,illustration3 ,cover ,frontispiece3 ,fuji ,san4 ,the ,gist of ,japan ,the ,islands ,their ,people ,and ,missions ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,b4 ,peery1 ,a4,m41 ,ph4,d4 ,with ,illustrations ,new ,york -- ,chicago -- ,toronto ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,m ,,dccc ,,xcvii ,copyright1 #ahig1 by ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company ,to ,my ,wife ,to whose ,kindly ,sympathy and ,help is ,largely ,due ,whatever of ,value there may be in these ,pages ,this ,book is ,affectionately ,dedicated #c ,,preface ,although a great deal has already been published in ,english concerning ,japan and the ,japanese people1 nothing1 to my knowledge1 has yet been published which attempts to give a full treatment of mission work in ,japan4 ,an ,american ,missionary ,in ,japan1 by ,dr4 ,gordon1 is the only book ,i am aware of that deals exclusively with this subject2 but its scope is quite different from that of the present volume4 ,therefore ,i have been led to believe that there is a place for this book4 ,i have written for the common people and hence have tried to give the subject a plain1 popular treatment4 ,there has been no attempt at exhaustive discussion1 but great pains have been taken to make the hook reliable and accurate4 ,in the preparation of this little book ,i have consulted freely the following works in ,english3 ,transactions of the ,asiatic ,society of ,japan2 files of the ,japan ,mail2 ,transactions of the #d ,osaka ,conference1 #ahhb2 ,rein's ,japan2 ,griffis's ,mikado's ,empire2 ,griffis's ,religions of ,japan2 ,chamberlain's ,handbook of ,things ,japanese2 ,miss ,bacon's ,japanese ,girls and ,women2 ,dr4 ,lawrence's ,modern ,missions in the ,east2 ,report of the ,world's ,missionary ,conference1 ,london1 #ahhh2 and reports of the various missionary societies operating in ,japan4 ,in ,japanese ,i have consulted some native historians and moral and religious writers--especially in the preparation of the chapters on ,history1 ,morality1 and ,religions4 ,the book is sent forth with the prayer that it may be the means of begetting in the ,american churches a deeper interest in the work it portrays4 ,r4 ,b4 ,p4 ,,saga1 ,,japan4 #e ,,contents ,i4 ,the ,land of ,japan ,,ii4 ,a ,brief ,history of the ,japanese ,people ,,iii4 ,japanese ,characteristics ,,iv4 ,manners and ,customs ,v4 ,japanese ,civilization ,,vi4 ,japanese ,morality ,,vii4 ,religions of ,japan ,,viii4 ,first ,introduction ,of ,christianity ,,ix4 ,modern ,roman and ,greek ,missions ,x4 ,a ,brief ,history of ,protestant ,missions in ,japan ,,xi4 ,qualifications for ,mission ,work in ,japan ,,xii4 ,private ,life of the ,missionary ,,xiii4 ,methods of ,work ,,xiv4 ,hindrances ,,xv4 ,special ,problems ,,xvi4 ,the ,outlook #g ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,fuji ,san 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,frontispiece ,a ,bridge ,scene ,a ,kitchen ,scene ,hara-kiri ,a ,shinto ,temple ,a ,buddhist ,priest ,a ,buddhist ,cemetery ,the ,author's ,home ,jinrikishas #i ,i ,,the ,,land ,,of ,,japan ,the empire of ,japan consists of a chain of islands lying off the east coast of ,asia1 and extending all the way from ,kamchatka in the north to ,formosa in the south4 ,its length is more than #aejj miles1 while the width of the mainlands varies from #ajj to #bjj miles4 ,the entire area1 exclusive of ,formosa1 recently acquired1 is #adf1jjj square miles--just about equal to that of the two ,dakotas or the ,united ,kingdom of ,england1 ,scotland1 ,ireland1 and ,wales4 ,on this territory1 at the beginning of the year #ahic1 there lived #da1jhi1idj souls4 ,the country is divided into four large islands and more than two thousand smaller ones4 ,the larger ones are named respectively ,hondo1 ,kyushu1 ,shikoku1 and ,yezo4 ,of these the first named is by far the largest and most important4 ,this island originally had no separate name1 but #aj in recent years it is very generally called ,hondo4 ,western geographers have frequently made the mistake of applying the term ,nihon to it2 but ,nihon is the native name for the whole empire1 and not for its chief island4 ,the capital1 ,tokyo1 the ancient capital1 ,kyoto1 and the commercial center1 ,osaka1 are all situated on this island4 ,kyushu is the second largest island in the group1 and lies southwest of the main island4 ,it was on this island1 in the town of ,nagasaki1 that the ,dutch lived for more than two hundred years1 forming the only means of communication ,japan had with the outside world4 ,shikoku is next in size4 ,it lies south of ,hondo and northeast of ,kyushu4 ,shikoku and ,kyushu are separated from the main island by the ,inland ,sea1 one of the most beautiful bodies of water in the world4 ,the island of ,yezo is in the extreme north1 ,it has very cold winters and resembles the central part of ,north ,america somewhat in climate and productions4 ,on this island the aborigines of ,japan1 called ,ainu1 now live4 ,among the more important of the smaller groups are the ,liukiu ,islands1 in the extreme south2 the ,goto ,islands1 in the west2 and the ,kuriles1 in the north4 ,besides these there are numerous other islands of considerable size lying #aa around the coasts1 and the whole ,inland ,sea is beautifully dotted with them4 ,japan is a very mountainous country4 ,for this reason hardly twelve per cent4 of her total area is cultivated4 ,in general the land gradually ascends on both sides as it recedes from the ocean1 at first forming hills and table-lands1 and then huge mountains4 ,thus a chain of mountains is formed in the center of the islands1 extending throughout the whole length of the empire4 ,the mountains are nearly all of volcanic origin1 which accounts for their jagged appearance4 ,there are many active volcanoes1 continually sending up great clouds of smoke1 and occasionally emitting streams of fire and molten lava1 deluging the whole neighborhood with sulphur and ashes4 ,one of the first sights that greets the traveler from the ,west as he approaches ,japan is the smoke of a volcano1 ever active1 on ,vries ,island1 in the entrance to ,yokohama harbor4 ,the chief volcanoes active at present are ,asama1 ,shirane-san1 ,bandai-san1 ,aso-san1 and ,koma-ga-take4 ,i shall never forget the ascent of ,asama at night1 in #ahid4 ,the volcano had been unusually active recently1 and a large part of the crater had fallen in1 completely changing its appearance4 ,the sulphurous vapors and smoke came up so thick and fast that we dared not approach near the crater for fear of #ab suffocation4 ,at that time we could not see down into the crater at all1 but occasionally one can see the blue-red flames curling and writhing far down in the bowels of the earth like a sea of fire1 a veritable gate of hell4 ,of extinct volcanoes ,japan boasts a large number4 ,the mightiest of these is the peerless ,fuji-san1 the pride of every ,japanese1 the highest mountain in ,japan4 ,it is #ab1cfe feet high1 and snow is found on its summit at all seasons4 ,this mountain is now a huge pile of ashes1 lava1 and boulders--apparently harmless4 ,as late as #agjh it was in eruption1 and when ,i stood on its snowy summit in ,august1 #ahic1 there were certain places where vapors hot enough to cook an egg came up from the ground4 ,for aught we know1 it may at any time burst forth again and devastate whole provinces4 ,this is a land of earthquakes4 ,the records show that from earliest times this country has been subject to great ruin by their visitations4 ,whole villages and towns have been suddenly swallowed up1 and huge mountains have disappeared in a day4 ,these earthquakes are of frequent occurrence4 ,the seismic instruments now in use throughout the empire record about three hundred and sixty-five per year--one for each day4 ,certain localities are much more exposed to them than others1 although none is #ac entirely free from them4 ,these disturbances are very destructive of life and property1 especially injuring railways1 bridges1 and high buildings4 ,they have left their mark upon the whole country4 ,through the effect of volcanoes and earthquakes together1 the surface of ,japan presents an appearance seldom seen in any other land4 ,the forces of nature are unusually destructive in ,japan4 ,besides the volcanoes and earthquakes1 the country is subject to occasional tidal waves1 which kill thousands of people and destroy millions of dollars' worth of property4 ,impelled by some mighty force1 the great sea rises in its bed mountain high1 and1 angrily breaking out of its accustomed bounds1 sweeps everything before it4 ,while ,i am writing this chapter 7,june1 #ahif7 news has come of one of the most destructive waves known here for decades1 which has just swept over the north coast of ,hondo4 ,more than #cj1jjj people were killed instantly1 and great destruction wrought to property4 ,so terrible is nature in her fiercer aspects6 ,japan being a very narrow country1 her rivers are short and small1 few of them being serviceable for navigation4 ,ordinarily they are quiet1 lazy streams1 but when the heavy rains fall in the mountains1 the waters sweep down like a flood1 swelling these rivers to huge size and converting them into fierce1 angry torrents4 ,the #ad ,tone-gawa is the longest and widest river1 but its length is only #agj miles4 ,other important ones are the ,shinano-gawa1 the ,kiso-gawa1 and the ,kitakami4 ,a peculiar feature about these rivers is that none of them bears the same name from source to mouth1 but all change their name in nearly every province4 ,there are few lakes of importance4 ,the largest is ,lake ,biwa1 near ,kyoto2 it is #ej miles long1 and #bj wide at its widest point4 ,lake ,inawashiro is of considerable size4 ,lake ,chuzenji1 at the foot of ,nantai-zan1 is unrivaled for beauty1 and is hardly surpassed in any land4 ,hakone is also a beautiful lake1 and the reflection of ,fuji-san in its waters by moonlight is a sight well worth seeing4 ,indeed1 the whole of ,japan abounds in picturesque landscapes and scenic beauty4 ,mountain scenes rivaling those of ,switzerland2 clear1 placid lakes1 in which the image of sky and mountains blends2 and smiling1 fertile valleys1 heavily laden with fruits and grain1 make the landscape one of surpassing beauty4 ,few countries are more pleasing to the eye than is ,japan4 ,the coasts are indented by many bays and inlets1 affording fine harbors4 ,the seas are very deep and often wild and stormy4 ,the islands are favorably located for commercial enterprises1 and the ,japanese are by nature destined to be a #ae maritime people4 ,as regards situation and harbors1 there is a striking resemblance to ,england4 ,the two countries are of nearly equal size1 they both are insular powers1 and are situated about equidistant from a great continent4 ,it is safe to assume that ,japan's development will be along lines somewhat similar to ,england's4 ,there is a good system of roads4 ,the mountain roads are carefully graded2 hollows are filled up and ridges cut through in such a manner as we employ only for railroads4 ,indeed1 some of the roads are so carefully graded that ties and rails could be laid on them almost without any further modification4 ,many of them are as straight as the engineer's art can make them4 ,a new road was built recently from ,saga to the small seaport town of ,wakatsu1 and between the two towns it is as direct as a bee-line4 ,this road crosses a river just at the junction of two streams4 ,the fork of the river lay exactly in the path of the road2 by slightly swerving to either the right or the left a bridge half the length of the present one would have sufficed1 but the long1 costly bridge was built rather than have the road swerve from its course even a little4 ,in the plains most of the roads are elevated three or four feet above the surrounding fields4 ,they are not macadamized1 but are covered with large1 coarse gravel known as jari4 ,when this #af jari is first spread on1 the roads are almost impassable1 but it soon becomes beaten down and makes a good road4 ,unfortunately1 it must be applied nearly every year4 ,some of the chief highways are very old4 ,the most famous is the ,tokaido1 extending from the old capital1 ,kyoto1 the seat of the imperial court1 to the city of ,yedo 7now called ,tokyo71 the seat of the shogun's government4 ,it was over this road that the ancient daimios of the western provinces used to journey1 with gorgeous pageantry and splendid retinues1 to the shogun's court4 ,some highways are lined on either side with tall cryptomeria and other trees1 giving a delightful shade and making of them beautiful avenues4 ,the most beautiful of these is the road approaching ,nikko4 ,this is said to be lined on both sides with rows of magnificent cedars and pines for a distance of #dj miles4 ,the bridges add a great deal to the peculiar beauty of the landscape4 ,they are substantial1 beautiful structures1 generally built in the shape of an arch1 and are of stone1 bricks1 or wood4 ,the ,japanese are very careful about bridges1 and little streams across foot-paths1 where in ,america one sees at best only a plank or log1 are here carefully bridged4 ,the bridge called ,nihon-bashi1 in ,tokyo1 is said to be the center of the empire1 the point at which all roads converge4 ,illustration3 ,a ,bridge ,scene4 #ag ,japan is a land in which the rural population largely predominates4 ,most of the people live in the villages and small towns4 ,but in recent years a process similar to that going on in ,america has set in1 and large numbers of the rural classes are drifting into the cities4 ,the chief city is ,tokyo1 with a population of #a1cbc1bie4 ,being now the home of the emperor and the seat of government1 it is held in much reverence by the people4 ,in popular parlance this city is exalted on a pedestal of honor1 and the people speak of ascending to or descending from it4 ,it is really a fine city1 with broad1 clean streets and many splendid buildings1 and has been called the city of magnificent distances4 ,one can travel almost a whole day and not get outside the city limits4 ,it was formerly called ,yedo1 but when the emperor removed his court hither after the ,restoration its name was changed to ,tokyo4 ,the term means east capital4 ,the city has enjoyed a marvelous growth and is to-day a vigorous1 active place4 ,it has many of the conveniences of modern ,western cities1 such as electric lights1 water-works1 tram-cars1 telephones1 etc4 ,kyoto is the ancient capital1 the place where the mikados lived in secluded splendor for so many centuries4 ,it was the most magnificent city of old ,japan1 and many highly cherished #ah national memories and traditions cluster around it4 ,the old classical ,japanese1 to whom the ancient rgime is far superior to the present1 still lingers fondly in thought round its sacred temples1 shrines1 and groves4 ,when the imperial court was removed to ,tokyo the name of ,kyoto was changed to ,saikyo1 a term meaning west capital4 ,western geographers frequently have been guilty of the error of calling this city ,miyako2 but that has never been the city's name1 and is simply the ,japanese word for capital4 ,kyoto is a beautiful1 prosperous city1 with a population of #cbh1ced4 ,osaka is the commercial center4 ,it is a city of manufactories1 and nearly all native articles of merchandise bear the mark1 ,made in ,osaka4 ,as a business center this city surpasses all others in the empire4 ,it is centrally located1 at the head of ,osaka ,bay1 about #bj miles from the open port of ,kob4 ,here we find the imperial mint1 with long rows of splendid buildings4 ,the population is #did1cad4 ,the next largest city is ,nagoya1 with a population of #bjf1gdb4 ,other prominent cities are3 ,hiroshima1 #ia1ihe2 ,okayama1 #eb1cfj2 ,kanagawa1 #hi1ige2 ,kagoshima1 #ee1die1 etc4 ,there are seven open ports in which foreigners reside at present and engage in commerce4 ,in the order of importance they are3 ,tokyo1 #ai population #a1cbc1bie2 ,osaka1 #did1cad2 ,yokohama1 #afj1dci2 ,kob1 #aej1iic2 ,nagasaki1 #fg1dha2 ,hakodate1 #ff1ccc2 ,niigata1 #ej1cjj4 ,formerly ,nagasaki was in the lead1 but now has fallen to the fifth place4 ,it is probable that other ports will be opened to foreign trade in the near future4 ,climate ,as ,japan is so long a country1 she has every variety of climate4 ,in the northern provinces1 and especially on the northwest coast1 it is extremely cold in winter1 and snow falls in such quantities as practically to stop all kinds of business4 ,in ,formosa and ,liukiu there is perpetual summer4 ,that part of ,japan in which the ,west is most interested1 and about which it knows most1--which is far the most important portion of the empire1--has a mild1 damp climate1 free from great extremes of either heat or cold4 ,each winter snow falls frequently1 but it is seldom known to lie on the ground for more than a few hours at a time4 ,cold frosts are rare4 ,judged by the thermometer1 the summers are no warmer than those of the ,carolinas or ,tennessee1 but their effect upon people of the ,west resident here is much more trying than the summers of those places4 ,various reasons are assigned for this4 ,physicians are well aware that humidity affects #bj health for good or bad as much as temperature4 ,in considering the healthfulness of a climate1 not only is the temperature to be taken into account1 but the amount of moisture in the air must also be considered4 ,now1 in ,japan there is so excessive an amount of moisture in the atmosphere that it makes the heat exceedingly depressing4 ,the presence of this dampness makes it very hard to keep things clean and free from rust and mold4 ,sewing-machines1 bicycles1 scissors1 knives1 and such things have to be watched carefully and oiled4 ,carpets1 clothing1 shoes1 etc41 have to be sunned well and then shut up in air-tight boxes during the summer season4 ,often a single night is sufficient to make a pair of shoes white with mold4 ,were it only on the machines and clothing that the dampness and mold settle1 it would not be so bad2 but we feel that this same clammy mold is going down into our very bones and marrow1 gradually sapping their vigor and strength4 ,besides this great excess of moisture in the atmosphere1 there are other reasons why the climate is so debilitating4 ,one of these is the lack of ozone4 ,this element is known to be one of the greatest atmospheric purifiers1 and also to have a very invigorating and stimulating effect upon mind and body4 ,the proportion of ozone in the atmosphere of ,japan is only about one #ba third as great as that in the atmosphere of most ,western countries4 ,the proportion of electricity in the atmosphere is also thought to be much below the average4 ,while not much is known in regard to the effect of atmospheric electricity upon the healthfulness of a country1 it is generally believed by scientific and medical men that the proportion of electricity in the air has much to do with our physical well-being4 ,these three factors1 viz41 too much moisture1 not enough ozone1 and not enough electricity1 are named as the chief causes which conduce to make the climate depressing and enervating to people from the ,west4 ,we missionaries have neither the energy nor the strength to do here what we could do at home1 and after a five or six years' residence1 to do effective work must be permitted to recuperate in the home lands4 ,the rainfall is far above the average of most countries4 ,two thirds of the annual downpour falls during the six months from ,april to ,october4 ,the rainy season proper begins early in ,june and lasts about six weeks4 ,at this season it sometimes rains for weeks consecutively4 ,this year 7#ahif7 during the rainy season we did not once get a sight of the sun for at least three weeks4 ,the amount of rain varies greatly from year to year1 as also in different localities4 #bb ,notwithstanding the heavy rainfall1 bright1 sunny days are far in excess of dark1 rainy ones4 ,clear1 balmy skies are the rule rather than the exception4 ,there is a softness and delicacy about ,japanese skies rare in ,america1 but common in ,european countries bordering on the ,mediterranean ,sea4 ,japanese winds are irregular and violent1 and subject to sudden changes4 ,during three months of the year the dreaded typhoons are expected1 and once or twice each year great damage is done by them4 ,these typhoons generally blow from the southwest4 ,they often sweep houses1 forests1 and everything else before them1 their wake being a mass of ruins4 ,in fair weather1 on the sea-shore1 there is a gentle land- and sea-breeze in summer4 ,productions ,japan is blessed with a fertile soil1 capable of bearing a variety of products4 ,by centuries of the most careful fertilization and irrigation 7arts in which the ,japanese are adepts7 the land has been brought to a very high state of cultivation4 ,one of the peculiar things to the people of the ,west is the manner in which the fields are irrigated4 ,nearly all the land under cultivation can be freely watered at the will of the cultivator4 #bc ,streams and canals everywhere wind in and out through the plains and round the hills1 making easy the irrigation of all arable lands4 ,a striking feature of the farming is the manner of terracing the sides of the hills and mountains4 ,these are not cultivated in their natural state1 as in ,america1 but stone walls are built at regular gradations on the mountain-sides1 and the soil dug down until level with the tops of the walls4 ,arranged in this way a mountain-side looks not unlike a huge stairway1 and lends beauty to the landscape4 ,the land here is not divided into large farms1 as is usual in the ,west4 ,most of the farms are very small4 ,one never sees a field of ten or fifteen acres1 but little plots hardly as large as our vegetable gardens4 ,the cultivation is mostly done by hand1 the women laboring in the fields with their husbands and brothers4 ,the implements in general use are very rude4 ,plows are used1 but they are roughly made of wood1 with an iron point attached1 and do poor work4 ,nearly all the cultivating is done with a hoe1 the blade of which is almost as long as the handle1 and is attached to it at an angle of less than forty-five degrees1 making it an awkward thing to use4 ,all grains are harvested and threshed by hand4 ,the land being so fertile1 the yield is large4 ,in enumerating the products of their country1 #bd the native writers usually begin with the go-koku1 or five cereals--wheat1 rice1 millet1 beans1 and sorghum4 ,fine crops of wheat are grown1 especially in the southern provinces4 ,perhaps no country in the world produces better rice or a greater quantity per acre4 ,one half of all the land under cultivation is used in the production of rice4 ,green grasses are remarkably rare in ,japan1 and the soil does not seem to be adapted to their growth4 ,long plains of green meadow- and pasture-lands1 so pleasing to the eye in home landscapes1 are never seen4 ,almost the only grass in the empire is the long1 coarse grass that grows on the hills and mountains4 ,corn and oats are met with rarely4 ,the cultivation of corn is now being introduced in the northern provinces1 however1 and will probably soon become more general4 ,hemp and cotton both flourish4 ,the cotton does not grow as large or yield as bountifully as it does in our own ,southern ,states1 but a very good crop is raised each year4 ,there is a large variety of vegetables1 such as turnips1 pumpkins1 radishes1 beets1 carrots1 potatoes1 sweet potatoes1 onions1 etc4 ,japan produces a great variety of fruits and berries4 ,we can have fresh fruit all the year round4 ,some of the more prominent are oranges1 persimmons1 figs1 apricots1 pears1 peaches1 #be plums1 loquats1 grapes1 etc4 ,as a rule the fruit is inferior to that of the ,west1 but the oranges1 persimmons1 and figs are excellent4 ,until comparatively recent years apples were unknown here1 but now they are being rapidly introduced and successfully cultivated4 ,they are grown only in the northern provinces1 the southern soil not being well adapted to them4 ,for bright1 gay flowers ,japan can hardly be excelled4 ,at certain seasons the whole country resembles an immense garden4 ,the crysanthemum is the national flower1 and magnificent specimens of it are grown4 ,the cherry blossoms are universal favorites1 and when they are at their best the whole population turns out to see them4 ,lotus flowers are highly prized1 and in our city of ,saga there is an old castle moat1 #bjj or #cjj yards wide and more than #a mile long1 filled with them1 which in ,july and ,august is a sea of large red-and-white blossoms1 beautiful to behold4 ,the hills and valleys abound in wild flowers1 but the natives seem to prize them less than the cultivated ones4 ,in recent years ,western flowers are being extensively cultivated1 and most of them do well4 ,flowers that must be carefully housed and nursed in ,america1 such as geraniums1 fuchsias1 etc41 will grow all the year in the open in ,japan4 ,some one only partially acquainted with ,japan has said that the flowers have no #bf odor1 but this is not true2 they are1 however1 less fragrant than those of the ,west4 ,there is no country in the ,east so well supplied with useful timber4 ,on the island of ,yezo alone there are thirty-six varieties of useful timber-trees1 including the most useful of all trees1 the oak4 ,these vast forests as yet are untouched practically1 and the whole of the ,hokkaido is one huge lumber-yard4 ,the main island1 ,kyushu1 and ,shikoku are also well timbered4 ,but the demand for building material1 fire-wood1 and charcoal is so great that rapid inroads are being made upon the supply of timber4 ,unless a more thorough system of forestry is adopted the supply will some day be exhausted4 ,the mulberry-tree flourishes1 and immense tracts of land are given to its cultivation4 ,the fruit is not used1 but the leaves are highly valuable in silk culture4 ,lacquer-trees also abound1 from which a considerable revenue is derived4 ,the camphor-supply of the world is almost entirely in the hands of ,japan4 ,magnificent camphor-trees are growing over all southern ,japan1 and in the newly acquired territory of ,formosa there are large groves of them4 ,the camphor industry is a lucrative one1 and happy is the man who possesses a few trees4 ,within a few yards of my former home in ,saga1 on a little strip of waste land1 there were four camphor-trees which sold1 standing1 for #bjjj1 silver4 #bg ,this account would be very incomplete without a notice of the bamboo1 which grows in large quantities over all the empire4 ,in the northern provinces it is only a small shrub2 in the southern it grows to a large tree4 ,the uses to which it is put are innumerable1 and the people hardly could do without it4 ,the chief articles of foreign export produced in ,japan are silk1 tea1 and rice4 ,silk is produced throughout the country1 with the exception of the island of ,yezo1 but the best yielding districts are in the center and north of the main island4 ,the ,japanese cocoon seems to be equally as good as the ,european1 but the methods of manufacturing are not yet up to the highest standard2 for this reason ,japanese silks are hardly as good as those of ,france or ,italy4 ,the annual export of silk is worth to ,japan about #cj1jjj1jjj4 ,second only to silk in importance among exports is tea4 ,most of it is shipped by foreign merchants to ,america1 ,chinese and ,indian teas being more popular in ,europe4 ,about #dj1jjj1jjj pounds are annually exported4 ,the quantity consumed at home must be very great1 at least equal to that sent abroad4 ,the foreign trade in rice is large1 and is increasing continually4 ,japanese rice is far better than that grown in ,india or ,burmah1 and is esteemed highly in ,european markets4 ,formerly #bh the government exported the rice1 as it levied taxes in rice and hence had great stores of it2 but this practice has been discontinued4 ,native merchants are now taking up this branch of the export trade and are pushing it with vigor4 ,the value of the export varies very much each year1 in accordance with the crop