to the highest moral test, the editor of _The Hibbert Journal_[45]
propounds the following startling question, "How would the general
status of Christianity be affected by the appearance in the world
of a religion which should stand the test better than herself?"
That is, a religion or people that should present an exhibition of
moral excellence superior to that seen among the Christian nations.
Our own belief is that such an exhibition of moral excellence in
a non-Christian people would set the Christian searching his own
standards of morality. It may be that Japan in her late exhibitions
of ability in political diplomacy, and her sacrifice and waiving of
certain rightful claims to indemnity, and the exalting of the right
and the truth above narrow, selfish interests, has put to shame the
"Christian Powers" of Europe, whose conspicuous qualities have been
baneful statecraft, jealousy of rivals, and greed to enlarge their
territory by crushing feebler States, and grinding down the masses
of the people. Such an exhibit would not prove the inferiority of
Christian ethics, but the failure of the so-called Christian Powers to
honor and exemplify the ethics of our gospel. The plain fact in this
matter is, as thoughtful men must everywhere acknowledge, that the
aggressive "Christian Powers" have enlarged their empire at the expense
of weaker States and, by taking advantage of their day of weakness and
adversity, have by such ambitious procedures belied and violated the
fundamental commandments of the religion which they profess.
We Americans have dreamed and sometimes boasted that our great Republic
of freedom has proven a mighty evangel of human liberty and rights.
It is a luminous star of the first magnitude, and it arose in the
Western hemisphere. But this brilliant star of the West has cast its
helpful beams across the Pacific Ocean upon the blooming rice-fields
of Japan. It may be that those grandchildren of the sun-goddess may
by their skill and prowess flash upon the world a light so strong as
to eclipse to some extent our own, and be so self-evidently excellent
that all mankind will bid it welcome. It may or may not be that all
will acknowledge the radiant Evangel as "the root and the offspring of
David." With the Japanese it may for long be insisted that this new
Light is the root and offspring of the Mikado and the Goddess of the
Dawn. But we can waive that point and all of us cry out, Let the true
Light come. If it make for righteousness and love and the peace of the
world, we shall hail its rising in the far East as the light of "the
bright, the Morning Star;" for there is no other that can ultimately
prove itself to be "the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh
into the world."
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY.
ASTON, W. G. Shinto, The Way of the Gods. London, 1905.
BRINKLEY, F. Japan and China. 12 volumes. London, 1903.
CHAMBERLAIN, B. H. Things Japanese. London, 1902.
DYER, HENRY. Dai Nippon. A Study in National Evolution. London, 1904.
GRIFFIS, WILLIAM ELLIOT. The Mikado's Empire. New York, 1876.
Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Meiji.
New York, 1895.
GULICK, SIDNEY L. Evolution of the Japanese, Social and Psychic.
Chicago, 1903.
HEARN, LAFCADIO. Japan. An Attempt at Interpretation. New York, 1904.
KO-JI-KI, or Records of Ancient Matters. Translated by Basil H.
Chamberlain.
_Published as a Supplement to Vol. X of the Transactions of the
Asiatic Society of Japan._ Yokohama, 1883.
LOWELL, PERCIVAL. The Soul of the Far East. Boston, 1896.
MACLAY, ARTHUR C. A Budget of Letters from Japan. Reminiscences of
Work and Travel in Japan. New York, 1886.
NIHONGI, Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A. D. 697.
Translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by W. G. Aston. 2
vols. London, 1896.
_Published as a Supplement to the Transactions and Proceedings of
the Japan Society, London._
REED, EDWARD J. Japan: Its History, Traditions, and Religion. London,
1880.
Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. From 1872 to the present
time.
Transactions and Proceedings of the Japan Society, London. From 1892
to the present time.
These separate series of volumes of Transactions of Japanese
Societies, running through many years, are an invaluable repository
of information on the history, customs, religion, and literature of
Japan.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The _Ko-ji-ki_ (section XXX) has this remarkable combination: "The
luxuriant-reed-plains-land-of-fresh-rice-ears-of-a-thousand-autumns-of-
long-five-hundred-autumns." The Ritual of the Great Purification and
other rituals call Japan "the luxuriant reed-plain region of fresh
young spikes." The word "spikes" here is a synonym for ears of rice.
[2] Understood to be Sir Ernest Satow.
[3] "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. xvi, part I,
page 73.
[4] Westminster Review, July, 1878, p. 18.
[5] It may not be improper to suggest that some of the notions of
the Western peoples as to the backwardness of Japan in the past, and
the relative stage of civilization reached generations ago in the
island empire may be very ludicrous to the mind of a self-respecting,
thoughtful son of Japan. The Mikado's minister at Paris is reported
to have said: "We have for many generations sent to Europe exquisite
lacquer work, delicately carved figures, beautiful embroidery, and many
other things which show our artistic ability and accomplishments, but
the Europeans said we were uncivilized. We have recently killed some
70,000 Russians, and now every European nation is wondering at the high
civilization we have at last attained!"
