Page:Things Japanese (1905).djvu/167

 Another is thus added to the long list of instances proving that great historical changes never take place per saltum, and that those nations alone may be expected to put forth flowers and fruits in the future whose roots are twined solidly around the past. From the dawn of history to the present day, Japan, in her attitude towards foreign ideas-be they Chinese, mediæval Portuguese, old-fashioned Dutch, nineteenth century European—has shown herself consistently teachable. Periods marked chiefly by large importations from abroad have, it is true, alternated with periods chiefly devoted to the working up of that material into forms suitable to local needs. But neither process has ever been wholly discontinued, and the result—spread over fourteen centuries—has been a steady growth alike social, intellectual, and territorial, with but rare intervals of even apparent relapse. The superficiality attributed to her assimilation of imported civilisations exists only in the superficial knowledge of the would-be critics.

 Fairy-tales. The Japanese have plenty of fairy-tales; but the greater number can be traced to a Chinese, and several of these again to a Buddhist, that is to an Indian, source. Among the most popular are Urashima, Momotarō, The Battle of the Monkey and the Crab, The Tongue-Cut Sparrow, The Mouse's Wedding, The Old Man who Made the Trees to Blossom, The Crackling Mountain, and The Lucky Tea-Kettle.

Though it is convenient to speak of these stories as "fairy-tales," fairies properly so-called do not appear in them. Instead of fairies, there are goblins and devils, together with foxes, cats, and badgers possessed of superhuman powers for working evil. We feel that we are in a fairy-land altogether foreign to that which gave Europe "Cinderella" and "Puss in Boots,"—no less foreign to that which produced the gorgeously complicated marvels of the "Arabian Nights."

