The American Naturalist, [Nc 
, after 1854, that it has been made possible to obtain speci- 
mens in any considerable numbers. And now a serious danger arises* 
The sudden influx of foreigners into Japan, and the demands of trade, 
have changed the character of manufactures, and the customs of the 
people brought in contact with the foreigners, rendering it more 
difficult year by year to obtain genuine Japanese articles uncontami- 
nated by foreign influences. The quality of the majority of the ex- 
ported lacquered ware has vastly deteriorated, the exported porcelain 
has succumbed to the demands of foreign taste ; the screens, fans, 
lanterns, cloths, and papers which come to us cease to fairly illustrate 
the best art and forms, and mislead rather than instruct us as to the 
exquisite tastes of these interesting and refined people. 
It is therefore peculiarly fortunate that in Salem, Mass., where already 
exists one of the finest ethnological collections in the world, there 
should be added, from Japan, so complete a collection as that recently 
placed on exhibition. Formed by one having exceptional relations 
with the Japanese in their inside life, both as friend and instructor, it 
has been made possible to gather a cabinet at once pure as regards the 
art and customs of the people, and complete in illustrating all the 
branches properly included in ethnology. 
The catalogue of Japanese accessions enumerates 691 specimens. 
These have been arranged, temporarily, in one of the new long cases 
on the eastern side of the hall, and occupy some fifty feet of glass 
front. The most conspicuous objects are the life-sized figures : a war- 
rior in full armor as used before the late revolution and the introduction 
of European methods and arms ; the gentleman and wife with their 
two children, a boy and a girl ; and the farmer and wife, the latter 
bearing an infant characteristically tied upon her back. These models 
were all made for the museum, and are the best ever brought to this 
country. Looking at them, the visitor is at once struck by what we 
should term the undersize of the Japanese, and we can readily see how 
a man of our ordinary height can overlook a Japanese crowd without 
difficulty, as is often stated to be done. 
One section contains a collection of swords and blades, 37 in ""'^' 
ber, many of great beauty and all of fine workmanship, together with 
numerous knives and sword guards, the latter objects being greatly 
valued in Japan for their exquisite finish and design, often bringing 
large prices at special sales. All of these were presented to the museum 
by jMr. Machida, a noted sword merchant of Tokio, who says in his 
letter to Mr. Morse, "I present the swords and implements of war 
formerly used in Japan, to the museum, thinking that they may do 
