extends to all towns of any size in the empire, and by cable to all
parts of the world. From the old city of Saga, in which I live, I can
send a cablegram to any point in Europe or America. A telegraph code
on the basis of the Morse code has been made in Japan, which admits of
internal telegrams being transmitted in the native syllabary. In this
respect the Japanese system is unique among Eastern countries. For
instance, in India or China telegrams can be transmitted only in Roman
letters or Arabic figures. By the formation of a vernacular code the
telegraph was brought within the reach of the masses of the people, and
it soon became familiar and popular.
The tariff for messages is perhaps lower than any other in the world.
A message of ten kana, equaling about five English words, together with
name and address of sender and receiver, can be sent to any part of the
empire for eight or nine cents. Telegrams in foreign languages are
sent within the empire for five sen per word, with a minimum charge of
twenty-five sen for five words or a fraction thereof. No charge is
made for delivery within a radius of 2-½ miles of the telegraph office.
There are no private telegraph corporations. The government builds,
owns, and operates the lines just as it does the mails. The postal and
{101} telegraph systems are intimately connected, and the same office
does service for both.
The first telegraph line in Japan was opened in 1869. The venture
proving a success, the following year the line was extended and a
general telegraphic system for the whole country decided upon. The
rapid construction of telegraph lines began in 1872, from which year it
has gone forward uninterruptedly. At present the lines extend to every
corner of the empire. The first lines were surveyed, built, and
operated under foreign experts; but the natives have learned so rapidly
that they have been enabled to do away with all foreign employees. All
of the materials and instruments in use, with the exception of
submarine cables and the most delicate electrical measuring apparatus,
are made in Japan.
MAILS.--The Japanese mail system was modeled after the American in
1871. At first it was limited to postal service between the three
large cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka; but in 1872 it was extended to
the whole country, with the exception of a certain part of the
Hokkaido, which was without roads and almost without population.
To-day there is no village or hamlet in the whole land which does not
enjoy the convenience of a good postal system. The mails are sent with
promptness and despatch, and it requires only a few days to communicate
with any part of the {102} empire. The postal rates are very low.
Postal cards cost one sen and letters two sen--about five eighths and
one and two eighths of a cent, respectively.
All mail is delivered free of charge. Not only is this so in the
cities and larger towns, but in the villages and rural districts as
well. There is no place where the dapper little postman does not go.
Another convenience of the mail system is its excellent parcel-post
department. Very large parcels, containing almost anything, can be
sent for a small charge. Still another praiseworthy feature is that
each office is a savings-bank, where the people can deposit small sums
of money at any time and receive a good rate of interest. This money
can be withdrawn without previous notice. The government has
established these savings-banks in connection with the post-offices to
encourage the people to lay up small sums of money, and they accomplish
their purpose well.
Japan was admitted into the International Postal Union in 1879, with
full management of all her postal affairs. As all her rates are now
based on a silver standard, postage to foreign countries is much
cheaper than from them to Japan. To the United States or to China we
pay five sen (about two and a half cents) per letter; to all other
countries within the Postal Union ten sen per letter.
{103}
LIGHTS.--The system of lighting is an index of the civilization of a
country. In this respect Japan is not yet so far advanced as the
leading countries of the West, yet she is well lighted. In all the
large cities there are good electric plants, and electricity is
extensively used. The streets and many of the best stores and shops
are very well lighted with it. However, electric lights are seldom
found in interior cities of less than 40,000 people. I think
electricity is too costly to come into general use, except in the
centers. Illuminating gas is very little used.
The only oil used in former times was extracted from whales and large
fish, and chiefly from the seed of a certain tree. Since the opening
of the country, kerosene has come into general use, immense quantities
being imported from the United States and from Russia. Oil has been
found in several places in Japan, but as yet has never been developed.
