt...)

"Even as sentimentality about childhood reached new heights, the notion that all children are savages likewise gained widespread support; many Victorians accepted the “Law of Recapitulation,” which stipulated that as a child develops, he or she repeats the stages of development of the human race. This belief in “the savagery of all children and the childishness of all savages” served a justification for subjecting children to harsh discipline, and natives of other countries to the rule of the expanding British Empire."

So, overall, I did enjoy all the insight into traditional Japanese culture, both urban and rural (Bird was the first foreigner to visit most of the places she went in this book) as well as seeing the traditional life styles of the Ainu before it was pretty much obliterated by Japan (so very, very sad to see all the culture and tradition that has been lost when researching more after I read this), thus the four stars that I gave it. However the language is certainly horrible to the modern reader, but does provoke much thought and consideration on the history of racism and conquering (in this case the Japanese over the Ainus and all the eventual westernization of Japan).

I do think this is worth a read for those interested in the history of Japan, just be ready for all of the above. ...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Kiri rated it it was amazing

Isabella L. Bird rocks my world. I am continually in awe at her strength, persistence, and ability to rough it anywhere in the world. To top it off, she's a fabulous writer!

This book (like her others) is a collection of the letters she wrote home to her sister in England while she traveled the world in the 1870s "for her health". In this book, she reports on her observations of Japan, including her adventures on truly unbeaten tracks, interactions with the natives, continual suffering from fleas ...more

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Feb 13, 2010 Crystal rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-about-japan

Isabella Brid gives us a view that the history books leave out of Japan in early Meiji. It's fascinating to see what aspects of Japanese culture have stayed constant, and which have changed radically. At the same time, what a piece of imperialist writing this is! What kind of "explorer" needs to be carried by "natives"? This book says as much about British assumptions of power and propriety as it does about the Japanese. ...more

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Oct 30, 2016 Alex rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: librivox, travel, memoir

The author seemed extremely curious, exploring, for example, "savage people" and cremation service. Her descriptions are very detailed, if at places quite repetitive and lack of distillation. The book is a good source of imagery not only of Japan in 1878, but also of how prejudice a British such as the author could be at the time (she was very generous in throwing onto her very friendly hosts adjectives such as 'ugly', 'stupid', 'abominable', 'grotesque', 'savage', 'terrible', etc.). ...more

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Oct 23, 2019 Heather rated it liked it · review of another edition

I found this is an old box of books and decided to read it because I enjoy travelogues. But it was so dry! A real tedious read. Scenes which the reader was assured are beautiful seemed so mundane when described. A thesaurus was in dire need because I've never experienced such repetitive word use in one book before. And I feel bad for saying it because in the preface Isabella L Rice explains to the reader that she is not (by any stretch of the imagination) a writer. She tells the reader that afte ...more

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Jan 06, 2015 Jan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I gave this 5 stars not because it's a work of great literary merit but because the tale it tells is truly amazing. Imagine traveling as a foreigner from Yokohama all the way to the far reaches of Hokkaido ... in 1878. And this is not a hardy, experienced and intrepid traveler but a Victorian lady who had been advised to "leave home" for recovering her health. Most of the book in the form of letters to her sister, a form which, as Ms Bird readily admits, "involves the sacrifice of artistic arran ...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Alison added it

What a coincidence, I just realized that all three explorers in my list of books were born in Yorkshire. James Cook, Douglas Mawson, and now Isabella L. Bird.

This is an extraordinary book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bird's letters describing her journey through Tohoku and Hokkaido in 1878. I like the way she engaged totally with her surroundings, asking lots of questions, visiting houses, hospitals, people and writing detailed descriptions of everything. The Japan she describes is not the one ...more

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Feb 25, 2015 Emily rated it liked it · review of another edition

People seem to either love or hate this book and just to be contrary I am giving it three stars. All the negative criticisms that I have read about this book are right on the money, but so are the positive ones. There was a point in my reading that I wished she were alive so I could slap her. One point? No, several points. I simply could not understand how she could keep referring to the Ainu as savages and while simultaneously sing their praises, What was her definition of savage? Not European? ...more

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Apr 15, 2010 Michael rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: japan, history, biography

