The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-03-19
Mirror Worship In Japan.

Prof. Ayrton lectured at the Royal
institution, his subject being 1.-The
Magic Mirror of Japan" In Japan
there is, he said, an absence of house
walls, interior and exterior, the houses
consisting of roof supported on only
few posts inclosing very little but
empty space; and sliding screens alone
divide off compartments. Why, in this
comparative absence of all that we
should call furniture, does one article
pertaining to the ladies' toilette-the
bronze mirror with it's stand-hold so
prominent a position ? This mirror is
usually circular, from three inches to
twelve inches in diameter, made OF
bronze, and with q bronze handle cov-
cred with bamboo. The rejecting face
is generally more or less convex, pol.
ished with mercury amalgam, and the
back is beautifully ornamented with a
gracefully executed raised design. Some
for the rustic population have also pol
ished letters.
The explanation of the. factrthat the
mirror is almost par excellence the en-.
tire furniture, is found partly in the
elaborate head dresses OF the Japanese
ladies and the painting of their faces,
and partly from the belief that as the
sword was "the soul of the Samouri, !"
30 is the mirror the "soul of woman. J"
It therefore constitutes the most valua-
BILE of all her possessions, and two mir.
rors form a part of the trousseau OF
every bride. The characteristic quail
ties of the mirror must, it is believed,
bo in accordance with the constitution
of the possessor, and "second sight is
resorted to in the selection of mirror.
But why is the mirror so important in
the imperial palaces, where the court
ladies, still preserving the fashion OF
old days, comb back their hair in the
simplest style Why does the fortune
teller, instead of looking at a girls
palm, regard the reflection in mirror ?
Why, instead of referring to the book
of the recording angel, does the Japan
ese Plato bring before the bostman his
evil deeds reflected in a mirror? And
why does the mirror hold 30 important
place in Japanese temples? The mir
ror ranks far higher in Japanese history
than has been supposed; it, in fact,
takes the place of the CROSS in Christian
countries.
Prof. Ayrton read the myth of the
origin of the worship of the mirror. The
main points in it are that when gods
alone Inhabited the earth, the sun god
dess one day hurt her hand with her
shuttle, having been suddenly fright
ened by practical joke of her brother,
the god of the sea. She Indignantly
retired to a cave. Darkness followed,
and the goddess had to be appeased.
The wisest of the gods suggested max
ing an image of her more beautiful
than herself. The Japanese Vulcan
fashioned o mirror in the shape of the
sun, and all the gods laughed, and
shouted, "Hereis a deity who surpasses
even your glory" Woman's curiosity
could not stand this. The goddess
peeped out, and while admiring herself
in the mirror was caught and dragged
out by a rice rope. The national ira,
ditions have it that this sun goddess
(Amaterasu O mi Kanai), sending her
adopted grandson, who was also the
great-grandfather of the first emperor
Of Japan, to subdue the world, made
him three presents: the maaga tanaa
(the precious stone, emblematical of the
spirit of the woman), the sword (em-
blematical of the spirit of MANI, and the
mirror (emblem of her own soul).
" Look" she said, con this mirror as
my spirit, keep it in the same house and
on the same floor with yourself, and
worship it as If you were worshiping
my actual presence. London Times.