While Buddhist temples here are often architectural chefs @oéuvres, dazalingly effective in their richness and the abundance of their embellish. ment due to the influence exercised by China and India, extreme simplicity, on the contrary, is the most marked characteristic of the temples that testify to the divine antecedents of the Emperors and to the ascendancy, spiritual descent and eternal supremacy of the Imperial dynasty. These are modelled with rigorous plainness and are almost destitute ct ornamentation. They are built of the finest wood, chiefly cedar, the greater part of which is left and unprotected. No paint or vari fs ever used, but the ends of the beams are capped with some shining metal, strips and patches of which are'also liberally applied fe the purpose of adding strength and durability and are so dexterow: and compactly interwoven that moisture cannot penetrate. In many pars of the country Shinto temples ave of imposing magnitude, although bare of ornamentation; ' but the original patterns at Ise a humble in dimensions as in design.
Thut much-abused adjective "unique" can very well be attached to the Ise Shrines, for not only are they unique in affording an oppor~ ity of studying to-day the modest. is fane being known as the is believed to have stood on the same pot for 1,000 years. Its principal treasures consist of the Sacred Mirror into which the Sun Goddess sword which the brother Sun Goddess obtained from of a hydra-headed dragon is Which he slew; end a_ necklace, equally: supernatural in origin: The mnittor symbolizes righteoustiess and Straightforwardness; the sword and sagacity: and the necklace gentleness and benevolence. These are regarded as the most precious and revered of the nu~ inerous'symbols of Japanese majesty and are preserved in the Ise Grand Shrines. For many generations these treasures were uncer the sury Tance of Imperial princesses and were never suffered to be taken from their xesting places, except, upon occasions of rigorous necessity, The bacond in rank of the Ise temple was built comparatively recently by an order of the twenty-Second Emperor, a ruler discredit ably distinguished for the violence and ferocity of his temper. His ex-optional act of piety is believed to fave been dictated by a troubled conscience and he gave out that the Sun Gotldess had appeared to him jin a dream, instructed him as to his any serious doubt as their genuineness and authenticity. but they are also the holiest of Japan's national shrines, held in reference by believer and non-believer. alike.
Every inch of ground here sacred and is, therefore, kept spotlessly clean. The little curved bridge that spans the Usuzu River, a clear etystal stream which has ite source in the snow-capped mouhtains flanking Kyoto, leads to the woodland paths that take one to the serenely-simple structure of the shrines, No cigarette "butts" may be seen anywhere here, not light ed match, not a scrap of paper. This all the more remarkable as the Fapanese pilgrim or picnicker is Very careless in this regard: Other temple grounds, after a festival, are hestrewn with unsightly litter of all sorts. The great difference is that the Ise Shrines are regarded more than mere eacredetal emblems, more than just temples: they are the Japanese, even to those who make no pretence at, or profession of, piety, the fous ct ango of the Imperial line and so of the nat and, remembering this, one can understand the Japanese saying that so long as the Ise Shrines are properly looked after and properly' at-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.