BANKING.--One of the most useful products of the introduction of our
modern civilization is the present system of banking. This system will
compare favorably with those of the West. There are a number of
national banks distributed over all the land, together with many
substantial private banking corporations. All forms of banking
business are transacted, and good interest is given on deposits. The
great {104} popularity of the banks is shown by the fact that to-day in
Tokyo, only eight years after bank-checks have come into use, the
amount annually drawn exceeds $100,000,000.
Having taken this rapid view of Japanese civilization, we are in a
position to judge as to whether or not this is a civilized land; and we
answer that it is. But although modeled after that of the West, it in
many respects differs from Western civilization. Japan has shown
herself capable of doing great things, but she does not do them in the
same way that they are done in Europe or America. For example,
consider her manufactories, which now threaten to compete with those of
our own country. In America manufactories mean enormous capital
invested. Costly factories must be erected, the most approved
machinery provided, and the completed plant operated at great expense.
Here almost no capital is used. The buildings are low, one-story
sheds, not more costly than a row of stables at home. It is true that
Japan has a few large, substantial buildings for manufacturing
purposes; but such are rare, and, when found, look out of harmony with
their surroundings. Even nature seems to protest against huge piles of
brick and stone, as she so frequently demolishes them. Most of the
wares of Japan are manufactured in small, cheap buildings, and little
machinery is used. The best silk {105} made is woven in a house that
cost scarcely $500. The best cloisonne, of which only a small piece a
few inches high will cost hundreds of dollars, is made in a little,
two-story house with only six rooms. Some of the greatest
porcelain-makers in the world, whose products are better known in
London and Paris than in their own country, do their work in small
wooden houses in Kyoto, no better than the homes of the American
laborer. "The vast rice crop is raised on millions of tiny farms; the
silk crop in millions of small, poor homes; the tea crop on countless
little patches of soil. Japan has become industrial without becoming
essentially mechanical and artificial."[3] On this small scale the
great work of Japan is done. Japanese civilization, in its parts, is
miniature.
[3] Lafcadio Hearn.
When compared with the civilization of the West, it is unstable; in
fact stability is almost unknown. The land itself is a land of change.
The outlines of the coasts, the courses of the rivers, the form of the
mountains, by the combined action of volcanoes, earthquakes, winds, and
waves, are constantly changing.
The people themselves are continually drifting about from place to
place, changing their residence with the seasons. It has been said
that no people in the world are so migratory. {106} Preparation can be
made in a few hours for the longest journey, and all the necessary
baggage wrapped up in a handkerchief. Japanese life is in a constant
state of fluidity.
The average house, likewise, seems built but for a day. The walls, the
roof, the floors, are made of the lightest materials, and apparently
there is no thought of permanence.
We of the West are wont to think that no real progress can be made
without stability, but Japan has proved the contrary. A uniformly
mobile race is, correspondingly, uniformly impressionable. The fluid
mass of the Japanese people submits itself to the hands of its rulers
as readily as the clay to the hands of the potter, and thus it moves
with system and order toward great ends. It is thus that Japanese
civilization is strong.
When compared with Western civilization, that of Japan is seen to be
less organized and developed, less hasty and feverish in its movements,
It does not impress one so much with its hugeness and ponderosity. It
is lighter, brighter, quieter, more soothing. It is the civilization
of the West robbed of its immensity and seriousness, and reflecting the
national characteristics of these light-hearted sons of the East.
{107}
VI
JAPANESE MORALITY
Japanese morality has been much written about by men of the West, and
many dogmatic judgments have been pronounced upon it. At one extreme,
we have been told that "they are the most immoral people on the face of
the earth"; at the other, we are told that in morality "they have
nothing to learn from the people of Christendom." There is about as
much--or rather as little--truth in the one statement as in the other.
The fact is that it is necessary to have an experimental acquaintance
with Japan before one can really understand or appreciate the moral
condition of her people. The moral ideas and teachings to which they
have been accustomed from childhood are so different from our own that
they could not be expected to approximate to our standards. Judged by
the ideas of the West, they are lacking in morality; but from {108}
their own standpoint they are a moral people. While we cannot accept
theirs as the true standard, it is but fair that, in judging them, we
keep this in view.
