OMENS FROM BIRDS 



WHILE the war between Japan and China was at 

 its height, the Secretary - General of the Imperial 

 Cabinet of Japan and a Member of the House of 

 Peers presented to the Mikado a memorandum of 

 'an unprecedentedly auspicious omen/ which occurred 

 just after the naval battle off the Yaloo River. The 

 narrator further translated his memorandum into 

 English, and forwarded it to the editor of the 

 Times, so that we were able to learn at first hand 

 what omen it was that impelled the composition of 

 this unique document. After noting that history 

 records many instances of sacred birds giving 

 auspicious signs for, and assisting in, the triumph 

 of the Imperial armies over rebels and enemies, 

 the most remarkable being that when the Emperor 

 Jimmu was marching against Nagasunehiko, 'a crow 

 of dazzling brilliance perched upon the point of 

 his bow, and the Imperial host gained a complete 

 victory/ he adds, ' a similar mysterious incident has 



307 