produced4 ,japan is not only rich and fertile1 yielding the greatest variety of products1 but she is also endowed with great mineral wealth4 ,kaempfer1 in the first history of ,japan given to the ,west1 enumerates the minerals thus3 sulphur1 gold1 silver1 copper1 tin1 iron1 coal1 salt1 agates1 jasper1 pearls1 naphtha1 ambergris1 etc4 ,coal of fairly good quality is present in great quantities in many parts of the empire4 ,much of it is sold to the foreign steamers that call here on their way to ,china4 ,the export of copper amounts to more than #e1jjj1jjj per year4 ,iron1 chiefly in the form of magnetic oxide1 is present along the sea-coast and in the diluvium of rivers4 ,as yet the iron resources have not been developed4 ,gold and silver are present in many places1 but the mines have never been worked to very great advantage4 ,large quantities of salt are made from sea-water4 ,traces of petroleum are found in several localities1 but not much has yet been made of it4 ,the great mineral wealth of ,japan as yet is developed only partially4 #bi ,animals ,the fauna is represented generally as very meager1 but this is an injustice4 ,a large portion of the animals now found here may have been imported1 but1 taking ,japan as we find her to-day1 animals are abundant4 ,horses and oxen are the beasts of burden1 and are found everywhere4 ,the horses are smaller than those of the ,west1 and are not so gentle1 though very sure-footed and hardy4 ,an effort is now being made to improve the breed by importing ,american and ,australian horses4 ,native oxen do most of the carrying and plowing4 ,strange to say1 the oxen are gentler and more manageable than the horses4 ,there are very few sheep1 and it seems that the country is not adapted to them4 ,almost the only sheep ,i have seen here were in menageries1 caged1 along with lions1 bears1 etc4 ,pigs are found1 but the people are not fond of their flesh1 and consequently not many are raised4 ,domestic animals are plentiful1 such as cats1 dogs1 ducks1 geese1 chickens1 etc4 ,many of the cats have no tails1 and the people are prejudiced against cats that have tails4 ,if one happens to be born with a tail they will probably cut it off4 ,turkeys are scarce4 #cj ,there are many wild animals1 such as bears1 wild boars1 deer1 monkeys1 tanuki1 wild dogs1 foxes1 and hares4 ,the people are fond of the chase1 but1 as large game is rare1 the opportunity to indulge this taste is very limited4 ,among the wild birds are found herons1 cranes1 ducks1 geese1 pheasants1 pigeons1 storks1 falcons1 hawks1 ravens1 woodcocks1 crows1 and a small bird1 called uquisu1 resembling the nightingale4 ,the stork and the heron are perhaps most popular1 and have been pictured in all kinds of native art4 ,wild geese and ducks spend the summer in ,yezo and the winter in ,hondo4 ,singing birds are rare1 but not1 as some have affirmed1 unknown4 ,the seas surrounding ,japan1 and her numerous bays and rivers1 are teeming with animal life1 and for multitude and variety of edible fish are perhaps unsurpassed by any in the world4 ,salmon1 cod1 mackerel1 herring1 bait1 tai1 and other small fish are very abundant1 so much so that in many places they are used as a fertilizer4 ,from time immemorial fish have formed a prominent part of the daily diet of the people4 ,whales are numerous on the shores of ,kyushu and the southern shores of ,hondo1 where they are taken by means of harping-irons or darts4 ,quantities of oil are extracted from them1 and their flesh is much relished for food4 ,the foregoing account will perhaps give the #ca reader some idea of the nature1 extent1 climate1 and products of the land of ,japan4 ,with a fertile soil1 rich deposits of minerals1 a genial climate1 and a landscape unsurpassed1 surely this is a country highly favored by ,heaven4 ,how sad to think that those to whom ,god has given so much know so little of ,him6 ,how one's heart bleeds to see ,god's beautiful handiwork all marred and stained by images and idols1 and that praise which the people so justly owe ,him given to gods of wood and stone6 ,but such is the case in ,japan to-day4 ,the people know that they are indebted to some higher power for innumerable blessings1 but they do not know that this power is the ,god whom we preach to them4 #cb ,,ii ,a ,,brief ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,japanese ,nothing definite is known concerning the origin of the ,japanese people4 ,some authorities think that the southern portion of ,japan was first peopled by sailors and fishermen from ,malay1 who were drifted thither by the strong current of the ,black ,stream4 ,that this has happened to shipwrecked sailors in the present time is cited in confirmation of this view4 ,some of the northern islands are within sight of the mainland1 and it is possible that tribes from northern ,asia made their way across the narrow seas and settled there4 ,ethnological and philological evidence indicates that some immigrants came over from ,korea1 which they could easily have done1 as the southern part of ,korea is very near4 ,if these suppositions are true1 two races mingled in ,japan--the ,malay from the south and the #cc ,mongol from the west--and the ,japanese people are the joint product of the two4 ,but there is no certain information regarding these immigrations1 and we cannot affirm them as historic facts4 ,two of the greatest authorities on this subject1 ,baelz and ,rein1 affirm that the ,japanese are of ,mongol origin4 ,dr4 ,baelz supposes that there were two chief streams of immigration from northern and central ,asia by way of ,korea4 ,the immigrants gradually spread eastward and northward and settled in the land1 becoming the progenitors of the present inhabitants4 ,it is historically certain that some ,chinamen and ,koreans have settled in ,japan and contributed toward the production of the ,japanese race2 both ,chinese and ,japanese histories contain accounts of such immigration2 but it is likely that settlers were already here long before these1 of whom we have historic accounts1 arrived4 ,this problem is made more difficult by the fact that there are two separate and distinct races here--the ,japanese and the ,ainu4 ,the latter do not appear to be ,mongols4 ,the ,japanese call them the aborigines4 ,when they entered ,japan1 and where they came from1 is not known4 ,there is very little intermixing of these two races4 ,the ,japanese have gradually forced the ,ainu back to the northern island1 just as the settlers in the ,united ,states have driven back the ,indians4 #cd ,efforts are being made lately to better the condition of this race1 but they do not meet with much success4 ,the ,ainu appear to have little capacity for civilization1 and the race is rapidly becoming extinct4 ,so much for the origin of the people4 ,we will endeavor to treat their history1 very briefly1 under three heads3 mythology1 mythological history1 and reliable history4 ,japanese ,mythology ,although we of the ,west are perplexed as to the origin of the ,japanese1 the national records give what has been a very clear and satisfactory account of this4 ,hence ,i have included a very brief statement of this native account of the origin of the ,japanese people under the head of history1 although it is pure mythology4 ,japanese history teaches that in the beginning all things were chaos4 ,there was no ,creator1 and no ,first ,cause of the universe4 ,there was merely a cosmic mass4 ,by and by the ethereal matter sublimed and formed the heavens2 what remained formed the earth4 ,from the warm mold of the earth sprang up a germ which became a self-animate being--the first of the gods4 ,then four other gods were generated1 all sexless and self-begotten4 ,these gods separated the #ce primordial substance into the five elements of wood1 fire1 metal1 earth1 and water1 and gave to each its properties4 ,the last of these spontaneous divine generations were a brother and a sister1 named ,izanagi and ,izanami4 ,uniting in marriage1 they became the parents of the various islands of ,japan and of gods and goddesses innumerable4 ,izanami died when giving birth to the god of fire4 ,her divine consort afterward visits her in the lower regions to induce her to return to him4 ,she would fain do so1 but must first consult the gods of the place4 ,going to ask counsel of them1 she does not return1 and ,izanagi1 impatient at her tarrying1 goes in search of her4 ,he finds her a mass of putrefaction1 in the midst of which the eight thunder-gods are sitting4 ,disappointed in his hope1 he returns to ,japan and purifies himself by bathing in a stream4 ,as he bathes new gods are born from his clothing and from each part of his body4 ,the sun-goddess was born from his left eye1 the moon-god from his right eye1 and ,susanoo1 the last of all1 was born from his nose4 ,what a prolific breeder of gods was he6 ,the mythology goes on relating1 tale after tale1 the absurd actions of these gods residing together for several generations in ,japan1 the center of the universe1 frequently visiting both heaven and hell1 and performing all kinds of miraculous feats4 #cf ,in native history this period is called the period of the gods4 ,about six generations after ,izanagi and ,izanami1 in the direct line of descent from them1 the first human emperor of ,japan was born4 ,his name was ,kamu-,yamato-,ihare-,biko1 posthumously called ,jimmu ,tenno4 ,those ,japanese to whose minds the problem of the origin of the outside nations ever occurred solved it in this fashion3 the barbarian nations must likewise have descended from the mikado1 the son of heaven1 in very remote times1 but have wandered off and are now far from the divine source4 ,the ,japanese1 being still under the protection of their divine father1 are very much nearer in the line of descent1 and hence are the first race in the world4 ,thus they trace their descent direct to the gods1 and their emperor is to this day considered the divine father of his people4 ,it is a pity we cannot join with them in accepting this easy solution of the difficult problem of their origin4 ,mythological ,history ,by this term ,i would designate that period in ,japanese history in which mythology and history are so blended as to be inseparable4 ,for almost one thousand years records purporting to be historical are so intermingled with that which is #cg purely mythological as to make it next to impossible to discriminate between them4 ,japanese historians claim that the authentic history of their country dates from the time of ,jimmu ,tenno 7#fjj ,b4,c471 and the national records are unbroken from that time to the present4 ,most ,european and ,american historians have accepted these records as true1 and yet critical scholars here feel bound to reject them4 ,the oldest ,japanese histories were not written until the eighth century ,a4,d41 and it does not seem probable that traditions handed down by word of mouth for more than a thousand years would be reliable4 ,the records themselves are contradictory and self-refuting4 ,contemporary ,chinese and ,korean history1 in which are frequent references to the land of ,wa1 i4e41 ,japan1 does not agree with the ,japanese records1 which bear evidence of having been written for a purpose other than a true statement of historical facts4 ,these and other reasons have led ,messrs4 ,aston and ,chamberlain1 the scholars who have studied this subject perhaps more than any others1 to conclude that ,japanese records prior to the date #dfa ,a4,d4 are unreliable4 ,this period in dispute 7from #fjj ,b4,c4 to #dfa ,a4,d47 ,i have designated the period of mythological history4 ,even in the ,japanese so-called histories the mythology for centuries is narrated along with that which claims to be genuine #ch history2 the gods still mingle with men and take part in their affairs4 ,the legends of the gods and those of the emperors are given side by side in the same book1 and as much credence attaches to the one as to the other4 ,orthodox ,shinto scholars1 while recognizing the fact of the parallelism of the mythology and the history1 inconsistently reject the mythological legends of the gods while strenuously holding to those relating to the emperors4 ,my own opinion is that most of the important events related in the records during this period had some basis in fact1 but that the accounts of them are exaggerated and perverted4 ,commencing with the period which native historians assign as the beginning of authentic history1 the first important event we find is the accession of ,jimmu ,tenno to the throne 7#fjj ,b4,c474 ,but the very existence of ,jimmu ,tenno as an historical personage is not at all certain4 ,the evidence adduced has never been sufficient to satisfy ,western scholars1 although the ,japanese would consider it almost treason to disbelieve in him4 ,japanese histories for this period are very meager4 ,they consist1 for the most part1 of a recital of the names and ages of the mikados1 with perhaps a sentence or two concerning the state of the country during their reigns4 ,one of the most important events noted in #ci this early period is the subjugation of ,korea by the ,empress ,jingo4 ,she is said to have collected a large army1 and1 by the help of the fishes great and small1 and of favorable winds and currents1 to have crossed over into ,korea in small junks1 and completely subjugated the country1 reducing it to the position of a tributary state4 ,the ,japanese firmly believe this story1 and are proud of the early success of their arms in this foreign war4 ,korean records justify us in assuming that ,japanese influence was predominant in ,korea at this time1 but the story of the ,empress ,jingo1 especially in its details1 must be received with caution4 ,she is perhaps an historical personage1 but whether she invaded ,korea or not is doubtful4 ,the next event of importance in the records is the introduction of ,chinese art1 science1 and learning1 which took place in the early centuries of the ,christian era1 and exerted an incalculable influence upon the people of ,japan4 ,learning1 religion1 philosophy1 literature1 laws1 ethics1 medicine1 art--all were brought over bodily4 ,from this time forward the ,japanese were largely students and imitators of ,china4 ,korea was the medium through which these continental influences were transmitted4 ,with the introduction of learning and literature historical records began to be kept over all ,japan1 and oral tradition was no longer relied upon4 ,from this time the authentic history of ,japan begins4 #dj ,reliable ,history ,chamberlain1 ,aston1 and others agree that the first trustworthy date in ,japanese history is #dfa ,a4,d41 and that for the succeeding century too much confidence must not be placed in details4 ,this disproves the pretty stories told by the ,japanese1 and by many ,western writers as well1 as to the great age of this nation1 and its unbroken line of emperors extending at least as far back as #fjj ,b4,c42 but it is not the first time that pretty theories have been rudely broken up by an investigation of facts4 ,the imperial line is probably as old as that of the popes1 but hardly older4 ,japan1 in fact and in authentic history1 is younger than ,christianity4 ,her existence as a state began about the time of the fall of the ,roman empire4 ,with the year #dfa historical events and personages appear1 and1 in the main1 we may accept the history from this time forward as accurate4 ,about the middle of the sixth century began one of the most important processes in ,japanese history--the conversion of the nation to ,buddhism4 ,for some centuries previous ,chinese learning and arts had been gradually filtering into ,japan2 but they had not as yet gained general acceptance4 ,the ,buddhist priests brought ,chinese civilization1 and in the course of two #da centuries it spread over the country1 influencing morality1 politics1 and everything4 ,sweeping changes were made in the government1 which was then organized on the ,chinese centralized plan4 ,arts1 sciences1 and literature flourished4 ,this was the golden age of classical ,japan4 ,in the year #fgj ,a4,d4 the great ,fujiwara family came upon the stage4 ,the mikados were in theory absolute rulers1 but eventually they became mere figureheads4 ,their mode of life was not such as to make of them able rulers4 ,surrounded by an effeminate court1 living in indolence and debauchery amid priests and court women1 they were hardly competent to direct affairs4 ,the emperor was often a mere child1 who1 when he grew up1 either abdicated freely or was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of another child as weak as himself4 ,the government was administered by the most powerful vassals4 ,the great ,fujiwara family held the affairs of state in its own hands from #fgj to #ajej ,a4,d43 all the important posts were filled by its sons1 while its daughters were married to the imbecile emperors4 ,the next important event in ,japanese history is the rise of feudalism4 ,the warlike samurai classes1 disgusted with this weak petticoat government1 arose in arms and overthrew it4 ,the great clans of ,taira and ,minamoto appeared and alternately held the reins of government for nearly #db two centuries4 ,lawlessness and disorder prevailed4 ,the leader who could command the most men and win the victory with his sword was master of the empire4 ,all ,japan became a military camp1 the chieftains waging war against one another4 ,thus feudalism took its rise and prevailed for many centuries1 powerfully affecting every form of thought and life1 just as it did in ,europe at a similar period4 ,the ,taira family was finally overthrown by the ,minamotos1 and the chief of the latter clan1 ,yoritomo1 was raised to the supreme power4 ,this man was the first to obtain from the imperial court in ,kyoto the title of shogun--generally spoken of in the ,west as tycoon4 ,from this time forward 7#aaij-ahfg7 the shogun was the real ruler of ,japan4 ,the mikado was still the theoretical head of the state1 descendant of the sun-goddess1 and fountain of all honor1 but he lived in the retirement and seclusion of his court1 never seen by his subjects1 and all matters of government were attended to by the shogun4 ,yoritomo's descendants gradually degenerated1 and were finally overthrown by the ,ashikaga family4 ,this powerful clan took charge of the government in #acch and held it until #aefe4 ,it encouraged literature and the arts1 and the court became a center of elegance and refinement4 ,especially #dc did the intricate tea ceremonies flourish at this time4 ,this family became weak and effeminate finally1 like its predecessors1 and was overthrown4 ,japan was first discovered by ,europeans probably in #aedb1 when the ,portuguese adventurer ,mendez ,pinto landed on her coasts4 ,he brought the first definite information concerning her received in ,europe1 and his reports were so highly exaggerated that he was spoken of everywhere as mendacious ,pinto4 ,soon after his visit numbers of ,portuguese adventurers came1 who were received warmly by the impressible people4 ,with them came the ,jesuits and the introduction of ,christianity4 ,the growth of ,christianity1 and the bloody persecutions it encountered1 begin from this time4 ,these interesting subjects will be treated in another chapter and hence are passed over here4 ,during this period lived successively three of the greatest men in ,japanese history--,nobunaga1 ,hideyoshi1 and ,iyeyasu4 ,on these men devolved the tasks of breaking the power of the feudal lords and bringing them into more complete subjection to the shogun2 of unifying the empire and of strengthening the central government4 ,the plan was conceived by ,nobunaga1 begun by ,hideyoshi1 and completed by ,iyeyasu4 ,the former was the friend and patron of the ,christians1 the two latter their bitter persecutors4 #dd ,after the rulers had succeeded in stamping out ,christianity the country was closed to foreign influence1 and for two hundred years remained hermetically sealed4 ,even shipwrecked foreign sailors found on her coasts were executed1 and no ,japanese was permitted to leave the country on pain of death4 ,the only communication with the outside world reserved was through the ,hollanders1 a small band of whom were permitted to reside at ,nagasaki4 ,through them various arts and sciences1 including medicine1 were introduced4 ,this calm seclusion was rudely broken in upon by the coming of ,commodore ,perry1 in #ahec-ed1 with his big guns4 ,he came to establish treaties of commerce and trade1 and to secure better treatment for ,american ships and sailors--peaceably if possible1 forcibly if necessary4 ,here it is needful1 in the interests of truth1 to disprove another pretty story1 to the effect that ,perry and his crew were very pious1 godly men1 and that they secured the concessions desired by peaceable methods--by praying and singing psalms4 ,the fact is that the concessions gained were forced from ,japan by intimidation1 by threats1 and by a show of strength4 ,commodore ,perry also used the same tactics in ,liukiu4 ,he effected his purpose1 it is true1 without using his guns1 except for intimidation1 but it is safe to say that he would not have accomplished it without them4 #de ,the treaties then forced from the government were humiliating to ,japan2 for example1 granting exterritoriality1 by virtue of which foreigners should live under their own consuls and in no sense be amenable to the laws of the land4 ,such concessions are demanded by civilized states of the uncivilized only1 and their very existence implies inferiority4 ,but nothing else was possible at that time1 nor did ,japan object4 ,the coming of ,perry1 and his forced opening of the country1 marked the birth of new ,japan1 so different from the old1 and the beginning of an era of unprecedented prosperity4 ,the ,japanese now recognize this1 and speak of ,perry as one of their greatest benefactors4 ,during the years immediately preceding this there was a great revival of learning4 ,a school of literati arose1 which zealously studied the antiquities of its own country as opposed to the imported ,chinese classics4 ,a revival of ,shinto sprang up1 and with it grew again that great reverence and esteem for the ancient imperial line1 the divine mikados1 as against the upstart shoguns4 ,in this way began the movement which ended in the revolution of #ahfh and the overthrow of the shogunate4 ,when ,perry came the shogun's government was already tottering to its fall1 and when this government made treaties with foreign countries1 #df admitting the barbarians to this land of the gods1 a loud cry arose against it over all the land4 ,finally the imperial court at ,kyoto1 prompted by the mighty daimios of ,choshu1 ,satsuma1 and ,tosa1 decided upon the abolition of the shogunate4 ,the shogun himself submitted to the decree of the mikado1 but many of his followers did not4 ,the ,war of the ,revolution ensued1 and after much fighting the imperial troops were victorious2 the shogunate was forever abolished1 and the emperor once more took personal charge of the government4 ,the literary party had triumphed4 ,buddhism was largely supplanted by ,shinto2 the shogunate1 which had admitted the foreigners1 was abolished2 and the literati fondly supposed that the court would now expel the intruders1 abolish the treaties1 again shut up the country1 and affairs would go on as in the good old times4 ,but they were deceived4 ,the mighty lords of ,tosa1 ,satsuma1 and ,choshu now declared in favor of foreign intercourse and the adoption of ,european civilization4 ,these princes were too powerful not to be heard4 ,their advice was heeded2 the foreigners were welcomed1 the country was opened more and more1 old abuses were corrected1 and the ,europeanization of ,japan was begun4 ,the reformation was ably assisted from the very quarter where we would expect to find it #dg most bitterly opposed4 ,the young and able emperor ,mutsuhito1 coming out of the obscurity which had enshrouded his ancestors for ages1 and putting aside the traditions of centuries1 ably seconded the efforts of his ministers in every reform4 ,the unparalleled progress during his long and enlightened reign is due in no small part to his wisdom and prudence4 ,he has shown himself a liberal1 enlightened monarch1 and ,i am sure that ,i express the sentiment of every friend of ,japan in saying1 ,long live his ,majesty ,mutsuhito6 ,the reformation of the country1 the assimilation of ,western civilization and institutions1 and the gradual opening and development of the empire have gone on uninterruptedly since the restoration of the emperor to the supreme power4 ,in #ahga the daimiates were abolished and the old daimios retired to private life4 ,thus feudalism was at last broken up and the central government strengthened4 ,in this same year the postal and telegraph systems were introduced and a mint was established4 ,in #ahhi the constitution was promulgated1 whereby the people were given a voice in the government1 and ,japan became a constitutional monarchy1 very much like ,prussia or other ,european states4 ,in this year local self-government was also established4 ,in accordance with the constitution1 the first ,diet was opened in #ahij4 #dh ,this highest legislative body in ,japan resembles somewhat1 in its organization and functions1 the ,german ,reichstag4 ,one of the greatest recent events in ,japanese history is the successful revision of the treaties4 ,after the ,restoration and the adoption of ,western institutions and civilization1 efforts were continually being made to have these treaties revised on a basis more favorable to ,japan2 but these efforts were always defeated4 ,thus ,japan was for many years forced to submit to treaties made long ago1 which were good enough then1 but are outgrown entirely now4 ,no recognition whatever was made of her great progress during these thirty years1 and the foreign powers still treated her as an inferior4 ,this was unjust1 and the people naturally chafed under it4 ,finally1 by the wisdom and perseverance of the present ,japanese statesmen1 treaty revision has been secured on the basis of equality4 ,by this revision she regains the concessions forced from her in former years4 ,after the year #aijj all foreigners residing in ,japan will become amenable to her laws2 exterritoriality will be abolished2 power to levy taxes upon imports within prescribed limits will be regained2 and ,japan will be recognized as an equal by the great powers of the ,west4 ,in return for these concessions on the part of foreign powers1 she gives liberty of residence and travel #di in any part of the empire1 and all privileges generally accorded aliens in ,western nations1 except the right of ownership of land4 ,we rejoice with ,japan that justice has at last been accorded her1 and that the treaties have been satisfactorily revised4 ,a sketch of ,japanese history would be incomplete without some mention of the recent war with ,china4 ,this war was especially interesting because it afforded the first opportunity ,japan has had of trying her strength with her new arms4 ,for years she has been to school to the ,western nations2 now she goes out to put into practice the lessons she has learned4 ,her fine army and navy1 constructed after the most approved ,western models1 are tested for the first time4 ,the results are such as to more than satisfy ,japan with her new equipment4 ,the story of her splendid success against a nation outnumbering her ten to one is familiar to all and need not be recounted4 ,the war was a positive gain to ,japan in many ways4 ,aside from the material gain in indemnity and the extension of her territory1 it gave her an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the substantial progress she has made4 ,nothing else would have gained for her so much respect from ,western powers as her prowess exhibited in this war4 ,a demonstration of force and of ability to fight great battles is still regarded as a mark of progress and civilization4 #ej ,the war also helped to settle many troublesome internal questions4 ,some feared the people would be so elated by their phenomenal success