PRIMEVAL JAPAN ESE. 803 



interval between thetii'.standtlie second inignitions, the mother country 

 had far excelled its colony in material civilization, so that, with the 

 advent of the second band of wanderers, the condition of the Japanese 

 und(>r\vent marked change. They laid aside their bronze weapons and 

 began to use iron swords and spears, and iron-tipped arrows. A warrior 

 carried one :?wordand, perhaps, a dagger. The sword had a blade which 

 varied from 2^ feet to over '4 feet in length. These were not the 

 curved weapons with curiously modeled faces and wonderful trench- 

 ancy wliich becanu^ so celebrated in later times. Straight, one-edgt'd 

 swords, formidable enough, but considerably inferior to the admirable 

 katana of medieval and modern eras, they were sheathed in wooden 

 scal)l)ards, having ])ands and hoops of copper, silver, or iron, by means 

 of which the weapon was suspended from the girdle. The guards 

 were of iron, copper, or l)ronze, often coated Avith gold, and always 

 having holes cut in them to render them lighter. Wood was the 

 material used for hilt as well as for scabbard, but generally in the 

 former case and sometimes in the latter a thin sheet of copper witii 

 gold plating enveloped the wood. Doul)le bart)s characterized the 

 arrowhead, and as these projected about 4 inches beyond the shaft, a 

 bow of great strength must have been uscxl, though of only medium 

 length. Armor does not seem to have l)een generall}' worn, or to 

 have served for covering any part of the body, except the head and 

 the breast. It was of iron, and it took the shape of thin bands of 

 metal, riveted together for cascjue and cuirass. Neith(>r brassart, 

 visor, nor greaves have been foiuid in any dolmen, and thougii sole- 

 rets of copper are among the objects exhumed, they appear to iiave 

 been rather ornamental than defensive. As to shields, nothing is 

 known. No trace of them has been found, and it seems a reasonable 

 inference that they were not used. Horses evidently played an impor- 

 tant part in the lives of the second batch of immigrants, for horse 

 furniture constantly appears among the ol)jects found in dolmens. 

 The bit is almost identical with the common "snaffle''' of the Occident. 

 Made of iron, it has siderings or cheek pieces ot the same metal, elab- 

 orately shaped and often sheeted with gilded copper. The saddle was 

 of wood, peaked before and behind and braced with metal bands, and 

 numerous ornaments of repousse iron covered with sheets of gilt or 

 silvered copper were attached to the trappings. Among these orna- 

 ments a peculiar form of bell is present, an oblate hollow sphere, hav- 

 ing a long slit in its shell and containing a loose metal pellet. Stirrups 

 are seldom found in the dolmens, and the rare specimens hitherto 

 exhumed bear no resemblance to the large, heavy, shoe-shaixnl atlairs 

 of later ages, but are rather of the Occidental type. 



The costume of these ancient Japanese had little in conunon with 

 that of their modern descendants. They wore an upper garment of 

 woven stutt' fashioned after the manner of a looselv lifting tunic, and 



