In this connection a few words should be written concerning mission schools, which will also be considered in the chapter on Christianity. In spite of limitations both from within and from without, these institutions, having their “ups and downs,” nevertheless maintained themselves and have won popular favor against a strong prejudice. They have always insisted upon a high mental and moral standard, and have without doubt aroused the public schools to raise their standards and ideals. Whatever may be said for or against mission schools as evangelizing agencies, it is generally acknowledged that, as educational institutions, they have been models of correct pedagogical principles and exemplars of high morality. It is also interesting to note that, after a period during which the Japanese thought that they could teach foreign languages as well as foreigners, there is an increasing demand for foreign instructors. Within the past two years several young men from America have been engaged as teachers of English in middle schools; and such opportunities are increasing. Moreover, a larger number of students than ever are annually sent abroad by the government, or go abroad at their own expense, to finish their education. Thus narrow prejudices are dissipated and minds are broadened. Another means for improving the educational system of Japan is to be found in teachers’ associations, educational societies, and summer institutes. The first two are local; the last are national. The educational societies are for the purpose of increasing the general interest in education in the different localities; the teachers’ associations are, as in America, for the improvement of methods of instruction; and the summer institutes are for the same purpose on a broader scale. What was written about private schools may be repeated concerning libraries. No Japanese Carnegie has yet appeared; only a few men, like Mr. Ōhashi, and the late Baron Kodama, formerly Governor of Formosa, have endowed libraries as memorials. The largest public library is the Imperial Library[148] in Tōkyō, with over 400,000 volumes, of which more than 50,000 volumes are in European languages. It is in the domain of science that the Japanese have achieved, perhaps, their greatest intellectual successes. Their work in original investigation is always painstaking, and in many cases it has attained an international reputation. The names of Dr. Kitasato, associated with the famous Dr. Koch in his researches, and Dr. Aoyama, the hero of the pest in China, are well known; and now comes Dr. Ishigami, who claims to have discovered the germ of smallpox. The chief defects in the Japanese educational system are on three lines: dependence on Chinese ideographs, vague instruction in ethics, and encouragement of cramming. The removal of these hindrances to progress is engaging the attention of thoughtful educators, but is a slow and gradual process. BIBLIOGRAPHY.