A Boy of Old Japan

A BOY OF OLD JAPAN.
BY R. VAN BERGEN
Author of The Story of Japan, The Story of China, Heroic Japan, etc., etc.
Illustrated with original Japanese Color Pictures
BOSTON LEE and SHEPARD M C M I
Copyright 1901, by LEE & SHEPARD All rights reserved A Boy of Old Japan Norwood Press Berwick & Smith, Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.
TO MY LITTLE SON HENRY A. S. VAN BERGEN, IN RECOLLECTION OF OUR PLEASANT VISIT TO CAMBRIDGE
I am under deep obligations to the publishers, for giving me an opportunity to tell the story of the rejuvenation of Japan. I was a witness, although at that time I did not comprehend the movement, but I, and those few who are still living, do now.
From a federation of mutually autonomous oligarchies, Japan was metamorphosed into an Empire which holds Russia at bay. From a nation occupying 150,000 square miles, it has expanded by the addition of Formosa, and its population has grown from thirty millions to forty-five millions. An oriental people adopted occidental progress, and within three decades or little more than one generation, digested and assimilated our progress.
I have known, and was personally known to the men, whose story I have endeavored to tell. They are now honored under the simple name of Genrô,—statesmen of Revolutionary Times. Of the brilliant array of patriots whose names appear in these pages, only Ito, Inouye, and OKuma remain!
I have kept the names. Why should I not? Only honor can be bestowed upon such patriots as they; and the world delights to honor them. Besides, there is a healthy spirit for the young in a true story of devotion, sacrifice, and self-restraint. How often does a child, when reading an interesting story, ask: “Papa, is this true?” In this case the father may conscientiously answer: It is.