The myths of the _Kojiki_ and _Nihongi_ did not escape from admixture with Indian cosmology and Chinese philosophy, a process which yielded the strangest results. Thus a fourteenth-century writer described the Yin and Yang as evolving by their mutual interaction Izanagi and Izanami, the earlier generations of the _Nihongi_ story being omitted. Their child, the Sun Goddess, proves to be a manifestation of Buddha, one of whose services to humanity was at some far remote period to subdue the "Evil Kings of the Six Heavens" of Indian myth, and compel them to withdraw their opposition to the spread of the true doctrine (that is, Buddhism) in Japan. [Illustration] Still there were a few exceptions to the general decay. At the two great shrines of Ise and Idzumo, the old cult was maintained in tolerable purity, and doubtless many local shrines were preserved by their insignificance from Buddhist encroachment. It should not be forgotten, moreover, that, although the history of Shinto under foreign influence was one of neglect and decay, in so far as its original elements were concerned, it borrowed from Buddhism and Confucianism germs of a higher thought, which under more favourable circumstances might have borne precious fruit. I have before me a book entitled, 'Wa Rongo; or, Japanese (Confucian) Analects,' which shows the later Shinto in a more favourable light. It was published in 1669. The preface states that the original work belongs to the reign of Gotoba no In (1184-1198), and gives a list of successive editors or compilers from 1219 to 1628. It is a collection of oracles of Shinto gods and wise utterances of mikados, princes, and others, of a tolerably heterogeneous kind. Most of them, however, bear the stamp of the Ryōbu Shinto. They are Buddhism, Confucianism, or Sung philosophy in a Shinto dress. The first volume contains 108 (the number of beads in a Buddhist rosary) oracles attributed to the Gods of various Shinto shrines throughout Japan. These oracles are by no means consistent with one another. Some are frankly Buddhist in character, others inculcate the doctrine of the identity of Kami and Buddhas, while others, again, denounce the practice of alien religions. In some, Heaven-and-Earth is recognized as a sort of pantheistic deity, distinct from the physical universe. Here we have Chinese inspiration. Purity of heart, charity to the poor, and the avoidance of vain repetitions are much insisted on. No moral code is anywhere set forth. When virtue is spoken of, it is the Confucian morality, or the observance of the Buddhist commandments, that must be understood. In the following examples the reader will find himself in a wholly different and far higher moral and religious atmosphere from that of the unadulterated older Shinto described in the preceding chapters.