Before the introduction of Chinese ethics there was no such thing as a
moral code. The original native religion, Shinto, taught no doctrines
of morality, as we understand them. According to it, to obey
implicitly the mikado was the whole duty of man. As for the rest, if a
Japanese obeyed the natural impulses of his own heart he would be sure
to do right. Modern Shinto writers, in all seriousness, account for
this absence of a moral code by stating that originally Japanese nature
was pure, clean, and sinless, possessing no tendency to evil or wrong.
Barbarians, like the Chinese and Americans, being by nature immoral,
were forced to invent a moral code to control their actions; but in
Japan this was not necessary, as every Japanese acted aright if he only
consulted his own heart. They explain the need for the present moral
laws--a need which they acknowledge--by the fact of association with
outside nations. Immorality and dissoluteness were introduced by the
Chinese and Western peoples, to counteract the evil influence of which
they now have the shameful spectacle of a moral law even among the
children of the "heaven-descended mikado." So much for the teaching of
Shinto in {109} regard to morality. It would be exasperating were it
not ludicrous.
Confucius is the master of Japanese morality. His teachings were
introduced into Japan early in the Christian era, but they became
predominant only in the time of Iyeyasu, in the seventeenth century.
This great statesman, warrior, and patron of learning caused the
Chinese classics to be printed in Japan for the first time; and from
that day to this the morality of Japan has been dominated by Confucian
ideas.
In order to understand Japanese morality, it is necessary for us to
shift our moral base and try to look at the subject through Japanese
eyes. The average native of the West thinks of "morality" as something
belonging to the individual. Even in religion his first thought is to
save his own soul. The value of the soul, its immortality, its
immediate relation to the infinite and eternal Father--these have been
emphasized ever since the first establishment of the church. In
consequence, there is a duty which man owes to himself. He may not
disregard it even at the command of father or king. Within the soul is
the holiest of all, for there is heard in conscience the voice of God
himself. No external authority may be supreme, and at no external
voice may one violate his own convictions of truth.
This thought exalts the individual, and, {110} therefore, sins which
degrade our own personality become most repulsive. Thus, among
high-minded men truth is almost first among the virtues, and an
accusation of falsehood the most hateful of insults. For truth seems
peculiarly personal and spiritual, as if belonging to the very
sanctuary of one's nature. And in like manner, among women, in popular
esteem chastity is of the essence of morality, as its violation seems
to contaminate and debase her holiest self.
Now the Confucian ethics rest upon a quite different principle, and in
this are at one with the ancient teaching of the Greeks and Romans.
The supreme duty is not to the self, but to the organization of which
one is but a part--that is, to the family or to the state. The great
Chinese moralists were statesmen, and their chief concern was, not the
salvation of the individual, but the peace and prosperity of the state.
In their view, the family was the unit, and the state a greater family.
So the conflict of duties, in their questions of casuistry, is never
between individual and social duties, but between duties owed to family
and to state. Loyalty to the state and obedience to parents must be
supreme; but China and Japan differ as to the value of these two.
According to original Confucianism, the first duty of men is obedience
to parents; the second, loyalty to rulers; but in Japan the order of
these {111} duties has been changed, the second being given first place.
The people have learned well this teaching of Confucius. Japan was
prepared soil for its sowing. The native religion taught that the
emperor was a direct descendant of heaven, who ruled by divine right;
the provincial lords were his ministers, and hence loyalty was a plain
duty. The Confucian teaching only strengthened, deepened, and gave
form and outline to a sentiment already existing. This principle of
loyalty thus became the foundation stone of Japanese ethics, and one's
duty to one's lord paramount to all other duties.
