THE DAMIOS. 319 



1,700,000 inliabitants. In its centre stands the Siro, 

 or castle, the former residence of the Tycoon and some 

 twenty of the principal Damios, who formed the 

 Great Council of State ; each palace is surrounded by 

 a wall of imposing dimensions, and the entire citadel is 

 raised about eighty feet above the city, and encircled by 

 a moat. There is much simplicity in these buildings, 

 both in their exterior as in their interior arrangement. 

 Some of the sculptures which decorate doorways and 

 pillars are artistically and carefully executed ; and the 

 mats with which the whole of the interiors are covered, 

 caught my eye as being unusually fine and handsome. 

 The massive wooden outer gates of each of these 

 princely Yamascas, — consisting of pai'k, palace, and out- 

 houses, large enough to house a i-etinue of hundreds, 

 and even thousands of soldiers, — have for sole ornament 

 the large bronze coat-of-arms of their owner, which de- 

 sign also each retainer wears woven into his dark 

 uniform with coloured facings. The quarter surround- 

 ing this strong fort is called Soto-Siro, and is inhabited 

 in the first place by a crowd of Damios, who, under the 

 old reyirne had to spend six months in every year 

 at the capital, leaving their wives and female relations, 

 and often their heir, behind as hostages for their good 

 behaviour during the remaining six months, whilst they 

 returned to their distant estates. Now nearly the 