that their pride and arrogance would be unendurable4 ,but it was not so4 ,the ,japanese expected to win from the beginning1 and were not surprised at the result4 ,after the war was over they settled down to the even tenor of their ways as though nothing had happened4 ,they have shown themselves as able to bear victory as to win it4 ,such is an all too brief account of the history of this interesting people4 ,an acquaintance with the main facts of this history ,i thought necessary to enable ,american ,christians rightly to appreciate the work of their missionaries in their efforts to plant the church in ,japan4 #ea ,,iii ,,japanese ,,characteristics ,it is next to impossible for an alien to judge accurately the characteristics of a people4 ,that a foreigner's interpretation of a nation's character1 and of the moral influences that direct and mold its life1 is apt to be imperfect and erroneous is now a recognized truth4 ,an ,englishman cannot understand a ,frenchman1 nor a ,frenchman an ,englishman4 ,even people so closely related as the ,english and ,americans1 with a common ancestry1 common history and traditions1 a common speech1 common laws1 and a common faith1 find great difficulty in properly understanding one another4 ,the ,american essayist ,emerson did not venture to write ,english ,traits until he had visited ,england1 mingled freely with the people1 and familiarized himself with the manifold phases of ,english character2 and ,bryce's excellent work on ,the ,american ,commonwealth1 in #eb which ,american characteristics are reflected more truly than they have been by any other ,english writer1 did not see the light until its author had made frequent visits to the ,united ,states and had carefully studied his subject for seventeen years4 ,if it is so hard to understand a kindred people1 how much harder it is to understand a people so alien as the ,japanese6 ,here the religion1 language1 manners and customs1 and moral ideas are so different from our own that the task of portraying the real characteristics of the race becomes a colossal one4 ,it should be attempted only by men who have had years of practical experience with the people1 who can read their language and look at things from their standpoint1 and who bring to their task a loving sympathy with the people whose life they would portray4 ,but nothing is more common than to meet with sweeping judgments on ,japanese character by persons utterly incompetent to make them4 ,men who have perhaps never seen ,japan sit in judgment upon her with a gusto unequaled4 ,globe-trotters1 spending at most only a few weeks here1 and necessarily learning nothing of the inner life of the people1 have made most sweeping statements concerning the traits of national character1 such as3 ,the ,japanese are a nation of liars2 ,they are mere imitators1 originating nothing2 ,they are fickle and quite #ec unreliable2 ,licentiousness is the most prominent trait in the national character1 etc4 ,now it is unnecessary to say that judgments formed in this way are worthless4 ,here1 if anywhere1 it behooves one to write only after careful study and observation1 and even then to speak with caution4 ,physically the ,japanese are inferior to the races of the ,west4 ,they are shorter of stature and lighter of weight than ,europeans or ,americans4 ,the upper part of their bodies is developed perhaps as fully as our own2 but the lower limbs have been so cramped by sitting on the floor for centuries that they are shorter and weaker4 ,their habits of life and their vegetable diet have combined to make of them a physically weak people4 ,they age earlier than the races of the ,occident4 ,in color they do not differ much from the ,american ,indians or the half-breeds of the ,south4 ,there are two types of facial expression3 the old samurai or noble classes have a long1 narrow face1 sharp nose1 high1 narrow forehead1 and oblique eyes2 the lower classes have fat1 round1 pudding faces1 with broad mouths and flat noses4 ,these two types are distinguished readily on the streets1 and rank can be judged by them4 ,the ,japanese are a cheerful race4 ,the cares of life seem lightly to weigh upon them4 ,on the surface they appear always smiling and happy4 #ed ,they are very fond of gay scenes and bright colors4 ,politeness is a national characteristic4 ,etiquette has been carried to such an extent as to have largely degenerated into empty forms4 ,mentally they are bright and intelligent1 receiving and apprehending instruction readily4 ,the students are equally as diligent and earnest as are those in the academies and colleges of ,america1 though physically they are not so able to endure prolonged study4 ,they have great thirst for knowledge1 and study for the sake of learning itself2 hence the various devices for evading study so common in the schools at home are almost unknown4 ,the intensity of this thirst for knowledge on the part of the young is remarkable4 ,hundreds of young men over all ,japan are struggling for an education against very great odds4 ,many are now educated abroad1 and these take their stand in our best colleges and universities along with the brightest of our own students4 ,when their course is completed they are able to carry on all kinds of learned scientific investigations independently of their teachers4 ,witness what they have done in seismology1 botany1 and medicine4 ,these facts indicate that the ,japanese are an intellectual race4 ,in order rightly to appreciate the national character we must remember that the idea of personality is developed here only partially4 #ee ,this is strikingly evident in the structure of the language1 which consists of nouns and verbs almost exclusively4 ,distinctions of person and number are generally ignored1 and true pronouns are entirely wanting4 ,from ancient times men have been considered1 not as individuals1 but en masse4 ,the family has been exalted above the individual1 who is hardly considered to have an existence apart from it4 ,thus1 in ancient times1 as among ,occidental races also1 if one member of a family came under the censure of the government1 all were censured4 ,when one member was put to death1 all were executed4 ,as the family1 and not the individual1 was the unit with which the laws dealt1 the family became the subject of prime consideration4 ,to perpetuate the family line came to be considered a very essential thing1 and in order thereto the system of concubinage was introduced4 ,it is proper to state that in regard to this exaltation of the family over the individual ,japan is now in a transition period1 and that the individual is becoming more and more important in the eyes of the law4 ,a marked characteristic of the ,japanese is their strong patriotism4 ,there is no more patriotic people on the face of the earth4 ,it is said that the name of the emperor1 whispered over the heads of an excited mob1 will calm it as readily as oil poured on troubled waters4 ,in the recent war #ef with ,china there were many more volunteers for active service than could be sent to the front4 ,i have seen old men lament1 with tears in their eyes1 that they could no longer serve their country as soldiers1 even to the death if need be4 ,this principle of loyalty is the strongest motive power in ,japan to-day4 ,it supersedes all others4 ,a man's duty to his family1 even to his parents1 is nothing when compared with his duty to his country2 and ,japanese history abounds in pathetic stories of men1 women1 and even children1 who have counted all other duties as naught and have willingly sacrificed their lives for their country4 ,patriotism here amounts to a passion--,i had almost said a fanaticism4 ,from earliest infancy it is instilled into the minds of the children1 and there is not one of the little ones in whose heart his country has not the first place4 ,a native writer has expressed the sentiments of every ,japanese thus3 ,my native land6 everywhere and always the first affections of my heart and the first labor of my hands shall be thine alone4 ,this patriotism is not always held intelligently4 ,the masses of the people have very mistaken ideas as to what patriotism is4 ,i meet not a few who believe that love for ,japan necessitates a hatred of all other countries1 and that no man can be loyal and at the same time admire and praise foreign lands4 ,fortunately1 the class #eg whose nationalism is so unenlightened is not an influential one2 otherwise patriotism itself would check the growth and development of the country4 ,as it is1 the strong nationalistic feeling serves to prevent a too indiscriminate adoption of ,western institutions and to preserve the good elements of old ,japan4 ,respect for parents and teachers is one of the most prominent elements in the national character4 ,the first principle of ,confucian ethics1 as taught in ,china1 is reverence and obedience to parents2 and although in ,japan this has been subordinated to the principle of loyalty1 it is still a prominent factor in the national life4 ,the proper attitude of children toward parents1 and pupils toward teachers1 is not one of love1 but one of absolute obedience and reverence4 ,it is said here that true love can come only from a superior to an inferior1 while the proper feeling of inferiors toward their superiors is one of reverence4 ,this relation of superior and inferior is carried into every phase of society1 and on it depends much of the family and national life4 ,the principle of obedience is almost the only moral teaching given to the girls1 and when they are grown up their moral ideas cluster round this one point4 ,in olden times parents had absolute control over their children and could dispose of them as they saw fit1 even killing them if they so desired4 ,but now the #eh parent's control over the child is limited by law4 ,children are expected to yield implicit1 unquestioning obedience to their parents1 and ,japanese children are usually more virtuous in this respect than the children of ,americans4 ,as a result of this fundamental principle of obedience1 inculcated from childhood1 has grown the universal respect for authority found in ,japan4 ,whatever the government does the common people do not question4 ,even petty officials are respected and obeyed in a manner surprising to us independently thinking people of the ,west4 ,no matter how disagreeable and unjust an act on the part of the authorities may be1 it is usually accepted meekly with the comment1 ,there is no help for it4 ,the counterpart of this reverence and unquestioning obedience to authority is a feeling of meekness and dependence4 ,the government is depended upon for much more than is the government in the ,united ,states4 ,it is expected to inaugurate all great commercial and industrial enterprises4 ,thus the building of railroads1 the construction of telegraphs1 and other great works have had to be executed by the government4 ,in recent years this spirit is changing somewhat1 and private corporations are beginning to inaugurate great enterprises4 ,but in general it may be said that the national character is lacking in independence and decision4 #ei ,love of the beautiful is a prominent and highly developed ,japanese trait4 ,their ideals of beauty differ much from ,western ideals1 and many things that they pronounce beautiful would not be so judged in the ,occident4 ,most ,americans at first cannot appreciate ,japanese art1 landscape scenery1 or flowers2 but a short residence here and an acquaintance with native life and scenes soon bring one to appreciate them4 ,the esthetic faculty is much more highly developed than in ,america4 ,it is possessed by all classes4 ,the gardens of the rich are laid out with especial care1 and no money or pains are spared to make them beautiful4 ,i have seen day-laborers stand and gaze for a long time at a beautiful sunset1 or go into raptures over a dwarfed cherry-bush just putting forth its tiny buds4 ,men who have worked in the fields all day1 until they are exhausted1 on their return home in the evening will stop by the wayside to pluck some beautiful shrub or flower and carry it back with them4 ,go into the room of a school-boy and you will almost invariably find his table brightened by a pretty bouquet of flowers4 ,when the cherries are in bloom the whole population leaves off work and turns out to enjoy them4 ,japan is a beauteous land1 and no people are more capable of appreciating her beauty than her own4 ,the ,japanese are open-minded and receptive of truth1 from whatever quarter it may come4 ,were this not true it would have been impossible #fj for her to have become what she is to-day4 ,when ,buddhism was first brought to ,japan it was seen to possess elements of religious power that ,shinto did not have1 and the people by and by accepted it4 ,when ,confucianism was introduced its moral teachings were seen to be lofty and inspiring1 and it was given a warm welcome4 ,when ,christianity first came many of the daimios took especial pains to examine into it to see if it were likely to benefit their country1 with the full intention of accepting it4 ,how many of them did accept it is told in another chapter4 ,the present attitude of opposition is the result of prejudice1 instilled in part by past experience with ,christianity1 and in part by the misrepresentation of its enemies2 it is not the result of natural intolerance4 ,the readiness with which ,western learning of all kinds has been adopted1 and the patient hearing and investigation native scholars give to all new theories of science and knowledge1 clearly show that their mind is an open and receptive one4 ,a native professor has expressed this characteristic in these words3 ,the ,japanese as a race are open-hearted1 with a mind free from prejudice and open to conviction4 ,but that it is as receptive of prejudice and misrepresentation as of truth and knowledge is evidenced by its present attitude toward ,christianity4 ,many critics have pronounced the ,japanese a #fa very speculative people1 but it is doubtful if this is true4 ,by nature1 ,i think1 they are more inclined to be practical than speculative4 ,abstract metaphysical and theological ideas have little charm for them4 ,but there is a large element in ,japan that simulates a taste for philosophical study4 ,philosophy and metaphysics are regarded by them as the profoundest of all branches of learning1 and in order to be thought learned they profess great interest in these studies4 ,not only are the highly metaphysical philosophies of the ,east studied1 but the various systems of the ,west are looked into likewise4 ,many of the people are capable of appreciating these philosophies1 too2 but they do it for a purpose4 ,japanese character is lacking in steadfastness and fixedness of purpose4 ,huge enterprises will be begun with great enthusiasm1 only to be abandoned in a short while4 ,there is not that steadfastness and fixedness which lays out far-reaching plans1 extending years into the future1 and which adheres to these plans until their purpose is accomplished4 ,on the contrary1 they are vacillating and changeful1 as is shown by their migratory disposition4 ,this want of steadfastness is even evinced by many ministerial candidates4 ,it is a frequent occurrence for young men to enter the mission schools with the firm intention of #fb becoming evangelists1 and1 by the time their academic course is finished1 to change their mind and go into some other calling4 ,some of those who have become evangelists are restless and vacillating1 and after they have been located in one place for a few years like to be transferred to another4 ,the stick-to-it-iveness of the ,anglo-,saxon is largely wanting4 ,but we must not speak too dogmatically upon this point1 for the ,japanese government has shown itself capable of laying out far-reaching plans1 and of adhering to its original purpose until it is successfully accomplished4 ,inconsistency is another trait of the ,japanese mind1 which often turns square about and takes positions exactly opposed to its avowed principles1 realizing no inconsistency in doing so4 ,this is well illustrated in the political life of the people4 ,in theory the emperor1 as the divine head of the nation1 cannot go wrong1 and whatever he does is necessarily right4 ,it is the duty of every subject unquestioningly to obey the will of the emperor4 ,to this all ,japanese will readily agree1 but in practice the people are often found arraigned against the government1 which has the emperor for its head4 ,lines of policy which the emperor himself has mapped out and pursued for years are often bitterly opposed2 and yet the people are all unconscious of this1 and resent very much any insinuation that they are opposing his will4 #fc ,another evidence of inconsistency is seen in their opposition to ,christianity4 ,the usual objection that is made against our faith is that it is a ,western religion1 and there are thousands of people who oppose it solely on this ground4 ,but1 even while opposing the ,western religion1 they are daily using all kinds of ,western institutions gladly4 ,all manner of material things are received from abroad with pleasure1 and are considered none the worse for their foreign origin1 the line being drawn at religion4 ,japanese character is largely wanting in originality4 ,the people have originated almost nothing1 having accepted nearly everything at the hands of others4 ,in ancient times ,japan had ,korea for a teacher2 afterward she studied under ,china2 now she is at school to ,europe and ,america4 ,her medieval civilization was accepted bodily from ,asia1 just as her modern is from ,europe4 ,no important inventions have been made4 ,even the little jinrikisha1 which is the universal means of locomotion1 and which1 ,i believe1 is found nowhere else except in certain ,chinese ports1 is said to have been first made by an ,american missionary for the comfort and convenience of his invalid wife4 ,it should be said1 however1 that some claim the native origin of the jinrikisha1 and contend that its inventor lived in ,kyoto4 ,but while the ,japanese are not originators1 they #fd are excellent imitators4 ,the ability to imitate well is a power not to be despised4 ,this1 when coupled with assimilation1 is a very fruitful source of progress1 as the ,japan of to-day witnesses4 ,the ease and facility with which ,japan has imitated the ,west and assimilated her institutions1 applying them to new and changed conditions1 is marvelous4 ,given a model1 the people can make anything1 no matter how diminutive or complicated4 ,even the ,american dude is most successfully imitated4 ,the ,japanese do not slavishly follow their models1 but are able to change1 modify1 and develop them at will4 ,given the general idea1 they can easily construct the rest4 ,thus in the adoption of ,western institutions they have in some cases actually improved upon their models4 ,especially is this true of the postal and telegraph systems1 which1 though copied after our own1 are in many respects superior4 ,they are not blind followers of their teachers1 but often start out on independent exploration and investigation4 ,such powers of imitation are second only to those of invention1 and have made ,japan what she is to-day4 ,another national peculiarity is the slight value placed upon human life4 ,the idea that the family1 and not the individual1 is of supreme importance1 and the ,buddhistic teaching that life itself is the greatest of all evils1 are responsible for this4 ,to #fe pour out one's blood upon the battle-field for one's lord has from of old been considered a privilege4 ,death has not that terror that it has in the ,west1 and the people are not afraid to die4 ,hence suicides are of very frequent occurrence1 and to take one's own life is1 under certain circumstances1 considered a meritorious act4 ,under the old rgime a member of the samurai or warrior classes could not be executed like a common man1 but after condemnation was left to take his own life4 ,about seven thousand suicides occur in ,japan each year4 ,the slightest reasons will induce a man to take his own life4 ,statistics show that the proportion of suicides varies with the success or failure of the rice crop4 ,if sustenance is cheap1 people live2 if it is dear1 they rid themselves of the burden of life4 ,the number of suicides also varies much with the season of the year1 showing that such little matters as heat and discomfort will outweigh the value put upon life4 ,a young girl recently came to ,saga from ,kagoshima as a household servant ,she did not like her new home1 and asked her mistress to send her back to her birthplace4 ,the mistress refused1 and the next morning the poor girl was found dead in the yard1 having hanged herself during the night--all1 forsooth1 because she could not go home4 ,so low is the value placed upon life here6 ,human life is valued highly in the ,west #ff solely because of ,christian teaching2 outside of ,christendom it is cheap4 ,it has been charged upon the ,japanese that they are wanting in gratitude1 or1 at least1 that their gratitude lasts only so long as they are looking for favors4 ,this is but partially true4 ,ever since ,i came to ,japan ,i have been teaching a few boys ,english at odd hours1 and they have really embarrassed me by the number of their presents4 ,on the other hand1 ,i have helped young men with money at school1 who were at first grateful apparently1 and would come to my home to perform various small services in return1 but by and by would object to doing the least service1 even while living on my charity4 ,in past years ,japan has in various capacities employed a great number of ,americans and ,europeans1 and has usually rendered them a very adequate return for their services4 ,in addition to the stipulated salary1 she has often given them costly presents4 ,but recently a good deal of complaint has been made by foreign employees to the effect that1 after they have given the best years of their lives to the service of ,japan1 they have been summarily dismissed1 without previous notice and without thanks4 ,evidences of ingratitude are very numerous in the native church4 ,the missionary who has left home1 friends1 and country for the sake of these #fg people1 and who labors for them with all the powers ,god has given him1 is often not rewarded by that gratitude and kindness on the part of his converts which he reasonably expects4 ,frequently he takes young men from the humbler walks of life1 provides both their food and clothing1 gives them six or eight years' instruction in well-equipped schools1 supports them liberally as evangelists1 only to have them rise up against him1 oppose him in his work1 and pronounce him an ignoramus4 ,in many parts of the native church there is a strong anti-missionary spirit1 and the feeling of gratitude which these churches should have for their founders1 organizers1 and supporters is wanting4 ,from such facts as these we are forced to conclude that the feeling of gratitude is not very strong4 ,much has been said in regard to the commercial honor and integrity of the ,japanese4 ,our first ,american minister to ,japan1 ,townsend ,harris1 pronounced them the greatest liars upon the face of the earth4 ,a foreign employee in a government school1 when asked concerning the native character1 replied in two words--deceit and conceit4 ,the numerous exceptions to upright dealing in mercantile circles seem to justify these judgments4 ,native merchants are unreliable in such matters as punctuality1 veracity1 and the keeping of contracts4 ,they will do all in their #fh power to avoid the fulfilment of a contract which would entail a loss4 ,the artisan class is even more unreliable in these respects than are the merchants4 ,to offset this1 it should be said that1 while the people are frequently unreliable in private matters1 in public affairs and in all governmental relations they are honest and fair-dealing4 ,public office is seldom perverted for private ends1 and the national conscience would quickly call to account any official who would enrich himself at the public expense4 ,in this respect ,japan is in striking contrast with the other nations of the ,east1 and1 alas6 with many of those of the ,west as well4 ,i have not endeavored to give an exhaustive statement of the national characteristics of the ,japanese people1 but have simply tried to give enough to help my readers to an appreciation of the native character4 ,i have endeavored to be strictly truthful and at the same time to do justice to the race4 ,while fully recognizing the failings of the ,japanese1 we must also recognize the great improvement of the national character in recent years1 and must remember that they are in many respects laboring at a great disadvantage1 and deserve1 not hatred and contempt1 but our warmest sympathy and love4 #fi ,,iv ,,manners ,,and ,,customs ,a study of the manners and customs of foreign peoples is both interesting and profitable4 ,if we have no knowledge of the customs of other nations we are apt to think that our own customs have their ground in eternal reason1 and that all customs differing from ours are necessarily false and wrong4 ,but if we study the manners of other lands1 and learn of the daily observance of customs many of which are squarely opposed to our own1 and which nevertheless work well1 we will be led to value our own customs at their true worth1 and to realize that we have not a monopoly of all that is good1 convenient1 and useful4 ,to know the manners and customs of a country is to know much about that country4 ,there is no truer index of the character of a people's life4 ,knowing these1 the prevailing morality and governing laws may be very largely inferred4 ,in fact1 #gj every phase of a nation's life has so intimate a connection with the manners and customs that a study of these is exceedingly profitable4 ,such a study is especially necessary to those who would gain a correct knowledge of the nature and difficulties of mission work in foreign lands4 ,the customs of a people will have a direct bearing upon mission work among them4 ,if ,christianity violates national customs it will be condemned2 if it observes them it will be tolerated4 ,whether it observes or violates them must depend upon the nature of the customs themselves4 ,the success of ,christianity in any country will depend1 in part1 upon the nature of the customs prevalent there4 ,therefore it is wise for us to study those of ,japan1 in order to a better understanding of the people and of the condition and prospects of mission work among them4 ,one of the most striking facts in connection with ,japanese customs is that many of them are exactly opposed to those which prevail in the ,west4 ,people who have been accustomed to doing certain things one way all their lives1 and have come to look upon that as the only way1 upon coming out here are shocked to find these very same things done in precisely the opposite way4 ,this is so to such an extent that ,japan has been called ,topsyturvydom4 ,but to those who are acquainted with the customs of both ,east and #ga ,west it is a serious question which one is topsy-turvy4 ,after one has become used to them1 many of the customs appear just as sensible and convenient as those of ,america or ,europe4 ,why this opposition1 we do not know1 but perhaps the fact that the ,japanese are antipodal to us makes it fitting that their customs should be antipodal too4 ,i will point out a few of the things that are so different4 ,the manner of making books and of writing letters is very different from that to which my readers are accustomed4 ,an ,occidental has an idea that something inherent in things necessitates that a book begin at the left side1 and the thought of beginning at the other side appears to him ridiculous4 ,but in reality it is every whit as convenient1 fitting1 and sensible to begin at one side as at the other2 and all ,japanese books begin at the side which people of the ,west call the end1 i4e41 at the right side1 and read toward the left4 ,while ,english books are printed across the page in lines from left to right1 ,japanese books are printed from right to