IV. 
Language, Literature, and Proverbial Lore. 
The Japanese language and literature are akin to those of 
China, in difficulty of acquirement, and antiquity. An 
educational authority tells us that " at the lowest estimate 
a schoolboy is required to learn one thousand different 
characters, — in the Government elementary schools, at the 
present time, about three thousand characters are taught, — 
and a man laying any claim to scholarship, knows eight or 
ten thousand characters ; while those who pass for men of 
great learning, are expected to be acquainted with many 
tens of thousands.'* As to the language itself, some scholars 
have affirmed that it must be classed with the Korean lan- 
guage ; others rank it with the Chinese ; others, again, have 
discovered a likeness between it and the languages spoken 
by the Ashantees of Western Africa. It will thus be seen 
that there is great difficulty in deciding the position of the 
Japanese language in the great family of languages. The 
use of written characters was unknown in the early history 
of the people, but facts and traditions were handed down 
by word of mouth from one generation to another. It is 
said, however, that the art of writing was introduced by some 
Koreans who visited the country about loo years B.C. In 
the third century a.d., an Emperor of Japan was taught 
to read in Chinese books, and ever since, Chinese classics, 
literature, traditions, and faiths have had a very large 
influence upon Japan. 
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