JAPANESE ART. 4(33 



the head. A number of tea-chests are heaped one above another at his side, a-.d the perspective 

 of these is perfectly correct. A glass globe of gold fish, which have awakened the hungry 

 instincts of a cat that wistfully watches their movements in the water, is among the pictures. 

 A couple of chairmen, who have put down their sedan to take their rest, are engaged lighting 

 their pipes ; and a professor, seemingly, of phrenology is standing amid the paraphernalia of 

 his art, whatever it be, and is taking the measure with a pair of compasses of a bald-headed 

 disciple. All these scenes occur among the illustrations of this little book. All show a 

 humorous conception and a style of treatment far in advance of the mechanical trash which 

 sometimes composes the nursery books found in our shops. A people have made some progress 

 worth studying who have a sense of the humorous, can picture the ludicrous, and goodnaturedly 

 laugh at a clever caricature. The constant recurrence on the margin of the pages of these 

 Japanese books of what is usually called by architects " the G-reek fret or border," is certainly 

 curious. We are surprised by a classic form that we would not have expected to find an 

 established feature in Oriental art. Not less surprising also is it to find another architectural 

 form belonging to what is usually termed the "Gothic" style. If the reader will turn to the end 

 of chapter XXI, he will find, delineated on a gong, the perfect representation of the trefoil of 

 the modern architect ; it is an accurate copy from the original. Our artist has also sketched 

 another, in which the "Gothic" pattern is plainly seen. These are singular coincidences. 



There is great scope for sculpture in the image-worship of the religion of the Japanese, and, 

 accordingly, statues of stone, metal, and wood, abound in the temples, shrines, and by the way- 

 sides. The mechanical execution of these generally exhibits much manual skill, but none of 

 them are to be named as works of art. The wood carving is often exquisitely cut, and when 

 representing natural objects, particularly the lower animals and familiar parts of vegetation, is 

 often remarkably close to truth. The sculptured cranes, tortoises, and fish, which are among 

 the most frequent subjects carved upon the entablatures and cornices of the houses and 

 temples, were continually admired for their fidelity to nature. 



With the exception of a temple or a gateway here and there, which, in comparison with the 

 surrounding low houses, appeared somewhat imposing, there were no buildings seen which 

 impressed the Americans with a high idea of Japanese architecture. The most creditable 

 specimens of this branch of art are found in some of the stone causeways and bridges which are 

 often built upon single bold Roman arches, and in design and masonry are equal to the most 

 scientific and artistic structures anywhere. 



There were no printing establishments seen either at Simoda or Hakodadi, but books were 

 found in the shops. These were generally cheap works of elementary character, or popular 

 story books or novels, and were evidently in great demand, as the people are universally taught 

 to read and are eager for information. Education is diffused throughout the Empire, and the 

 women of Japan, unlike those of China, share in the intellectual advancement of the men, and 

 are not only skilled in the accom])lisbments peculiar to their sex, but are frequently well versed 

 in their native literature. The higher classes of the Japanese with whom the Americans were 

 brought into communication were not only thoroughly acquainted with their own country, but 

 knew something of the geography, the material progress, and contemporary history of the rest 

 of the world. Questions were frequently asked by the Japanese which proved an information 

 that, considering their isolated situation, was quite remarkable, until explained by themselves 

 in the statement that periodicals of literature, science, arts, and politics, were annually received 

 from Europs through the Dutch at Nagasaki ; tliat some of these were translated, republished. 