left in columns4 ,an ,occidental generally turns the leaves of his book from the top with his left hand2 an ,oriental turns them from the bottom with his right hand4 ,in ,western libraries the books are placed on their ends in rows2 in ,japan they are laid flat down on their sides and piled up in columns4 ,if we see several good dictionaries #gb or encyclopedias in a man's study we are apt to infer that he is a man of studious habits2 the ,japanese of olden times inferred just the opposite4 ,the idea seems to have been that a scholar would already have the meaning and use of all words in his head and would not need to refer to a dictionary4 ,a ,japanese friend who came into my study one day expressed great surprise at seeing several large dictionaries there4 ,you have certainly had better educational advantages than ,i have1 he said1 and yet ,i can get along with a very small dictionary2 why cannot you8 ,upon inquiry1 ,i learned that many ,japanese keep their dictionaries concealed1 because they do not want it said that they must refer to them often4 ,the manner of addressing letters in ,japan is exactly opposed to ours4 ,take a familiar example4 ,we write3 ,,mr4 ,,frank ,,jones1 #aaj ,gay ,street1 ,knoxville1 ,tennessee4 ,a ,japanese would write it3 ,tennessee1 ,knoxville1 ,gay ,street1 #aaj1 ,,jones1 ,,frank1 ,,mr4 ,the latter is certainly the more sensible method1 because what the postmaster wants to see is not #gc the name of the man to whom the letter is addressed1 but the place to which it is to go4 ,in matters of dress there are some customs quite opposed to our own4 ,the ,american lady1 especially if she goes to a ball1 has her neck and arms bare1 but she would be shocked at the very mention of having her feet bare4 ,the ,japanese lady puts her heaviest clothing on her arms and shoulders1 but does not at all mind being seen with bare feet and ankles4 ,many of the ladies do not wear any foot-gear at all in the house1 but these same women could hardly be induced to expose their arms and necks as ,western women do4 ,a ,western lady is very anxious to have a thin1 narrow waist2 her ,japanese sister wants a broad one4 ,in the ,west curly hair is highly prized on girls and women2 in the ,east it is considered an abomination4 ,if you tell a little girl here that her hair is curly1 she will consider it a disgrace and will cry bitterly4 ,the most striking difference in regard to dress1 however1 is in mourning dress4 ,whereas in the ,west it is always black1 in ,japan it is always white4 ,another remarkable contrast is found in the relation of the sexes4 ,in ,america the woman is given the precedence in everything4 ,her husband1 and all other men who come within her influence1 must serve and honor her4 ,attend an evening party and see woman in her glory4 ,how #gd the men crowd round her1 anxious to serve or entertain6 ,when supper is announced they vie with one another for the honor of escorting her to the dining-room4 ,she must have first seat at table and be first served1 and during the progress of the meal the men must be careful to see that she has everything her sweet will desires4 ,when supper is over the ladies precede the men to the drawing-room1 and by the time the men again appear on the scene the ladies1 including the hostess1 are settled in the easiest chairs4 ,when the time for departure has come it is my lady who announces to the hostess--not the host--her departure1 and her husband or escort simply awaits her bidding4 ,in ,japan all of this is changed4 ,the man takes precedence everywhere1 and the woman must serve him4 ,at meals the woman must first wait on her husband and then she herself may eat4 ,when1 guests come1 the husband is the chief entertainer1 and the wife takes a back seat and says little4 ,on passing through a door1 entering a train or carriage1 etc41 the husband always precedes his wife4 ,when walking on the street together she does not walk by his side1 but comes along behind4 ,the men do not intend to mistreat the women2 they simply take what they regard their due as the head of the family4 ,among the customs most peculiar in the eyes of ,westerners and most squarely opposed to their #ge own are those relating to marriage4 ,in ,japan the young man and woman have nothing whatever to do with the match-making1 except to give their consent to the arrangements of their parents2 and frequently even this is not asked4 ,the wedding is arranged in some such manner as this3 ,whenever the parents of a young man think their son old enough to get married they secure the services of some friend1 who acts as go-between4 ,it is the duty of this party to search out a suitable girl and win the consent of her parents to the marriage4 ,while this is going on it is not likely that either of the young people is aware of it1 but as soon as the parents have arranged matters to their own satisfaction they are informed4 ,it often happens that the man has never seen his bride until the wedding-day4 ,young people seldom object to the arrangements of their parents1 and marriages made in this way seem to work well4 ,in the ,west the wedding often takes place in church2 in ,japan the temples are studiously avoided at such times4 ,there a minister is nearly always present2 here they are very careful to exclude priests4 ,the wedding is to be joyous1 and as priests are known best as officiators at funerals1 and ideas of sadness and misfortune are associated with them1 they are excluded4 ,in the ,west1 if the wedding does not take place in church1 it will probably be held in the home of #gf the bride2 in the ,east it is always held in the home of the groom4 ,there the bride's household prepares the feast2 here the groom's prepares it4 ,there the groom must go to fetch his bride2 here she must come to him4 ,it makes no difference whether she lives in the same city or in a distant province2 she must go to the groom1 not he to her4 ,the poor mother-in-law is evil spoken of in the ,east as well as in the ,west2 but while there it is the mother of the bride who is said to make life miserable for the groom1 here it is the mother of the groom who often makes life miserable for the bride4 ,customs in regard to the use of houses are quite different4 ,in ,america the front rooms of a house are considered most desirable2 in ,japan the back rooms are preferred4 ,there the parlors1 sitting-rooms1 etc41 are in front1 and the kitchen and store-rooms are relegated to the back2 here the kitchen and store-rooms are in front1 and the parlors and sitting-rooms behind4 ,there the front yards are kept clean1 but the back yards are proverbially dirty2 here all sorts of dirt and trash may be lying around in the front yard1 while the back yard is a perfect little garden of beauty4 ,signs made with the hands are very different in ,japan from those to which my readers are accustomed1 and are much more graceful4 ,here1 when we call some one to us by the hand1 #gg instead of the awkward1 ungainly motion of the index-finger used in the ,west1 we simply hold out the whole hand horizontally in front of us and gently move all the fingers up and down4 ,the latter motion is very graceful1 while even a pretty girl cannot execute the former one gracefully4 ,here1 when we refuse a request or repel one from us by a sign of the hand1 instead of turning the palm of the hand outward and pushing it from the body in a rough1 uncivil manner1 we merely hold the hand perpendicularly before the face1 palm outward1 and move it back and forth a few times4 ,japanese carpenters saw by pulling the saw toward them instead of pushing it from them2 the planes cut in the same way2 and screws are put in by turning them to the left instead of the right4 ,even in the nursery we find customs directly antipodal4 ,while the ,american nurse takes the child up in her arms1 the ,japanese nurse takes it on her back4 ,these are some of the customs most squarely opposed to our own4 ,the first thought of my readers when learning of them will probably be1 how ridiculous and inconvenient6 ,and yet they are just as convenient and sensible as their own1 and some of them much more so4 ,there is nothing in the nature of things why most customs should be either this way or that4 #gh ,the most interesting things about foreign peoples are those connected with their daily lives--their homes1 food1 and dress4 ,let us examine a ,japanese house1 take a meal with its occupants1 and then observe their manner of dress4 ,the houses are usually very light structures1 built of wood1 one or two stories high4 ,they resemble an ,american house but little4 ,the roofs are made of tiles1 straw1 or shingles4 ,tiles make a pretty and durable roof1 but they cost much more than straw1 and hence the common people generally use the latter4 ,the skilful ,japanese workman can make a very pretty1 lasting1 and effective roof of straw4 ,the houses of the rich are large and have many nice rooms in them2 those of the poor are small1 with only one or two rooms4 ,houses are so constructed as to permit the air to pass through them freely4 ,the rooms are separated only by light1 detachable partitions made of paper1 and these are frequently taken away and the whole house thrown into one room4 ,many of the outer walls are also detachable1 and on a warm summer day are put aside1 when a delightful breeze constantly passes through the house4 ,the floors are covered with thick1 soft straw mats1 which are kept so clean that the people1 even when dressed in their best clothes1 sit or loll on them4 ,on entering a ,japanese house you must leave your shoes at the door1 just as you #gi do your hat4 ,it would be an unpardonable offense to come inside and tread on the mats with your shoes on4 ,illustration3 ,a ,kitchen ,scene4 ,the average ,japanese eats1 sleeps1 and lives in the same room4 ,he has no chairs1 no bedsteads1 and no tables to get in his way4 ,during the day he sits on the soft straw mats2 when evening comes two large comfortables are brought1 and one is spread on the floor to lie on1 while the other is used for covering4 ,no sheets are used1 and the pillow is a funny little block of wood4 ,on this simple bed the man sleeps as soundly as we in our more elaborate ones4 ,in the morning the bed is rolled up and packed away4 ,at meal-time little tables1 four or six inches high and about sixteen inches square1 are brought1 and one is placed before each person4 ,the food is served in pretty little lacquer or china bowls1 and each one's portion is placed on his own table4 ,the people eat with chopsticks about eight inches long and one fourth of an inch in diameter4 ,these answer their purpose well1 but are hard to use until one is accustomed to them4 ,when the meal is over all these things are carried away to the kitchen1 and the room is ready for any other use to which one may desire to put it4 ,in this way one room is made to serve for all the purposes of a household4 ,the most conspicuous thing in a ,japanese room #hj is the hibachi--a little wooden or china box about one foot square4 ,this is kept half full of ashes1 and on top of the ashes is a handful of burning charcoal4 ,on this usually sits a little tea-kettle1 filled with boiling water used in making the tea1 which is drunk without milk or sugar at every hour of the day4 ,when one first enters a ,japanese house1 politeness requires that the host or hostess immediately offer the guest a small cup of this tea4 ,there is no other provision than this hibachi for heating a room2 and1 as one would imagine1 it gives out but little heat ,japanese houses are very cold in winter4 ,they would not at all answer in a cold climate1 and even here the people suffer from the cold4 ,japanese food is unpalatable to most foreigners1 and the eating of it is an art which must be acquired gradually4 ,after repeated experiments we learn to like it1 and can live on it fairly well2 but most foreign residents usually take more or less ,european food with them every time they go into the interior4 ,from of old ,buddhism forbade the eating of anything that had animal life1 and hence it came about that the ,japanese are probably as vegetarian in their diet as any people on earth4 ,even such animal food as butter and milk is not used4 ,butter is very unpalatable to them1 but many are beginning to use a little milk4 ,bread1 so necessary #ha to a ,western table1 forms no part of a ,japanese bill of fare4 ,the staple here is rice1 not boiled and mashed to pieces1 with milk and butter1 but simply boiled in water sufficiently to cook it well without breaking the grains4 ,when it is cooked each grain remains intact1 and it is snowy white and perfectly dry4 ,no salt or seasoning of any kind is put into it1 as it is thought to spoil the flavor4 ,the rivers1 lakes1 and seas of ,japan are teeming with splendid fish1 which form an important part of the native diet4 ,it seems that ,buddhism1 while forbidding the use of meats generally1 permitted the eating of fish4 ,certain kinds of fish1 cut into thin slices and eaten raw with a kind of sauce1 are considered a great delicacy4 ,the idea of eating raw fish seems very repugnant1 but many of my readers would eat it without realizing what it is unless they were told4 ,i often eat it4 ,but only a few of the fish consumed are eaten raw2 most are boiled or fried4 ,foreign vegetables are rare1 and are not much liked by the natives4 ,but there is an abundance of native vegetables4 ,the most common one is a large1 coarse radish called daikon1 which is pickled1 and eaten at nearly every meal4 ,this daikon is very cheap1 and is a chief part of the diet of that small portion of the population that cannot afford rice4 ,sweet potatoes are abundant and cheap4 #hb ,they are considered the poor man's food1 and the well-to-do people are ashamed to eat them4 ,often at hotels1 when ,i have asked for sweet potatoes1 the servant has replied in astonishment1 ,why1 do you eat sweet potatoes8 ,they are for coolies4 ,a mountain-potato and the roots of the lotus and bamboo are also eaten4 ,since the country has been opened to foreign trade and foreigners have settled here it is possible to get meats and flour and some foreign vegetables at most places4 ,japanese clothing is frequently conspicuous by its absence4 ,many of the people do not realize the necessity of burdening themselves with clothing on a hot summer day1 and wear very little4 ,the government has been constrained to make laws against nudity1 but these are enforced only in the cities4 ,the usual summer garment of many of the children in my city is simply the dark-brown one given them by nature4 ,most of the coolies wear nothing but a little loin-cloth when at work4 ,the real native costume is both pretty and becoming4 ,it consists usually of a single robe reaching from the shoulders to the ankles1 and tied round the waist with a heavy girdle4 ,tight-fitting undergarments1 in foreign style1 are sometimes worn now1 but they form no part of the original native costume4 ,a black outer garment1 #hc reaching only to the knees1 is placed over the ordinary robe on state occasions4 ,formerly the ,japanese did not wear hats1 and even now half of the men one meets on the street are bareheaded4 ,the women wear neither hats nor bonnets4 ,it is not considered improper to go barefooted in ,japan1 but generally the better classes are shod when they go out of doors4 ,if anything resembling a stocking is worn1 it is what they call tabi1 a sort of foot-glove1 made of either white or black cloth1 with a separate inclosure for the great toe4 ,a block of wood called geta corresponds to our shoes4 ,it has two cords attached to the same place in front1 and then dividing1 one being fastened on each side at the back4 ,these cords slip in between the great toe and the others1 and1 passing over the foot1 secure the geta4 ,japanese bathing customs are peculiar4 ,perhaps there are no other people on earth that bathe as often as they4 ,it is customary for every one1 even the coolies1 to bathe well the whole body every day4 ,the baths are taken very hot--about #aaj;,f4 ,each private house has a large bath-tub1 which in many instances is capacious enough to accommodate the whole family at once4 ,besides these private baths each city and town has its public ones1 where a good hot bath1 in a place large enough for you to swim round1 can be had for one cent4 ,men1 women1 and children go into #hd them at the same time1 indiscriminately4 ,japan is a land of hot springs1 so that almost every district has its natural hot baths4 ,most of them have medicinal value1 and the people flock to them by thousands4 ,the funeral customs are very different from ours4 ,it is a strange feature of the native character that when one is deeply moved he is very likely to cover up his emotion with a laugh4 ,if a man announces to you the death of his child1 he will probably laugh as he does so4 ,at funerals there is not that solemn silence which we expect1 but frequently loud talking and laughter4 ,the coffin is a square1 upright box with considerable ornamentation4 ,the corpse is placed in it in a sitting posture4 ,in ,japan are found the hired mourners of whom we read in the ,bible4 ,anciently they were employed to follow the corpse1 mourning in a loud voice2 but that has become obsolete1 and now they simply follow in the procession1 wearing the white garments4 ,the usual manner of disposing of dead bodies is by interment1 but cremation is rapidly growing in favor4 ,the government will not permit a body to be buried until it has been dead twenty-four hours4 ,for several weeks after a body has been interred it is customary for the members of the bereaved family to make daily visits to the tomb and present offerings to the departed spirit in the temple4 #he ,each year1 on the anniversary of the death1 the children are expected to visit the tomb and worship the spirit of the departed4 ,this custom of ancestor-worship is forbidden by ,christianity1 and hence the people charge us with teaching disrespect to parents and ancestors4 ,illustration3 ,hara-kiri4 ,a custom peculiar to ,japan is a form of suicide known as hara-kiri1 or belly-cutting4 ,from time immemorial1 to take one's own life in this manner has been considered very honorable and has expiated all crimes and offenses4 ,in olden times1 if the life of any one of noble blood became hurtful to the state1 he was simply sent a certain kind of short sword4 ,this meant that he was to take his own life by the favorite national method4 ,so the recipient quietly ate his last meal1 bade his family farewell1 and1 seating himself squarely on the mat1 deliberately thrust the sword into the left side of his abdomen1 and drew it across to the right side4 ,as this cut does not kill immediately1 a retainer1 from behind1 placed there for that purpose1 struck off his master's head with one blow of a heavy sword4 ,in the eyes of the law this death atoned for all sins and offenses2 hence it was often practised in old ,japan4 ,it is almost obsolete now4 ,the ,japanese are an exceedingly polite people4 ,they have been called the ,frenchmen of the ,orient in recognition of this national characteristic4 ,politeness is exalted above everything1 above #hf even truth and honor4 ,if you ask an ordinary ,japanese which is better1 to tell a falsehood or be impolite1 he will at once reply1 ,to tell a falsehood4 ,but while the people are exceedingly polite1 a large part of this politeness is merely surface1 without any meaning4 ,etiquette requires that you always address and treat your equals as though they were your superiors4 ,there is a separate form of address for each step in the social scale4 ,i have seen ,japanese men stand at a door for five minutes1 and blush1 and beg each other to pass through first1 each hesitating to precede the other4 ,a ,japanese gentleman never stops to converse with a friend1 be he only a child1 without taking off his hat4 ,to look down upon one from a superior elevation is considered very impolite4 ,thus if the emperor or any one of especial distinction passes through a city1 all the upper stories of the houses must be vacated4 ,under no circumstances are any permitted to observe the procession from an upper window4 ,i was out walking one day in our good city of ,saga with a foreign friend who was leading his little boy by the hand4 ,it happened that a countess was passing through the city4 ,the policemen had cleared the street for the procession1 and a large crowd was standing at the corner4 ,we joined this crowd4 ,the little boy could not see1 so his father held him up that #hg he might look over the people's heads4 ,at once the police forbade it and made him put the child down4 ,in many instances forms of politeness are carried to a ridiculous extreme4 ,when you give a present1 no matter how nice1 you must apologize by saying that it is so cheap and insignificant that you are ashamed to lift it up to the honorable person1 but if he will condescend to accept it he will make you very happy4 ,if you receive a present you must elevate it toward the top of the head 7as that is considered the most honorable part of the body7 and at the same time say that it is the most beautiful thing on earth4 ,when you are invited to a dinner the invitation will carefully state that no special preparation will be made for the occasion4 ,at the beginning of the meal the hostess will apologize for presuming to set before you such mean1 dirty food1 and will declare that she has nothing whatever for you to eat1 although she will doubtless have a feast fit for a king4 ,even if it should not be good1 you must say that it is and praise it extravagantly4 ,the greetings between friends are sometimes right funny4 ,i have often overheard such conversations as the following4 ,two men meet in the street1 and1 taking off their hats1 bow very low1 and begin as follows3 ,a4 ,i have not had the pleasure of #hh hanging myself in your honorable eyes for a long time4 ,b4 ,i was exceedingly rude the last time ,i saw you4 ,a4 ,no2 it was surely ,i who was rude4 ,please excuse me4 ,b4 ,how is your august health8 ,a4 ,very good1 thanks to your kind assistance4 ,b4 ,is the august lady1 your honorable wife1 well8 ,a4 ,yes1 thank you2 the lazy old woman is quite well4 ,b4 ,and how are your princely children8 ,a4 ,a thousand thanks for your kind interest4 ,the noisy1 dirty little brats are well too4 ,b4 ,i am now living on a little back street1 and my house is awfully small and dirty2 but if you can endure it1 please honor me by a visit4 ,a4 ,i am overcome with thanks1 and will early ascend to your honorable residence1 and impose my uninteresting self upon your hospitality4 ,b4 ,i will now be very impolite and leave you4 ,a4 ,if that is so1 excuse me4 ,sayonara4 #hi ,v ,,japanese ,,civilization ,the question is often asked1 ,are the ,japanese a civilized people8 ,the answer will entirely depend upon our definition of civilization4 ,if civilization consists in a highly organized commercial and industrial life1 in the construction and use of huge1 towering piles of manufactories and commercial houses1 such as are seen in ,new ,york and ,chicago1 in amassing enormous capital1 controlling the trade of the country by monopolies1 and doing the work of the world by machinery that moves with the precision of clockwork1 then ,japan is not yet civilized4 ,but if civilization consists in a courteous1 refined manner1 in a calm enjoyment of literature and the arts1 in an ability to live easily and comfortably with a due regard to all the amenities of life1 then the ,japanese are a civilized people4 ,a very brilliant writer on ,japanese subjects#a #ij has said that the ,japanese have been a civilized people for at least a thousand years4 ,chinese civilization was brought to ,japan early in the ,christian era1 and flourished for more than fifteen hundred years4 ,while it differs much from ,european civilization1 it is a highly organized and developed system1 venerable with age4 ,when people of the ,west speak of civilized countries they are apt to think of ,europe and ,america1 to the exclusion of all the rest of the world4 ,this is unfair4 ,chinese civilization is much older than our own4 ,long before the dark ages of ,europe the ,chinese were living under a regular system of laws and were engaged in all peaceful pursuits4 ,systematic methods of agriculture1 the art of printing1 gunpowder1 and the mariners' compass were all known and used4 ,while our own forefathers in northern ,europe roamed the forests as wild men and dressed in skins1 the ,chinese were living quietly in cities and towns1 dressed in silks4 ,this venerable ,chinese civilization was readily adopted in ,japan1 and prevailed down to the time of the ,restoration1 in #ahfh4 ,since that time the adoption and assimilation of ,western civilization have been progressing with a rapidity and success which have no precedent in the history of the world4 ,the old immobile1 crystallized ,chinese civilization has been thrown off1 and the vigorous1 elastic forms of the ,west have been successfully #ia adopted4 ,japanese civilization of to-day is ,european1 only with a national coloring4 #a ,lafcadio ,hearn4 ,on the advice of an ,american missionary1#b who was then president of the ,imperial ,university1 and who arranged the program for the expedition1 in #ahgb a committee of seventy intelligent ,japanese gentlemen1 many of them from the noble families1 was sent to the ,west to visit the capitals of the several countries1 examine into their forms of government and civilization1 and1 of all that they found1 to choose and bring back with them what was best adapted to ,japan4 ,this committee1 after visiting ,washington1 ,london1 ,berlin1 and other places1 and carefully examining into their different institutions1 returned and reported to the government4 ,from this time began the rapid adoption of ,western civilization1 which is still in progress4 #b ,dr4 ,verbeck4 ,foreign employees have played an important part in this peaceful revolution4 ,at first nearly everything that was adopted was under foreign superintendence2 but the ,japanese are such apt learners that they are now capable of managing this new civilization for themselves1 and the foreign employees have been mostly dispensed with4 ,with this brief history of ,japanese progress before us1 let us now examine into the present condition of ,japanese civilization4 #ib ,one of the best indicators of the civilization of a country is its literature4 ,no writers of world-wide fame have arisen in ,japan1 yet the country has a literature of which she is not ashamed4 ,in ancient times the ,chinese classics were alone studied1 and all literature was molded by ,confucian ideas2 to-day these models have been cast aside1 and a school of young1 independent writers has arisen1 by whom history1 political and moral science1 botany1 sociology1 belles-lettres1 and numerous other subjects are discussed with vigor and originality4 ,in the number of newspapers and magazines published ,japan can compare favorably with any country of equal size4 ,the great dailies have not yet grown to such importance as those of ,america or ,england1 but they already wield a mighty influence4 ,nearly every small town has its morning and its evening sheet4 ,even in our backward old town of ,saga we have two very good dailies4 ,there are a large number of able magazines published4 ,nearly every branch of learning has a magazine devoted exclusively to its interests1 as is frequently the case in the ,west4 ,the very existence of this innumerable multitude of newspapers and magazines shows that the ,japanese are great readers4 ,the educational system in vogue is a good index of a nation's civilization4 ,perhaps no #ic nation of the ,west has a better organized and developed free-school system than has ,japan4 ,schools are found in every village and hamlet1 and as all children of a prescribed age are required to attend1 they are full to overflowing4 ,the little round-faced1 sleek-headed ,japanese children swarm round them like bees4 ,there are four grades of schools3 the primary lower1 the advanced lower1 the lower middle1 and the higher middle4 ,the lower schools are found