In this quotation only two things are mentioned--the sword and the mirror. A third is spoken of sometimes as a ball of crystal, at others as a seal, “sinji.” Klaproth calls it a ball of greenstone with two small round holes. The three things go by the name of “Sanjioo no jinji.” During the long and bloody wars between the emperors of the north and south, in the sixteenth century, the former, who resided in Miako, and finally established himself on the throne, was not considered incontestably emperor until he obtained possession of these three sacred symbols. Though the emperor of the south was hard pressed, and almost a refugee in the mountains, he kept possession of them, and finally concluded a truce, delivering them up to his opponent, emperor _de facto_. On one occasion the three precious jewels were stolen, and after being kept several months were recovered or sent back. On several occasions they have narrowly escaped destruction by fire, and in the year 1040 A.D. the mirror was broken by the heat; but the pieces were recognized and placed together. Within the last few years (in 1851) they were again nearly exposed to a similar chance of destruction, but were saved by Hoongay Hashimoto, who brought them out at the risk of his life. In Japan it is usual to perform a ceremony at the time when the boy assumes the _toga virilis_ and becomes a man. The age at which this takes place is not settled, and seems to vary from the tenth to the fifteenth year. The eldest son of the Emperor undergoes this operation (known as “Gembuko”; Ch., “yuen fuh”) about the age of ten or eleven, when he, according to the custom, receives a new name. His hair is shaved off in the manner usual with men, and he assumes a dress. In all families the occasion is an important one, and in the case of the son of the Emperor, the heir-apparent, it becomes national. At the inauguration of the Emperor (according to Klaproth) his height is measured with a bamboo, which is deposited in one of the great temples in the province of Isse until his death, when it is removed to another, and revered as a spirit. With the bamboo of the reigning Emperor are deposited a straw-hat, a grass rain-mantle, and a spade, emblems of agriculture, held in Japan as an occupation second only to that of the soldier.