to any person with even
the faintest conception of art. The work of the old painters of Japan,
as it appears on kakemonos and makimonos, is now rare. Much of it, as
is the case with the other art treasures of the country, has gone
abroad. I am, however, of opinion that painting has not deteriorated
to anything like the same extent as some of the other Japanese arts.
The subjects depicted by the artists have during the centuries from
time to time changed, but the technique has altered but little. It
does not, I know, appeal to everybody, but it is the kind of art, I
reiterate, that grows upon one. No person who has interested himself
in painting in modern Japan, especially on kakemonos, can, I think,
have failed to be impressed by the exquisite and beautiful work which
the Japanese artists in colour to-day produce.

[Illustration: KAKEMONO ON PAPER
ATTRIBUTED TO MATAHEI]

[Illustration: KAKEMONO ON PAPER
ATTRIBUTED TO SHIMMAN, UKIYO SCHOOL. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY]

Silk and satin embroidery as an industry and an art at one time
attained considerable importance in Japan, but of recent years has
greatly declined. The craze among the upper classes for European
dress has, of course, seriously affected the demand for elaborately
embroidered silk and satin garments, and is bound to affect it to an
even greater extent in the future as the custom of wearing European
garb spreads among the people. No one with any artistic
sensibilities can help regretting the fact that Japan is gradually
but surely discarding the distinctive costume of her people. That
costume was in every respect appropriate to their physique and
facial characteristics. The same certainly cannot be said of
European attire. However, it is now, I suppose, hopeless to arrest
the movement in this direction, and in a comparatively few years, no
doubt, the ancient and historic dress of the Japanese people will be
as obsolete as the silks, satins, ruffles, &c., of our forefathers.

And what remark shall I make of Japanese curios, the trade in which
has assumed such very large dimensions? Have they no claim, some of my
readers may ask, to be included in a chapter on art? There is no doubt
that many purchasers of them would be shocked were they to be told
that there was nothing artistic in many, if not most, of these
articles, that they were made simply and solely for the European
market, and that the manufacture of curios for this purpose was now
just