to the gods." The paper-mulberry which is now
used for making paper, was in early times twisted into a thread and woven
into a very serviceable cloth. Cotton(74) which now furnishes so large a
part of the clothing of the people is nowhere mentioned. The skins of
animals were doubtless used as clothing before the introduction of
Buddhism made the killing of animals uncommon. In the legend of the
purification of Izanagi(75) we read of a girdle, of a skirt, of an upper
garment, of trousers, and of a hat. What the shapes of these garments were
we cannot tell, but the number of different garments indicates a
considerable development in the ideas of clothing. In the same myth, and
in many other places, mention is made of the bracelets which Izanagi wore
on the left and right arm. And when he wished to show his pleasure in the
daughter who had been produced in washing his left eye, he invested her
with his necklace taken from his own neck. Jewelry seems in these
prehistoric times to have been more commonly worn than in modern
historical times. The jewels(76) used were the _magatama_ and _kudatama_
which have been found in the ancient burial places.

[Illustration]

Magatama and Kudatama.

Rings have also been found which are believed to date back to prehistoric
times. From the clay images which have come down to us it is now
ascertained that the rings were worn as ornaments to the ears and never as
rings to the fingers. These rings are of copper or bronze, plated with
gold or silver. Combs and mirrors are spoken of, but how the metal mirrors
are made we do not know.

The only indications of the character of the houses(77) used by the early
Japanese are found in the traditions respecting the primitive Shinto
temples. The early methods of building were perpetuated in these temples,
and in the eighteenth century a very persistent effort was made for the
revival of pure Shinto. Under the influence of this movement the temples
at Ise and elsewhere were purified from the contaminations which had been
introduced by Buddhism. After the close of the war which resulted in the
restoration of the emperor to his proper authority in 1868 a small temple
in the most severe Shinto style was built at Kudan, one of the picturesque
heights of Yedo, in memory of the soldiers who perished in the conflict.
From a careful examination of all that can illustrate the houses of the
early Japane