THE TENGU. BY Dr. M. W. DE VISSER.Asiatic Society of Japan. A General Meeting of the Asiatic Society of Japan was held ia the British Embassy, Tokyo, at 4 pam. on Wednesday, June 17. The President, H.E. Sir Claude MacDonald, H.B.M.’s Ambassador to Japan, occupied the Chair. The minutes of the last meeting, having been printed, were taken as read, The Recording Secretary announced the election of the following persons as members of the Society :— G. A. Scott, Esq., cfo Takata & Co., Tokyo; Dr, W. W, McLaren, Keiogijiku University, Tokyo; Prof. W. E. L. Sweet, Higher Normal School, Tokyo. The President then introduced Dr. M. W. de Visser, of the Dutch Legation, to read his paper on “ The Tengu.”THE TENGU, By Dr. M. W. de Visser. Ee of the most intere: figures in Japanese (%#), The ance of this demonology is the so-called question of the origin and signi being has been considered by Japanese scholars as one of the greatest importance. Even the famous Shinte reformer Hieata Atsuraxe! and the learned novelist Kyoxuret Baxrx 2 made a deep study of this subject. The former is responsible for an claborate work called “* Kokon * and the latter devoted an article to it in his “ Nimaze no kizensii."4 Fayasnit Raz Yomik also, deals w in a chapter of his “ Honchi jinjaké."® Many times we find quoted the book of a Buddhist priest, Truxn entitled “ Tengu meigika.”* But this work, as well as Sokat’s® “ Tenga-setsu ''" and HiraGa Ges gil condemned by Bakix } as superficial or misleading. By fat the clearest and most profound of all the older writers on this subject is Baxtn himself. Hirava, range of learning, but by the great number of his quotations and by mixing up his subject with many things that do not * are ben Jeed, displa an amazing beloag to it, he becomes obscure and confused, But there is also a modern Japanese scholar who works in this field, namely, the well-known philosopher and folklorist Lxove Exnyo.'+ He treats the Tengu most thoroughly in his highly intcresting work “ Yokwaigaku kigi,” LBL IG Mt, who lived and in a Rh 48 HF, who lived 1767: LW a ie mt ry] & gue GR ¥. . fil AE, that is, Ooxd Mons, $ S a WI, who lived 1665—17 ee A, who lived 1722-1779, 12. 38 ty BR Lip. 8a, 14. Jp OE i 7 KER a a (1598), Third edition (1897), vol, ii, ch. 40, pp. 2395- vol. iv, ch. 38, pp. 45—275