Produced by Christine Aldridge and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcribers Notes: 1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. 2. 4 minor spelling corrections have been made. See list at end of text. Edition d'Elite Historical Tales The Romance of Reality By CHARLES MORRIS _Author of "Half-Hours with the Best American Authors," "Tales from the Dramatists," etc._ IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES Volume XII Japanese and Chinese J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON Copyright, 1898, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. Copyright, 1904, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. Copyright, 1908, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. [Illustration: GREAT GATE NIKKO.] _CONTENTS._ PAGE THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS 5 HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN 12 YAMATO-DAKE, A HERO OF ROMANCE 19 JINGU, THE AMAZON OF JAPAN 27 THE DECLINE OF THE MIKADOS 35 HOW THE TAIRA AND THE MINAMOTO FOUGHT FOR POWER 41 THE BAYARD OF JAPAN 51 THE HOJO TYRANNY 59 THE TARTAR INVASION OF JAPAN 67 NOBUNAGA AND THE FALL OF THE BUDDHISTS 73 HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME PREMIER 80 THE FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM 86 THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 97 THE DECLINE AND FALL OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 106 THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN 113 THE OPENING OF JAPAN 123 THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN 133 HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW 142 CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE 150 THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE 156 KAOTSOU AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS 172 THE EMPRESS POISONER OF CHINA 180 THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR STEPPES 186 THE "CRIMSON EYEBROWS" 192 THE CONQUEST OF CENTRAL ASIA 197 THE SIEGE OF SINCHING 202 FROM THE SHOEMAKER'S BENCH TO THE THRONE 205 THREE NOTABLE WOMEN 212 THE REIGN OF TAITSONG THE GREAT 217