Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 5.djvu/217

 is not rare—his father and forefathers have been priests for ten generations.

Buddhist priests have no official rank, nor are their temples graded. They live on the contributions of their parishioners and on the income derived from lands that were of great extent and large wealth-yielding capacity until the Government of the Restoration reduced their area to a mere fraction of its original dimensions.