everywhere2 the higher ones only in the large towns and cities4 ,of the higher middle schools 7which correspond to our ,american colleges of middle grade7 there are seven1 distributed at various points over the empire4 ,at the head of this whole system stands the ,imperial ,university in ,tokyo1 which is itself the outgrowth of several colleges1 and is largely modeled after the ,german universities4 ,the lower schools are modeled after our ,american schools4 ,unfortunately1 so large a part of the time of the school-children must be spent in studying ,chinese characters that it takes about eight years to learn to read4 ,what a pity that the awkward1 antiquated system of ,chinese writing is not abandoned6 ,it seems that the native kana1 of which there are about forty-eight1 with a few of the more common ,chinese characters1 would answer all purposes2 then the long years spent in studying ,chinese could be devoted to other things1 to #id the immense advantage of the student4 ,in the lower schools very little is studied except ,chinese4 ,in the middle schools the branches studied are just about what ,american youths study in the academies4 ,formerly considerable stress was laid upon the study of modern languages1 and all students of the middle schools were required to study ,english and either ,french or ,german4 ,but in recent years only ,english has been required1 and it1 even1 is not studied so carefully as it was4 ,since the revision of the treaties the study of foreign languages seems to be on the increase4 ,the ,imperial ,university compares very favorably with ,western universities of the middle class4 ,it has six faculties1 namely1 law1 medicine1 literature1 science1 engineering1 and agriculture4 ,the medical department is under ,german influence2 the others have professors of various nationalities1 mostly ,english1 ,german1 and ,japanese4 ,the students number over #ajjj4 ,the government has recently undertaken the establishment of another university in ,kyoto4 ,it also supports two higher normal schools1 a higher commercial school1 naval and military academies1 fine-arts school1 technical school1 the nobles' school1 the musical academy1 and the blind and dumb school4 ,professor ,chamberlain1 of the ,imperial ,university1 says the leading idea of the ,japanese government #ie in all its educational improvements is the desire to assimilate the national ways of thinking to those of ,european countries4 ,in view of the difference between the ,east and the ,west1 this is an enormous task2 and great credit is due that brave body of educators who1 fighting against fearful odds1 are gradually accomplishing their purpose4 ,the ,japanese are a nation of artists4 ,life in one of the most beautiful countries in the world has1 to a rare degree1 developed in them the love of the beautiful2 and this has expressed itself in the various phases of national art4 ,in general1 ,japanese art is pretty1 but small1 isolated1 and lacking in breadth of view4 ,its chief use in former times was largely decorative1 to paint a screen or a piece of porcelain1 and the artists did this to perfection4 ,as a nation the ,japanese are very skilful with the pencil4 ,long writing of ,chinese characters has given them a control of the pencil or crayon not commonly found among the people of the ,west4 ,drawing is taught in the schools1 and every school-boy can draw pretty pictures4 ,but in art1 as in other things1 the ,japanese are frequently inconsistent1 and show a haughty disregard of details4 ,they excel in portraying nature4 ,the government of ,japan is progressive and enlightened4 ,in reality it is an absolute monarchy1 ruled by the heaven-descended mikado4 #if ,the empire belongs to him by divine right1 and none has ever disputed this4 ,unquestioning1 implicit obedience is the duty of all subjects4 ,but the present emperor1 who is a liberal-minded monarch1 has graciously given his people a voice in the government4 ,in #ahhi the constitution was promulgated1 which laid the foundation for a new order of things4 ,it established the ,diet1 consisting of two houses1 and gave many rights to the people1 including local self-government1 within certain limits4 ,the franchise is so limited in ,japan that a man must annually pay a stipulated amount of tax before he can either vote or run for office4 ,japanese laws have for years been gradually approaching ,western standards4 ,the transition has been difficult and necessarily slow1 but praise-worthy progress has been made4 ,a code somewhat resembling the ,code ,napoleon is now the law of the land1 and is being applied in the courts as fast as circumstances will permit4 ,people coming from ,europe or ,america will find that1 in the main1 the laws are not very different from those they have been accustomed to4 ,nearly all the material expressions of an advanced civilization found at home are likewise met with in ,japan--good railways1 steamboats1 telegraphs1 mails1 electric lights1 etc4 ,it is often a surprise to the traveler from the ,west who has #ig read little about the country1 and who expects only the rudest form of civilization1 to find instead nearly all the conveniences to which he has been accustomed4 ,,railways4--,japanese railways are narrow gauge1 and while in recent years the question of changing them to standard gauge has been agitated1 nothing definite has been done4 ,the narrow-gauge system seems fairly adequate to the present demand4 ,the railways are modeled after those of ,england1 and are miniature as compared with those thundering monsters that make the ,american valleys tremble with their tread4 ,the coaches are much smaller than the ,american and are differently arranged1 opening on the side instead of the end1 passage from one coach to another being precluded4 ,there is no conductor to come around and disturb one with the continual cry of ,tickets6 ,the punch1 punch1 punch1 so annoying to sensitive people1 is not heard4 ,as the passenger leaves the station to enter the train his ticket is examined1 and this ends the matter until he reaches his destination1 when he must pass out through the station1 where his ticket is taken by a polite official4 ,one of the things that have most impressed me about the railroad service is the kindness and politeness of the officials1 in striking contrast with the gruffness and incivility one often encounters in ,america4 #ih ,the average ,japanese train has three classes of coaches4 ,the first class corresponds to the ordinary first-class day-coach at home2 second class corresponds to our smoking-cars2 while third class is poorer still4 ,the fares are just about one half what they are in ,america1 and one can travel in first-class style for a cent and a half per mile4 ,third-class fare is only a little over half a cent1 and most of the people travel in this class4 ,the trains do not have the conveniences to which my readers are accustomed4 ,there are no sleeping- and dining-cars1 no provision for heating in winter1 and no water4 ,the average running speed is about #bj miles per hour--a rate which would not at all suffice for the high-tensioned1 nervous1 always-in-a-hurry civilization of the ,west1 but which meets all the demands of the slower1 quieter life of the ,east4 ,running at this rate1 accidents are comparatively rare1 and the trains easily make their scheduled time4 ,there is one main trunk-line running throughout the length of the land1 besides numerous shorter lines4 ,all of the more prominent towns and cities are connected by rail4 ,at present a railroad-construction craze has seized ,japan4 ,many are being constructed1 others are being surveyed1 and the papers daily contain accounts of new ones projected4 ,so far1 ,japanese railway stocks have yielded good dividends4 ,that the #ii more important lines are owned and operated by the government is not the result of any political or economic theory1 but simply because at first private individuals had neither the means nor the energy to inaugurate such huge and hitherto untried enterprises4 ,many of the smaller roads are now owned and controlled by private corporations1 and most of those in process of construction are private enterprises4 ,some months ago a private corporation made a proposition to the government to buy its main railway1 but the offer was rejected4 ,,steamers4--,steamboat service in ,japan is good4 ,as the country is only a range of islands1 the largest of which are very narrow1 and as all the more important towns are on the sea-coast or only a short distance inland1 it is possible to go nearly everywhere by boat4 ,travel by water is very popular4 ,there are fairly good steamers plying daily between the most important ports1 but foreigners generally prefer to travel only on those officered by ,europeans or ,americans4 ,there are a number of native steamers1 comfortable and speedy1 which are officered by foreigners1 and differ but little from the transpacific liners4 ,these were nearly all built in ,england1 but in recent years they are building very good ones in ,japan4 ,the facilities for travel in this empire leave little to be desired4 ,,telegraphs4--,the ,japanese telegraph #ajj system is excellent4 ,it extends to all towns of any size in the empire1 and by cable to all parts of the world4 ,from the old city of ,saga1 in which ,i live1 ,i can send a cablegram to any point in ,europe or ,america4 ,a telegraph code on the basis of the ,morse code has been made in ,japan1 which admits of internal telegrams being transmitted in the native syllabary4 ,in this respect the ,japanese system is unique among ,eastern countries4 ,for instance1 in ,india or ,china telegrams can be transmitted only in ,roman letters or ,arabic figures4 ,by the formation of a vernacular code the telegraph was brought within the reach of the masses of the people1 and it soon became familiar and popular4 ,the tariff for messages is perhaps lower than any other in the world4 ,a message of ten kana1 equaling about five ,english words1 together with name and address of sender and receiver1 can be sent to any part of the empire for eight or nine cents4 ,telegrams in foreign languages are sent within the empire for five sen per word1 with a minimum charge of twenty-five sen for five words or a fraction thereof4 ,no charge is made for delivery within a radius of #b- miles of the telegraph office4 ,there are no private telegraph corporations4 ,the government builds1 owns1 and operates the lines just as it does the mails4 ,the postal and #aja telegraph systems are intimately connected1 and the same office does service for both4 ,the first telegraph line in ,japan was opened in #ahfi4 ,the venture proving a success1 the following year the line was extended and a general telegraphic system for the whole country decided upon4 ,the rapid construction of telegraph lines began in #ahgb1 from which year it has gone forward uninterruptedly4 ,at present the lines extend to every corner of the empire4 ,the first lines were surveyed1 built1 and operated under foreign experts2 but the natives have learned so rapidly that they have been enabled to do away with all foreign employees4 ,all of the materials and instruments in use1 with the exception of submarine cables and the most delicate electrical measuring apparatus1 are made in ,japan4 ,,mails4--,the ,japanese mail system was modeled after the ,american in #ahga4 ,at first it was limited to postal service between the three large cities of ,tokyo1 ,kyoto1 and ,osaka2 but in #ahgb it was extended to the whole country1 with the exception of a certain part of the ,hokkaido1 which was without roads and almost without population4 ,to-day there is no village or hamlet in the whole land which does not enjoy the convenience of a good postal system4 ,the mails are sent with promptness and despatch1 and it requires only a few days to communicate with any part of the #ajb empire4 ,the postal rates are very low4 ,postal cards cost one sen and letters two sen--about five eighths and one and two eighths of a cent1 respectively4 ,all mail is delivered free of charge4 ,not only is this so in the cities and larger towns1 but in the villages and rural districts as well4 ,there is no place where the dapper little postman does not go4 ,another convenience of the mail system is its excellent parcel-post department4 ,very large parcels1 containing almost anything1 can be sent for a small charge4 ,still another praiseworthy feature is that each office is a savings-bank1 where the people can deposit small sums of money at any time and receive a good rate of interest4 ,this money can be withdrawn without previous notice4 ,the government has established these savings-banks in connection with the post-offices to encourage the people to lay up small sums of money1 and they accomplish their purpose well4 ,japan was admitted into the ,international ,postal ,union in #ahgi1 with full management of all her postal affairs4 ,as all her rates are now based on a silver standard1 postage to foreign countries is much cheaper than from them to ,japan4 ,to the ,united ,states or to ,china we pay five sen 7about two and a half cents7 per letter2 to all other countries within the ,postal ,union ten sen per letter4 #ajc ,,lights4--,the system of lighting is an index of the civilization of a country4 ,in this respect ,japan is not yet so far advanced as the leading countries of the ,west1 yet she is well lighted4 ,in all the large cities there are good electric plants1 and electricity is extensively used4 ,the streets and many of the best stores and shops are very well lighted with it4 ,however1 electric lights are seldom found in interior cities of less than #dj1jjj people4 ,i think electricity is too costly to come into general use1 except in the centers4 ,illuminating gas is very little used4 ,the only oil used in former times was extracted from whales and large fish1 and chiefly from the seed of a certain tree4 ,since the opening of the country1 kerosene has come into general use1 immense quantities being imported from the ,united ,states and from ,russia4 ,oil has been found in several places in ,japan1 but as yet has never been developed4 ,,banking4--,one of the most useful products of the introduction of our modern civilization is the present system of banking4 ,this system will compare favorably with those of the ,west4 ,there are a number of national banks distributed over all the land1 together with many substantial private banking corporations4 ,all forms of banking business are transacted1 and good interest is given on deposits4 ,the great #ajd popularity of the banks is shown by the fact that to-day in ,tokyo1 only eight years after bank-checks have come into use1 the amount annually drawn exceeds #ajj1jjj1jjj4 ,having taken this rapid view of ,japanese civilization1 we are in a position to judge as to whether or not this is a civilized land2 and we answer that it is4 ,but although modeled after that of the ,west1 it in many respects differs from ,western civilization4 ,japan has shown herself capable of doing great things1 but she does not do them in the same way that they are done in ,europe or ,america4 ,for example1 consider her manufactories1 which now threaten to compete with those of our own country4 ,in ,america manufactories mean enormous capital invested4 ,costly factories must be erected1 the most approved machinery provided1 and the completed plant operated at great expense4 ,here almost no capital is used4 ,the buildings are low1 one-story sheds1 not more costly than a row of stables at home4 ,it is true that ,japan has a few large1 substantial buildings for manufacturing purposes2 but such are rare1 and1 when found1 look out of harmony with their surroundings4 ,even nature seems to protest against huge piles of brick and stone1 as she so frequently demolishes them4 ,most of the wares of ,japan are manufactured in small1 cheap buildings1 and little machinery is used4 ,the best silk #aje made is woven in a house that cost scarcely #ejj4 ,the best cloisonne1 of which only a small piece a few inches high will cost hundreds of dollars1 is made in a little1 two-story house with only six rooms4 ,some of the greatest porcelain-makers in the world1 whose products are better known in ,london and ,paris than in their own country1 do their work in small wooden houses in ,kyoto1 no better than the homes of the ,american laborer4 ,the vast rice crop is raised on millions of tiny farms2 the silk crop in millions of small1 poor homes2 the tea crop on countless little patches of soil4 ,japan has become industrial without becoming essentially mechanical and artificial4#c ,on this small scale the great work of ,japan is done4 ,japanese civilization1 in its parts1 is miniature4 #c ,lafcadio ,hearn4 ,when compared with the civilization of the ,west1 it is unstable2 in fact stability is almost unknown4 ,the land itself is a land of change4 ,the outlines of the coasts1 the courses of the rivers1 the form of the mountains1 by the combined action of volcanoes1 earthquakes1 winds1 and waves1 are constantly changing4 ,the people themselves are continually drifting about from place to place1 changing their residence with the seasons4 ,it has been said that no people in the world are so migratory4 #ajf ,preparation can be made in a few hours for the longest journey1 and all the necessary baggage wrapped up in a handkerchief4 ,japanese life is in a constant state of fluidity4 ,the average house1 likewise1 seems built but for a day4 ,the walls1 the roof1 the floors1 are made of the lightest materials1 and apparently there is no thought of permanence4 ,we of the ,west are wont to think that no real progress can be made without stability1 but ,japan has proved the contrary4 ,a uniformly mobile race is1 correspondingly1 uniformly impressionable4 ,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 potter1 and thus it moves with system and order toward great ends4 ,it is thus that ,japanese civilization is strong4 ,when compared with ,western civilization1 that of ,japan is seen to be less organized and developed1 less hasty and feverish in its movements1 ,it does not impress one so much with its hugeness and ponderosity4 ,it is lighter1 brighter1 quieter1 more soothing4 ,it is the civilization of the ,west robbed of its immensity and seriousness1 and reflecting the national characteristics of these light-hearted sons of the ,east4 #ajg ,,vi ,,japanese ,,morality ,japanese morality has been much written about by men of the ,west1 and many dogmatic judgments have been pronounced upon it4 ,at one extreme1 we have been told that they are the most immoral people on the face of the earth2 at the other1 we are told that in morality they have nothing to learn from the people of ,christendom4 ,there is about as much--or rather as little--truth in the one statement as in the other4 ,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 people4 ,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 standards4 ,judged by the ideas of the ,west1 they are lacking in morality2 but from #ajh their own standpoint they are a moral people4 ,while we cannot accept theirs as the true standard1 it is but fair that1 in judging them1 we keep this in view4 ,before the introduction of ,chinese ethics there was no such thing as a moral code4 ,the original native religion1 ,shinto1 taught no doctrines of morality1 as we understand them4 ,according to it1 to obey implicitly the mikado was the whole duty of man4 ,as for the rest1 if a ,japanese obeyed the natural impulses of his own heart he would be sure to do right4 ,modern ,shinto writers1 in all seriousness1 account for this absence of a moral code by stating that originally ,japanese nature was pure1 clean1 and sinless1 possessing no tendency to evil or wrong4 ,barbarians1 like the ,chinese and ,americans1 being by nature immoral1 were forced to invent a moral code to control their actions2 but in ,japan this was not necessary1 as every ,japanese acted aright if he only consulted his own heart4 ,they explain the need for the present moral laws--a need which they acknowledge--by the fact of association with outside nations4 ,immorality and dissoluteness were introduced by the ,chinese and ,western peoples1 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 mikado4 ,so much for the teaching of ,shinto in #aji regard to morality4 ,it would be exasperating were it not ludicrous4 ,confucius is the master of ,japanese morality4 ,his teachings were introduced into ,japan early in the ,christian era1 but they became predominant only in the time of ,iyeyasu1 in the seventeenth century4 ,this great statesman1 warrior1 and patron of learning caused the ,chinese classics to be printed in ,japan for the first time2 and from that day to this the morality of ,japan has been dominated by ,confucian ideas4 ,in order to understand ,japanese morality1 it is necessary for us to shift our moral base and try to look at the subject through ,japanese eyes4 ,the average native of the ,west thinks of morality as something belonging to the individual4 ,even in religion his first thought is to save his own soul4 ,the value of the soul1 its immortality1 its immediate relation to the infinite and eternal ,father--these have been emphasized ever since the first establishment of the church4 ,in consequence1 there is a duty which man owes to himself4 ,he may not disregard it even at the command of father or king4 ,within the soul is the holiest of all1 for there is heard in conscience the voice of ,god himself4 ,no external authority may be supreme1 and at no external voice may one violate his own convictions of truth4 ,this thought exalts the individual1 and1 #aaj therefore1 sins which degrade our own personality become most repulsive4 ,thus1 among high-minded men truth is almost first among the virtues1 and an accusation of falsehood the most hateful of insults4 ,for truth seems peculiarly personal and spiritual1 as if belonging to the very sanctuary of one's nature4 ,and in like manner1 among women1 in popular esteem chastity is of the essence of morality1 as its violation seems to contaminate and debase her holiest self4 ,now the ,confucian ethics rest upon a quite different principle1 and in this are at one with the ancient teaching of the ,greeks and ,romans4 ,the supreme duty is not to the self1 but to the organization of which one is but a part--that is1 to the family or to the state4 ,the great ,chinese moralists were statesmen1 and their chief concern was1 not the salvation of the individual1 but the peace and prosperity of the state4 ,in their view1 the family was the unit1 and the state a greater family4 ,so the conflict of duties1 in their questions of casuistry1 is never between individual and social duties1 but between duties owed to family and to state4 ,loyalty to the state and obedience to parents must be supreme2 but ,china and ,japan differ as to the value of these two4 ,according to original ,confucianism1 the first duty of men is obedience to parents2 the second1 loyalty to rulers2 but in ,japan the order of these #aaa duties has been changed1 the second being given first place4 ,the people have learned well this teaching of ,confucius4 ,japan was prepared soil for its sowing4 ,the native religion taught that the emperor was a direct descendant of heaven1 who ruled by divine right2 the provincial lords were his ministers1 and hence loyalty was a plain duty4 ,the ,confucian teaching only strengthened1 deepened1 and gave form and outline to a sentiment already existing4 ,this principle of loyalty thus became the foundation stone of ,japanese ethics1 and one's duty to one's lord paramount to all other duties4 ,in the olden times the people did not look beyond their own feudal lords and clans to the emperor and the nation4 ,they were to be faithful unto death to these1 but no further4 ,now that loyalty once shown to the local princes and clans finds its apotheosis in the emperor and the empire4 ,a man's duty to his friends1 to his wife and children1 and even to his parents1 is counted as nothing in comparison with his duty to rulers and country4 ,there are many instances in ,japanese history of men who1 having slain their own parents1 children1 wives1 for the sake of their prince1 were praised4 ,at the time of the recent tidal wave in northern ,japan1 when the waters were rushing furiously into one home1 a husband and #aab father turned a deaf ear to the cries of his drowning wife and children1 permitting them to perish that he might save the emperor's picture2 and he was applauded for the act4 ,a fire recently demolished the beautiful new buildings of the middle school in ,saga4 ,the library1 laboratories1 and scientific apparatus were mostly destroyed1 and many of the students lost their clothing and books4 ,the loss in buildings alone was some #bj1jjj4 ,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 yen4 ,a characteristic story1 showing the devotion with which the old samurai carried out this principle of loyalty1 is the tale of the forty-seven ronins4 ,it is rather long to insert here1 but as it illustrates so well the power of this principle1 ,i will relate it4 ,in the year #agja the lord of ,ako1 ,asano by name1 visited ,yedo to pay his respects to the shogun4 ,while there the shogun appointed him to receive and entertain an envoy from the mikado4 ,now1 the reception of an envoy from the imperial court was one of the greatest state ceremonies of the day1 and as ,asano knew little of ceremonies and etiquette1 he asked the advice of another nobleman1 named ,kira1 who was expert in such matters4 ,this man1 who seems to have #aac been of a very mean disposition1 grudgingly gave the information desired1 and then asked a fee for the same4 ,asano refused to give the fee1 and ,kira1 becoming angry1 twitted and jeered at him1 calling him a country lout1 unworthy the name of daimio4 ,asano endured the insults patiently until ,kira peremptorily ordered him to stoop down and fasten his foot-gear for him1--a most menial service1--when he drew his sword and gave the offender a deep cut across the face4 ,this quarrel took place in the precincts of the palace1 and instantly the whole court was in an uproar4 ,to degrade the sacred place was an insult punishable with death and the confiscation of all property2 and ,asano was condemned to take his own life by hara-kiri that same evening1 his estates were confiscated1 his family declared extinct1 and his clan disbanded4 ,henceforth his retainers became ronins 7wandering men71 with no country and no lord4 ,according to the ethics of their country1 it was their bounden duty to avenge the death of their lord1 and we shall see how relentlessly they followed their purpose until it was accomplished4 ,the senior retainer of the dead ,asano1 ,oishu ,kuranosuke1 together with forty-six others of his most trusty fellow-lieges1 took counsel as to how they might avenge their lord4 ,they all were willing to lay down their lives in the attempt1 but #aad even then the task was difficult1 because of the vigilance of the government4 ,for such vengeance was rigidly prohibited by law1 although as rigidly required by custom4 ,notwithstanding the fact that all who slew an enemy for vengeance were punished by death1 not to take such vengeance never entered the mind of any chivalrous ,japanese4 ,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 purpose4 ,so they separated1 settling in different cities1 and taking up various occupations4 ,many of them became carpenters1 smiths1 and merchants1 and in these capacities gained access to ,kira's house and learned all about its interior arrangements4 ,the leader of this faithful band1 ,oishu1 went to ,kyoto and plunged into a life of drunkenness and debauchery4 ,he even put away his wife and children1 and led the most dissolute life possible1 simply to throw off the suspicions of the authorities4 ,all of the ronins were closely watched by spies1 who secretly reported their conduct to ,kira4 ,but by these devices they finally lulled all suspicion1 and the vigilance ceased4 ,then the day long waited for had come4 ,suddenly1 on the night of ,january #cj1 #agjc1 two years after the death