Tae conductors of the Kokumin-no-
Toma (the Nation's Friend) of Tokio continue to keep their English edition, the Far East, up to the standard on which they originally decided, and a very readable and often instructive magazine, with occasional illustrations, is the result. Ihe frontispiece to the May issue is a reproduction of a painting by Hokuszi, "''heCarp and the'lortoise," the emblems of Nobleness and Longevity, and there can be nothing but praise for the life and energy with which the painter has endowed the carp in his drawing. A brief life of Hokusai, by Nagoya Sachimaro, is given in this issue, with a portrait and a sketch of his celebrated picture of Dharma which he drew in public at Nagoya before fifteen thousand people on a canvas sixty feet long and thirty-six feet wide. This was done in 1817 to confute some of his critics who remarked that he was good enough in illustrations for novels and periodicals, but could not paint a large picture. Hokusai died in April, 1848, at the age of eighty-eight, and he is regarded in Europe as the standard of Japanese art. He was a great-grandson of Hira Kozuke, one of the victims of the forty-seven renins.
Following the frontispiece comes the first of a series of articles on " ihe Development of Banking in Japan," the writer beginning by showing that the present system of banking in Japan is an offspring of the Restoration of 1868, Before that, the samurai were the only class who enjoyed any consideration in the empire. " As for the tradesmen, artisans, mechanics, etc., they were held in contempt and despised as mere slaves, How can one expect a developed system of banking in such a state of things? Little protection was given to the money-changers; the rate of interest was fixed by strict enactment; and the debtor was generally the more favoured party. It was even permitted that, after a certain term, the creditor was obliged to surrender the right of demanding payment. The only business engaged in largely (and in secrecy) was pawnbroking by blind men." Nevertheless a simple kind of banking system did grow up, beginning in the great trade centre, Osaka, the inventor of commercial bills being a native merchant named Tennoji Gorobei, who lived in the 17th century. This promises to be a very interesting series of papers.
The most important article is the one that follows by Hitomi Ichitaro entitled "Z'Angleterre et lo Japan," which, though written in French, is a strong argument in favour of an alliance between Great Britain, the Japan of the Occident, and Japan, the England of the Orient. The opening sentences show the writer's prepossessions:—" During the revolution which ended in the restoration of the Empire, four European powers showed how they were disposed towards Japan; France bravely gave her hand to the Tokugawa Shogoon, England took under her wise protection the government of the Mikado, America watched benevolently over the instruction of the Japanese people, and Russia threatened Japan like a brigand. The conduct of the three first of these nations, though their objects have been different, had many points of resem-blanco. They were all moved by kindness and pity for Japan in her distress, while Russia alone displayed towards her a formidable ambition. Here lies the reason why ever since New Japan was in the throes of the revolution, Mer relations with these three countries have always been friendly."
While it is European civilisation grafted on the old Japanese stock that has made the Japan of to-day, it is mainly from England and France that the civilizing influences were derived. The military organisation, indeed, is much indebted to Germany, but the influence of Germany did not begin to be felt till New Japan was firmly established. Germany's influence tends to grow, "but up till now she has only affected the surface of Japanese society, and her influence has never entered the hearts of the Japanese, as England and France have done. Wherefore we may state that the European civilisation that has contributed to form New Japan is that of England and France."
The English, says Mr. Hitomi, call Japan the England of the Orient; the French call the Japanese the French of the Orient; but as a matter of fact the conditions of Japan resemble those of England much more than those of France. The Court and Government of England and Japan, beyond the physical resemblance of the two countries, are much alike. There are some Europeans who think that the Mikado is an autocrat disguised under the mask of moderation, like other Asiatic sovereigns, but he has never disputed the decisions of the Diet, he has never forcibly imposed his will against public opinion; he is, in fact, constitutional monarch. "There are Japanese politicians who have pretended that their Emperor is ambitious and despotic, a little like the German Emperor, but the trath is that His Majesty is rather calm and gentle like the Queen of England. quently, the political conditions of England and Japan without being the same resemble each other; from this resem-blanco springs sympathy, and it is natural that the England of the East and the Japan of the West should be drawn together."
Shakespeare has a dominant place in Japanese literature, the essays of Macaulay are found everywhere even in the scanty libraries of the most secluded villages, Young Japan learns everywhere to speak English, the importation from England are greater than those from America, France and Germany combined, and there are more Englishmen in Japan than Americans, French, and Germans combined, notwithstanding the large contingent of American missionaries.. These facts involve close relations between the two countries. Mr. Hitomi sketches England's happy change of front during the late war, and mentions the satisfaction she gave by consenting first to the revision of her treaty. 'I'he dispatch of the special ambassador to the Czar's coronation was regarded with glacial coldness by the Japanese; but the dispatch of Prince Arisugawa to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee was greeted by the Japanese with the greatest enthusiasm. Mr. Hitomi continues "So the relations between Japan and England are friendly, and the heart of the Japanese is opened towards the English. If then England offers her hand to Japan, an alliance will at once be formed, and an alliance between them means the peace of the Far East, "We shall have in a little while a fleet of 200,000 tons and thirteen divisions of troops; in time of war we shall be able to throw 500,000 soldiers on the mainland; but these forces are not our only or principal reliance. We shall have through all and always the love of our country, the Japanese soul' (Yamatodamashii). In that is a force more powerful than a squadron of a thousand ironclads. That will be our buckler, the rampart of the Country of the Rising Sun. When it ceases to exist there will be in Japan forty million graves. As long as this soul of our country animates us, we have nothing else to fear but that we may go further than justice allows."
The completion of the trans-Siberian railway will force England to get help in withstanding Russian aggression in the Far East, and her natural ally, and most willing one, is Japan.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.