"Tangs or Tae Samrat," by Asataro Miyamori. Revised ' and enlarged edition, with the addition of "Lady Hosokawa," an historical play by Kido Okamoto. Eight coloured illustrations by Japanese artists.—Keliy Walsh, Yokohama.
There is something extraordinarily fascinating about these stories of antique Japan. They have all the charm of simple fairy tales, are perfect in dramatic construction, and in broad outline, vivified with touches of intimate detail, describe a civilization which' has passed away. For the Samurai have gone for ever. The author does not fail to remind us in his preface that during t! half-century, European civil tion has revolutionized Japanese society for better and for worse. In institutions political and social, in manners and customs, in arts and literature the Japanese have lost many of their native characteristics. One of these social institutions threatened with extinction is that of the kodanshi, the professional story tellers, who nightly delight large audiences with recitals of these historical tales and romances describing the deeds of the Samurai. The kodanshi are now rivalled by the cinema, and victory for the machine is about as certain as it is certain to be regretted. But the tales themselves stand in no danger of extinction, and are a treasure of national tradition.
Interest in the volume is much increased by the inclusion of a play—"'Lady Hosokawa'"'—by Kido Okamoto, the most widely read of contemporary Japanese writers. The play, an_ historical drama, in two acts, affords a striking comparison between the old and the new morality, the action being based upon the conflicting claims of the Lady Hosokawa's duty as wife of a Samurai, and as a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The theme is developed with power and skill and much literary charm. Altogether, the volume is one which should delight the European reader.—H.L.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.