decrease of concubinage during the present era. Statistics on this
subject are not to be had, for concubines are not registered as such
nor yet as wives. If a concubine lives in the home of the man, she is
registered as a domestic, and her children should be registered as
hers, although I am told that they are very often illegally registered
as his. If she lives in her own home, the concubine still retains the
name and registry of her own parents. The government takes no notice
of concubinage, and publishes no statistics in regard to it. The
children of concubines who live with their own parents are, I am told,
usually registered as the children of the mother's father; otherwise
they are registered as illegitimate; statistics, therefore, furnish no
clew as to the increase or decrease or amount of concubinage and
illegitimacy, most important questions in Japanese sociology. But my
informants are unanimous in the assertion that there has been a marked
increase of concubinage during recent years. The simple and uniform
explanation given is that multitudes of merchants and officials, and
even of farmers, can afford to maintain them to-day who formerly were
unable to do so. The older ideals on this subject were such as to
allow of concubinage to the extent of one's financial ability.
During the year 1898 the newspapers and leading writers of Japan
carried on a vigorous discussion concerning concubinage. The _Yorozu
Choho_ published an inventory of 493 men maintaining separate
establishments for their concubines, giving not only the names and
the business of the men, but also the character of the women chosen to
be concubines. Of these 493 men, 9 are ministers of state and
ex-ministers; 15 are peers or members of House of Peers; 7 are
barristers; 3 are learned doctors; the rest are nearly all business
men. The women were, previous to concubinage, Dancing girls, 183;
Servants, 69; Prostitutes, 17; "Ordinary young girls," 91; Adopted
daughters, 15; Widows, 7; Performers, 7; Miscellaneous, 104. In this
discussion it has been generally admitted that concubinage has
increased in modern times, and the cause attributed is "general
looseness of morals." Some of the leading writers maintain that the
concubinage of former times was largely confined to those who took
concubines to insure the maintenance of the family line; and also that
the taking of dancing girls was unknown in olden times.
It is interesting to note in this connection that some of those who
defend the practice of concubinage appeal to the example of the Old
Testament, saying that what was good enough for the race that gave to
Christians the greater part of their Bible is good enough for the
Japanese. Another point in the discussion interesting to the
Occidental is the repeated assertion that there is no real difference
between the East and the West in point of practice; the only
difference is that whereas in the East all is open and above board, in
the West extra-marital relations are condemned by popular opinion, and
are therefore concealed.[BT] A few writers publicly defend
concubinage; most, however, condemn it vigorously, even though making
no profession of Christian faith. Of the latter class is Mr. Fukuzawa,
one of Japan's leaders of public opinion. In his most trenchant
attack, he asserts that if Japan is to progress in civilization she
must abandon her system of concubinage. That new standards in regard
to marital relations are arising in Japan is clear; but they have as
yet little force; there is no consensus of opinion to give them
force. He who transgresses them is still recognized as in good
standing in the community.
Similarly, with respect to business honesty, it is the opinion of all
with whom I have conversed on the subject that there has been a great
decline in the honesty of the common people. In feudal days thefts and
petty dishonesty were practically unknown. To-day these are
exceedingly common. Foreign merchants complain that it is impossible
to trust Japanese to carry out verbal or written promises, when the
conditions of the market change to their disadvantage. It is
accordingly charged that the Japanese have no sense of honor in
business matters.
The _Kokumin Shinbun_ (People's News) has recently discussed the
question of Japanese commercial morality, with the following results:
It says, first, that goods delivered are not up to sample; secondly,
that engagements as to time are not kept; thirdly, that business men
have no adequate appreciation of the permanent interests of business;
fourthly, that they are without ability to work in common; and
fifthly, that they do not get to know either their customers or
themselves.[BU]
"The Japanese consul at Tientsin recently reported to the Government
that the Chinese have begun to regard Japanese manufactures with
serious distrust. Merchandise received from Japan, they allege, does
not correspond with samples, and packing is, in almost all cases,
miserably unsubstantial. The consul expresses the deepest regret that
Japanese merchants are disposed to break their faith without regard to
honor."[BV]
In this connection it may not be amiss to revert to illustrations that
have come within my own experience. I have already cited instances of
the apparent duplicity to which deacons and candidates for the
ministry stoop. I do not believe that either the deacons or the
candidates had the slightest thought that they were doing anything
dishonorable. Nor do I for a moment suppose that the President and the
Trustees of the Doshisha at all realized the gravity of the moral
aspect of the course they took in diverting the Doshisha from its
original purposes. They seemed to think that money, once given to the
Doshisha, might be used without regard to the wishes of the donors. I
cannot help wondering how much of their thought on this subject is due
to the custom prevalent in Japan ever since the establishment of
Buddhist temples and monasteries, of considering property once given
as irrevocable, so that the individuals who gave it or their heirs,
have no further interest or right in the property. Large donations in
Japan have, from time immemorial, been given thus absolutely; the
giver assumed that the receiver would use it aright; specific
directions were not added as to the purposes of the gift. American
benefactors of the Doshisha have given under the standards prevailing
in the West. The receivers in Japan have accepted these gifts under
the standards prevailing in the East. Is not this in part the cause of
the friction that has arisen in recent years over the administration
of funds and lands and houses held by Japanese for mission purposes?
