JAPANESE CHRISTENDOM
OUTLINE OF TOPICS: Mediæval Christianity; Modern Christianity;
missionaries; Japanese Christians; Christian literature; kinds and
methods of work; churches and chapels; Sunday-schools; Christian
education; Christian philanthropy; Young Men’s Christian Association
and Young Women’s Christian Association; temperance and the social
evil; interdenominational institutions; Japonicized Christianity;
Christianity and business; Sabbath; Christianity and the press;
Christianity and Christians in politics; simple Christianity; status
of Christianity.—Bibliography.
The great Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier, was the one who introduced
Christianity into Japan, in 1549; and the labors of himself and his
successors were so faithful and successful, that at the beginning
of the next century there were about 1,000,000 Christians in Japan.
But political complications, internal and external, and religious
jealousies, brought on a terrible persecution, in which the Church was
practically extinguished. In 1638 the following edict was issued:—
“So long as the sun shall continue to warm the earth, let no Christian
be so bold as to come to Japan; and let all know that the King of
Spain himself, or the Christian’s God, or the great God of all, if he
dare violate this command, shall pay for it with his head.”
And, all over the Empire, on special bulletin-boards, notices were
published to the effect that this edict must be strictly enforced.[165]
And yet, in spite of the shrewd measures employed to detect Christians,
by compelling suspected persons, for instance, to trample on the cross
or be crucified, in some sections the knowledge of the Gospel was
handed down in secret from one generation to another; so that, when
these edicts were removed in 1873, to a few here and there Christianity
was not a strange doctrine.[166]
Just as soon as it was possible, under the treaties of 1858, for
foreigners to reside in Japan, even under restrictions, missionaries
began to enter (1859), and are now numbered by the hundreds. This count
includes both single and married men, the wives (for in some cases the
wife is worth more than the husband), and single ladies.
The work of the Greek Church has been carried on, except for a few
years, so far as foreigners are concerned, by only one man, and even
now has only two single men connected with the mission; but the
remarkable personality of the late Bishop Nicolai and his tact in
utilizing Japanese workers made a profound impression and neutralized
the prejudice arising out of political animosity to Russia.
The Roman Catholic missionaries, both male and female, have been
carrying on their work with the usual devotion and self-sacrifice in a
quiet and un-ostentatious manner, and are overcoming to a large extent
the inherited prejudice against the Catholic Christians of Old Japan.
The present workers are mostly French, and number more than 200; they
are scattered all over the empire, even in small places.
The principal Protestant denominations represented by missionaries in
Japan are the Baptists, Congregationalists, Disciples, Episcopalians,
Friends, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians (including Reformed),
Salvation Army, and Universalists. There are in all over thirty
different Protestant organizations at work in Japan, of all sorts and
shades of belief; and there are several Independents, or free lances.
The Protestant missionaries represent High Church, Low Church, and
No-Church (Plymouth Brethren _et al._); two regular Baptist societies
(but only one Japanese Church), besides Disciples and Christians; six
branches of the Presbyterian family, but all uniting in one Japanese
Church; six branches of the Methodist family, now at work, with good
prospects for success, to effect a similar union of their Japanese
churches; three kinds of Episcopalians, with one Japanese Church;
Seventh-Day Adventists; Dowie’s followers; Faith Mission; Christian
Alliance; Scandinavian Alliance; German Liberals; the Young Men’s
Christian Association; the Women’s Christian Temperance Union; the
Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor;—in short, the entire
alphabet for a complete vocabulary of Christian activity. And the
Mormons, too, have recently sent emissaries to Japan.
The missionaries have been, and are, a mighty force in New Japan, not
merely through their preaching of the Gospel, but also through their
practising of the Christian virtues; not only by their teaching of
all-sided truth and wisdom, but also by their touching, their social
contact with the people; not only by their logic, but also by their
lives. They are vivid and impressive object-lessons of the ideal
Christian life,—“living epistles, known and read of all men.” They are,
in general, well-educated men and women, a noble company, respected and
loved by the Japanese.
The Japanese Christians are not strong numerically; but they exercise
an influence entirely out of proportion to their mere numbers. There
are more than 180,000 nominal Christians of all kinds, who may
represent a Christian community of at least twice that number. But,
in spite of their faults and failings, due to the fact that they are
less than fifty years removed from anti-Christian influences of the
worst types, and are still surrounded by various hindrances,[167]
they are also a noble body of men and women, loved and honored by
fellow-Japanese and foreigners.
