_ 336 Treaties and Conventions between Japan and Other Powers_, Tōkyō, 1884, p. 171. 337 This castle was built by Katō Kiyomasa after his return from the Korean war. It still stands, being one of the most notable castles of Japan. 338 See p. 47. 339 See p. 380. 340 This able document was prepared by Count Itō Hirobumi. An official translation was published at Yokohama in 1889. 341 In the official list Jingō is not reckoned, and the time of her reign is counted with that of her son and successor. 342 From _Japanese Chronological Tables_, by William Bramsen, 1880. The system of counting from year-periods (_nengō_) was introduced from China. These periods of Japanese history do not correspond to the reigns of the emperors. A new one was chosen whenever it was deemed necessary to commemorate an auspicious or ward off a malign event. By a notification issued in 1872 it was announced that hereafter the year-period should be changed but once during the reign of an emperor. The current period, _Meiji_ (Enlightened Peace), will therefore continue during the reign of the present emperor. The numbers in the second column of this table indicate the years as counted from the founding of the empire by Jimmu Tennō. According to the official chronology this occurred B.C. 660. 343 Translated from the chronology of the shōguns in _Mittheilungen der deutschen Gesellschaft fur Natur und Volkerkunde Ostasiens_, Heft 3, 1873. 344 The translation of these laws of Shōtoku Taishi was furnished by Mr. Tsuji Shinji, late vice-minister of state for education, and by Mr. Matsumoto Kumpei.