94 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



put to a greater number of uses. Their lacquered ware, 

 which is made of wood, and covered with the milky sap of 

 poisonous sumachs, variously stained, is infinite in the variety 

 of its forms and applications, elegant in shape, beautiful in 

 color, and exceedingly durable. The heaviest and most 

 elaborately-wrought castings of bronze in the world were 

 made centuries ago by Japanese artisans; and the most 

 charming and costly bronzes, inlaid with silver and gold, 

 lately exhibited at Philadelphia and Paris, were from the 

 same country. Japanese porcelain has never been surpassed 

 in the" excellence of its form, color, or quality; and the per- 

 fection of Japanese swords in style and temper has rarely 

 been equalled elsewhere. In cabinet and joiner's work, in 

 the dyeing of silks, in weaving and embroidery, and in carv- 

 ing wood and ivory, the Japanese can compete creditably 

 with any other nation. 



The clothing of the masses has been chiefly of straw, 

 cotton, and silk, and less costly than that of almost any other 

 people living in houses. The fashions have been peculiar, 

 but apparently unchangeable from generation to generation. 

 A very large proportion of the lower classes have been 

 accustomed to adorn their entire skins with elaborate pictures 

 in blue, or blue and red ; but very recently the practice has 

 been interdicted by law. A man thus tattooed with India-ink 

 and vermilion, though it required much patient suffering to 

 get into such a suit, was always fashionably attired. The 

 colors also were fast, and the material self-renewing ; and, as 

 he bathed ever}^ day, his dress was always clean. 



The emperor Sujin, who died in the year 35 B.C., may be 

 regarded as the father of Japanese civilization, agriculture, 

 and religion. He is said to have erected the first temples 

 for the worship of the gods, to have encouraged the build- 

 ing of vessels, and opened communication with Corea, 1x) 

 have been the first to order a census, and to establish a gen- 

 eral system of taxation, and to have greatly enriched his 

 country by the construction of water-courses, canals, and 

 reservoirs for the irrigation of rice-fields. In the year of our 

 Lord 203 the empress Jingu invaded Corea; and, as the 

 result of this expedition, many improvements in the arts 

 were imported and adopted. The literature of China, the 

 philosophy of Confucius, and the worship of Buddha, all 



