Page:The National Geographic Magazine Vol 16 1905.djvu/164

134 correct idea of the development of that country as regards constitutional gov-ernment, the growth of education, the creation of its finance system, the development of its industries, the formation of an army and navy, and its development or means of creation and establishment of a system of justice — in short, the creation of a modern and western civilization. Art and literature, the press, the merchant marine, and labor organizations all find a place in this storehouse of Japanese facts. All these articles are written by men who have taken part in this great work of transition and reconstruction, and among them are a number of international repute. Marquis Ito has written on the development of constitutional rights, the duties of political parties, and the growth of Japan; Field Marshal Yamagata on international policy and the growth of the army, the latter subject being supplemented by Field Marshal Oyama's account of the army of today. Rear Admiral Saito tells of the creation of the navy, and the Count Okuma of the foreign policy and the growth of education. Professor Imazo Nitobe contributes a most interesting chapter on the religion and moral ideas of the Japanese. Count Inouye deals with the various phases of Japanese finance, while Baron Shibusawa gives a survey of the industrial situation. Baron Suyematsu treats of the problem of the Far East, and a chapter is given to Formosa. The very brief article by Professor Maruse on women is apologetic and inadequate. Mining, labor, railways, the press, art, and literature are treated as to their development and present condition by equally competent authorities.

It must be understood that these articles are from the Japanese standpoint, and of course, as far as opinions go, are subject to refutation in many respects. The authors occasionally admit the necessity of moral improvement as well as of industrial development.

The great value of the book lies in the mass of statistical data, which are logically and sequentially arranged. The volume will long remain a work of reference, more or less standard.

There might well be added to this book a compendium volume, "Japan in the Beginning of the Twentieth Century," published by the Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, by Secretary Yamanaki, of the department of agriculture, which was printed and distributed in limited numbers. A. W. G.

By Henry Dyer.

Pp. xvi + 450. Illustrated. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1904. $3.50 net.

This is a valuable study of the evolution of modern Japan, tracing its conversion, in a single generation, from a feudality into a constitutional government, based on deliberate assemblies, national concord, individual legal rights, institution of justice, and the fostering of world-wide knowledge.

Mr Dyer's long service in Japan, beginning as first principal of the Imperial College of Engineering at Tokyo, qualifies him for this difficult study, which is commended to every investigator of Japanese affairs. The growth of educational institutions, the organization of an efficient army and navy, the establishment of railways, telegraphs, and steamship lines, the advance of industries, the growth of commerce, and the creation of a national system of finance have been accomplished so successfully in the past thirty years as to excite the attention and merit the admiration of the world. How these wonders have been wrought, their influences on art, on social conditions, and on the individual and the nation are clearly set forth.

The discussion of the oriental mind, with its preexistent trend and its nature worship, is curious as explaining the dominant features of the Japanese — patriotism and loyalty. The chapters on