[6] It is published as a Supplement to vol. x of the "Transactions of
the Asiatic Society of Japan," pp. lxxv and 369. Yokohama, 1883.
[7] There is an English translation of the Nihongi, by W. G. Aston: 2
vols. London, 1896. It is published as a Supplement to "Transactions
and Proceedings of the Japan Society, London."
[8] These appear in vols. vii, ix, and xxvii of the "Transactions
of the Asiatic Society of Japan." Over thirty-five volumes of these
Transactions have appeared, and they are an invaluable repository of
information on the history, customs, religion, and literature of Japan.
Other journals of like value are the "Transactions and Proceedings
of the Japan Society of London" and the "Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Natur-und Völkerkunde Ostasiens in Tokio."
[9] Sketches of these men and numerous extracts from their works may
be found in Satow's essay on "The Revival of Pure Shin-tau," published
as Appendix of vol. iii of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of
Japan."
[10] Japanese cosmology seems to postulate eternal matter, but "it
is matter almost completely lacking consistency--an indescribable,
nebulous, unsubstantial, floating, muddy foam"--"Japan: Its History,
Arts, and Literature." By Captain F. Brinkley. Vol. V, p. 108. (J. B.
Millet & Co., Boston and Tokyo.)
[11] In the rituals he is often called "The Sovran Grandchild," though
an adopted son of the Goddess; so "the sovran grandchild" is first
applied to the founder on earth of the Mikado's dynasty, and afterward
to each and all of his successors on the throne of Japan.
[12] See Chamberlain's English translation of the _Ko-ji-ki_, p. iv. It
is interesting to compare the story of Ezra dictating the lost sacred
books of Israel, from a memory inspired supernaturally, while five
rapid scribes wrote down what was told them. See 2 Esdras, chap. xiv.
[13] We may compare the fact that in our book of Genesis the formation
of the earth and the heavens is called "the _generations_ of the
heavens and the earth" (Gen. ii, 4). In a paper of the "Transactions
of the Asiatic Society of Japan" (vol. xvi, part I), Dr. J. Edkins has
an interesting comparison of "Persian elements in Japanese legends,"
in which he shows analogies between Mithra and Amaterasu, the seven
Japanese deities of wood, water, fire, wind, earth, sea, and mountain
with the Mazdean Amesha-spentas, and analogies of the underworld in
several other mythic cults.
[14] See the valuable paper on "The Beginning of Japanese History,
Civilization, and Art," by the Rev. I. Dooman, in Vol. XXV of
"Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan;" especially his chapter
iv, on "The Fundamental Religious Ideas of the Early Japanese."
[15] See Satow's "The Revival of Pure Shintau, in Transactions of the
Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. iii, Appendix, p. 71.
[16] Lafcadio Hearn puts this whole matter very tersely, thus: "The
ethics of Shinto were all comprised in the doctrine of unqualified
obedience to customs originating, for the most part, in the family
cult. Ethics were not different from religion; religion was not
different from government, and the very word for government signified
'matters of religion.' All government ceremonies were preceded by
prayer and sacrifice; and from the highest rank of society to the
lowest every person was subject to the law of tradition. To obey
was piety; to disobey was impious, and the rule of obedience was
enforced upon each individual by the will of the community to which he
belonged."--"Japan, an Interpretation," p. 175.
[17] This respect for the Sun-Goddess points to an aboriginal worship
of the sun among the ancestors of the Japanese people.
[18] Strictly speaking, the Shinto sanctuaries are shrines rather than
temples, so that the Japanese would always speak of Shinto shrines as
distinct from Buddhist temples.
[19] A kind of evergreen, like the pine, and peculiar to Japan.
[20] "The Shintau Temples of Isè." "The Transactions of the Asiatic
Society of Japan," vol. ii, p. 108.
[21] "The Shintau Temples of Isè." "Transactions of Asiatic Society of
Japan," vol. ii, p. 104.
[22] Satow's "The Shintau Temples of Isè," pp. 119, 120.
[23] According to Aston, ancestor worship, in the sense of a
deification and honoring of the departed spirits of one's own
ancestors, was no part of the oldest Shinto cult, but rather a later
importation from China. See his "Shinto, the Way of the Gods," pp.
44-47. London, 1905.
[24] "Japanese History of Civilization and Arts." "Transactions of the
Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. xxv, p. 89.
[25] "Japan: an Interpretation," pp. 52, 53. New York, 1904.
