hip of the sun, of light, of fire, has left its
impress upon the language and in vernacular art and customs. Among
scores of derivations of Japanese words (often more pleasing than
scientific), in which the general term _hi_ enters, is that which finds
in the word for man, _hito_, the meaning of "light-bearer." On the face
of the broad terminal tiles of the house-roofs, we still see moulded the
river-weed, with which the Clay-Hill Maiden pacified the Fire-God. On
the frontlet of the warrior's helmet, in the old days of arrow and
armor, glittered in brass on either side of his crest the same symbol of
power and victory.

Having glanced at the ritual of Shint[=o], let us now examine the
teachings of its oldest book.

CHAPTER III - "THE KOJIKI" AND ITS TEACHINGS

"Japan is not a land where men need pray,
For 'tis itself divine:
Yet do I lift my voice in prayer..."

Hitomaro, + A.D. 737.

"Now when chaos had begun to condense, but force and form were
not yet manifest, and there was naught named, naught done, who
could know its shape? Nevertheless Heaven and Earth first
parted, and the three Deities performed the commencement of
creation; the Passive and Active Essences then developed, and
the Two Spirits became the ancestors of all things."--Preface of
Yasumar[=o] (A.D. 712) to the "Kojiki."

"These, the 'Kojiki' and 'Nihongi' are their [the Shint[=o]ists]
canonical books, ... and almost their every word is considered
undeniable truth."

"The Shint[=o] faith teaches that God inspired the foundation of
the Mikadoate, and that it is therefore sacred."--Kaburagi.

"We now reverently make our prayer to Them [Our Imperial
Ancestors] and to our Illustrious Father [Komei, + 1867], and
implore the help of Their Sacred Spirits, and make to Them
solemn oath never at this time nor in the future to fail to be
an example to Our subjects in the observance of the Law
[Constitution] hereby established."--Imperial oath of the
Emperor Mutsuhito in the sanctuary in the Imperial Palace,
T[=o]ki[=o], February 11, 1889.

"Shint[=o] is not our national religion. A faith existed before
it, which was its source. It grew out of superstitious teaching
and mistaken tradition. The history of the rise of Shint[=o]
proves this."--T. Matsugami.

"Makoto wo mote KAMI NO MICHI wo oshiyureba nari." (Thou
teachest th