PREFACE. 



During the preparation of this Memoir on the Shell Mounds of Omori, I have 

 examined, in company with others whose names are mentioned below, deposits 

 of a similar nature at Otai'ii, on the western Coast of Yezo, Hakodate, a num- 

 ber within the city limits of Tokio, and one of enormous extent and depth in 

 the Province of Higo, Island of Kiushiu. 



From all these places large collections have been made, and are now in the 

 Archaeological Museum of the University of Tokio. 



As the Omori Mounds have proved so rich in material, it was thought best 

 to limit this first contribution to an exhaustive illustration of the various forms 

 and ornamentations there occurring, thus making it the basis for future com- 

 parisons when the other deposits shall have been worked up. In Yamagata 

 Ken, for example, as well as in the Tokio Deposits, fragments of pottery are 

 met with, bearing so close a resemblance to the Omori forms that a reference 

 to them may be made without further illustration, while only new forms need 

 be figured and described. For these reasons, the attempt has been made to 

 figure every typical form of shape and ornamentation. In manj' cases, also, 

 the varietal modification in shape» and design has been given, as with the rims 

 on Plate VIII. and the knobs on Plates XI. aud XII. 



It may be stated that many of the other forms figured, are represented by a 

 number of varieties which are contained in the Museum of the University. 



Professional duties at the University, connected with instruction and the ar- 

 ranging of the Museum, prevented my giving that supervision over the plates 

 necessary to secure the uniformity which they lack. When it is considered 

 however, that the drawing (with the exception of the last plate) and lithograph- 

 ing have been done entirely by Japanese artists, — the art of drawing in foreign 

 style, and the art of lithography being still new to them, — some allowances 

 may be made for the imperfections they present. 



On the other hand, it ma}' be said with truth that all the outlines are correct, 

 and that full reliance may be placed on the figures. The same excuse may be 

 made with reference to the composition and press work, as these labors have been 

 done in a Japanese office, the compositors not being able to speak a word of 

 English. With some pride, it may be said that the paper on which the book 

 has been printed is of Japanese manufacture, so that from composition to bind- 

 ing, the mechanical production is entirely Japanese. As a Japanese version 

 has been issued, the plates have been lettered for that edition also. 



