1878.] 



The Magic Mirror of Japan. 



143 



the mirror the finer and bolder is the pattern, but what is especially 

 noticeable is that every one of these mirrors is as a whole far thicker 

 than an ordinary Japanese mirror, and its surface is much less convex. 

 This naturally led us to inquire, how are Japanese mirrors made con- 

 vex ? are they cast so, or do they acquire this shape from some subse- 

 qnent process ? In the article " Miroirs " in " Les Industries Anciennes 

 ct Modernes de l'Empire Chinois," nothing is said on this point, and 

 the paper communicated by M. Julien on the Chinese Magic Mirror to 

 the French Academy, is equally silent on this subject. Professor 

 Pepper says, " Are the mirrors cast in a double mould one side of 

 which is in intaglio and one side in relievo ?" but has no information 

 by which he can answer this question. We also were quite unable to 

 gain any assistance from foreign or from Japanese books or manu- 

 scripts regarding the method by which the convexity observed in 

 almost all Japanese mirrors is produced, and were consequently com- 

 pelled to make inquiries ourselves among mirror makers. Now although 

 shops where mirrors are sold are common enough in Tokio, workshops 

 where they are made are very difficult to find. A workshop was said 

 to exist at Oji, but after a long search in this suburb of Tokio we 

 found only one old woman and a little mercury amalgam in a small 

 hovel about six feet by four, as the representative of the mirror in- 

 dustry. As women are supposed to know nothing in Japan, it was 

 useless to make inquiries of her : another search made on a subsequent 

 occasion in a different direction only elicited the information that mirrors 

 were not made at that time of the year, as the moulds were frost- 

 bitten. Mirror- sellers, mirror-polishers we could find, but nobody in 

 Tokio seemed to cast mirrors. We have since found out that this is 

 really the case, since all the common mirrors come from the ancient 

 capital Kioto, about 400 miles to the south of Tokio, and it is only 

 when some special order is given that mirrors are made in the capital. 

 However, at last we lighted on some mirror makers and sellers com- 

 bined, from whom Mr. Kawaguchi (one of the assistants to the Pro- 

 fessor of Natural Philosophy at our College), in the course of many 

 conversations, extracted much valuable information. As a large por- 

 tion of this is not to be found, as far as we aware, in any books, and 

 as it bears upon the explanation of the magic mirror given in this 

 paper, it naturally finds a place here. 



Composition used in Making Mirrors. — In regard to the composition 

 of the mirrors the following seems to be the metal-mixture employed 

 in Tokio : — 



Mirrors of First Quality. 



Copper 75' 2 parts. 



Tin 22-6 „ 



lyo shirome 2'2 



