ks was used, the Iroha-uta* the
Doji-kyo, the Teikin-orai** and the Goseibai-shikimoku.*** The
Doji-kyo has been translated by Professor Chamberlain (in Vol. VIII
of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan"). A few
extracts will serve to show the nature of the ethical teaching given
to Japanese children in medieval days:

*A syllabary of moral precepts like the ethical copy-books of
Occidentals.

**A model letter-writer.

***The criminal laws of Hojo Yasutoki. All these text-books remained
in use until the Meiji era.

Let nothing lead thee into breaking faith with thy friend, and depart
not from thy word. It is the tongue that is the root of misfortunes;
if the mouth were made like unto the nose, a man would have no
trouble till his life's end. In the house where virtue is accumulated
there will surely be superabundant joy. No man is worthy of honour
from his birth; 'tis the garnering-up of virtue that bringeth him
wisdom and virtue; the rich man may not be worthy of honour. In thin
raiment on a winter's night, brave the cold and be reading the whole
night through; with scanty fare on a summer's day, repel hunger and
be learning the whole day long. . . . A father's loving kindness is
higher than the mountains; a mother's bounty is deeper than the sea.
. . . He that receiveth benefits and is not grateful is like unto the
birds that despoil the branches of the trees they perch on. . . .
Above all things, men must practise charity; it is by almsgiving that
wisdom is fed; less than all things, men must grudge money; it is by
riches that wisdom is hindered. . . . The merit of an alms given with
a compassionate heart to one poor man is like unto the ocean; the
recompense of alms given to a multitude for their own sake is like
unto a grain of poppy-seed.

This text-book, the Doji-kyo, was compiled by a priest, Annen, who
lived in the second half of the ninth century. Its origin belongs,
therefore, to a much more remote era than that of the Muromachi
shoguns, but, in common with the other text-books enumerated above,
its extensive use is first mentioned in the Ashikaga epoch. The Five
Temples of Kyoto--to be spoken of presently--were seats of learning;
and many names of the litterateurs that flourished there have been
handed down. Not the least celebrated were Gido and Zekkai, who paid
several visits to China, the fountain-head of ideographic lore. But
these conditions were not permanent. The Onin War created a