of their lord1 in the midst of a violent snowstorm1 these forty-seven faithful men attacked #aae ,kira's castle1 forced the gate1 and slew all the retainers4 ,kira1 who was a coward at heart1 concealed himself in an outhouse4 ,the ronins found him there1 drew him forth1 and requested him to kill himself by hara-kiri1 as was the privilege of a man of his rank4 ,but he refused out of fear1 and the retainers of ,asano were forced to kill him as they would have killed a common coolie4 ,thus did they accomplish their purpose and fulfil the high duty of loyalty to their dead lord1 after two years of waiting1 most careful planning1 and ceaseless vigilance4 ,by the time their purpose was accomplished day had dawned1 and1 in plain view of the whole city1 this brave band marched in order to the temple of ,sengakuji1 where ,asano was buried4 ,the citizens showed them every honor on the way4 ,a wealthy nobleman1 as a reward for their loyal deed1 sent them out costly refreshments4 ,when they arrived at the temple the head abbot received them in person and showed them every honor4 ,finding the grave of their dead lord1 they laid thereon the head of the enemy by whom he had been so deeply wronged1 and then felt that their duty was done4 ,they were all sentenced to commit hara-kiri1 which they did willingly4 ,afterward they were buried together in the same temple grounds with their lord1 where their graves can be seen to this day4 #aaf ,these men simply obeyed the ethical code of their time and country1 and as a reward for their loyalty they have received the enthusiastic praise of their countrymen for two centuries4 ,no other story is so popular to-day1 or so stirs the hearts of the people1 as this4 ,while we1 believing that vengeance belongs to the ,lord1 cannot indorse this deed1 we must admire the loyalty and faithfulness of those ronins1 and the perseverance with which they adhered to their purpose4 ,in this true story we see clearly the power of this first principle of ,japanese morality--loyalty4 ,the sister principle of loyalty in ,confucian ethics is obedience to parents4 ,unquestioning1 absolute1 implicit obedience is required of all children4 ,formerly the child was considered the property of the parents1 and could be disposed of at will1 even to the taking of its life4 ,to-day the father may sell his daughter to a life of shame1 or lend her to a private individual for immoral purposes2 and1 however much she may dislike such a life1 obedience to parents requires that she acquiesce in his will1 which she does uncomplainingly4 ,this principle of obedience is the foundation stone of ,japanese family life4 ,the relation between parents and children is stronger than that between man and wife1 and is given a prior place4 ,an only son cannot be forced to leave his mother #aag and become a soldier1 but a husband may be forced to leave his wife4 ,within the family circle1 the son's duty to his aged parents always precedes his duty to his wife4 ,every ,japanese feels deeply this obligation to his parents1 and properly to support and nourish them in old age he holds to be a sacred duty4 ,americans could learn much that would be profitable from the reverence and respect shown for parents and teachers by the ,japanese4 ,in ,japan1 however1 this principle is carried too far4 ,it continues after death as binding as before1 and divine honors are paid to dead ancestors4 ,periodical visits are made to their tombs1 religious candles are kept burning in their honor1 and prayers are said to them4 ,among the more enlightened to-day there is perhaps nothing in these ceremonies but reverence and respect2 yet by the masses of the people ancestors are worshiped4 ,there are two moral maxims that show well the relative importance in which parents1 relatives1 and wives are held4 ,they are the following3 ,thy father and thy mother are like heaven and earth2 thy teacher and thy lord are like the sun and the moon4 ,other kinsfolk may be likened to the rushes2 husbands and wives are but as useless stones4 ,it is apparent that virtues have differing values in the ,confucian and ,christian systems4 ,we can #aah appreciate their point of view best1 perhaps1 as we remember the ethics of an army4 ,here obedience1 loyalty1 self-devotion1 courage1 are supreme4 ,much is forgiven if these are manifested4 ,the organization is everything1 and the individual nothing1 save as he is a fraction of the great machine4 ,carry that idea into the social community1 and think of it as an army1 with all1 women as well as men1 of value only as parts of the greater whole1 and we shall understand why and how the ,japanese may esteem men and women righteous whom we judge debased and even criminal4 ,so would the ,japanese judge them1 were the motive mere passion or selfish desire1 but not when the controlling power is loyalty or obedience4 ,thus the forty-seven ronin were pre-eminently righteous when they debauched themselves with every swinish vice4 ,of course this view of morality puts great temptation in the way of parents and rulers4 ,having supreme power1 they may use it to the degradation of those whom they control4 ,confucius1 it is true1 taught parents and rulers that they too owed duties to the state1 and that use of their ,heaven-given powers for selfish ends was treason against the supreme law2 but1 beyond doubt1 the duty of submission1 of loyalty and unquestioning obedience1 was so exaggerated that evils many and great resulted4 ,at the same time #aai a sympathetic view leads one to wonder the rather that the ethical results are so wholesome4 ,turning from this general view1 one finds in particulars much the same conditions as in other lands4 ,for example1 immense quantities of alcoholic stimulants are consumed annually4 ,there is a native liquor called sake1 made from rice1 that is very popular and1 in some of its forms1 very intoxicating4 ,its manufacture and sale is one of the most lucrative businesses in the empire4 ,foreign whiskies1 wines1 and beers are sold in large quantities1 but they are so costly as to be beyond the reach of all but the wealthy4 ,outside of the small circle of ,christians1 there are few people who do not drink4 ,the total abstainer is a rarity4 ,but1 while nearly every one drinks1 in general the ,japanese do not drink to such excess as other nations4 ,one seldom sees such beastly drunkenness as is often seen in the ,west4 ,drinking is taken as a matter of course1 and society does not condemn it4 ,the usual way in which ,japanese men pass a dull day is in feasting and drinking4 ,the use of alcoholic stimulants is much more common here than at home4 ,in business and commercial morality there is much to be desired4 ,the merchants do not sell according to the worth of an article1 but according to what they can make the purchaser pay4 ,they are great bargainers4 ,recently ,i wanted to buy #abj two large wall-pictures4 ,the dealer asked me #ba for them1 but finally sold them for #e4 ,it is a very common thing to buy articles for less than half the price first asked4 ,in matters of veracity and in the fulfilment of contracts ,japanese merchants are not generally to be trusted4 ,the average man is famous for lying1 and the merchants and tradesmen seem to have acquired an extra share of this general characteristic4 ,a ,japanese trader will do all in his power to avoid the fulfilment of a contract if it entails a loss4 ,this lack of commercial honor is recognized by the foreign firms doing business here1 and it has hindered not a little the growth and development of trade4 ,the moral sense of the people in regard to taking one's own life is very different from that of ,christendom4 ,from ancient times1 suicide has been thought to be a praiseworthy act1 and has been extensively practised4 ,formerly it was encouraged1 and sometimes required1 by the government2 but now it has no official sanction whatever4 ,still1 the custom exists1 and some authorities place the annual number of suicides as high as #aj1jjj4 ,the people laugh at our ,western idea that it is wrong to take one's own life4 ,on the contrary1 they hold that when misfortunes and calamities make this life unattractive it is the part of wisdom to end it4 ,even the feelings of young ,japanese1 #aba who have been educated somewhat into our own way of thinking1 do not seem to have changed on this point2 they still adhere to the old ,roman view that self-destruction is permissible and often meritorious4 ,the ,western fiction that all suicides are the result of some form of insanity is not countenanced here4 ,the various causes leading to self-destruction are coolly and carefully tabulated1 and very few are attributed to insanity4 ,contrariwise1 long and careful study of the subject has shown that self-destruction is gone about with as much coolness1 precision1 and judgment as any act of daily life4 ,the above are in brief the leading moral ideas and principles that govern the ,japanese people4 ,for their loyalty and obedience we have only admiration4 ,but both of these principles are given an undue importance and are carried to extremes4 ,the chief defect of ,japanese morality is the minor place it gives to the individual4 ,the moral need of the nation is a ,christian morality--not just the morality of the ,west1 but a morality founded on the ethical principles inculcated in the ,bible4 ,this would exalt truth and chastity1 would soften and temper the great duties of loyalty and obedience1 and would make of ,japan an honest1 temperate nation4 #abb ,,vii ,,religions ,,of ,,japan ,the ,japanese are by nature a religious people4 ,in the earliest times a conglomerate mass of superstitions and mythological ideas was made to do service as a religion4 ,fetishism1 phallicism1 animism1 and tree- and serpent-worship were very common4 ,the line of distinction between the ,creator and the creature was not clearly marked2 gods and men mingled and intermingled1 and were hardly known apart4 ,but it is not our purpose here to trace the ancient religious ideas of ,japan1 but rather to give a short account of contemporary religions4 ,therefore we cannot dwell on these unwritten mythological-religious systems4 ,the religions of contemporary ,japan are four--,shinto1 ,buddhism1 ,confucianism1 and ,tenrikyo4 ,shinto and ,tenrikyo are indigenous2 ,buddhism and ,confucianism have been imported from ,china and ,korea4 ,tenrikyo is of recent origin and has #abc not yet the influence and standing of the others4 ,shinto1 ,buddhism1 and ,confucianism have existed here side by side for centuries4 ,there is no great antagonism between them1 as there is between ,christianity and the ethnic religions4 ,many of the people are disciples of all three at the same time1 taking their theology from ,shinto1 their soteriology and eschatology from ,buddhism1 and their moral and economic ideas from ,confucianism4 ,no inconsistency is felt in thus believing all three religions and worshiping at their shrines4 ,indeed1 these three faiths have so commingled1 the ideas and practices of one have so filtered into the others1 that it is hard now to distinguish the pure teachings of each4 ,in the minds of the masses they are not distinguished in detail4 ,and yet as regards origin1 history1 and teachings they are separate and distinct faiths4 ,shinto ,shinto may be called the national cult of ,japan4 ,the word ,shinto means the way of the gods4 ,this system hardly deserves the name religion4 ,it has no moral code1 no dogmas1 no sacred books4 ,originally it consisted chiefly of ancestor- and nature-worship1 and of certain mythological ideas4 ,a chief feature of it still is the worship of ancestors1 who are exalted to a high pedestal in thought #abd and worshiped as gods4 ,the divine origin of the imperial family1 and the obligation to worship and obey it1 was a prominent teaching of ,shinto4 ,the ancestors of the imperial family were to be held in supreme reverence and were the objects of especial worship4 ,according to the ,shinto of this period1 there was neither heaven nor hell1 but only an intermediate ,hades4 ,there was a sort of priesthood1 but its duty was to watch over particular local gods1 not to preach to the people4 ,pure ,shinto taught that a man's whole duty lay in absolute obedience to the mikado and in following the natural promptings of his own heart4 ,shinto was very much affected by the introduction of ,buddhism1 about the middle of the sixth century1 and its further growth was checked4 ,buddhism adopted and largely absorbed it4 ,shinto gods were given a place in the ,buddhist pantheon1 and many of the ,shinto ceremonies were adopted4 ,but ,shinto was completely overshadowed by ,buddhism1 and lay in a dormant state from the year #eej to #agjj1 a night of more than a thousand years4 ,illustration3 ,a ,shinto ,temple4 ,since the beginning of the eighteenth century a revival of ,shinto has sprung up4 ,native scholars tried to call up the past1 to find out what pure ,shinto was before its corruption by ,buddhism1 and to teach it as the national faith4 ,in this effort #abe they were partially successful4 ,the old ,buddhistic accretions were largely thrown off1 and many of the temples1 stripped of their ,buddhist ornaments1 were handed over to the ,shinto priests4 ,buddhism was disestablished1 and ,shinto again became the religion of the state4 ,a ,shinto ,council for ,spiritual ,affairs was appointed1 which had equal rank with the ,council of ,state4 ,this1 however1 was reduced gradually to the rank of a department1 then to a bureau1 later to a sub-bureau4 ,at present ,shinto is the state religion1 in so far as there can be said to be any state religion2 but in reality there is no established religion4 ,the connection of the government with ,shinto extends no further than the maintenance of certain temples and the attendance of certain officials on some ceremonies4 ,shinto enjoys a large amount of popularity because it is indigenous1 while ,buddhism and ,confucianism labor under the disadvantage of being of foreign origin4 ,the majority of the upper classes in ,japan who to-day have any religion at all are ,shintoists4 ,buddhism ,the religion founded by ,buddha in ,india is six centuries older than ,christianity4 ,its nominal adherents comprise almost one third of the human race4 ,its philosophical precepts are deep #abf and profound1 while its ethical teachings are1 for the most part1 lofty and ennobling4 ,this religion is worthy the careful study of any man who has the time and inclination4 ,we cannot attempt to give a full exposition of it1 but will have to content ourselves with a bare mention of its more prominent teachings4 ,certain resemblances to ,catholicism in ritual1 ceremony1 and ornamentation strike one very forcibly in observing ,buddhist rites4 ,the candles1 the incense1 the images and processions1 all resemble ,rome4 ,but this resemblance extends no further than ritual and ceremony4 ,in point of doctrine ,buddhism is widely separated from every form of ,christianity4 ,in ,buddhism the condition on which grace is received is not faith1 but knowledge and enlightenment4 ,salvation is accomplished1 not by the vicarious sufferings of a ,redeemer1 but by self-perfection through self-denial and discipline4 ,dr4 ,griffis1 a man who has written much and well on ,japan1 has pronounced the principal features of ,buddhism to be atheism1 metempsychosis1 or the transmigration of souls1 and absence of caste4 ,illustration3 ,a ,buddhist ,priest4 ,buddhism knows nothing of the existence of a supreme ,god who created the world4 ,it inherited ideas of certain gods from ,brahmanism1 but these are made secondary to the hotoke1 or buddhas1 #abg who are simply men who have finally reached the calm of perfect holiness after toiling through endless ages and countless existences4 ,it teaches that existence itself is the chief of all evils4 ,instead of longing for eternal life1 the ,buddhist longs for annihilation4 ,happy1 well-fed ,western people1 to whom existence is a delight1 can hardly understand how any one can really desire its cessation4 ,but the life of the lower classes in many countries of the ,east is one daily struggle for bread1 so full of sorrow and misery that it is not unnatural they should desire to end it4 ,this religion teaches that the evil of existence springs from the double root of ignorance and human passions1 and is to be overcome by knowledge and self-discipline4 ,the heaven it offers is absorption in the ,nirvana--the loss of personal identity and practical annihilation4 ,buddhism numbers more devotees and exerts a greater influence than any of the other religions of ,japan4 ,it was received from ,korea about the middle of the sixth century4 ,after it had been transplanted and had grown into popular favor1 many ,japanese were sent to ,korea and ,china to study its doctrines more fully2 and they brought back with them not only ,buddhism1 but also ,chinese literature and civilization4 ,at first ,buddhism encountered fierce opposition1 but it was fortunate in securing court patronage1 and #abh very soon the opposition entirely ceased1 so that in two or three centuries it spread itself throughout the whole empire4 ,if ever a nation was ripe for the introduction of a foreign religion1 that nation was ,japan at that time4 ,the national cult was silent1 or almost so1 in regard to the destiny of man and many other questions which religion is expected to answer4 ,the religious nature of the people was asserting itself1 and they were longing for more light on the great questions of life--its whence1 why1 and whither4 ,buddhism gave this light1 and therefore was warmly welcomed4 ,it had the whole field to itself1 and took complete possession of it4 ,illustration3 ,a ,buddhist ,cemetery4 ,from the time of its introduction into ,japan down to the present1 ,buddhism has enjoyed a wide popularity and exerted a powerful influence4 ,it is not too much to say that ,buddhism has largely formed ,japanese civilization and national life4 ,in the words of ,professor ,chamberlain1 ,all education was for centuries in ,buddhist hands4 ,buddhism introduced art and medicine1 molded the folk-lore of the country1 created its dramatic poetry1 deeply influenced politics and every sphere of social and intellectual activity4 ,in a word1 ,buddhism was the teacher under whose instruction the ,japanese nation grew up4 ,buddhism has by no means lost its hold in ,japan4 ,it still has great life and power4 ,some #abi writers have said that they have never seen a new temple in ,japan--only old ones falling into decay4 ,their experience must have been limited4 ,i see plenty of new temples1 some of which are very costly4 ,buddhist temples are numerous1 and many are of imposing architecture4 ,being generally surrounded by tall trees1 they have a lonely1 mournful appearance4 ,hideous beasts1 dragons1 and serpents are carved upon them1 and large1 fierce-looking stone lions guard them1 the effect being to awe and terrify the beholder4 ,some are furnished with gorgeous altars covered with beautiful flowers1 images1 and statues4 ,besides the temples there are everywhere little shrines4 ,the religious spirit of the people prompts them to dedicate the most beautiful spots and nooks to the gods1 and there to erect shrines and idols4 ,buddhist priests dress in robes not very unlike the official robes of the ,episcopal clergy4 ,their heads are always close-shaven1 a mark by which they are easily distinguished4 ,forbidden to marry1 they are expected to lead lives of purity and chastity4 ,they have greatly degenerated1 a large per cent4 being illiterate and immoral4 ,their lives will not bear comparison with those of the ,christian evangelists4 ,that nearly all the cemeteries of ,japan are in their hands gives them great influence4 #acj ,japanese ,buddhism is divided into numerous sects1 chief of which are the ,tendai1 ,shingon1 ,jodo1 and ,zen1 of ,chinese origin1 and the ,shin and ,nichiren1 of native origin4 ,the latter two are most prosperous4 ,buddhism has profited by its contact with ,christianity4 ,as the reaction of ,protestantism upon ,catholicism was beneficial to the latter1 so the reaction of ,christianity upon ,buddhism has been healthful ,it has forced a revival and purification of the ,buddhist faith1 and to-day it is better and more active than before it encountered ,christianity4 ,still1 ,christianity is gradually encroaching upon its domain and is crippling its influence4 ,that ,buddhism is bound to perish in its encounter with ,western civilization and ,christianity seems a foregone conclusion4 ,confucianism ,confucianism is even less deserving the name of a religion than ,shinto4 ,it consists chiefly in a set of moral teachings1 of narrow application and mostly of a political nature4 ,confucius1 avoiding all metaphysical abstractions and devotional rhapsodies1 confined himself to the much more practical field of morals and politics4 ,but his disciples and commentators1 especially during the middle ages1 expanded his doctrines and added ideas #aca more or less religious4 ,thus developed1 it became a sort of religious system1 the only one believed by the old samurai or warrior classes4 ,confucius1 its founder1 was born in the year #eea ,b4,c41 in the state of ,lu1 province of ,shantung1 ,china4 ,he was an earnest student of the older ,chinese classics1 and one of the most learned men of his time4 ,he gathered round him a circle of young men1 whom he instructed1 like ,socrates1 by questions and answers4 ,he died in #dgh ,b4,c4 ,no other human teacher has had more disciples or exerted a wider and stronger influence4 ,from its birthplace in ,china ,confucianism spread to ,korea1 where it soon became1 and still continues to be1 the predominant faith4 ,from ,korea it advanced to the ,japanese archipelago1 where for many hundred years it has had much to do with shaping and molding the character of the people4 ,confucianism has undergone many modifications4 ,at first a comparatively simple system of ethics and politics1 it has expanded until to-day it is a complicated philosophico-religious system4 ,the basal principles of ,confucian ethics are the five relations4 ,these are3 sovereign and minister2 father and son2 husband and wife2 elder brother and younger brother2 friend and friend4 ,i have named them in the order of their importance4 ,the duty of loyalty is above that of filial #acb obedience1 while the relation of husband and wife is inferior to both of these4 ,we will briefly consider each of these relations separately4 ,the duty of a minister1 or servant1 to his prince1 or sovereign1 is the first duty of man1 and is emphasized to an extreme degree4 ,in order to discharge this obligation to the feudal lord or emperor1 one must1 if necessary1 give up everything3 house1 lands1 kinsmen1 name1 fame1 wife1 children1 society--all4 ,and ,japanese history is filled with instances of retainers who have counted their lives1 their families1 their all1 as less than nothing when compared with their duty to their lord4 ,loyalty is the one idea which dominates all others in the ,confucianism of ,japan4 ,thus it has exerted an influence hardly second to ,shinto in inculcating loyalty to the emperor and to ,japan1 and making the people fanatically patriotic4 ,the second relation is that of father and son1 or parent and child4 ,my readers perhaps would consider the relation of husband and wife the first of all human relations1 but not so the ,oriental4 ,with him the family is of far more importance than the individual1 and the chief aim of marriage is the maintenance of the family line4 ,if the wife becomes a mother she is honored because she assists in perpetuating the family line2 if she is childless she is probably neglected4 ,where there are no children adoption is the universal practice4 #acc ,the one adopted takes the family name and perpetuates it4 ,no greater misfortune can be conceived than for the house to become extinct4 ,the relation of parent and child is very different from that to which we are accustomed4 ,mutual love hardly exists4 ,the parent feels compassion and love for his child2 the child reverences the parent4 ,to speak of a child's love for his father1 or a man's love for ,god1 is repugnant to the ,confucianist4 ,it is thought to be taking an undue familiarity1 and the proper relation is considered one of dependence and reverence4 ,in old ,japan the father was absolute lord and master1 and had power over the life and death of his child4 ,in recent times his power is more limited1 and the idea is beginning to dawn upon thinking natives that children have rights as well as duties4 ,a ,japanese child feels more reverence for its parents1 or at least for its father1 than does the average child reared in the ,christian homes of the ,west4 ,the third relation is that of husband and wife4 ,on this point the teaching of ,confucius is very different from that of ,christ4 ,instead of having two parties bound together by mutual love1 with equal rights and duties1 we have the relation of superior and inferior1 of master and servant4 ,the husband precedes the wife in all things4 ,she must serve him and his family zealously and #acd uncomplainingly4 ,she must be especially on her guard against the foolish sin of jealousy1 and is not to complain if her husband introduces a concubine into the same house in which she resides4 ,she is to yield absolute obedience to him in all things4 ,she can be divorced for very slight reasons1 and divorces are matters of every-day occurrence4 ,statistics show that the annual number of divorces is about one third the number of marriages4 ,sentiment is gradually changing in this regard1 and marriage and divorce laws are becoming more strict4 ,confucius condemned adultery as a heinous crime1 but this teaching is made to apply only to the wife4 ,she must remain true to her husband1 but he is not considered under the same obligation to her4 ,the fourth relation is that of elder brother and younger brother4 ,this is evident from the language used to express the relation of children of the same household to one another4 ,the word for brother or sister is seldom used2 in fact1 there is no word to express just that idea4 ,in its stead we hear elder brother1 elder sister1 and younger brother1 younger sister4 ,the children of a household are not considered equals2 the elder ones are given the preference in all things4 ,especially does the eldest son hold a position of prominence far above that of the other children4 #ace ,he is looked upon as the perpetuator of the family line and is given especial honor4 ,his younger brothers and his sisters1 and even his mother1 must serve and obey him4 ,the younger sons are subjects for adoption into other families1 especially into those where there are daughters to be married and family names to be perpetuated4 ,this is in accordance with the ,eastern idea that the house is of more importance than the individual4 ,confucian ethics largely overlooks the idea of personality4 ,the fifth relation is that between friends4 ,some writers have spoken of this as that of man to man1 and have thus read ,christian ideas into ,confucianism2 but this relation as taught by ,confucius is only between friends4 ,as regards man and man1 ,confucius taught the duties of courtesy and propriety1 but no others4 ,he taught the duty of kindness to strangers1 but most students of his writings are of the opinion that he did not include foreigners among strangers4 ,the nearest approach to ,christianity in ,confucianism is the negative of the golden rule1 ,do not do unto others as you would not have others do unto you4 ,this approaches the teaching of ,christ very nearly1 but only in a negative form4 ,some have thought that ,confucius taught the duty of returning good for evil1 but this is a mistake4 ,one of his contemporaries1 ,lao-tse1 did teach #acf this duty2 but when ,confucius was asked about it he replied1 ,what1 then1 will you return for good8 ,recompense injury with justice1 and return good for good4 ,certain it is that this relation1 as understood in ,japan1 does not apply to foreigners4 ,how the ,japanese treated foreigners in former times is well known4 ,foreign