In the olden times the people did not look beyond their own feudal
lords and clans to the emperor and the nation. They were to be
faithful unto death to these, but no further. Now that loyalty once
shown to the local princes and clans finds its apotheosis in the
emperor and the empire.
A man's duty to his friends, to his wife and children, and even to his
parents, is counted as nothing in comparison with his duty to rulers
and country. There are many instances in Japanese history of men who,
having slain their own parents, children, wives, for the sake of their
prince, were praised. At the time of the recent tidal wave in northern
Japan, when the waters were rushing furiously into one home, a husband
and {112} father turned a deaf ear to the cries of his drowning wife
and children, permitting them to perish that he might save the
emperor's picture; and he was applauded for the act. A fire recently
demolished the beautiful new buildings of the middle school in Saga.
The library, laboratories, and scientific apparatus were mostly
destroyed, and many of the students lost their clothing and books. The
loss in buildings alone was some $20,000. Yet the thing the loss of
which they lamented most deeply was a photograph of the emperor which
could easily be replaced for a few yen.
A characteristic story, showing the devotion with which the old samurai
carried out this principle of loyalty, is the tale of the forty-seven
ronins. It is rather long to insert here, but as it illustrates so
well the power of this principle, I will relate it.
In the year 1701 the lord of Ako, Asano by name, visited Yedo to pay
his respects to the shogun. While there the shogun appointed him to
receive and entertain an envoy from the mikado. Now, the reception of
an envoy from the imperial court was one of the greatest state
ceremonies of the day, and as Asano knew little of ceremonies and
etiquette, he asked the advice of another nobleman, named Kira, who was
expert in such matters. This man, who seems to have {113} been of a
very mean disposition, grudgingly gave the information desired, and
then asked a fee for the same. Asano refused to give the fee, and
Kira, becoming angry, twitted and jeered at him, calling him a country
lout, unworthy the name of daimio. Asano endured the insults patiently
until Kira peremptorily ordered him to stoop down and fasten his
foot-gear for him,--a most menial service,--when he drew his sword and
gave the offender a deep cut across the face. This quarrel took place
in the precincts of the palace, and instantly the whole court was in an
uproar. To degrade the sacred place was an insult punishable with
death and the confiscation of all property; and Asano was condemned to
take his own life by hara-kiri that same evening, his estates were
confiscated, his family declared extinct, and his clan disbanded.
Henceforth his retainers became ronins ("wandering men"), with no
country and no lord. According to the ethics of their country, it was
their bounden duty to avenge the death of their lord, and we shall see
how relentlessly they followed their purpose until it was accomplished.
The senior retainer of the dead Asano, Oishu Kuranosuke, together with
forty-six others of his most trusty fellow-lieges, took counsel as to
how they might avenge their lord. They all were willing to lay down
their lives in the attempt, but {114} even then the task was difficult,
because of the vigilance of the government. For such vengeance was
rigidly prohibited by law, although as rigidly required by custom.
Notwithstanding the fact that all who slew an enemy for vengeance were
punished by death, not to take such vengeance never entered the mind of
any chivalrous Japanese. After much planning the forty-seven ronins
decided that to avoid the suspicions of the government it would be
necessary for them to separate and for the time conceal their purpose.
So they separated, settling in different cities, and taking up various
occupations. Many of them became carpenters, smiths, and merchants,
and in these capacities gained access to Kira's house and learned all
about its interior arrangements. The leader of this faithful band,
Oishu, went to Kyoto and plunged into a life of drunkenness and
debauchery. He even put away his wife and children, and led the most
dissolute life possible, simply to throw off the suspicions of the
authorities. All of the ronins were closely watched by spies, who
secretly reported their conduct to Kira. But by these devices they
finally lulled all suspicion, and the vigilance ceased. Then the day
long waited for had come. Suddenly, on the night of January 30, 1703,
two years after the death of their lord, in the midst of a violent
snowstorm, these forty-seven faithful men attacked {115} Kira's castle,
forced the gate, and slew all the retainers. Kira, who was a coward at
heart, concealed himself in an outhouse. The ronins found him there,
drew him forth, and requested him to kill himself by hara-kiri, as was
the privilege of a man of his rank. But he refused out of fear, and
the retainers of Asano were forced to kill him as they would have
killed a common coolie. Thus did they accomplish their purpose and
fulfil the high duty of loyalty to their dead lord, after two years of
waiting, most careful planning, and ceaseless vigilance.
