134 
Japan and the Japanese, 
The spoken language differs so much from the written 
language, that strangers resident in the country may become 
acquainted with the spoken form sufficiently to engage 
fluently in conversation with the natives, and yet be quite 
unable to read the books, papers, or communications 
brought under their notice ; while if they learn the written 
language alone, they are just as helpless as it regards con- 
versation. The language of the women differs largely also 
from the men ; and these facts, as may be supposed, render 
all mission-work very difficult. The children in the schools 
' are first taught the language as used by women, children, and 
the illiterate classes generally. After mastering this branch 
of learning, the young students must still spend another four 
or five years in gaining a further mastery of their own 
language, if they aspire to any situation under Government. 
It is stated, however, that hundreds of years ago, when 
war and bloodshed occupied the time and thoughts of the 
rulers of Japan, the women of the land cultivated literature 
and learning to a remarkable extent. It will be remem- 
bered, as stated in a preceding chapter, that the Kojiki^ or 
chief sacred book, was the production of a woman ; not 
only so, but many of the best writings of that age came from 
female pens. They possess novels, poems, sacred books, 
histories, and other works, all tending to show that even in 
early times the study of literature and the production of 
books were followed to a large extent. It is evident that 
they possessed, at an early date, much literary culture. 
A few specimens of the proverbs of the country will be 
interesting to the reader. Many of them bear a resemblance 
to English proverbs. We quote from Sir E. J. Reed's 
excellent work on Japan, in which a large selection of 
proverbs is given : '^The mouth is the door of mischief;" 
"Illnesses come through the mouth;" Indolence is a 