In this connection, however, I should not fail to refer to the fact
that the Christians of the Kumiai churches,[BW] in their annual
meeting (1898), took strong grounds as to the mismanagement of the
Doshisha by the trustees. The action of the latter in repealing the
clause of the constitution which declared the six articles of the
constitution forever unchangeable, and then of striking out the word
"Christian" in regard to the nature of the moral education to be given
in all departments of the institution, was characterized as "fu-ho,"
that is to say, unlawful, unrighteous, or immoral. Resolutions were
also passed demanding that the trustees should either restore the
expunged words or else resign and give place to men who would restore
them and carry out the will of the donors. This act on the part of a
large majority of the delegates of the churches shows that a standard
of business morality is arising in Japan that promises well for the
future.
Before leaving this question, it is important for us to consider how
widely in lands which have long been both Christian and commercial,
the standards of truthfulness and business morality are transgressed.
I for one do not feel disposed to condemn Japanese failure very
severely, when I think of the failure in Western lands. Then, again,
when we stop to think of it, is it not a pretty fine line that we draw
between legitimate and illegitimate profits? What a relative
distinction this is! Even the Westerner finds difficulty in
discovering and observing it, especially so when the man with whom he
is dealing happens to be ignorant of the real value of the goods in
question. Let us not be too severe, then, in condemning the Japanese,
even though we must judge them to be deficient in ideals and conduct.
The explanation for the present state of Japan in regard to business
morality is neither far to seek nor hard to find. It has nothing
whatever to do with brain structure or inherent race character, but is
wholly a matter of changing social order. Feudal communalism has given
way to individualistic commercialism. The results are inevitable.
Japan has suddenly entered upon that social order where the
individuals of the nation are thrown upon their own choice for
character and life as they have been at no previous time. Old men, as
well as young, are thrown off their feet by the new temptations into
which they fall.
One of the strongest arguments in my mind for the necessity of a rapid
introduction into Japan of the Gospel of Christ, is to be built on
this fact. An individualistic social order demands an individualizing
religion. So far as I know, the older religions, with the lofty moral
teachings which one may freely admit them to have, make no determined
or even distinct effort to secure the activity of the individual will
in the adoption of moral ideals. The place both of "conversion" and of
the public avowal of one's "faith" in the establishment of individual
character, and the peculiar fitness of a religion having such
characteristics to a social order in which "individualism" is the
dominant principle, have not yet been widely recognized by writers on
sociology. These practices of the Protestant churches are,
nevertheless, of inestimable value in the upbuilding both of the
individual and of society. And Japan needs these elements at the
earliest possible date in order to supplement the new order of society
which is being established. Without them it is a question whether in
the long run this new order may not prove a step downward rather than
upward.
This completes our detailed study of Japanese moral characteristics as
revealed alike in their ideals and their practices. Let us now seek
for some general statement of the facts and conclusions thus far
reached. It has become clear that Japanese moralists have placed the
emphasis of their ethical thinking on loyalty; subordinated to this
has been filial piety. These two principles have been the pivotal
points of Japanese ethics. All other virtues flowed out of them, and
were intimately dependent upon them. These virtues are especially
fitted to upbuild and to maintain the feudal order of society. They
are essentially communal virtues. The first group, depending on and
growing out of loyalty, was concerned with the maintenance of the
larger communal unity, formerly the tribe, and now the nation. The
virtues connected with the second principle--filial piety--were
concerned with the maintenance of the smaller unit of society--- the
family. Righteousness and duty, of which much was made by Japanese
moralists, consisted in the observance of these two ideals.
The morality of individualism was largely wanting. From this lack
sprang the main defects of the moral ideal and of the actual practice.
The chief sins of Old Japan--and, as a matter of fact, of all the
heathen world, as graphically depicted by Mr. Dennis in his great work
on "Christian Missions and Social Progress"--were sins of omission and
commission against the individual. The rights of inferiors practically
received no consideration at the hands of the moralists. In the
Japanese conception of righteousness and duty, the rights and value of
the individual, as such, whatever his social standing or sex, were not
included.
