JANUS AND JANA, in the Ancient Mythology, two deities held in especial honour by the Romans. The names themselves are derived from dies, light, or day; and their original form was Diana and Diana. Diana was soon corrupted into Janus, and the analogy holds in the feminine form, for though Diana remained unchanged, she was invoked by the rustics in their prayers and hymns to the new moon as “Jana novella.” Janus, as her brother, seems to have been the same with Sol; and though special honours were at first paid to each as a distinct deity, their rites were finally merged into a common worship. It is probable that the Romans borrowed their idea of Janus from the Tuscan, among whom a similar god was worshipped from a very remote period. He presided over the beginnings of things, and hence Horace invokes him in the following strain:

“Matutine pater, seu Jane libentius audis, Unde homines operam primos vinoque labores Instituent.”

So much importance did the Romans attach to successful beginnings, that when any civil or military undertaking failed at the outset, they often began it anew. In honour of him Numa called the first month of the year Januarius; and as he both looked back upon the past, and forward to the new year, he was always represented with a two-faced head. As the presiding god of the seasons his statue had four heads, his temples were built with four equal sides but only one entrance, and his common designation was “quadrifrons.” As the patron of gates (janua), he is provided with a key in his left hand, and a staff in his right. These insignia symbolized his power as the janitor of heaven, whence he was called Patulcius, the opener, and Clusius, the closer. Indeed, all his attributes, numerous and varied as they seem, have reference to the idea of opening and shutting, and, regarding Janus as identical with Sol, symbolize the vivifying influences of his beams on the fruits of the soil and the operations of nature. The great

JANSSEN, Cornelius, an eminent portrait-painter, was born at Amsterdam, though, in the Chronological Tables, and in Sandart, it is asserted that he was born in London. He resided for several years in England, where he was engaged in the service of King James I., and painted several excellent portraits of that monarch, as also of his children, and of the principal nobility of his court. He had not the freedom of hand nor the grace of Vandyck; but in other respects he was accounted his equal, and in the finishing of his pictures superior. His paintings are easily distinguished by their smooth, clear, and delicate tints, and by that character of truth to nature with which they are strongly marked. He generally painted on panel; and his draperies are for the most part black, probably because that tint threw out his flesh colours more brilliantly than any other. His pieces have retained their original lustre in a very rare degree. His fame began to be somewhat obscured on the arrival of Vandyck in England; and when the civil war broke out some time afterwards, he returned to his own country, where his paintings were held in the highest esteem. He died in 1665.

JANSSENS, Abraham, a contemporary of Rubens, and regarded as in some respects his successful rival, was born at Antwerp in 1589. He delighted in strong contrasts of light and shade, and gratified this taste in his torchlight and similar scenes. His subjects were generally chosen with a view to setting off to the best advantage his powers of colouring, which, in his day, were reckoned inferior to those of Rubens alone. His flesh tints, in particular, were very highly admired, and have retained their original lustre with little change. Janssens was also a good draughtsman, and had a fine eye for the composition of a picture. His best pieces are still to be seen in the churches of Ghent, Antwerp, and Dusseldorf.

JANSSENS, Victor Honorius, was born at Brussels, in 1664, and died in 1739. After an apprenticeship under Volders he became painter to the Duke of Holstein, and held that office for four years. He then migrated to Italy, and, settling at Rome, devoted himself to the study of Raphael and the antique, and revelled in the beautiful landscape scenery on every side. His pieces soon rose in value, and he obtained more commissions from the Roman nobility than he was able to execute. He remained eleven years at Rome, and during part of that time he worked in company with the celebrated Tempesta, in whose landscapes he used to paint the figures. His own walk was historical painting, which he practised both on a large and small scale; but his smaller sizes were most appreciated. On returning to Brussels he became as popular as he had been in Italy, and he also found a market for historical pieces on a great scale. His own taste, as well as his domestic circumstances, led him to paint in this style for the remainder of his life. He found it more lucrative, more easy, and more expeditious. His industry and rapidity of execution are amply attested by the numerous pieces from his hand which adorn many of the Flemish churches. temple of this divinity at Rome was that of Janus Quirinus, of which the gates were kept open in times of war, and only closed when the state enjoyed universal peace. During the republic these gates were only once shut, at the end of the first Punic War, B.C. 241. In the reign of Augustus they were closed three times—first, after the battle of Actium, B.C. 29; a second time after the Cantabrian War, B.C. 24; about the third time authors are not agreed.

**JAPAN.**

**Situation.** The empire of Japan consists of a chain of islands lying off the eastern coast of continental Asia, and extending S.E. and N.W. between N. Lat. 31, and 48°, and E. Long. 129, and 150. Included between this chain of islands and the opposite coasts of Corea and Manchu Tartary, is the Sea of Japan, which communicates by means of straits with the Chinese Sea on the S., the Pacific Ocean on the E., and the Sea of Okhotsk on the N. To the E. Japan has no nearer land than California, 5000 miles off; the nearest part of China is about 420 miles, and of Kamtschatka 270 miles distant. The term Japan is probably a corruption of the Chinese name, *Jih-pun-quo*, i.e., Kingdom of the Source of the Sun, or Eastern Kingdom. Marco Polo, who was the first to bring intelligence of this country to Europe, and who acquired his information in China, calls it *Zi-pangu*. The Japanese name is Nipon, or Nifon,—i.e., Sun-source.