The Christian literature of Japan is truly voluminous, and is an
important factor in moulding and elevating public opinion. The
Bible has been translated into the Japanese language, and is widely
circulated; it is published in many forms by the Bible societies. Until
a few years ago, it was almost impossible to induce a non-Christian
bookseller to keep the Bible on hand; for its presence in his store
might prejudice him in the eyes of the public, and, besides, it was
not easily salable. But such prejudice has died away, and a demand
for the Bible has sprung up, so that it has become to the book-dealer
a profitable article of his stock. Commentaries on the books of the
Bible and theological treatises are numerous, and tracts are counted
by the millions.[168] Christian magazines and books are published and
obtain circulation. The Methodist Publishing House and several Japanese
companies find the publication of Christian literature a profitable
venture. There are daily newspapers, owned and edited by Christians,
who use their columns to teach Christian ideals. And in 1901 was issued
a popular novel, called “Ichijiku” (The Fig Tree), which is Christian
in tone and teaching.
The work of foreign missionaries and native Christians in Japan may be
divided into four kinds: evangelistic, educational, publication, and
philanthropic. It is, however, very difficult and extremely unwise to
attempt always to make and to maintain these distinctions; for these
classes of work often overlap and supplement each other. The work,
as a whole, is carried on much as it is in the West, except that the
measures and methods must be more or less adapted to the peculiar
conditions in Japan.[169] Thus Christianity is represented there by
certain institutions, which, according to various circumstances, are
flourishing in a greater or less degree in different localities, but
which, as a whole, are exerting a tremendous influence upon the nation
and are creating the ideals for Twentieth Century Japan.
There are hundreds of churches and chapels, but they are seldom
indicated by spires and steeples pointing upward as signs of the
doctrine which leads mankind onward and upward. For that reason
they are not generally discovered by the “globe-trotter,” who tries
to do Japan in a month or less, and is not usually looking for
such things, but yet goes back to report Christianity a failure in
Japan. Nevertheless, the churches and chapels are there,—perhaps in
out-of-the-way places, on narrow side-streets, or even on the principal
thoroughfares, and they may be only ordinary Japanese houses; but the
work is going on there, quietly and unostentatiously. There is also a
“gospel ship” (Fukuin Maru), cruising about the long-neglected islands
of the Inland Sea.
In the churches and chapels, or in other buildings, or even in
the private houses of foreigners and Japanese, are about 1,000
Sunday-schools, where the children are being instructed in the simplest
truths of the Bible. They may not understand at once much of what they
hear; but they gradually come to better and better ideas, and when they
reach years of understanding, many of them fully accept the truths
learned in Sunday-school.[170]
But the duty of the Christian propagandist is not completed by the
conversion of unbelievers; it extends also to the training of these
converts into a useful body of Christian citizens. It is unwise to rely
entirely upon public education by a system so well organized even as
that of Japan. If private schools under Christian auspices are useful,
in America, they are an absolute necessity in Japan. It is dangerous to
leave Christian boys and girls under the irreligious and often immoral
influences of public institutions. As “an ounce of prevention is worth
a pound of cure,” it is supremely important to keep Christian Japanese
youth under positive Christian instruction and influences during their
impressible period. And it is also necessary to train up a strong
body of Christian pastors and laymen, who shall be the leaders in the
self-supporting Japanese church that is the goal of all missionary
effort. Therefore the work of Christianity in Japan includes a system
of education, with kindergartens and elementary schools, academies and
colleges, universities and theological seminaries, and with a strong
emphasis on the education and training of the girls and women.[171]
[Illustration: GOSPEL SHIP “FUKUIN MARU,” AND Y.M.C.A. SUMMER SCHOOL,
DŌSHISHA, KYŌTO]
But Christianity in Japan is also philanthropic, as it should be, and
therein exposes clearly what Buddhism left undone. The latter was, as
has already been said, proportionately “kind to the brute and cruel
to man”; for it allowed humanity to suffer while it regarded animals
as “sacred.” Christianity, however, has not only its Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but also its “Homes,” asylums,
hospitals, refuges,—for the poor, the neglected, the widow, the
fatherless, the sick, the insane, the outcast, the Magdalene, and the
worst criminal. All such institutions it is carrying on in Japan; and
most of them never existed there until Christians introduced them or
Christian teaching inspired them. This may be predicated even of the
Red Cross Society; for although the branch in Japan was first organized
as an independent association, yet the very fact that the need of such
a society was felt was due largely to Christian influence. Revenge and
“no quarter” were the doctrines of Old Japan; but New Japan, aroused
by the example of Christian nations, and inspired by the teachings of
the Bible, now heartily supports the Red Cross Society, a Christian
institution with a distinctively Christian banner.
