It may well be questioned whether, in the course of a like period of time,
any country has ever undergone greater transitions, or made more rapid
strides along the path of civilization than has Japan during the last
quarter of a century. A group of numerous islands, situated on the
high-road and thoroughfare of maritime traffic across the Pacific, between
the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and in area considerably exceeding
Great Britain and Ireland,—Japan, until thirty years ago, was a _terra
incognita_ to the rest of the world; exceeding even China in its
conservatism and exclusiveness. And now, within a space of some
five-and-twenty years, such changes have come about as to have given birth
to the expression,—“the transformation of Japan.” The more conspicuous of
these changes are summed up by a recent writer in the following
words:—“New and enlightened criminal codes have been enacted; the methods
of judicial procedure have been entirely changed; thoroughly efficient
systems of police, of posts, of telegraphs, and of national education have
been organized; an army and a navy modelled after Western patterns have
been formed; the finances of the Empire have been placed on a sound basis;
railways, roads, and harbours have been constructed; an efficient
mercantile marine has sprung into existence; the jail system has been
radically improved; an extensive scheme of local government has been put
into operation; a competitive civil service has been organized; the whole
fiscal system has been revised; an influential and widely-read newspaper
press has grown up with extraordinary rapidity; and government by
parliament has been substituted for monarchical absolutism.”(1) At the
present day, an Englishman travelling in Japan is constantly meeting
numbers of his countrymen, intent on either business or pleasure; while at
all the principal cities and places of resort, handsome new hotels, fitted
in Western style, are to be found. The Mikado may be seen driving through
his Capital in a carriage that would not be out of place in the Parks of
London or Paris; and at Court ceremonies European dress is _de rigueur_.
English is taught in all the better-class schools, and at the Universities
the works of such authors as Bacon, Locke, Macaulay, Darwin, John Stuart
Mill, Herbert Spencer, are in constant request with the students. In
short, on every side evidence is afforded, that be it for better or for
worse, the old order is fast changing and giving place to new.
The circumstances which have brought about these wonderful changes can
only be very briefly indicated here. It was towards the middle of the
sixteenth century that Japan first came into contact with the Western
world; the first traders to arrive being the Portuguese, who were followed
some sixty years later by the Dutch, and in 1613 by a few English ships.
To all of these alike a hospitable reception appears to have been
accorded; nor is there any doubt that Japanese exclusiveness was a thing
of subsequent growth, and that it was based only on a sincere conviction
that the nation’s well-being and happiness would be best consulted by
refusing to have dealings with the outer world. And indeed, that the
Japanese should have arrived at this decision is by no means to be
wondered at; their first experience of foreign intercourse having been
singularly unfortunate. The unhappy breach, which eventually led to Japan
entirely closing her ports to foreign traffic, was, it would seem, due
partly to the attitude of harsh intolerance and general interference
adopted by certain of the Roman Catholic missionaries, who by this time
had arrived in the country: and partly to the insinuations made by the
Dutch that the Portuguese were aiming at territorial aggrandizement.
Anyhow, in 1624, Japan was entirely closed to foreign trade, save for some
concessions,—accompanied by the severest restrictions,—permitted to the
Dutch; no foreigners were allowed to enter, and no natives to leave, the
empire; the missionaries were expelled, and Christianity was prohibited
under pain of death. The Japanese, as has been said, “suspected everybody
and shut out the world.” Previous to this crisis the English had retired;
but when, in 1673, our country sought to resume friendly relations, the
connexion existing between the English and Portuguese courts proved an
insuperable obstacle.(2) Subsequent overtures made in 1849, were
courteously but firmly rejected; though the period of Japan’s isolation
was, as later events proved, almost at an end. In 1853, the Government of
the United States despatched a fleet across the Pacific, under the command
of Commodore Perry, to insist upon the surrender of a policy which, it was
urged, no one nation of the world had a right to adopt towards the rest.
Whether the arguments with which this position was advanced would of
themselves have prevailed, is impossible to say; but since it was evident
that should words fail, sterner measures would be resorted to, Japan had
no choice but to submit. Treaties were accordingly concluded, first with
the United States, and subsequently with England and other European
powers; by virtue of which a few ports were grudgingly opened, and
Japanese subjects permitted to engage in commercial transactions with the
outside world. For the first few years, it is certain that a strong
feeling of suspicion and dislike towards foreigners was rife; but in 1868
events occurred which brought about a complete change in the whole
situation. For some six hundred years a dual system of government had
existed in Japan. On the one hand, was the Mikado, supposed to trace a
lineage of unbroken descent from the gods, and accorded a veneration
semi-divine, but living in seclusion at the city of Kyoto, with such
powers of administration as he still retained confined to matters of
religion and education. On the other hand, was the Shogun, or Tycoon, the
acknowledged head of a feudalism, which, while nominally recognizing the
Mikado’s authority, had usurped the sovereign power, and really governed
the country. But in 1868, the altered circumstances in which Japan found
herself brought about a revolution. The ancient nobility were filled with
indignation and disgust at the Tycoon so far violating Japanese tradition
as to enter into treaties with foreign countries; and, as a consequence of
this rupture, the Shogunate, whose power had for some time been waning,
completely collapsed. The Mikado was restored to imperial power, and at
once entered upon a policy which has been consistently adhered to, and
received with favour by the people generally, who had grown impatient of
the restraint which environed them. That policy may be termed the
Europeanization of the Empire; and in it we have the explanation of the
Japan of to-day.
It is not surprising that the interest excited in England, with regard to
a country which has experienced such remarkable changes, should be of the
greatest—especially when it is remembered in how large a degree English
influence has contributed to produce them. We may be certain, also, that
the still further developments the future has in store, will be followed
in our own country with a close attention. Equally natural is it that, in
these days of so great fashion and facility for travelling, increasing
numbers of English people should avail themselves of the opportunity of
exploring a country so entirely unique, and so rich in its attractions of
nature and of art. These circumstances have combined to call into
existence a large number of books on Japan, from which any, who are unable
to visit it in person, may obtain as good an idea as is possible by
reading of the country, its people, and its customs. Indeed it is by no
means easy for any writer now to fasten upon an aspect of the subject, in
which he does not find himself forestalled. That, however, on which, so
far as I understand, least has been written, is precisely that towards
which my own main attention was directed from the time of my leaving
England, and throughout the period of my visit to the country,—namely, the
_religious_ aspect. That the following pages must be very imperfect in the
statement they supply, I am well aware; and that, despite my efforts to
obtain trustworthy information, they will not prove free from inaccuracy
or mistake is extremely probable. But I was induced to enter upon their
preparation by a series of circumstances that appeared to favour such a
task, and need not be specified here. For the material supplied to me,
however, by one kind friend in particular, without whose assistance these
articles would never have been attempted, I must express my special
obligation. I would gladly refer to him by name, did I feel at liberty to
do so without obtaining his permission, which I have not, at the time of
writing, the opportunity of asking. Also, among the books I have consulted
on the subject, I must acknowledge my great indebtedness to Messrs.
Chamberlain and Mason’s excellent _Handbook for Japan_ (Murray, 1891); and
to a copy of Dr. E. J. Eitel’s _Lectures on Buddhism_ (Trübner, 1871),
given me by the author, at the close of a most interesting day spent under
his guidance. The sketch Map of Japan is inserted by the kind permission
of the “Guild of St. Paul.”
_November, 1893._