Shinto: The Ancient Religion of Japan

Aston (1841-1911) was a British diplomat, author and scholar who was an expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea. After distinguishing himself at Queen's College, Belfast, in 1864 he was appointed student interpreter to the British Legation in Japan where he mastered the theory of the Japanese verb and began his researches into the language. In 1884 he passed the entry exam into the Consular Service and served in Tokyo, Kobe and Nagasaki, then became the UK's consul-general in Korea before returning to Japan. In 1889 he retired from the foreign service due to ill health and settled in England. In retirement he published books on Japanese literature and religion and wrote a number of articles on Korean subjects. This work first published in 1907 is reprinted from a later edition of 1921.