History and Religion. 113 
self composed several poems relating to these matters. 
The Emperor Sujin, who reigned about 100 years B.C., 
encouraged engineering science; reservoirs, canals, and 
ships were built in order to benefit and extend the trade 
and commerce of the country. Sujin seems to have been, 
for his day, a wise, earnest man, and religious according to 
his light. We are told that a great pestilence broke out in 
his reign, and in order to stay the plague, the Mikado rose 
early in the morning, fasted, bathed, and prayed the gods 
that the plague might stop. It did not abate ; and then 
commenced the practice of building religious shrines. The 
next emperor, who reigned during the time of Christ, 
forbade sacrifices of human life. Up to that date it had 
been customary to bury alive, at the death of a prince, all 
those servants who had been attached to him. It is said 
that a certain prince died during this reign, and, according 
to custom, all his servants were buried alive round him. 
These entombed servants lingered in agony for several days, 
and their cries were distinctly heard at some distance. On 
the circumstance being reported to the Mikado, he ordered 
that clay figures of the servants should in future be buried 
with the bodies of their masters, thus sparing the lives of 
numberless individuals. Other emperors have encouraged 
potteries, introduced the silkworm culture, built shrines and 
temples, made roads, and erected houses of more than one 
storey. Empresses have at different times occupied the 
throne, and ruled with much benefit to the country. It 
will be seen that at the time when our own ancestors were 
savages, living in huts, dressing in skins, painting their 
bodies, and depending for support upon fishing and hunting, 
the Japanese were very highly civilized, and acquainted 
with many of the arts of life. 
In the fifth century of the Christian era, a system of 
I 