When the forces that have made for true civilization and for
righteousness are figured out, it will be found that the work of the
Young Men’s Christian Association has been a very important factor.
In Japan, as elsewhere, that work is unusually successful in gaining
sympathy and forming a common platform on which all Christians
may unite in valuable work. It has there both city and student
associations, of which the latter are more numerous and powerful, but
the former are increasing in number and influence. The work there is
varied, as in other lands, and is constantly broadening out. The visits
of Mr. John R. Mott have been peculiarly beneficial to the student
class. In two special phases the work of the Young Men’s Christian
Association in Japan has been most helpful,—in the establishment of
Christian boarding-houses for young men in public schools, and in
securing for public high schools and colleges Christian young men from
America as teachers of English. And it is a matter of great rejoicing
to all interested in the welfare of the girls in the public schools,
and shops and factories,[172] of the large cities of Japan that Young
Women’s Christian Association work has been started.
The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and other Christian temperance
organizations are fighting the same battles in Japan as in America. The
old religions never made any attempt to check the tobacco, liquor, and
social evils; they seemed to assume such to be inevitable. Even now the
leadership in these social and moral reforms is almost solely in the
hands of Christians. By their untiring efforts the public sentiment
against these evils is rapidly growing, and various organizations, by
public meetings and pages of literature, are trying to lift the people
out of these “habits.” A bill prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors
was made a law by the Diet, and one prohibiting the sale of liquor to
minors is being pushed. By the indefatigable labors of a Methodist
missionary, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and the Salvation
Army, some 14,000 girls have been enabled to free themselves from their
slavery in the brothels; some of these wicked resorts had to close up;
and public sentiment was so vehemently aroused against this evil that
the number of visitors to houses of ill-fame considerably decreased.
And it is Christian teaching that has disestablished concubinage and is
constantly working to purify the family life of Japan.
The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor, the Scripture Union,
and the Evangelical Alliance are other examples of interdenominational
institutions which are doing much to minimize sectarianism and remind
Japanese Christians that, in spite of minor differences, they ought to
be and are really “one.”
Indeed, the Japanese converts are naturally much less sectarian than
the missionaries, and can change their denominational affiliations
without difficulty. The Japanese Protestants are coming nearer and
nearer together by minimizing their differences and emphasizing
their correspondences. For instance, the innate courtesy of Japanese
Baptists makes them loath to insist on “close communion”; while
with the Presbyterians and other Pedobaptists, “infant baptism” is
unpopular. The Methodists, in their plan for a single church of all
their branches, had to choose an ambiguous term for the title, instead
of “Bishop,” of their chief official. The Friends cannot emphasize
their anti-military doctrine among a people liable to conscription;
and though High-Church Episcopal missionaries may be exclusive, their
Japanese believers enjoy co-operation with other Christians. There will
eventually be developed a “Japonicized Christianity.”
Christianity has already made an impression upon the commercial life
of New Japan. The tremendous development of industry, trade, and
commerce has required new business standards, and especially does it
demand honesty and integrity. It is not infrequent, therefore, for
companies and corporations to seek out young men trained in Christian
schools, because they are most likely to be actuated by high ideals.
The Sabbath, too, although Sunday is more a holiday than a holy day, is
also proving to be a boon in business and labor circles, and is coming
gradually to be observed more strictly. Christian socialism, too, is
not without its influence in Japan.
There are a few Japanese newspapers which are owned, managed, and
edited by Christians, and are working, in their way, to uphold
Christian institutions. They are also striving to introduce into
Japanese journalism higher ideals. There is a still larger number of
papers, whose managers and editors, though not professedly Christian,
favor Christianity, especially in its social and moral aspects, and
have, for instance, given a hearty support to the crusade against the
social evil. The influence of Christianity may also be seen in the
elevation of the tone of the Japanese press.