[26] In vol. xix, pt. I, of the "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of
Japan," pp. 93, 94.
[27] This cheery and jubilant aspect of Shintau worship ought not to
be deemed an objectional element of true religion. Rather the opposite
idea, that religion is a matter of soul-peril and seriousness so grave
as to produce fear or dread of the deity, is a perversion of the truth.
True love of God (or of the gods) must needs have wholesome reverence
for what is adorable, but also ought to inspire a warmth of affection
and a confidence that drives out superstitious fear and begets
exquisite delight in the heart and soul and mind of the true worshiper.
[28] See "Ancient Japanese Rituals," translated and annotated by E.
Satow, in "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. vii,
part II, and part IV; vol. ix, part II. Also by Karl Florenz, in vol.
xxvii, part I. In vol. vii, part II, pp. 106-108, Satow gives a list
of the Norito rituals contained in the Yengishiki, to the number of
twenty-seven. Of these he translates only nine.
[29] "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. vii, part II,
p. 127.
[30] "The priests who officiated at the chief festivals belonged
exclusively to two families, the Nakatomi and the Imbibi, both of whom
were descended from inferior deities, who accompanied the 'Sovran
Grandchild' when he came down to earth."--Satow, in Westminster Review
for July, 1878, p. 16.
[31] The reader of the ritual here personates the Mikado.
[32] Temples here used by metonymy for deities.
[33] In vol. xxvii, part I, of "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of
Japan." From this our extracts are taken. Florenz gives in great detail
the various practices, and the ancient and modern forms of the ritual,
and the customs at different shrines. He also discusses the question of
the origin and age of the ceremony.
[34] See the interesting article by Thomas R. H. McClatchie on "The
Sword of Japan," in "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan,"
vol. ii, pp. 50-56.
[35] "Japan: an Interpretation," p. 208.
[36] "Shinto, the Way of the Gods," p. 360.
[37] It is admitted by all writers on Japan that the practical ethics
of Confucianism has from the first largely nullified the more subtle
and dreamy elements of Buddhism. The common sense of the Japanese
people, in spite of all peculiarities, has made it necessary for
Buddhism to adjust itself to the popular mind.
[38] Satow, in "Transactions of Asiatic Society of Japan," vol. ii, p.
121. Compare the statement of Mabuchi as given in Satow's paper on "The
Revival of Pure Shin-tau," in Appendix to vol. iii of "Transactions of
the Asiatic Society of Japan," p. 14.
[39] "The Soul of the Far East," p. 166.
[40] For interesting information on this mystic phase of Shinto see the
articles of Percival Lowell on "Esoteric Shinto," in "Transactions of
the Asiatic Society of Japan," vols. xxi and xxii.
[41] "The gods of Japan," writes Gulick, "are innumerable in theory
and multitudinous in practice. Not only are there gods of goodness,
but also gods of lust and of evil, to whom robbers and harlots may
pray for success and blessing." But in all this multitudinous pantheon
there is no one Supreme Deity. "There is no word in the Japanese
language corresponding to the English term God. The nearest approach to
it are the Confucian terms Jo-tei, 'Supreme Emperor;' Ten, 'Heaven,'
and Ten-tei, 'Heavenly Emperor;' but all of these terms are Chinese;
they are therefore of late appearance in Japan, and represent rather
conceptions of educated and Confucian classes than the ideas of the
masses."--"Evolution of the Japanese," p. 311.
[42] "The World's Parliament of Religions," vol. ii, p. 1282.
We must not overlook the fact that the modern Shintoism has its
sects, as well as Buddhism. There is the sect called "Ten-Ri-Kyo"
("Heaven-Reason-Teaching"). Also the Kurosumi sect, putting noteworthy
emphasis on morality.
[43] Gulick's "Evolution of the Japanese," p. 294. Whatever may be
the defects of Japanese character in general, it is common for nearly
all travelers who have visited the country and studied the habits
of the people at their homes, to speak of them as mild, courteous,
cleanly, frugal, intelligent, quick to learn, and gifted with a genius
for imitation. Their soldiers have proved themselves a match for the
most renowned warriors, and are marvelously apt to make the most of
opportunities.
[44] In his "Evolution of the Japanese" (p. 75) Gulick quotes from the
Japan Mail (of September 30, 1899) a number of special instructions
to be given to the pupils in the Japanese schools touching their
behavior toward foreigners. One of the orders reads thus: "Since all
human beings are brothers and sisters, there is no reason for fearing
foreigners. Treat them as equals and act uprightly in all your dealings
with them." Such instruction should surely, in time, enlarge the
world-conception of the Shintoist.
[45] Vol. iv, 1906, pp. 19-41.
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
possible including inconsistencies of hyphenation.