Educational Institutions. 195 
in the army fora certain period, and thereafter for a certain fur- 
ther time to hold himself in readiness for such service. The 
wisdom of such a law, in view of a possible uprising of the 
samurai, was signally proved by the serious outbreak which oc- 
curred in Japan in 1877. The result of that rebellion set at rest 
forever the question of rule by a military class in Japan. 
The reorganization of the whole fabric of the public adminis- 
tration was naturally the first care of the imperial government. 
The departments were all established upon a new and an effective 
basis. Foreign advisers were employed to assist in the work, 
and no effort or expense was spared to create a system which 
would be at once modern, practical and economical. 
Time will not permit and it would weary you to recount all 
that was done. A few instances will serve to illustrate the whole. 
The government recognized the importance of education to 
themselves and to the masses. A complete system of educa- 
tional institutions was established in every part of the empire, 
beginning with primary schools in every hamlet, through mid- 
dle, normal and other more adyanced institutions, up to the 
university in Tokio. Hospitals were endowed, and especial 
attention was paid to education in medicine and surgery. Nor 
was any distinction made between the sexes, but schools were 
established for the education of women as well asof men. This 
system has been steadily followed throughout, with only those 
changes which experience has shown to be advisable and bene- 
ficial. There are also a number of private educational establish- 
ments in Japan, many of which hold a deservedly high rank. 
Some of these are denominational, established in the first place 
by foreign missionary bodies, but now exclusively under Jap- 
anese control, white others are secular, the result of the labors of 
men of high scholarly attainments and conspicuous executive 
ability. 
In all public works the government has taken an active and 
an earnest interest. The establishment of railway and steam- 
ship lines, of telegraph and post-roads, and, in short, of all those 
facilities which increase the comfort and convenience of the 
nation, have been their constant care. The telegraph and postal 
systems are equal to those of most countries, while as to rail- 
ways an increase from 18 miles in 1873 to almost 2,000 miles in 
1894 may fairly be regarded as a good result even in this country 
of phenomenal railway developments. 
27 —Nar. Geog. Maa., vou. VI, 1894, 