One class of defects in the Japanese moral ideal arose out of the
feudal order itself, namely, its scorn of trade. Trade had no vital
relation to the communal unity; hence it found and developed no moral
sanctions for its guidance. The West conceives of business deceit as
concerned not only with the integrity of the community, but also with
the rights of the individual. The moral ideals and sanctions for
business honesty are therefore doubly strong with us. The old order of
Japan was in no way dependent for its integrity on business honor and
honesty, and, as we have seen, individuals, as such, were not thought
to have inherent rights. Under such conditions, it is difficult to
conceive how universal moral ideals and sanctions for business
relations could be developed and maintained.
One further point demands attention. We naturally ask what the grounds
were on which the ethical ideals were commonly supposed to have
authority. So far as my knowledge goes, this question received almost
no consideration by the ordinary person, and but little from the
moralist. Old Japan was not accustomed to ask "Why?" It accepted
everything on the authority of the teacher, as children do, and as all
primitive peoples do. There was little or no thought as to the source
of the moral ideals or as to the nature or the function of the social
sanctions. If, as in a few instances, the questions were raised as to
their authority, the reply ordinarily would be that they had derived
their teachings from ancient times. And, if the matter were pressed,
it would be argued that the most ancient times were nearer the
beginning of men, and, therefore, nearer to Heaven, which decreed that
all the duties and customs of men; in the final resort, therefore,
authority would be attributed to Heaven. But such a questioner was
rare. Moral law was unhesitatingly accepted on the authority of the
teacher, and no uncomfortable questions were asked. It is easy to see
that both of the pivotal moral ideals, _i.e._, loyalty and filial
piety, would support this unquestioning habit of mind, for to ask
questions as to authority is the beginning both of disloyalty to the
master and of irreverence to the parents and ancestors.
The whole social order, being one of authority, unquestioned and
absolute, moral standards were accepted on the ipse dixit of great
teachers.
In closing, we revert to our ever-recurring question: Are the moral
characteristics wherein the Japanese differ from other races inherent
and necessary, as are their physiological characteristics, or are they
incidental and transient, liable to transformation? Light has been
thrown on this problem by every illustration adduced. We have seen in
detail that every characteristically Japanese moral trait is due to
the nature of her past social order, and is changing With that order.
Racial moral traits, therefore, are not due to inherent nature, to
essential character, to brain structure, nor are they transmitted from
father to son by the mere fact of physical generation. On the
contrary, the distinguishing ethical characteristics of races, as seen
in their ethical ideals and their moral conduct, are determined by the
dominant social order, and vary with it. Ethical characteristics are
transmitted by association, transmission is therefore not limited to
the relation of parents and children. The bearing of this fact on the
problem of the moral transformation of races could be easily shown.
XXV
ARE THE JAPANESE RELIGIOUS?
Said Prof. Pfleiderer to the writer in the winter of 1897: "I am sorry
to know that the Japanese are deficient in religious nature." In an
elaborate article entitled, "Wanted, a Religion," a missionary
describes the three so-called religions of Japan, Buddhism,
Confucianism, and Shintoism, and shows to his satisfaction that none
of these has the essential characteristics of religion.
Mr. Percival Lowell has said that "Sense may not be vital to religion,
but incense is."[BX] In my judgment, this is the essence of nonsense,
and is fitted to incense a man's sense.
The impression that the Japanese people are not religious is due to
various facts. The first is that for about three hundred years the
intelligence of the nation has been dominated by Confucian thought,
which rejects active belief in supra-human beings. When asked by his
pupils as to the gods, Confucius is reported to have said that men
should respect them, but should have nothing to do with them. The
tendency of Confucian ethics, accordingly, is to leave the gods
severely alone, although their existence is not absolutely denied.
When Confucianism became popular in Japan, the educated part of the
nation broke away from Buddhism, which, for nearly a thousand years,
had been universally dominant. To them Buddhism seemed superstitious
in the extreme. It was not uncommon for them to criticise it severely.
Muro Kyu-so,[BY] speaking of the immorality that was so common in the
native literature, says: "Long has Buddhism made Japan to think of
nothing as important except the worship of Buddha.
So it is that evil customs prevail, and there is no one who does not
find pleasure in lust.... Take out the lust and Buddhism from that
book, and the scenery and emotions are well described.... Had he
learned in the 'Way' of the sages, he had not fallen into
Buddhism."[BZ] The tendency of all persons trained in Confucian
classics was toward thoroughgoing skepticism as to divine beings and
their relation to this world. For this reason, beyond doubt, has
Western agnosticism found so easy an entrance into Japan. This ready
acceptance of Western agnosticism is a second fact that has tended to
give the West the impression referred to above. Complete indifference
to religion is characteristic of the educated classes of to-day.
