“Japan is the land of much natural scenery that is pre-eminently interesting and picturesque. It is the land of beautiful green mountains and of luxurious and highly variegated flora. It is the land that lends itself to art, to sentiment, to reverie and brooding over the mysteries of nature and of life. But it is also the land of volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, and typhoons; the land under whose thin fair crust, or weird and grotesque superficial beauty, and in whose air and surrounding waters, the mightiest destructive forces of nature slumber and mutter, and betimes break forth with amazing destructive effect. As is the land, so—in many striking respects—are the people that dwell in it. The superficial observer, especially if he himself be a victim of the unmixed sentimental temperament, may find everything interesting, æsthetically pleasing, promising continued kindness of feeling, and unwearied delightful politeness of address. But the more profound student will take note of the clear indications, that beneath this thin, fair crust, there are smouldering fires of national sentiment, uncontrolled by solid moral principle, and unguided by sound, practical judgment. As yet, however, we are confident in the larger hope for the future of this most ‘interesting’ of Oriental races.” BIBLIOGRAPHY. Rein’s “Japan,” “The Gist of Japan” (Peery), “Japan and its Regeneration” (Cary), “The Soul of the Far East” (Lowell), “Feudal and Modern Japan” (Knapp), “Lotos-Time in Japan” (Finck), and Hearn’s works discuss the subject of Japanese characteristics with intelligence from various points of view. The most interesting and instructive Japanese writer on the subject is Nitobe in his “Bushidō, the Soul of Japan.” Dening’s paper in vol. xix. Transactions Asiatic Society of Japan is very valuable. “The Evolution of the Japanese” (Gulick) should also be carefully studied, especially as he differs from Lowell and others, who contend that Orientals in general, and Japanese in particular, have no “soul,” or distinct personality. Hearn’s best work, entitled “Japan, An Interpretation,” is interesting and instructive in this connection. “Japanese Life in Town and Country” (Knox), “Dai Nippon” (Dyer), chap. iii., and “Every Day Japan” (Lloyd) also throw light on this topic. CHAPTER VII HISTORY (OLD JAPAN) OUTLINE OF TOPICS: Outline of mythology and history; sources of material; earlier periods; Japanese and Græco-Roman mythology; prehistoric period; continental influences; capitals; Imperialism; Fujiwara Epoch; Taira and Minamoto; Hōjō tyranny; Ashikaga Period; Nobunaga and Hideyoshi; Iyeyasu; Tokugawa Dynasty.—Bibliography. The mythology and history of Japan may be outlined in the following manner:— A. Sources of material. 1. Oral tradition. 2. Kojiki [711 A. D.]. 3. Nihongi [720 A. D.]. B. Chronology. I. Old Japan.