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Profs. W. E. Ayrton and John Perry. [Dec. 12, 



a Buddhist god. This appearance, however, is in no way connected 

 with the pattern at the back, which consists of a new moon reflected 

 in the sea; the artistic balance of the picture being maintained by a 

 rosary and a plum tree. The hole in the upper portion of the mirror 

 is probably for the attachment of a silk cord to hang it up by. 

 The supposed marvellous character of this mirror causes great reve- 

 rence to be shown to the god of the temple, as it is considered to 

 furnish an undoubted proof of his supernatural character ; in fact, the 

 mirror receives nearly as much respect as this Buddhist deity himself. 



The way in which the optical effect has been produced is said to be 

 the same as that described in the Kokon-i-to, " The Genealogy of the 

 Old and New Physicians," and which is as follows : — Take ten parts 

 of shio (gamboge), one of funso, and one of hosha (borax). Powder 

 these thoroughly, and mix them to the consistency of a paste with a 

 little dilute glue. If any pattern be drawn on the surface of the 

 mirror with this paste, and then allowed to dry, the pattern will be 

 seen, even after polishing, if looked at obliquely. 



A mirror, in the face of which was seen the appearance of the 

 famous priest, Shinran-sho-nin, who instituted the Shinshiu religion, 

 to which the Honguangi temples at Kioto belong, was formerly in the 

 possession of the Kuge* Rokujo, and was, to a certain extent, wor- 

 shipped. Wood-cuts of this mirror were also sold at this nobleman's 

 house, and were regarded as a faithful representation of the priest 

 Shinran-sho-nin. One of the persons formerly employed at the Hon- 

 guangi temples, Kioto, tells us he remembers, some years ago, a 

 messenger, coming from Mr. Rokujo, asking that the authorities of 

 the temple would give a certificate, stating that the mirror had been 

 constructed by Shinran-sho-nin himself for holy purposes. This, how- 

 ever, they declined to do, believing rather that Mr. Rokujo had fabri- 

 cated it himself to obtain money on exhibition. Mr. Rokujo, to whom 

 we have applied on the subject, says, that the old tradition in his 

 family was that the mirror originally came from Echigo ;f also that, 

 after the failure to obtain a certificate of its sanctity referred to above, 

 he sold it to a temple situated near Kioto, from which, however, it 

 was subsequently removed, and that he is quite unacquainted with 

 its present whereabouts. 



A Tokio % mirror maker, however, tells us that he has seen an exactly 

 similar mirror at Okasaki-mura, a small village near Kioto, so perhaps 

 this is the present habitation of Mr. Hokujo's old mirror. 



It does not appear that this chemical method of preparing the face 



* " Kuge," a nobleman formerly attached to the Micado's Court at Kioto, the 

 ancient capital. 



f Echigo, a province in the centre of Japan. 



% " The Eastern Capital," the name given to Yedo since the revolution of 1869 r 

 ivhen the Micado transferred his court there from Xioto. 