The back cover blurb rightly lauds Bird as a feminist pioneer and astute observer of rural Japanese life in the late 19th century; however, the blurb doesn't mention Bird's embarrasing attitude towards the majority of those people (with the exception of the Ainu). She describes people in dehumanising terms (such as "creatures"), and consistently talks about how ugly and wretched and diseased they are. I suppose it's too much to expect cultural relativism from her era, but I found many parts of t ...more

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Feb 26, 2019 Smiley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: japan, travels

4.50 star

It's my delight to see this book on display on the shelf at the DASA BookCafe once again, I first browsed its hardcover with various fine black-and-white illustrations on the front cover and inside on Floor 6 in the Books Kinokuniya, Takashimaya Times Square Annexe Branch, in Tokyo during our second visit there on November 14, 2015. I found reading it fantastic and worth spending one's time since the author, as a 47-year-old lady traveler, has proved herself formidable in her spirit and ...more

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Feb 22, 2015 Pat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-challenge-2015

This is a rich and engrossing account of an amazing 1,400 mile journey through the wild northern island of Japan by a most intrepid, courageous and observant lady. In 1878 Isabella Bird was in poor health. Based on the introduction in the 1971 edition she was suffering from depression. Since she had travelled widely and published several books on travel, a trip to Japan seemed a good idea to cheer her up. As an upper middle class Victorian lady in her mid-40s she had a ready welcome in the diplo This is a rich and engrossing account of an amazing 1,400 mile journey through the wild northern island of Japan by a most intrepid, courageous and observant lady. In 1878 Isabella Bird was in poor health. Based on the introduction in the 1971 edition she was suffering from depression. Since she had travelled widely and published several books on travel, a trip to Japan seemed a good idea to cheer her up. As an upper middle class Victorian lady in her mid-40s she had a ready welcome in the diplomatic community of Japan, but comfort and touristic sites were that last thing she seems to have wanted. The “unbeaten tracks of Japan” particularly of the northern Island, Hokkaido, which was at that time mostly inhabited by the uncivilized, but not essentially primitive Aino people, the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan.
The first part of the book covers her trip across Honshu, the southern, rapidly westernizing main island. Although she gets to enjoy the hospitality of English diplomats and the Japanese government she soon sets off into the increasingly wild north accompanied by Ito, her interpreter, who is bright, practical and helpful, but who at times clearly finds himself in situations in rough country that he would have avoided if he was not bound by contract to accompany the indomitable Bird. Her descriptions of the places she goes and the people she meets are vivid. She had the talent to win the trust of people she did not even share language with so you learn a great deal about the customs and culture of the communities she spends time in.
It’s travelogue that at times is also an action adventure as she struggles up mountains, fords rivers and generally refuses to be limited by rough trails, landslides, fuming volcanos, frail horses, flea and mosquito infested `hotels’ and unpalatable and meager food. When I switched from e-reader to paper (from plane to sofa!) I found that the illustrations in the paper copy closely matched the images she had created in my mind through her rich and evocative language.
I can’t wait to read about her travels in Hawaii, Korea, China and Tibet.
...more

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Apr 27, 2014 Nicole rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, 19thcentury, japan

A fascinating look at 1878 Japan through the eyes of Isabella Bird, a British woman who traveled the world alone. It's also a fascinating look at Isabella, who is intrepid and quite complicated. She insists on traveling the "unbeaten tracks" of Japan, literally making her way through the remotest parts of northern Japan and visiting places that no non-Japanese has ever gone. I found many of her observations quite interesting. She described the living conditions of northern Japan in a way you don ...more

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Jan 13, 2015 Diane rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: women, japan-japanese, travel

I like to read books by and about 19th and early 20th century women travelers. Isabella Bird was around 40 when she traveled to Japan in 1878, only about a decade after Japan became open to the rest of the world. As a young adult Isabella had been advised by a physician to travel as a way to overcome some infirmity. She does occasionally mention problems with her back and needing some recovery time, but she travels over territory and by all sorts of means that would totally intimidate a traveler ...more

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Dec 04, 2013 Maddy added it · review of another edition

Such an interesting book. Was a bit disappointed that the author was hailed as a feminist icon in the preface and introduction, with not even a token mention of her flagrant racism. That said, her flagrant racism is somewhat tempered by the end of the book - I get the impression that Ms. Bird was really struggling with the ideology she grew up with. She'll praise Japanese people who were helpful, polite and kind to her, and then say something ridiculous about the "Japanese physique" or how Buddh ...more

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Nov 18, 2015 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone!

