When, in the sixth century of the Christian era, Buddhism was introduced into Japan from China, by way of Korea, the need was felt of some term by which the ancient indigenous religion of the country might be distinguished from the new importation. The term thus adopted was _Shinto_, or _Kami-no-michi_; the former being a Chinese word, and the latter its Japanese equivalent. The meaning of either, in English, is the "Way of the Genii, or Spirits."(3) It will, accordingly, be seen that the _word_ "Shinto" has only been in use for some thirteen centuries, while the creed it designates claims to trace its origin from the remotest antiquity. Indeed, the investigation of Shintoism takes us back not merely to the earliest annals of Japanese history, but to the fabulous legends of a mythological period. The history of Japan is commonly reckoned to commence with the accession of the Emperor Jimmu Tenno, the date of which is given as February 11, 660 B.C.; and when, in 1889, the new Constitution was promulgated, the anniversary of this event was the day selected--the idea evidently being to confirm the popular belief in the continuity of the country's history. This Jimmu Tenno--accounted by the Japanese their first human sovereign--is supposed to have been descended from Ama-terasu, the sun-goddess, who was born from the left eye of Izanagi, the creator of Japan; and this it is that accounts for the semi-deification in which the Emperors of Japan have ever been held. It is, then, the countless heroes and demi-gods of the mythological age referred to--the children of Izanagi reigning over Japan, generation after generation, for many thousands of years--that are the chief objects of Shinto veneration; for while it is usual to speak of Shintoism as being a combination of ancestor-worship and nature-worship, it would seem that the latter of these elements was largely due to the contact of Japan with the Taouism of China, and with metaphysical Buddhism. Thus the essential principle of Shintoism, it will be seen, is closely akin to that filial piety, which forms so conspicuous a feature in the religious, political, and social life of China, and which--deserving as it is, in many ways, of respect and admiration--presents, when carried to excess, so vast a hindrance to development and progress.