Japanese and foreigners, Christians and non-Christians, alike, unite
in this opinion. The impression usually conveyed by this statement,
however, is that agnosticism is a new thing in Japan. In point of
fact, the old agnosticism is merely re-enforced by the support it
receives from the agnosticism of the West.
The Occidental impression of Japanese irreligious race nature is
further strengthened by the frequent assertion of it by writers, some
of whom at least are neither partial nor ignorant. Prof. Basil H.
Chamberlain, for instance, repeatedly makes the assertion or
necessitates the inference. Speaking of pilgrimages, he remarks that
the Japanese "take their religion lightly." Discussing the general
question of religion, he speaks of the Japanese as "essentially
undevotional," but he guards against the inference that they are
therefore specially immoral. Yet, in the same paragraph, he adds,
"Though they pray little and make light of supernatural dogma, the
religion of the family binds them down in truly social bonds."
Percival Lowell also, as we have seen, makes light of Japanese
religion.
This conclusion of foreigner observers is rendered the more convincing
to the average reader when he learns that such an influential man as
Mr. Fukuzawa declares that "religion is like tea," it serves a social
end, and nothing more; and that Mr. Hiroyuki Kato, until recently
president of the Imperial University, and later Minister of Education,
states that "Religion depends on fear." Marquis Ito, Japan's most
illustrious statesman, is reported to have said: "I regard religion
itself as quite unnecessary for a nation's life; science is far above
superstition, and what is religion--Buddhism or Christianity--but
superstition, and therefore a possible source of weakness to a nation?
I do not regret the tendency to free thought and atheism, which is
almost universal in Japan, because I do not regard it as a source of
danger to the community."[CA]
If leaders of national thought have such conceptions as to the nature
and origin of religion, is it strange that the rank and file of
educated people should have little regard for it, or that foreigners
generally should believe the Japanese race to be essentially
non-religious?
But before we accept this conclusion, various considerations demand
our notice. Although the conception of religion held by the eminent
Japanese gentlemen just quoted is not accepted by the writer as
correct, yet, even on their own definitions, a study of Japanese
superstitions and religious ceremonies would easily prove the people
as a whole to be exceedingly religious. Never had a nation so many
gods. It has been indeed "the country of the gods." Their temples and
shrines have been innumerable. Priests have abounded and worshipers
swarmed. For worship, however indiscriminate and thoughtless, is
evidence of religious nature.
Furthermore, utterances like those quoted above in regard to the
nature and function of religion, are frequently on the lips of
Westerners also, multitudes of whom have exceedingly shallow
conceptions of the real nature of religion or the part it plays in the
development of society and of the individual. But we do not pronounce
the West irreligious because of such utterances. We must not judge the
religious many by the irreligious few.
Again, are they competent judges who say the Japanese are
non-religious? Can a man who scorns religion himself, who at least
reveals no appreciation of its real nature by his own heart
experience, judge fairly of the religious nature of the people? Still
further, the religious phenomena of a people may change from age to
age. In asking, then, whether a people is religious by nature, we must
study its entire religious history, and not merely a single period of
it. The life of modern Japan has been rudely shocked by the sudden
accession of much new intellectual light. The contents of religion
depends on the intellect; sudden and widespread accession of knowledge
always discredits the older forms of religious expression. An
undeveloped religion, still bound up with polytheistic symbolism, with
its charms and mementoes, inevitably suffers severely at the hands of
exact modern science. For the educated minority, especially, the
inevitable reaction is to complete skepticism, to apparent irreligion.
For the time being, religion itself may appear to have been
discredited. In an advancing age, prophets of religious dissolution
are abundant. Such prophecies, with reference to Christianity, have
been frequent, and are not unheard even now. Particular beliefs and
practices of religion have indeed changed and passed away, even in
Christianity. But the essentially religious nature of man has
re-asserted itself in every case, and the outward expressions of that
nature have thereby only become freer from elements of error and
superstition. Exactly this is taking place in Japan to-day. The
apparent irreligion of to-day is the groundwork of the purer religion
of to-morrow.
If the Japanese are emotional and sentimental, we should expect them
to be, perhaps more than most peoples, religious. This expectation is
not disappointed by a study of their history. However imperfect as a
religion we must pronounce original Shinto to have been, consisting of
little more than a cultus and a theogony, yet even with this alone the
Japanese should be pronounced a religious people. The universality of
the respect and adoration, not to say love, bestowed throughout the
ages of history on the "Kami" (the multitudinous Gods of Shintoism),
is a standing witness to the depth of the religious feeling in the
Japanese heart. True, it is associated with the sentiments of love of
ancestors and country, with filial piety and loyalty; but these, so
far from lowering the religion, make it more truly religious?