THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM 



point it is convenient to begin a survey of the ethnological 

 collections from Japan. 



Passing through the entrance hall, the visitor finds imme- 

 diately facing him the stairway to the Sub-basement. The 

 walls of this stairway are utilized for exhibiting a collection 

 of Japanese spears and halberds, among them a war sickle 

 three hundred years old; also Japanese scales and meas- 

 ures, prints and maps. 



SUB-BASEMENT 



"Amid the fragrance of the first -flowering tachibana 

 I recall the perfumed sleeves of the ages long past." 



Old Song of Japan. 



In four corridors surrounding the auditorium is a repre- 

 sentative collection of objects relating to the every-day life 

 of the peoples of the Japanese Empire, including the Ainu, 

 who inhabited Japan before the advent of the Japanese, and 

 the peoples of Korea and Formosa. A series of color prints, 

 reproductions of photographs, and other illustrations illumi- 

 nate particularly the history and customs of Japan. 



At the foot of the stairway, a floor case on the left shows 

 Japanese funeral furnishings, including models of biers and 

 of lanterns used at graves, cremation jars for ashes, and 

 miniature images of warriors. 



The exhibits in the wall cases of this room illustrate the 

 strict anti-foreign attitude of Japan in the early days of 

 European invasion, showing certificates issued to various 



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