By the time their purpose was accomplished day had dawned, and, in
plain view of the whole city, this brave band marched in order to the
temple of Sengakuji, where Asano was buried. The citizens showed them
every honor on the way. A wealthy nobleman, as a reward for their
loyal deed, sent them out costly refreshments. When they arrived at
the temple the head abbot received them in person and showed them every
honor. Finding the grave of their dead lord, they laid thereon the
head of the enemy by whom he had been so deeply wronged, and then felt
that their duty was done. They were all sentenced to commit hara-kiri,
which they did willingly. Afterward they were buried together in the
same temple grounds with their lord, where their graves can be seen to
this day.
{116}
These men simply obeyed the ethical code of their time and country, and
as a reward for their loyalty they have received the enthusiastic
praise of their countrymen for two centuries. No other story is so
popular to-day, or so stirs the hearts of the people, as this. While
we, believing that vengeance belongs to the Lord, cannot indorse this
deed, we must admire the loyalty and faithfulness of those ronins, and
the perseverance with which they adhered to their purpose. In this
true story we see clearly the power of this first principle of Japanese
morality--loyalty.
The sister principle of loyalty in Confucian ethics is obedience to
parents. Unquestioning, absolute, implicit obedience is required of
all children. Formerly the child was considered the property of the
parents, and could be disposed of at will, even to the taking of its
life. To-day the father may sell his daughter to a life of shame, or
"lend" her to a private individual for immoral purposes; and, however
much she may dislike such a life, obedience to parents requires that
she acquiesce in his will, which she does uncomplainingly.
This principle of obedience is the foundation stone of Japanese family
life. The relation between parents and children is stronger than that
between man and wife, and is given a prior place. An only son cannot
be forced to leave his mother {117} and become a soldier, but a husband
may be forced to leave his wife. Within the family circle, the son's
duty to his aged parents always precedes his duty to his wife. Every
Japanese feels deeply this obligation to his parents, and properly to
support and nourish them in old age he holds to be a sacred duty.
Americans could learn much that would be profitable from the reverence
and respect shown for parents and teachers by the Japanese.
In Japan, however, this principle is carried too far. It continues
after death as binding as before, and divine honors are paid to dead
ancestors. Periodical visits are made to their tombs, religious
candles are kept burning in their honor, and prayers are said to them.
Among the more enlightened to-day there is perhaps nothing in these
ceremonies but reverence and respect; yet by the masses of the people
ancestors are worshiped.
There are two moral maxims that show well the relative importance in
which parents, relatives, and wives are held. They are the following:
"Thy father and thy mother are like heaven and earth; thy teacher and
thy lord are like the sun and the moon." "Other kinsfolk may be
likened to the rushes; husbands and wives are but as useless stones."
It is apparent that virtues have differing values in the Confucian and
Christian systems. We can {118} appreciate their point of view best,
perhaps, as we remember the ethics of an army. Here obedience,
loyalty, self-devotion, courage, are supreme. Much is forgiven if
these are manifested. The organization is everything, and the
individual nothing, save as he is a fraction of the great machine.
Carry that idea into the social community, and think of it as an army,
with all, women as well as men, of value only as parts of the greater
whole, and we shall understand why and how the Japanese may esteem men
and women righteous whom we judge debased and even criminal. So would
the Japanese judge them, were the motive mere passion or selfish
desire, but not when the controlling power is loyalty or obedience.
Thus the forty-seven ronin were pre-eminently "righteous" when they
debauched themselves with every swinish vice.