Shelves: life-of-women, non-fiction, electronic-reader, on-ibooks, autobiography

As I read this book I had a couple of thoughts....She was very racist, although she would probably not have realized so as a product of her time. The other thought was how little things have changed in Japan since her travels! Oh, of course there are better roads and ways of transportation, but the Japanese people themselves haven't changed very much.

I enjoyed this account of her travels very much. As a long time resident in Japan I found myself nodding along at some of her travails and thinking ...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Rissi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: travel

Ms Bird was an intrepid traveler in the late 1800s, early 1900s.... Memory dim on that. Not certain the Japanese would be so thrilled with her depictions of them. She makes them seem rather primitive. She likes them, they like her, and she sometimes helps - removes a fish bone from a baby's throat - and they help her with her difficulties in traveling in the remote areas.
Nice snapshots of old Japan. ...more

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Sep 24, 2016 Barbara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Adventures and observations of a remarkable traveler in 1878 Japan. More repetitive than ROCKY MOUNTAINS with much discussion of local vegetation and the hairy attributes of the indigenous Ainu. But her enthusiasm for every new sight and landscape after suffering through really difficult travel conditions (including being thrown off horses, covered in fleas and starving along with the locals) in spite of her painful spine problem, just fill me with the greatest admiration and envy.

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Oct 23, 2008 Duntay rated it liked it · review of another edition

Isabella Bird is an amazing character, a very intrepid lady.

I was inspired to read this after seeing an exhibition of modern photographs of many of the places she visited and the geography she covered is awe -inspiring, especially as she was a lady of a certain age suffering from back problems.

My copy of the book is to be posted off to my Mum to read next.

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Nov 19, 2008 Phil rated it liked it · review of another edition

Think Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel's Passport series or Justine Shapiro from PBS's Globe Trekker. Then go back 130 years.

This solo traveller from England explored Japan in an era where Japan was virtually unknown to most of theworld. The ictures she paints with her words are a fascinating look at real people. Except for the language we consider formal andstilted today, ...more

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Mar 07, 2014 Heretic rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A fascinating look at Japan of 130 years ago. It was exceedingly poor, in need of basic things like soap, fabric, bug spray, and simple medical doctors with basic medicines, vitamins, and rash creams. Eventually they got these things and life improved in leaps and bounds, but this came after Isabella Bird's visit as the first foreign woman ever seen in interior japan. ...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Janet rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Very readable and entertaining but any anthropological or political observations should be taken with a large does of salt. Like many travelers of those days she has a bias through which she views the world.

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Jul 23, 2014 Sammcnair rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Unbelievable what this woman did, and she did a great job if painting the pictures for us. It took me a while to read--while very interesting , it was not compelling. And I wish she was still around , because she left many questions unanswered in my mind

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Aug 13, 2014 Diane rated it liked it · review of another edition

Much of this was great and an enlightening first-hand look at life in northern Japan (Tokyo to Hokkaido) in the late 18th century, but since it is a collection of letters, there is no storyline, which can make it tedious at times.

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Aug 17, 2016 T. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Written in 1878 with great detail of her time in the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido. My hat is off to this woman who seems utterly fearless and unfazed by fleas, massive mosquitoes, curious locals and a variety of forms of travel, including cow, to get into the outback of Japan.

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Mar 18, 2007 Lily Wei rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A wonderful gift from Craig, a great insight into the old ways of Japan through a courageous English lady's travels. ...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Bernadette rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Isabella Bird's view of Japan in the early Meiji Era is a wonderful mixture of a imperialistic view of other cultures and some sheer insight and appreciation for other cultures. ...more

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About Isabella Lucy Bird

Isabella Lucy Bird

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Isabella Lucy Bird (October 15, 1831 – October 7, 1904) was a nineteenth-century English traveller, writer, and a natural historian.

Works:
* The Englishwoman in America (1856)
* Pen and Pencil Sketches Among The Outer Hebrides (published in The Leisure Hour) (1866)
* The Hawaiian Archipelago (1875)
* The Two Atlantics (published in The Leisure Hour) (1876)
* Australia Felix: Impressions of Victori ...more