Feb., 1912. Jade. 353 



for nephrite! l For this reason, we must look upon the Japanese 

 nephrite magatama with a certain feeling of diffidence. The monu- 

 mental work of Mr. Bishop has paved the way also in this question and 

 supplies us with accurate evidence for the occurrence of jadeite in a 

 Japanese magatama. 



The Bishop collection (Vol. I, p. 231), fortunately, contains one 

 ancient specimen from Japan. "It is a curved bead, or magatama, of 

 light emerald-green jadeite with dead-oak-leaf stainings, pierced for 

 suspension as a pendant or as part of a necklace, where it is supposed 

 to have been strung with a number of the tubular beads called kudatama. 

 No jade has hitherto been found in situ in any part of Japan, so that all 

 beads dug up there are presumed to be of exotic origin." The spec- 

 imen in question is figured and described in the work of Bishop, 

 Vol. II, p. 113. 



Dr. Bushell (in Bishop, Vol. I, p. 47) translates the following 

 passage: ''The Tu yang isa pien, a work of the end of the ninth century 

 (Wylie, Notes, p. 194) records that during the T'ang dynasty the king- 

 dom of Japan presented to the emperor an engraved gobang board 

 of warm jade, on which the game could be played in winter without 

 getting cold, and that it was most highly prized. Thirty thousand /*" 

 east of Japan is the island of Tsi-mo, and upon this island the Ning- 

 hia Terrace, on which terrace is the Gobang Player's Lake. This 

 lake produces the chess-men which need no carving, and are naturally 

 divided into black and white. They are warm in winter, cool in sum- 

 mer, and known as cool and warm jade. It also produces the catalpa- 

 jade, in structure like the wood of the catalpa-tree, which is carved 

 into chess-boards shining and brilliant as mirrors." This account is 

 evidently fabulous, and as stated by Wylie, the work in question, 

 chiefly occupied with an account of rare and curious objects brought 

 to China from foreign countries between 763 and 872 a. d., contains 

 many statements having the appearance of being apocryphal. It 

 may well be doubted that real jade is meant there, and even if this were 

 the case, no evidence for the natural occurrence of jade in Japan or 

 the adjacent islands would accrue from this text. 



However easy the nephrite problem of Japan may look on the sur- 

 face, it is difficult to decide from what source, how, and when the 



1 In a small pamphlet, "Uebersicht und Bemerkungen zu von Siebold's Japa- 

 nischem Museum " (without year and place), p. 4, also jade is listed among the mineral 

 products of Japan. Either this is a case of mistaken identity or a case of recent 

 importation from China. Mr. Bishop (Vol. I, p. 184) remarks: "A small number 

 of worked jade objects have also come from Japan, but probably in the course of 

 commerce from China, as we have the explicit statement of Mr. Wada that jade 

 is not found in that country." 



