Ü INTRODUCTORY. 



the tenth centuries of the Christian era and which have been the 

 despair of all who have striven to emulate them in succeeding ages. 

 Eut T may perhaps he allowed to cite a few facts having a closer 

 connection with our subject, which would, I believe, go far to sub- 

 stantiate what I have claimed for my country. 



It is probably unknown to most persons in the West that early 

 in the eighth century of the Christian era there was already estab- 

 lished in Japan an Imperial University with four departments, — 

 Ethics, History, Jurisprudence and Mathematics, — and with the pre- 

 served number of four hundred students. There were also at the 

 same time a bureau devoted to Astronomy, Astrology, Calendar-Com- 

 pilation and Meteorology, and a Medical College with professors of 

 Medicine, Surgery, Acupuncture, Necromancy (the art of healing by 

 charms) and Pharmacology. The last named branch of study in- 

 cluded the collection, cultivation, and investigation of medicinal plants, 

 and thus a considerable amount of botanical knowledge must already 

 have been acquired by that time. Toward the end of the ninth 

 century, when a catalogue of books existing in Japan was compiled 

 by the order of the then reigning Emperor, the Imperial library 

 was found to contain 16,790 volumes, divided into forty depart- 

 ments, — and this in spite of a disastrous fire of some years previous. 

 Among the medical works were some with very modern sounding 

 titles, such as " The Curing of Diseases of Women " and " On the 

 Methods of Healing Diseases of the Horse." Japan in those early 

 days derived its culture from India, China, and Corea, but the details 

 above enumerated clearly show that educated society must already 

 have attained a high degree of civilization. 



Coming to more, modern times, it is known that, during the 



