May 10, 1901.] 
tabe, still lives, being in his ninety-eighth 
year.** 
A short sketch of his life, with a portrait, 
by his grandson Dr. Tokutaro Ito appeared 
in a late number of Annals of Botany. + 
Professor Yatabe paid especial attention 
to systematic botany. Soon after his return 
from America he began to make a large and 
extended collection of the native plants, 
making long expeditions, especially in the 
summer vacation. It is to his arduous 
labors in collecting that the larger part of 
the herbarium of the Imperial University is 
due. He found and described many plants 
new to science. But his contributions are 
rather local and quite hidden from the gen- 
eral notice of many botanists. It is indeed 
only during the last few years that Japa- 
nese botanists havebegun tocontribute more 
or less to the general progress of the science. 
I will now relate how botany is taught in 
the Imperial University of Tokyo. Before 
doing so, itis necessary to say how one must 
prepare before entering the University. A 
child goes to the common school at the age 
of six and remains there for from six to eight 
years before entering the high school. In 
the high school, English, mathematics, his- 
tory, geography, physiography, physics, 
chemistry, zoology, botany, physiology, 
mineralogy, together with some Japanese 
and Chinese literature, are taught. This 
takes five years. English is the only for- 
eign language taught in the Japanese high 
schools, except in one school in Tokyo where 
German is studied instead of English. This 
is the preparatory school for the medical 
department of the University. 
If one wishes to enter the University one 
must spend three years after graduating 
from the high school in the higher high 
school (Koto gakko). In the higher high 
school three different courses are given. 
*Since this paper was read Dr. K. Ito has died 
(Jan. 24, 1901). 
{ Vol. XIV., No. 55, Sept., 1900. 
SCIENCE. 
735 
The first course is required for the students 
of law and literature; the second is re- 
quired for the students of science, engineer- 
ing and agriculture, and the third for the 
medical students. The students of medi- 
cine are separately educated, as it is neces- 
sary for them to be thoroughly acquainted 
with German. In these three courses fur- 
ther subdivisions are made, according to the 
specialty of the student. If he isa student 
of botany, he is required to take the second 
course and to study botany, zoology, phys- - 
ics, chemistry, geology, mathematics, Eng- 
lish, German, sometimes French or a little 
Latin, besides some Japanese and Chinese 
literature. After graduating from the 
higher high school he is admitted to the 
University without examination. 
There are now two imperial universities 
in Japan, one in Tokyo and the other in 
Kyoto, the old capital of Japan. The latter 
was founded only three years ago and con- 
tains now the Colleges of Science, Engi- 
neering, Medicine and Law. No botanical 
department is yet established. 
The Imperial University of Tokyo is di- 
vided into six colleges or departments: the 
Colleges of Science, Law, Literature, Medi- 
cine, Engineering and Agriculture, the 
last including Forestry and Veterinary 
Medicine. The College of Science is fur- 
ther divided into seven departments. These 
are physics, chemistry, mathematics, as- 
tronomy, zoology, botany and geology. All 
the courses of the University are required 
except a very few elective ones. Usually 
it takes three years to graduate, but in the 
departments of Law and Medicine four 
years are required. 
The students of botany are required to 
study zoology, including histology and em- 
bryology, geology, paleontology, mineral- 
ogy, physiology, physiological chemistry 
and bacteriology, besides botany. In the 
first year they have three lectures a week 
on general botany (morphology and physi- 
