rdinary life they dressed like others of their own rank
or station, but when engaged in their sacred office were robed in white
or in a special official costume, wearing upon their heads the _eboshi_
or peculiar cap which we associate with Japanese archaeology. They knew
nothing of celibacy; but married, reared families and kept their scalps
free from the razor, though some of the lower order of shrine-keepers
dressed their hair in ordinary style, that is, with shaven poll and
topknot. At some of the more important shrines, like those at Ise, there
were virgin priestesses who acted as custodians both of the shrines and
of the relics.[26]

In front of the miyas stood what we should suppose on first seeing was a
gateway. This was the _torii_ or bird-perch, and anciently was made only
of unpainted wood. Two upright tree-trunks held crosswise on a smooth
tree-trunk the ends of which projected somewhat over the supports, while
under this was a smaller beam inserted between the two uprights. On the
torii, the birds, generally barn-yard fowls which were sacred to the
gods, roosted. These creatures were not offered up as sacrifices, but
were chanticleers to give notice of day-break and the rising of the sun.
The cock holds a prominent place in Japanese myth, legend, art and
symbolism. How this feature of pure Japanese architecture, the torii,
afterward lost its meaning, we shall show in our lecture on Riy[=o]bu or
mixed Buddhism.

Shint[=o]'s Emphasis on Cleanliness.

One of the most remarkable features of Shint[=o] was the emphasis laid
on cleanliness. Pollution was calamity, defilement was sin, and physical
purity at least, was holiness. Everything that could in any way soil the
body or the clothing was looked upon with abhorrence and detestation.
Disease, wounds and death were defiling, and the feeling of disgust
prevailed over that of either sympathy or pity. Birth and death were
especially polluting. Anciently there were huts built both for the
mother about to give birth to a child, or for the man who was dying or
sure to die of disease or wounds. After the birth of the infant or the
death of the patient these houses were burned. Cruel as this system was
to the woman at a time when she needed most care and comfort, and brutal
as it seems in regard to the sick and dying, yet this ancient custom was
continued in a few remote places in Japan as late as the year 1878.[27]
In modern days with equal knowledge of danger and