The empire is divided into Japan proper,—consisting of the three large islands of Nipon, Kiu-siu, and Sitkof, and the numerous small islands. Nipon, the largest and most important of the group, and that which gives name to the whole empire, has an estimated area of 100,000 square miles; its length being more than 900 miles, while its average breadth exceeds 100. It is thus about one-fifth part larger than Great Britain. Its form is that of a curve or crescent, with the concave side towards the mainland. S. of Nipon, and separated from it by a narrow channel, is the island of Kiu-siu, or Xino, about 200 miles in length and about 80 in average breadth, thus containing an area of about 16,000 square miles. Lying N.E. of Kiu-siu, and eastward of the southern extremity of Nipon, is the island of Sitkof, or Sikoko, about 150 miles in length by 70 in average breadth. It is separated from Nipon by a long strait in some parts not more than a mile in width; and from Kiu-siu by Bungo Channel, which is about 30 miles broad. N. of Nipon, and separated from it by the Sangar Straits, is the large island of Yesso, a conquest and colony of the empire. Its form is that of an irregular triangle, and its area is computed at 30,000 square miles. The southern portion of the island of Kratto, or Sagalien, which is separated from Yesso by the Strait of Perouse, and the three southernmost of the Kurile Islands—Kunashir, Itrup, and Ourop—belong to Japan.

The small islands which surround these are generally rocky and barren, but occasionally rich and fruitful. The entire number of islands composing the empire of Japan is estimated at above 1000, and the area of the whole empire at not less than 170,000 square miles. The coasts are difficult of access, not only from the multitude of rocks and islets which beset the passages, but also from the severe gales which, more than in any other part of the ocean, agitate these narrow seas. Several dangerous whirlpools also occur among the rocks. Kaempfer remarks, that nature seems to have designed these islands to be a sort of little world, secluded and independent from the rest, as well by rendering it dangerous to approach their shores, as by endowing them plentifully with everything necessary for luxury and comfort, and thus enabling them to subsist without any commerce with other nations. The Japanese policy, which rigidly forbids all intercourse with strangers, in other circumstances impracticable, has been greatly facilitated by the interposition of these natural barriers.

The climate of Japan must vary considerably between its southern and northern extremities; but, except at a few points, we possess very little information on the subject. In the southern part of the empire, it is said in many respects to resemble that of England. At Nagasaki, in the island of Kiu-siu, Lat. 33, the average temperature in the month of January was 35°, and in August 98°, of Fahr. At this point the weather is very changeable. Rain is frequent at all seasons of the year, but especially in the months of July and August. In December and January the ground is covered with hoar frost, and occasionally with snow, except in very mild winters. In summer the land is cooled by the sea-breeze which blows from the S. during the day, and from the E. at night. At Simoda, on the island of Nipon, in N. Lat. 34. 39. 49°, E. Long. 138. 57. 50°, we learn, from the account of the American expedition (1852–54), that “the climate is more or less variable in the winter and spring. The presence of snow upon the lofty peaks, although there is seldom frost or snow at Simoda itself; and the not unfrequent rains, with the ever necessary fogs, give an occasional humidity and rareness to the atmosphere, which are chilling to the senses, and must be productive of occasional inflammatory diseases, such as are frequent in the spring and winter with us. The change of wind alternates often between the warm sea-breezes from the S., and the cold blasts from the snow-capped mountains inland, and produces the usual effects, doubtless, of such variations. In summer it is occasionally very hot in the day-time, but the nights are refreshed by the sea-breezes. From April 19 to May 13, a record of the thermometer gives 72° as the highest, and 38° as the lowest point; and of the barometer, 29° 38' and 30°. As the season advances the mercury rises, no doubt, much higher, reaching probably 85° of Fahr., or more.” Golowin, a Russian naval officer, who was for two years a prisoner at Hakodadi in Yesso (N. Lat. 41. 49°, E. Long. 140. 47.), describes its climate as follows:—“The ponds and lakes freeze, snow lies in the valleys and plains from November till April, and falls in as great abundance as at St Petersburg. Severe frosts are indeed uncommon, yet the temperature is often two degrees below the freezing point. In summer the rain pours in torrents at least twice a-week, the horizon is obscured by dark clouds, violent winds blow, and the fog is scarcely ever dispersed. Apples, pears, and peaches hardly attain ripeness, and the orange and lemon will not bear fruit.” Of the climate of the still more northern part of the empire we have no precise account; but the same writer informs us that on the coast of Sagalien, which is but little farther N. than Paris, the sea is not clear of ice so early as the Gulf of Finland. Fogs are also, as might be expected, very prevalent in Japan, and thunder-storms are frequent.

The surface of the principal islands is in general very irregular, though in the interior some plains of considerable extent occur. In many places hills descend close to the sea shore, or leave only a narrow strip of land between the water and their bases. The highest mountain is said to be Fusii, an extinct volcano, on the island of Nipon, westward of the bay of Yeddo. Its summit is clad in perpetual snow, thus indicating a height of not less than 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. Several mountains of considerable elevation are seen to rise in the northern part of Nipon, in