of Japan. As to the smaller islands of that anchored empire, it may be
well to say that they form a vast multitude of all shapes and sizes,
being in all nearly four thousand in number. The Sea of Japan is truly
a sea of islands.

By way of the sailing clouds, and the blue sky which rests upon
Kirishima's snowy top, the gods stepped down from heaven to earth. Down
this celestial path came Jimmu's ancestors, of whom there were four
between him and the mighty Sun goddess. Of course no one is asked to
accept this for fact. Somewhat too many of the fathers of nations were
sons of the gods. It may be that Jimmu was an invader from some foreign
land, or came from a band of colonists who had settled at the mountain's
foot some time before, but the gods have the credit of his origin.

At any rate, Hiuga, as the region in which he dwelt was called, was not
likely to serve the ends of a party of warlike invaders, there being no
part of Japan less fertile. So, as the story goes, Jimmu, being then
fifty years old, set out to conquer some richer realm. He had only a few
followers, some being his brothers, the others his retainers, all of
them, in the language of the legends, being _kami_, or gods. Jimmu was
righteous; the savages were wicked, though they too had descended from
the gods. These savages dwelt in villages, each governed by a head-man
or chief. They fought hard for their homes, and were not easily driven
away.

The story of Jimmu's exploits is given in the _Kojiki_, or "Book of
Ancient Traditions," the oldest book of Japan. There is another, called
the _Nihongi_, nearly as old, being composed in 720 A.D. These give us
all that is known of the ancient history of the island, but are so full
of myths and fables that very little of the story is to be trusted.
Histories of later times are abundant, and form the most important part
of the voluminous literature of Japan. The islanders are proud of their
history, and have preserved it with the greatest care, the annals of
cities and families being as carefully preserved as those of the state.

Jimmu the conqueror, as his story is told in the _Kojiki_, met strange
and frightful enemies on his march. Among them were troops of spiders of
colossal size and frightful aspect, through whose threatening ranks he
had to fight his way. Eight-headed serpents had also to be dealt with,
and hostile deities--wicked gods who loved not the pious
adventurer--disputed his path. Some of these h