The impress of Christianity has also been felt even in the political
institutions of New Japan. The principle of constitutionalism found
no encouragement in the philosophy of Old Japan, but is the fruit of
Christian civilization. The doctrine of religious liberty, acknowledged
in the Constitution, is of Christian origin. The old idea of
impersonality, which recognized no value in the individual, but called
him or her a “thing,” could not live long after the Christian teachings
of individual worth, rights, and responsibility, and personal salvation
became prevalent. These points illustrate some indirect, but important,
results of Christianity in Japan.
There are also influential Christian men in public life. Every Diet
contains a disproportionately large number of Christians, who may
be counted upon on every occasion to stand up for right principles,
and most of whom are very influential. The late Speaker Kataoka and
Messrs. Ebara, Shimada, and Nemoto may be named as examples of Japanese
Christian men in politics. In army and navy circles, on the bench and
at the bar, in business, and in many other high positions, Christian
men are among the most prominent, and are found even in “Cæsar’s
household.”
Christianity is bound to become a greater power in Japan, but it
will be a Christianity modified by native ideas and influences. It
is the tendency of the Japanese less to originate than to imitate;
to adopt, but also to adapt and to simplify. They are not inclined
to metaphysical and theological discussions, and they care little
for Occidental and accidental denominations differentiated by
hair-splitting distinctions embodied in verbose creeds. They are,
therefore, desirous of uniting Japanese believers upon a simple
statement of the fundamental and essential truths of Christianity.
They need less of dogmas and rituals, and more of the spirit of Christ
in their lives. The people are superstitious and sensual, and need
intellectual and moral training. Superstition can be dissipated by
science, and sensuality can be conquered only by spirituality. The
great mass of the people are still sunk in comparative ignorance
and superstition, but are gradually being elevated by the spread of
knowledge. But the Japanese public-school education is one-sided
and imperfect, without a lofty and inspiring standard of morality.
Christian education supplies all needs by developing a well-rounded and
balanced intellect, and furnishing the highest and purest ideals of
life. Theology is not wanted or needed in Japan so much as a practical
and spiritual Christianity.
The condition of Christianity in Japan at the present time is
quite like that of Christianity in the Roman Empire in the days
of Constantine, who, himself a nominal Christian, “established”
Christianity as the official faith of his empire. And yet, as Uhlhorn
says,[173] “the ancient religion was still deeply rooted in the manners
and customs, in the domestic and the public life.” And this situation
Uhlhorn represents by the following illustration:—
“In this new city on the Bosphorus, Constantine set up a colossal
statue of himself. It was an ancient statue of Apollo. Its head was
struck off and a head of Constantine was substituted. Also, inside the
statue was placed a piece of what was supposed to be the holy cross.
This is a kind of mirror of the age. A heathen body with a Christian
head and Christian life at the heart.”
This is a fair illustration of the condition of affairs
in Japan at the beginning of the twentieth century. There is a heathen
body, for the great mass of the Japanese (many millions) still cling
to the old faiths. But there is a Christian head, because the leaders
of New Japan are favorable to Christianity and its institutions, and
are reconstructing the nation largely on Christian lines and with
Christian ideals. And there is Christian life at the heart, for it is
that life, as shown in the preceding pages, which is inspiring Japan
with new ideas and ideals. And when we take into consideration how much
Christianity has done for Japan in less than fifty years, we feel quite
warranted in prophesying that within this twentieth century Japan will
become practically a Christian nation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Those specially interested should not fail to consult “The Gist of
Japan” (Peery); “Christianity in Modern Japan” (Clement); “Japan and
its Regeneration” (Cary); “Dux Christus: An Outline Study of Japan”;
“The Religions of Japan,” “Verbeck of Japan,” and “A Maker of the
New Orient” (all by Griffis); and “Sunrise in the Sunrise Kingdom”
(De Forest). The “Proceedings” of the Osaka and the Tōkyō Missionary
Conferences, and Ritter’s “History of Protestant Missions in Japan”
are very valuable. “From Far Formosa” (Mackay) tells of wonderful
pioneer work there. For current news, the “Japan Evangelist,” a
monthly magazine published by the Methodist Publishing House, Tōkyō,
is the best.
The pamphlet entitled “The Christian Movement [in its Relation to the
New Life] in Japan,” issued annually by the Standing Committee of
Coöperating Christian Missions, is most instructive.
On early Catholicism, the “History of Japan,” by Murdoch and
Yamagata, is invaluable.
The authoritative work is Cary’s “History of Christianity in Japan”
(2 vols.).