chromo-lithographs and other reproductions in the _Kokka_, a periodical record of Japanese works of art (begun in 1889), in the superb albums of the _Shimbi Shoin_, and in the publications of Ogawa being of quite a high order of merit. (E. F. S.; F. By.) [Illustration: PLATE III. PAINTING FIG. 6.--KWANNON, GODDESS OF MERCY. By Mincho or Cho Densu (1352-1431). FIG. 7.--LANDSCAPE IN SNOW. By Kano Motonobu (1476-1559). FIG. 8.--JUROJIN. By Sesshiu (1420-1506).] [Illustration: PLATE IV. PAINTING FIG. 9.--PLUM TREES AND STREAM--SCREEN ON GOLD GROUND. By Korin (1661-1716). FIG. 10.--PEACOCKS. By Ganku (1749-1838).] Historical Sketch. _Sculpture and Carving._--Sculpture in wood and metal is of ancient date in Japan. Its antiquity is not, indeed, comparable to that of ancient Egypt or Greece, but no country besides Japan can boast a living and highly developed art that has numbered upwards of twelve centuries of unbroken and brilliant productiveness. Setting aside rude prehistoric essays in stone and metal, which have special interest for the antiquary, we have examples of sculpture in wood and metal, magnificent in conception and technique, dating from the earliest periods of what we may term historical Japan; that is, from near the beginning of the great Buddhist propaganda under the emperor Kimmei (540-571) and the princely hierarch, Shotoku Taishi (573-621). Stone has never been in favour in Japan as a material for the higher expression of the sculptor's art. First Period. The first historical period of glyptic art in Japan reaches from the end of the 6th to the end of the 12th century, culminating in the work of the great Nara sculptors, Unkei and his pupil Kwaikei. Happily, there are still preserved in the great temples of Japan, chiefly in the ancient capital of Nara, many noble relics of this period.