To understand the ceremony it may be necessary to say something about Shintoism. Whatever the country of its origin there can be little doubt that in growth and development Shinto is a genuine product of Japanese soil. The nature worship, which is a distinct part of its doctrine, was probably inherited from the Ainu who first inhabited the island, while the worship of heroes and ancestors was imported, like Buddhism, from the mainland of Asia. The Pantheon of Shinto is crowded with a host of deities; every stream, every mountain, every tree has its god or goddess; and every hero and every ancestor has its place in Shinto theocracy. Yet it is a religion only in name, for the Kannuski, or priests, have no code of ethics and no doctrine of the destiny of man. They teach no moral duty save that of obedience to natural impulses and to the dictates of the Mikado. Their prayers are invocations to the spirits of the dead, and their sermons are formal addresses, partly eulogies, partly petitions, composed in a language of a remote period not comprehended by the common people. Shinto, in short, is but a shadowy cult of ghosts accompanied with sacrificial rites, and demands of its disciples little more than a visit to some local temple at an annual festival. Its creed may be summed up in two sentences: belief in the continued existence of the dead--whether in a condition of joy or pain is not revealed: and belief in the divine origin and divine right of the Mikado. Its ritual is distinguished by severe simplicity; its temples contain no idols; its priests wear no splendid garments; the only incentives to worship are the mirror which symbolises perfection and the white strips of paper which signify purity. Despite the absence of inspiration, of a code of morals and of a theory of destiny--the essentials of all religions--Shinto is still the national religion of Japan, and every Japanese from his birth is placed under the protection of some Shinto deity. The bugles sounded the general salute, and the shrill notes lingered in the sunlit air like dying peals of thunder as the solid lines of khaki in the plain below came to attention. The ceremony had begun. On the left of the sanctuary were arranged the officers of the First Army--Major General Matsunaga, Major General Okaziki, Major General Shibuya, and Major General Kodama--not the assistant chief of the General Staff--with General Nishi, commander of the Second Division, at their head. In this group were the foreign _attachés_, General Sir Ian Hamilton and Colonel Hume having the places of honour. On the opposite side stood three priests.