Excerpt from Japan: Described and Illustrated by the Japanese; Written by Eminent Japanese Authorities and Scholars

After living in utter ignorance of each other for centuries we are suddenly brought face to face, and find our political and commercial relations promising to become in the near future closely interwoven. It therefore becomes a matter of necessity that we should have accurate and trustworthy information concerning all that may help us to a better understanding Of our new neighbors. The distance between the two countries is so great that very few are able to spare the time and money required for making a personal tour of inspection. Outside the treaty ports, foreign tourists in Japan are still regarded as zoological curiosities by the natives, and must run the gauntlet of amiable staring and considerately suppressed ridicule. Even in Tokyo, the capital city, a foreigner cannot pass through the streets without exciting attention. Thus it is evident that social inter course between the two countries can do but little to enlighten us, and we have been obliged to depend upon the accounts brought home to us by the travellers and writers who have visited and studied' the country.

There have been many volumes published concerning Japan, written by poets, philosophers, journalists and superficial travellers. They record the personal impressions and experiences Of their authors, many of which are valuable and entertaining, but a care ful comparison of the data thus secured, produces confusion in the mind of the reader because of apparently conflicting statements, inferences and opinions. Some of these discrepancies are probably due to the carelessness or prejudice of the writers, but after eliminating all such, there still remain many contradictions that refuse to be reconciled.

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