sailors shipwrecked on her coasts were tortured and executed4 ,ships from abroad1 bringing shipwrecked ,japanese back to their own country1 were met with powder and ball and repulsed4 ,commodore ,perry1 in attempting to establish a treaty with ,japan1 justly complained to the native authorities that the dictates of humanity had not been followed1 that shipwrecked men were treated with useless cruelty1 and that ,japan's attitude toward her neighbors and all the world was that of an enemy and not of a friend4 ,the fifth relation did not teach a common brotherhood of men and obligations of kindness to foreigners4 ,it applied only to the charmed circle of friendship4 ,on these five relations rests the whole ,japanese social and moral structure4 ,family and national life has been shaped and molded by them4 ,they are the ten commandments of the ,east4 ,how very different from the principles which have determined our own family and social life6 ,confucianism in ,japan has been developed into #acg a highly complicated religious system1 and in this form is believed by large numbers of high-class1 educated ,japanese4 ,it is wholly pantheistic in its teaching1 having points of resemblance with ,german pantheism4 ,it knows no such thing as ,god as a separate existence4 ,rather1 all is ,god4 ,dr4 ,martin1 of ,china1 has well styled it a pantheistic medley4 ,although ,confucianism has long had a strong hold upon ,japanese minds1 its influence is waning4 ,the ancient classics are little studied1 and the younger generation knows almost nothing of them4 ,the great temple of ,confucius in ,tokyo1 the ,seido1 has been changed into an educational museum4 ,tenrikyo ,perhaps some will think that ,tenrikyo does not deserve mention along with the before-named great religions4 ,certainly it is not worthy of the respect accorded to them1 and has not exerted such an influence as they have4 ,it is of very recent origin and is as yet confined to the lower strata of society4 ,but its disciples constitute one of the most vigorous and active religious bodies in ,japan to-day4 ,its growth has been remarkably rapid1 especially during the past five years4 ,government recognition has been already gained1 and it is gradually making a place for itself among #ach the religions of ,japan4 ,some authorities place the number of its adherents as high as #e1jjj1jjj1 but these figures are probably too high4 ,tenrikyo is a missionary religion1 having very earnest representatives in almost every district in ,japan4 ,these men rely almost exclusively upon preaching for the propagation of their doctrines1 and their efforts are generally successful4 ,space permits us to say only a few words in regard to the origin of this religion4 ,its founder was a peasant woman named ,nakayama ,miiki1 popularly called ,omiiki1 who was born of a very poor family in the province of ,yamato in #agih1 ,there was nothing remarkable about her life until her fortieth year1 when she fell into a trance4 ,while in this state one of the old ,shinto deities1 ,kuni-,toko-,tachi ,no ,mikoto1 appeared to her1 and1 after causing her much distress1 left her for a short time undisturbed4 ,after this brief interval of quiet she again fell into a trance1 and was visited by a large number of gods1 some of them the greatest of the ,shinto pantheon4 ,these gods revealed to her the substance of her teaching1 representing it as the only true doctrine and the one which would ultimately triumph over all others4 ,they also informed her that she was the divinely appointed instrument through whom this revelation was to be given to the world4 ,from #aci this time forward ,omiiki devoted herself to the propagation of this revelation4 ,not wishing to break entirely with the old religions1 she represented her revelation as having been received from the ,shinto gods1 and gave a place in her teaching to some prominent ,buddhist elements4 ,by this means she won popular favor and gained an earnest hearing4 ,the term ,tenrikyo signifies the ,doctrine of the ,heavenly ,reason4 ,while many of its teachings differ but little from current ,shinto and ,buddhistic ideas1 its more prominent tenets are radically different4 ,in the first place1 ,tenrikyo tends much toward monotheism4 ,omiiki herself accepted polytheism1 but taught that man's real allegiance is due to the sun and the moon4 ,these she regarded as the real gods2 but as they always work together1 and as the world and all things therein are the product of their joint working1 they are practically one4 ,since her death the teaching has become more and more monotheistic in tendency1 and some of its preachers teach explicit monotheism4 ,omiiki taught a new relation between the gods and men--a relation of parents to children4 ,the gods watch over and love their children just as earthly parents do4 ,the emperor is the elder brother of the people1 who rules as the representative of the divine parents4 #adj ,faith-healing formed a prominent part in the original teaching of ,tenrikyo4 ,it asserted that neither physicians nor medicine was needed1 but that cures are to be effected through faith alone4 ,marvelous stories are told of the wonderful cures it has accomplished1 many of which seem well authenticated4 ,but while there seems no good reason for doubting the genuineness of some of these cures1 the power of mind over mind1 and the influence of personal magnetism in certain kinds of nervous disorders1 are so well known that they can be easily explained without any reference to the supernatural4 ,the faith-cure feature of this religion is now falling into disuse4 ,tenrikyo makes very little of the future state1 although ,omiiki assumed its reality4 ,in one passage she refers to the soul as an emanation from the gods1 and says that after death it will go back to them4 ,she teaches that the cause of suffering1 disease1 and sin is found in the impurity of the human heart1 and that the heart must be cleansed before believers can receive the divine favor4 ,she insists over and over again that no prayers nor religious services are of any avail so long as the heart is impure4 ,the aim of ,omiiki and her followers seems to be a worthy one4 ,the movement is highly ethical1 and there is little doubt but that the adherents of the ,tenrikyo are superior in morals to #ada the rest of their class4 ,some features of this new religion are1 however1 looked upon with suspicion1 and it is being closely watched by the government4 ,charges of gross immorality have been preferred against it1 especially in reference to the midnight dances1 in which both sexes are said to participate indiscriminately2 but these charges are made by its enemies and have never been proved4 ,in many respects ,tenrikyo materially differs from the other religions of ,japan4 ,its adherents assemble at stated times for worship and instruction1 while the ,buddhists assemble in the temples for worship and preaching only three or four times a year1 and the ,shintoists seldom1 if ever1 assemble4 ,the worship of ,tenrikyo1 for the most part1 consists of praise and thanksgiving by music and dancing2 but prayer is also practised4 ,another distinguishing characteristic of ,tenrikyo is that it is exclusive4 ,the other religions of ,japan are very tolerant of one another2 one may believe them all4 ,but ,tenrikyo will not tolerate either ,buddhism or ,shinto4 ,its adherents must give their allegiance to it alone4 ,it is interesting to conjecture as to the influence ,christianity has had upon ,tenrikyo4 ,it does not seem probable that ,omiiki was at all influenced by it1 unless the traditions of the ,catholic ,christianity of some two or three hundred years previous reached her in some way4 ,but the expansion #adb and development of the system by its later teachers have been very much affected by ,christianity4 ,some of its present preachers1 in constructing their sermons1 borrow largely from ,christian sources4 ,in the minds of the common people ,tenrikyo is generally associated with ,christianity4 ,there are several other small religious sects in ,japan1 such as the ,remmon ,kyokwai1 ,kurozumi ,kyokwai1 etc41 but they are not of sufficient importance to command notice here4 ,any statement of the religions of contemporary ,japan would be incomplete without notice of ,christianity1 but that will be reserved for another portion of this book4 ,the three great religions1 ,shinto1 ,buddhism1 and ,confucianism1 are completely woven into the warp and woof of ,japanese society4 ,as ,christianity has shaped the political1 social1 and family life of the ,west1 so these ancient faiths have that of the ,east4 ,the laws1 the morality1 the manners and customs of these peoples all have been determined by their religions4 ,and to-day the masses of the people look to them for principles to guide their present life1 and for their future spiritual welfare1 with just as much confidence and trust as my readers look to ,christianity4 ,the missionary1 in his work1 must encounter and #adc vanquish all of these religions1 which is no light task4 ,they all have elements of superstition1 and their origin and supernatural teachings will not bear the search-light of the growing spirit of criticism and investigation4 ,each one of them is even now modifying gradually its doctrines in some features1 so as to bring them into harmony with true learning and science2 and as the nation progresses intellectually the hold of these ancient faiths upon the common mind will become more and more precarious4 ,we expect to see them gradually retreating1 though stubbornly resisting every inch of ground1 until they shall finally leave the field to their younger and more vigorous antagonists1 ,christianity and civilization4 #add ,,viii ,,first ,,introduction ,,of ,,christianity ,one of the most interesting chapters of ,japanese history is that relating to the introduction and growth of ,catholic ,christianity in the sixteenth century4 ,this story has been eloquently told in nearly all ,european languages1 and is familiar to the reading public4 ,the terrible persecutions then enacted are vividly represented in paintings and other works of art on exhibition in art galleries of ,europe and ,america4 ,this chapter is not written with the hope of saying anything new upon the subject1 but because a story of mission work in ,japan would be incomplete without it2 and it may be that some for the first time will here read this story4 ,in order rightly to appreciate the introduction and spread of ,christianity in ,japan1 it is necessary that we take a bird's-eye view of the internal condition of the country about the middle of the #ade sixteenth century4 ,the ,japanese were not then1 as now1 a homogeneous people with a strong central government4 ,the emperor1 although the nominal ruler1 was in reality the creature of the shogun1 who was the real ruler4 ,his title to the shogunate was frequently disputed1 however1 and rival claimants waged fierce war upon him4 ,the whole of ,japan was divided into warring factions that were hardly ever at peace with one another4 ,the feudal lords of the various provinces were only bound to the central government by the weakest ties1 and were continually in a state of rebellion4 ,many of these daimios were great and powerful1 able to wage war with the shogun himself4 ,jealousy and rivalry between the provinces kept up constant quarrels and divisions4 ,bad government1 internal wars1 the disputes and quarrels of different clans1 and the ambitions and jealousies of their rulers had destroyed the resources of the country and had devastated her rich and beautiful cities4 ,even the fine old capital of ,kyoto is represented as at that time in a state of dilapidation and ruin1 its streets filled with unburied corpses and all kinds of debris and filth4 ,kamakura1 the seat of the shogun's government1 once boasting #a1jjj1jjj inhabitants1 was in ashes4 ,in those dark times there was little in the prevalent religions to cheer and uplift discouraged #adf men4 ,shinto was so completely overshadowed by ,buddhism that it was little more than a myth4 ,buddhism had become a political system1 and paid little attention to purely religious matters4 ,the priests had degenerated into an army of mercenaries1 living in luxury and dissoluteness4 ,the common people were in a continual state of excitement and ferment4 ,into this disordered1 chaotic society ,catholic ,christianity was first introduced4 ,the conditions were favorable to its reception4 ,st4 ,francis ,xavier1 one of the most devoted1 earnest1 and successful missionaries ever sent out by the ,roman ,church1 has the honor of having been the first missionary to ,japan4 ,he was led to go there in the following manner3 ,a refugee from ,japan1 named ,anjiro1 had wandered to ,malacca1 and there he met ,xavier1 who was at that time engaged in preaching the gospel in ,india and the ,sunda ,islands4 ,through ,xavier's influence ,anjiro was converted to ,christianity4 ,the stories which he told of his own people fired the great evangelist with the desire to preach the gospel to the ,japanese4 ,a few years prior to this some ,portuguese traders had made their way to ,japan1 had been warmly received1 and had begun a lucrative trade4 ,some of the daimios expressed to them a desire to have the ,christian religion taught to their people2 and ,xavier no #adg sooner heard of this than he set out for ,japan1 accompanied by the native convert ,anjiro4 ,they landed at ,kagoshima1 a large city on the coast of the southern island of ,kyushu1 ,august #ae1 #aedi4 ,the prince of ,satsuma gave ,xavier a hearty welcome1 but afterward became jealous because one of the rival clans had been furnished with firearms by the ,portuguese merchants1 so that ,xavier was compelled to remove to ,hirado4 ,from there he went to ,nagato1 thence to ,bungo1 where he again met a warm reception4 ,although so great a missionary1 and having labored in so many countries1 ,xavier is said never to have mastered completely a single foreign tongue4 ,he studied the rudiments of ,japanese1 but1 finding that way much too slow1 began preaching through an interpreter1 with marked success and power4 ,anjiro had translated the ,gospel of ,matthew1 writing it in ,roman letters1 and ,xavier is said to have read this to the people with wonderful effect4 ,he stayed only two and a half years in ,japan2 yet in that short time he organized several congregations in the neighborhood of ,yamaguchi and ,hirado1 and visited and preached in the old capital ,kyoto4 ,he then left the work in the hands of other missionaries1 while he undertook the spiritual conquest of ,china4 ,this ancient empire1 with her hard1 conservative civilization1 impervious to foreign influence1 lay like a burden #adh on his heart4 ,contemplating her learning1 her pride1 and her exclusiveness1 he uttered the despairing cry1 ,o mountain1 mountain1 when wilt thou open to my ,lord8 ,he died ,december #b1 #aeea1 on an island in the ,canton ,river4 ,the inspiring example of ,xavier attracted scores of missionaries to ,japan1 and also incited the native converts to constitute themselves missionaries to their kinsmen and friends2 and their labors bore much fruit4 ,in a very short time1 in the region of ,kyoto alone1 there were seven strong churches2 and the island of ,amakusa1 the greater part of the ,goto ,islands1 and the daimiates of ,omura and ,yamaguchi had become ,christian4 ,in #aeha the churches had grown to two hundred1 and the number of ,christians to #aej1jjj4 ,the converts were drawn from all classes of the people2 ,buddhist priests1 scholars1 and noblemen embraced the new faith with as much readiness as did the lower classes4 ,two daimios had accepted it1 and were doing all in their power to aid the missionaries in their provinces4 ,at this period the missionaries and ,christians found a powerful supporter in ,nobunaga1 the minister of the mikado4 ,this man openly welcomed the foreign priests1 and gave them suitable grounds on which to build their churches1 schools1 and dwellings2 and under his patronage the new #adi religion grew apace4 ,catholic ,christianity took its deepest root in the southern provinces1 flourishing especially in ,bungo1 ,omura1 and ,arima2 but there were churches as far north as ,yedo1 and evangelists had carried the tidings of ,christ and the ,mother of ,god even to the northern boundaries of the empire4 ,this was the high tide of ,japanese ,catholicism4 ,the native ,christians were so earnest and loyal to the church that1 in #aehc1 they sent an embassy of four young noblemen to ,rome to pay their respects to the pope and to declare themselves his spiritual vassals4 ,they were suspected by some of their countrymen of desiring to become his vassals in another sense as well4 ,this embassy was received with the greatest honors by the pope1 as well as by the ,european princes1 and was sent away heavily laden with presents4 ,after an absence of eight years it returned to ,nagasaki1 accompanied by seventeen more ,jesuit fathers4 ,up to this time all of the priests laboring in ,japan were members of this order4 ,from time to time other embassies were despatched from ,japan to ,rome1 one of which was sent many years after the persecutions had begun4 ,catholic histories put the number of native ,christians at this time at about #fjj1jjj1 but native authorities put it much higher4 #aej ,persecutions ,such was the happy state of ,christianity in this empire as the sixteenth century was drawing to a close4 ,but1 thick and fast1 clouds were gathering over the horizon1 and suddenly and furiously the storm broke4 ,the loss of their protector1 ,nobunaga1 was the beginning of the misfortunes of the ,christians4 ,this great man was slain by an assassin1 ,akechi by name1 who attempted to take the reins of government into his own hands4 ,hideyoshi1 one of the greatest men ,japan ever produced1 now came upon the stage4 ,he was the loyal general of the mikado1 and1 by the help of the ,christian general ,takayama1 he overthrew the usurper ,akechi1 and became the molder of the destinies of the empire4 ,he was the unifier of ,japan4 ,hideyoshi was at first tolerant of ,christianity2 but his suspicions were by and by aroused1 and he became a cruel and relentless persecutor4 ,according to ,dr4 ,griffis1 his umbrage arose partly because a ,portuguese captain would not please him by risking his ship in coming out of deep water and nearer land1 and partly because some ,christian maidens of ,arima scorned his degrading proposals4 ,the quarrels of the ,christians themselves also helped to bring on the persecutions4 #aea ,franciscan and ,dominican missionaries from ,spain had recently landed in ,japan1 and they were continually at strife with the ,portuguese ,jesuits4 ,the jealousy and indiscretion of these unfriendly religious orders1 and the slanders circulated by the ,buddhists1 stirred up the popular fury1 and a persecution of fire and blood broke out4 ,hideyoshi issued an edict commanding the ,jesuits to leave the country in twenty days2 but this edict was winked at1 and the persecutions were carried on only locally and spasmodically4 ,the converts increased faster during these persecutions than before1 about #aj1jjj being added each year4 ,in open violation of the edict1 four ,franciscan priests came to ,kyoto in #aeic with a ,spanish envoy4 ,they were allowed to build houses and reside there on the express condition that they were not to preach or teach1 either publicly or privately4 ,immediately violating their pledge1 they began preaching openly in the streets1 wearing the vestments of their order4 ,they excited a great deal of discord among the ,jesuit congregations and used most violent language4 ,hideyoshi was angered at this1--as he had good reason to be1--and caused nine preachers to be seized while they were building chapels in ,osaka and ,kyoto1 and condemned to death4 ,these1 together with three ,portuguese ,jesuits1 six ,spanish #aeb ,franciscans1 and seventeen native ,christians1 were crucified on bamboo crosses in ,nagasaki1 ,february #e1 #aeig4 ,they were put to death1 not as ,christians1 but as law-breakers and political conspirators4 ,hideyoshi was further confirmed in his opinion that these foreign priests had political designs by the remark of a ,spanish sea-captain who showed him a map of the world1 on which the vast dominions of the ,king of ,spain were clearly marked1 and who1 in reply to the question as to how his master came by such wide territories1 foolishly replied that he first sent priests to win over the people1 then soldiers to coperate with the native converts1 and the conquest was easy4 ,hideyoshi's fears were not entirely ungrounded4 ,the truth is that ,catholic ,christianity has always been1 and was especially at that time1 so intimately connected with the state that her emissaries could not keep from entangling themselves in politics4 ,hideyoshi died in #aeig1 and with the death of their persecutor the missionaries again took heart and began their work anew4 ,the political successor of ,hideyoshi was ,iyeyasu--a man even greater1 perhaps1 than his predecessor4 ,he was not permitted to assume direction of affairs without a fierce and bloody struggle4 ,around the capital #bjj1jjj soldiers were gathered under ambitious rival leaders4 ,soon the camps were #aec divided into two factions1 the northern soldiers under ,iyeyasu1 and the southern soldiers under their own daimios4 ,most of the ,christians were naturally allied with the latter party4 ,believing ,iyeyasu to be a usurper1 the ,christian generals arrayed themselves against him and went forth to meet him in the open field4 ,on the field of ,sekigahara a bloody battle was fought1 and #aj1jjj men lost their lives4 ,the ,christians were beaten1 and were dealt with after the custom of the time--their heads were stricken off4 ,iyeyasu1 finding himself in undisputed possession of the reins of government1 began at once the completion of the work of ,hideyoshi1 i4e41 the creation of a strong central government and the subjugation of the several daimios4 ,henceforth the ,christians had to deal with this central government instead of the petty local ones4 ,systematic persecutions were now begun in the different provinces1 culminating in the year #afjf1 when ,iyeyasu issued his famous edict prohibiting ,christianity4 ,at this time there were more than #a1jjj1jjj ,christians in ,japan4 ,an outward show of obedience warded off active persecution for a few years1 when the ,franciscan friars again aroused the wrath of the government by openly violating the laws and exhorting their converts to do likewise4 ,in #afaa ,iyeyasu is reported to have discovered documentary evidence of the #aed existence of a plot on the part of the native ,christians and the foreign emissaries to overthrow the government and reduce ,japan to the position of a subject state4 ,taking advantage of the opportunity thus afforded1 he determined to utterly extirpate ,christianity from his dominions4 ,january #bg1 #afad1 he issued the famous edict in which he branded the ,jesuit missionaries as triple enemies--as enemies of the gods1 of ,japan1 and of the buddhas4 ,desiring to avoid so much bloodshed1 if possible1 he tried the plan of transportation4 ,three hundred persons--,franciscans1 ,jesuits1 ,dominicans1 ,augustinians1 and natives--were shipped from ,nagasaki to ,macao4 ,but many priests concealed themselves and were overlooked4 ,the native ,christians refused to renounce their faith4 ,it was evident that the end was not yet4 ,the ,christians were sympathizers with ,hideyori1 who had been a rival claimant with ,iyeyasu for the shogunate1 and whose castle in ,osaka was the greatest stronghold in the empire4 ,in this castle ,hideyori gave shelter to some ,christians1 and ,iyeyasu called out a great army and laid siege to it4 ,the war which followed was very brief1 but1 if the report of the ,jesuits is to be relied upon1 #ajj1jjj men perished4 ,the castle finally fell1 and with it the cause of the ,christians4 ,hidetada1 the next shogun1 now pronounced sentence of death upon #aee every foreigner1 whether priest or catechist1 found in the country4 ,all native converts who refused to renounce their faith were likewise sentenced to death4 ,the story of the persecutions that followed is too horrible to be described4 ,fire and sword were freely used to extirpate ,christianity4 ,converts were wrapped in straw sacks1 piled in heaps of living fuel1 and then set on fire4 ,many were burned with fires made from the crosses before which they were accustomed to bow4 ,some were buried alive4 ,all the tortures that barbaric cruelty could invent were freely used to rid the land of them4 ,the calmness and fortitude with which they bore their lot1 gladly dying for their faith1 command our warmest admiration4 ,the power of our religion to uphold and sustain even in the midst of torture was never more strikingly illustrated1 and the ancient ,roman world produced no more willing martyrs than did ,japan at this time4 ,at last even the patient1 uncomplaining ,japanese ,christians could stand it no longer4 ,persecuted until desperate1 those who remained finally arose in rebellion1 seized and fortified the old castle of ,shimabara1 and resolved to die rather than submit4 ,the rebelling party probably numbered about #cj1jjj1 and there was not one foreigner among them4 ,a veteran army1 led by skilled commanders1 was sent against the rebels1 #aef and after a stubborn resistance of four months the castle was taken4 ,men1 women1 and children--all were slaughtered4 ,there is an old story to the effect that many of them were thrown from the rock of ,pappenburg into the sea2 but it lacks confirmation and doubtless is only a myth4 ,it has also been charged against the ,protestant ,hollanders then resident in ,nagasaki that they assisted in the overthrow of the ,shimabara castle and the destruction of the ,catholics with their heavy guns1 but this probably is untrue4 ,there was now left no power to resist1 and the sword1 fire1 and banishment swept away every trace of ,christianity4 ,the extermination appeared so complete that non-,christian writers have pointed to ,japan as a land in which ,christianity had been entirely conquered by the sword1 thus proving that it could be extirpated4 ,but the extirpation was not so thorough as at first appeared4 ,christian converts remained1 and assembled regularly for worship2 but the utmost secrecy was observed1 for fear of the authorities4 ,when the country was reopened in #ahei1 the ,catholic fathers found remaining in and around ,nagasaki whole villages of ,christians1 holding their faith in secret1 it is true1 but still holding it4 ,during the two hundred years in which they had been left alone the faith had become corrupt1 but there were still thousands of people who1 amid #aeg much ignorance1 worshiped the true ,god and refused to bow at pagan shrines4 ,christianity was not entirely crushed1 neither can be1 by the secular arm4 ,after the government had1 as it fondly supposed1 entirely suppressed the hated foreign religion1 in order to prevent its return it determined upon the most rigid system of exclusiveness ever practised by any nation4 ,the means of communication with the outer world were all cut off2 all ships above a certain size were destroyed1 and the building of others large enough to visit foreign lands rigidly prohibited2 ,japanese were forbidden to travel abroad on pain of death2 native shipwrecked sailors who had been driven to other lands were not permitted to return to their own country1 lest they should carry the dreaded religion back with them2 and all foreigners found on ,japanese territory were executed4 ,over all the empire the most rigid prohibitions of ,christianity were posted4 ,the high-sounding text of one of them was as follows3 ,so long as the sun shall continue to warm the earth1 let no ,christian be so bold as to come to ,japan2 and let all know that the ,king of ,spain himself1 or the ,christians' god1 or the great ,god of all1 if ,he dare violate this command1 shall pay for it with ,his head4 ,these prohibitions could still be seen along the highways as late as #ahgb4 #aeh ,during this period of exclusion the only means of communication with the outside world was through the ,dutch1 a small colony of whom were permitted to reside in ,nagasaki as a sort of safety-valve and a means of communication with the outside world when such communication became absolutely necessary4 ,they enjoyed the confidence of ,japan more than any other nation4 ,these ,hollanders were compelled to live on the narrow little island of ,desima1 in ,nagasaki harbor1 always under strict surveillance4 ,ships from ,holland were permitted to visit them occasionally1 and they carried on a very lucrative trade between the two countries4 ,the mistake of ,catholic ,christianity in ,japan during the century the history of which we have been reciting was its meddling in politics and getting itself entangled in the internal affairs of the country4 ,if it had avoided politics and been at peace and harmony with itself1 it might have enjoyed continued prosperity1 and ,japan to-day might have been one of the brightest stars in the pope's crown4 ,while this was1 as we firmly believe1 a very corrupt form of ,christianity1 we must remember that it was immeasurably better than any religion ,japan had yet known4 ,although it taught ,mariolatry1 salvation in part by works1 penance1 and many other errors1 it also taught that there #aei is but one ,god1 and that ,his ,son died for men4 ,it very much improved the morals of its adherents1 and purified and exalted their lives4 ,at the present day very little remains of this century of ,christianity besides the few scattered and corrupt congregations found by the ,jesuits on their return1 the introduction of firearms and a few rude tools1 and the infusion of a handful of foreign words into the language4 ,the most important effect of this period is an inborn and inveterate prejudice against and mistrust of ,christianity on the part of the people1 which to-day hinders much our work of evangelization4 #afj ,,ix ,,modern ,,roman ,,and ,,greek ,,missions ,roman ,church ,the ,roman ,church was not discouraged by the fierce persecutions she was called upon to endure during the seventeenth century4 ,nothing daunted1 she continued to send missionaries at intervals during the eighteenth century2 but they were thrown into prison or executed as soon as they landed4 ,in order to be in readiness for the opening of the country1 which could not be much longer delayed1 the pope1 in #ahdf1 nominated a bishop and several missionaries to ,japan4 ,these men took up their station in the neighboring ,liukiu ,islands and patiently awaited their opportunity4 ,as soon as the treaties with foreign nations were made1 and the country was opened1 they at once entered ,japan1 and resumed the work so rudely interrupted two hundred years before4 #afa ,a few years later these priests had the joy of discovering in the neighborhood of ,nagasaki several ,christian communities that had survived the bloody persecutions and had perpetuated their faith for more than two centuries1 in spite of the vigilance of the authorities and the rigid prohibitions of ,christianity4 ,left for so long without direction and guidance1 bound for the sake of their lives to strictest secrecy1 and1 above all1 not having the ,bible to enlighten them1 the faith of these communities had become very corrupt4 ,but they still retained a certain knowledge of ,god1 of ,jesus ,christ1 and of the ,virgin ,mary4 ,the rite of baptism and some prayers also survived4 ,of the existence of these ,christian communities1 and the perpetuation of their faith in secrecy for more than two hundred years1 there is not the slightest room for doubt4 ,the persecuting spirit1 which had also survived1 found large numbers of them in #ahfg1 and more than #djjj who refused to renounce their faith were banished4 ,after six years of exile they were permitted to return to their homes4 ,the mistake of the ,romanists here1 as elsewhere1 was in not translating the ,bible into the vernacular4 ,xavier and his successors did not give the ,word of ,god to the churches1 and hence when the priests all were banished the people were left without any light to guide them4 ,had #afb they possessed a ,japanese ,bible1 the reopening of the country would have shown us1 instead of a few corrupt ,christian communities1 a vigorous1 aggressive native church1 only made stronger by persecution4 ,such was the case in ,madagascar1 and such probably it would have been in ,japan had the people been given the ,word of ,god4 ,the relative importance of the ,bible to the ,romanist and the ,protestant is well shown in this matter of ,bible translation4 ,one of the first efforts of the ,protestant ,churches in ,japan was a translation of the ,bible1 and an excellent version was prepared and published more than ten years ago4 ,the ,roman ,church1 with more than a century of unprecedented prosperity in former times1 and with the same advantages enjoyed by the ,protestants in recent years1 has not yet published its ,bible in ,japanese4 ,some priests and native scholars are now engaged on a translation of the ,vulgate1 which will doubtless be published soon4 ,ever since the opening of the country the ,church of ,rome has been very earnest and zealous in her efforts to evangelize this land4 ,she has used a great many men1 who have labored hard and faithfully1 and has expended large sums of money4 ,her success has not been great1 because she has had to contend against fearful odds4 ,the hindrances that have made the progress of #afc ,protestant missions in this land very slow have had to be overcome also by ,catholicism1 besides some other strong militating influences4 ,i will mention two of the most important of these hindrances peculiar to ,catholicism4 #a4 ,the genius of the ,catholic ,church is not adapted to ,japan4 ,the priority of the spiritual over the temporal ruler1 the exaltation of church over state1 the allegiance required to a foreign pope1 the unqualified obedience to foreign ecclesiastical authority1 and numerous other things1 come into conflict with the strong national feeling now animating the ,japanese1 and seem to them to conflict with the great duty of loyalty4 ,the celibacy of the clergy and the rite of extreme unction are also very unpopular4 ,both ,catholicism and ,protestantism are regarded as evils1 but the former is1 on account of its nature and organization1 considered the greater4 #b4 ,the past history of ,catholicism in ,japan also militates very much against its progress4 ,the people recognize it as the specific form of ,christianity that the government1 in former times1 felt bound1 for the sake of its own safety1 to persecute to the death4 ,they cannot forget that1 although under great provocation1 it dared bare its arm against the imperial ,japanese government and inaugurate a bitter rebellion4 ,in their work to-day the priests encounter all of these #afd objections1 and must satisfactorily explain them away--a difficult task4 ,but1 notwithstanding1 the ,roman ,church has enjoyed an equal degree of prosperity with the ,protestant ,churches since the opening of ,japan in #aheh4 ,the statistics for the year #ahie show #ej1cjb adherents--about #aj1jjj more than the ,protestants4 ,but the manner of compiling statistics differs so much that these figures do not fairly represent the numerical strength of the two bodies4 ,the ,catholics not only count all baptized children1 but all nominal adherents2 while ,protestants count no nominal adherents1 and many of the denominations do not even count baptized children4 ,if the same method of compiling statistics were used by both bodies1 their numerical strength would probably appear to be about equal4 ,these #ej1cjb adherents are comprised in two hundred and fifty congregations4 ,there are one hundred and sixty-nine churches and chapels2 one theological seminary1 with #df pupils2 two colleges1 with #aha pupils2 three boarding-schools for girls1 with #aga pupils2 twenty-six industrial schools1 with #gfd pupils2 and forty-one primary schools1 with #bibd pupils4 ,the ,catholic ,church throughout the ,east is noted for its splendid charities4 ,it is doing more to care for the helpless1 aged1 and infirm than all the ,protestant bodies combined4 ,it supports in #afe ,japan one hospital for lepers that is exceedingly popular with that unfortunate class4 ,the government has one good leper hospital1 but it is said that the lepers much prefer going to the ,catholic hospital1 because there they are treated so much more kindly and considerately4 ,there are #gj lepers in this ,catholic hospital4 ,the ,catholic ,church has also one hospital for the aged1 with #ca inmates2 and nineteen orphanages1 with #bjhj children in them4 ,this large number of charitable institutions supported by the ,roman ,church makes a strong appeal to the ,japanese public and does much toward overcoming the prejudice against her4 ,the active working force of the ,catholic mission1 besides the lay members of the native church1 consists of #a archbishop1 #c bishops1 #hh ,european missionaries1 #bj native priests1 #cjd native catechists1 #be ,european friars1 #he ,european sisters1 and #db novices4 ,the archbishop and bishops reside respectively in ,nagasaki1 ,osaka1 ,tokyo1 and ,hakodate4 ,greek ,church ,the ,greek ,church has had a flourishing mission in ,japan ever since #ahga4 ,it is always spoken of here as the ,greek ,church or the ,greek ,catholic ,church1 although it would more properly be called the ,russian ,church1 #aff as it was founded and is supported by the national church of ,russia4 ,this mission is largely the result of the prodigious labors of one man--,bishop ,nicolai ,kasatkin4 ,he first came to ,japan in #ahfa as chaplain to the ,russian consulate at ,hakodate1 but it was his desire and intention from the beginning to do mission work4 ,for some years he was so absorbed in the study of the language that he made no attempt whatever to preach or teach4 ,after he had been in ,hakodate several years a ,buddhist priest who came to revile him was converted through his influence4 ,this man was the first convert to the ,greek ,church in ,japan1 and was baptized in #ahff4 ,three years afterward the second convert1 a physician1 was baptized4 ,the zeal of these converts1 and ,nicolai's own conscience1 now incited him to throw his whole life and influence into the cause of a mission in ,japan4 ,he was led deeply to regret that he had not done more to make ,christ known to the ,japanese1 instead of giving all his time and attention to scholarship and letters4 ,in #ahfi he returned to ,russia and began to agitate the founding of a mission in ,japan4 ,the ,holy ,synod gave the desired permission the next year1 and appointed ,nicolai its first missionary4 ,in #ahga ,nicolai returned to ,japan and made his headquarters in the capital city1 ,tokyo4 ,from this #afg time his active missionary work began1 and in it he has shown himself a master4 ,whether in the work of preaching1 translating1 financiering1 building1 or what not1 he has been director and chief laborer4 ,in #ahgb a new priest1 ,anatoli by name1 came out from ,russia and ably assisted ,nicolai for eighteen years1 at the end of which time declining health forced him to return4 ,nicolai again returned to ,russia in #ahgi1 and was consecrated bishop of the ,greek ,church in ,japan4 ,at this time he began a work which had long been on his heart1 viz41 the collection of funds for the erection of a fine cathedral in ,tokyo4 ,this cathedral was begun in #ahhd and completed in #ahia4 ,it is a magnificent building1 by far the finest ecclesiastical structure in ,japan4 ,it stands on an eminence from which it seems to dominate the whole city4 ,the cost of this cathedral was #agg1ege1 silver4 ,here one may hear the finest choral music in the empire4 ,those who believe it to be impossible to train well ,japanese voices have but to attend a service at this cathedral to have their ideas changed4 ,a choir of several hundred voices has been trained to sing in perfect harmony1 and the music is inspiring4 ,travelers who have heard the music of the most famous cathedrals and churches of ,europe and ,america say that this will compare favorably with the best4 ,the #afh development of music in the ,greek ,church of ,japan has been marvelous4 ,the work of this church1 while scattered over the whole empire1 is chiefly carried on in the cities and larger towns4 ,like the ,roman ,church1 it refuses fellowship with the various ,protestant bodies4 ,some men of note belong to it1 and it is to-day recognized as one of the influential religious bodies4 ,a notable feature of its work is that it has employed comparatively few foreign missionaries4 ,the burden of the work has been done by ,bishop ,nicolai and an able body of trained native assistants4 ,at present there are only two foreigners in connection with it1 and there have never been at any time more than three or four4 ,while foreign priests have been little used1 several of its native priests have been educated abroad4 ,this church has #ba native priests and #aeh unordained catechists4 ,it is now conducting work in two hundred and nineteen stations and outstations4 ,it has one boarding-school for boys1 with #dg pupils2 one for girls1 with #gf pupils2 and one theological school1 with #ah pupils4 ,the membership at the close of the year #ahie was #bb1egf1 and the amount contributed for all purposes during that year was #dged4ie4 #afi ,x ,a ,,brief ,,history ,,of ,,protestant ,,missions ,,in ,,japan ,during ,japan's period of seclusion1 when no foreigner dared enter the country upon pain of death1 many godly people were praying that ,god would open the doors1 and some mission boards were watching and waiting for an opportunity to send the gospel to the ,japanese4 ,when1 in the year #ahed1 treaties were made with ,western powers1 and it became known that ,japan was to be reopened to foreign intercourse1 great interest was at once manifested by the friends of missions in the evangelization of this land4 ,this same year the ,board of ,foreign ,missions of the ,presbyterian ,church in the ,united ,states of ,america requested one of its missionaries in ,china to visit ,japan and examine into the condition of affairs there1 with the purpose of establishing a mission4 ,at this time permanent #agj residence of foreigners was not secured1 and it was doubtless for this reason that no progress was made toward the establishment of a mission4 ,the country was not actually opened to foreign residence until the year #ahei1 and by the close of that year three ,protestant missionary societies1 quick to take advantage of the opportunity offered1 had their representatives in the field4 ,the ,protestant ,episcopal ,church of the ,united ,states has the honor of sending the first ,protestant missionaries to ,japan4 ,it transferred two of its missionaries from ,china1 the ,rev4 ,c4 ,m4 ,williams and the ,rev4 ,j4 ,liggins4 ,previous to this time a few missionaries had made transient visits from ,china to ,kanagawa and ,nagasaki1 and found opportunity to teach elementary ,english2 but this work accomplished little4 ,according to the treaty with ,england1 the four treaty ports of ,japan were opened ,july #a1 #ahei2 according to that with ,america1 ,july #dth4 ,mr4 ,liggins arrived in ,nagasaki ,may #b;d1 two months before the actual opening of the port2 he was joined by ,mr4 ,williams one month later4 ,on1 ,october #ahth of the same year the first missionaries of the ,presbyterian ,church in the ,united ,states of ,america1 ,dr4 and ,mrs4 ,j4 ,c4 ,hepburn1 arrived at ,kanagawa4 ,a fortnight later the ,rev4 ,s4 ,r4 ,brown and ,d4 ,b4 ,simmons1 ,m4,d41 of the ,reformed ,church in ,america1 reached ,nagasaki4 #aga ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,g4 ,f4 ,verbeck1 also of the ,reformed ,church1 reached ,nagasaki one month later4 ,thus it will be seen that missionaries were sent here as soon as the country was opened to foreign residence1 the ,episcopalian1 ,presbyterian1 and ,reformed churches of ,america beginning the work almost simultaneously4 ,the example set by these boards was soon followed by others4 ,the ,american ,baptists began the work in #ahfj1 the ,american ,board 7,congregationalist7 in #ahfi1 and the ,american ,methodists in #ahgc4 ,from time to time other boards also sent representatives4 ,although the country was now open to foreign residence1 it was by no means open to the propagation of the foreign religion4 ,all that the missionaries could do was to study the language and teach ,english4 ,in this early period many of them found employment in the schools of the various daimios and in those of the national government4 ,the first years were very trying ones4 ,the missionaries were in imminent danger of their lives2 attacks without either provocation or warning were very common4 ,foreigners1 and especially those who wanted to teach the foreign religion1 were everywhere bitterly hated4 ,the lordly samurai walked about with two sharp swords stuck into his belt1 and his very look was #agb threatening4 ,at their houses and when they walked abroad foreigners had special guards provided them by the government4 ,great difficulty was at first experienced by the missionaries in employing teachers1 because of the suspicion in which foreigners were held4 ,those who finally agreed to teach were afterward found to be government spies4 ,the government was still confessedly hostile to ,christianity as late as #ahfi4 ,shortly before this time some ,roman ,catholic ,christians who had been found around ,nagasaki were torn from their homes and sent away into exile4 ,the sale of ,christian books was rigidly prohibited4 ,the prohibitions against ,christianity were still posted over all the empire1 and were rigidly enforced4 ,if a conversation on religious subjects was begun with a ,japanese his hand would involuntarily grasp his throat1 indicating the extreme perilousness of such a topic4 ,the following story shows what native ,christians had to endure in some parts of ,japan as late as #ahga4 ,mr4 ,o4 ,h4 ,gulick1 while at ,kob1 had a teacher1 formerly ,dr4 ,greene's teacher1 called ,ichikawa ,yeinosuke4 ,in the spring of the year named this man and his wife were arrested at dead of night and thrown into prison4 ,he had for some time been an earnest student of the ,bible1 and had expressed the desire to receive #agc baptism1 but had not been baptized4 ,his wife was not then regarded as a ,christian4 ,every effort was made to secure his release2 but neither the private requests of the missionaries1 nor the kindly offices of the ,american consul1 nor even those of the ,american minister1 availed anything4 ,even his place of confinement was not known at the time4 ,it was at length learned that he had been confined in ,kyoto1 and had died there ,november #be1 #ahgb4 ,his wife was shortly afterward released4 ,she is now a member of the ,shinsakurada church in ,tokyo4 ,at this early period no distinction was made between ,catholic and ,protestant ,christianity1 and both were alike hated4 ,there was no opportunity to do direct ,christian work1 and many of the supporters of missions at home were beginning to doubt the expediency of keeping missionaries where they were not permitted to work4 ,some boards even contemplated recalling their men4 ,but the missionaries were permitted to remain and await their opportunity1 which soon came4 ,with the gradual opening of the country1 and especially with the dissemination of a knowledge of foreign nations and their faith1 the opportunities for work more and more increased and the old prohibitions were less and less enforced4 ,during the period of forced inactivity the missionaries were busily engaged in a study of the #agd language and in the writing of various useful books and tracts4 ,at first ,chinese ,bibles and other ,christian books were extensively used1 the educated classes reading ,chinese with facility4 ,the first religious tract published in ,japanese appeared in #ahfg4 ,one of the most important of the literary productions of the missionary body1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,hepburn's ,japanese-,english and ,english-,japanese ,dictionary1 appeared in this same year4 ,it was a scholarly work1 the result of many years of hard1 persevering labor4 ,the first edition was speedily exhausted1 and a second was issued in #ahgb4 ,the translation of the ,holy ,scriptures was also begun and gotten well under way in this period4 ,several separate portions of the ,scriptures from time to time appeared4 ,the first was the ,gospel of ,matthew1 translated by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,goble1 of the ,baptist mission1 and published in #ahga4 ,dr4 ,s4 ,r4 ,brown had previously prepared first drafts of some portions of the ,new ,testament1 but unfortunately they were destroyed by fire4 ,translations of ,mark and ,john1 by ,drs4 ,brown and ,hepburn1 were published in #ahgb4 ,this irregular1 piecemeal method of translation was not satisfactory2 so in order to expedite the work1 and to elicit an active interest in it on the part of all the missionaries in the country1 a convention on ,bible translation was called to meet #age in ,yokohama on ,september #bj1 #ahgb4 ,as a result of this convention the ,translation ,committee was organized4 ,at first it consisted of ,drs4 ,brown1 ,hepburn1 and ,greene4 ,other names were afterward added4 ,this committee was ably assisted in its work by prominent ,japanese ,christian scholars4 ,the great undertaking was brought to a successful conclusion in #ahhj1 when an edition of the whole ,bible was published in excellent ,japanese4 ,we have anticipated matters somewhat4 ,let us now go back a few years and take up the thread where we left off4 ,the work of the missionaries for a long time was fruitless1 but the day of reaping was near4 ,the first ,protestant convert of ,japan was baptized in ,yokohama by the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,ballagh1 in #ahfd4 ,two years later ,dr4 ,verbeck baptized two prominent men in southern ,japan4 ,in #ahff ,bishop ,williams1 of the ,episcopal ,church1 baptized one convert4 ,who can tell the joy of these missionaries when1 after so many years of hard work1 they were permitted to see these precious fruits8 ,from time to time others were baptized1 but for many years accessions were rare4 ,the first church was organized in ,yokohama in #ahgb4 ,it was left to draft its own constitution and church government1 and was a very liberal body4 ,during all this time the prohibitions of #agf ,christianity were still posted over all the land1 and the government had never officially renounced its policy of persecution4 ,but the infringement of the laws was permitted1 and gradually they became a dead letter4 ,many ,japanese of influence and of official position traveled abroad1 and learning of the status of ,christianity in the countries of the ,west1 and particularly of the attitude of the chief nations of the world toward the persecution of ,christians1 exerted their influence to have these prohibitions rescinded4 ,especially did the strong stand taken by some ,western governments influence ,japan in favor of toleration4 ,our own ,secretary of ,state in ,washington plainly informed the ,japanese committee then visiting there that the ,united ,states could not regard as a friendly power any nation that persecuted its ,christian subjects4 ,as a result of various influences1 the edicts against ,christianity were removed from the signboards in #ahgc4 ,this was an event of the utmost importance to ,christian work1 for1 although the infringement of the edicts had been for some time winked at1 their very existence before the eyes of the people had a great deterring effect4 ,the government announced that this action did not signify that the prohibition of ,christianity was now abrogated4 ,it declared that the edicts were removed because their subject-matter1 #agg having been so long before the eyes of the people1 was sufficiently imprinted on their minds4 ,and yet their removal conveyed the idea to the people at large that liberty of conscience was henceforth to be allowed1 and this virtually proved to be so4 ,persecutions ceased and the work was allowed to go on untrammeled4 ,the object for which the church abroad had waited and prayed1 and for which the missionaries on the ground had longed and labored1 was at last realized4 ,joy and hope filled the hearts of the workers4 ,the cause of missions had received a new and powerful impulse1 which ere long made itself felt in a wide enlargement of its operations4 ,the work now went on much more rapidly4 ,soon a great pro-foreign sentiment sprang up4 ,with the rapid adoption of ,western civilization there grew up not only a toleration1 but an actual desire for the ,western religion4 ,it became rather fashionable to confess ,christ4 ,some statesmen even went so far as to advocate as a matter of policy the adoption of ,christianity as the state religion4 ,in this happy time ,christian schools1 which had sprung up like mushrooms over all the land1 were filled with eager students2 the churches and chapels were crowded with interested listeners2 and large numbers were annually added to the church4 #agh ,but the pendulum had swung too far4 ,about #ahhh a reaction set in1 caused largely by the impatience of the ,japanese at the refusal of ,western nations to revise the treaties on a basis of equality4 ,a strong nationalism asserted itself4 ,everything foreign was brought into disrepute4 ,christianity was frowned upon as a foreign religion1 and the old native religions again came into favor4 ,attendance at ,christian schools fell off almost fifty per cent42 the churches and chapels became empty2 and few names were added to the church rolls4 ,a sifting process began which very much reduced the membership4 ,when ,christianity was popular many had hastily and as a matter of policy joined the churches1 who in this time of disfavor fell away4 ,this reactionary feeling has lasted uninterruptedly down to the present1 and in recent years the losses numerically have almost equaled the gains4 ,this reaction has in some respects worked good to the churches4 ,the former growth was too rapid4 ,many unconverted men came into the bosom of the church4 ,such have fallen away2 the church has been pruned of her old dead branches1 and is now a livelier1 healthier body4 ,in the judgment of some1 this reactionary period is now on the decline4 ,the recent growth and progress of ,japan have been recognized by the ,west2 treaty revision on a basis of equality has #agi been granted her1 and the cause which brought about the reaction has thus been largely removed4 ,for these reasons we may look for a gradual breaking down of the prejudice and opposition toward foreign institutions and religion1 though such a pro-foreign wave as swept the country during the eighties will not probably be experienced again4 ,in order to give a correct idea of the work now being done by the various missions in ,japan1 ,it will be well to give a short sketch of each one separately4 ,we will consider them in the order of their size and influence4 ,american ,board ,mission ,this mission is conducted by the ,american ,board of ,commissioners for ,foreign ,missions 7organized on an undenominational basis1 but now ,congregational71 and has met with great success4 ,begun in #ahfi1 it is younger than either the ,episcopalian1 ,reformed1 ,presbyterian1 or ,baptist missions1 but has exerted a greater influence than any of them4 ,it has for years enjoyed the distinction of having more adherents than any other ,christian body at work here4 ,but there has been a large falling off in its membership1 and during the past year or so very few new names have been added to its rolls4 ,at the #ahj close of #ahie the ,church of ,christ in ,japan 7,presbyterian7 was only about #fb members behind this body1 and by the close of #ahif will in all probability be ahead4 ,this mission was especially fortunate in reaching a wealthy1 influential class of people1 which has given it a position and prestige superior to the other missions4 ,in the number of self-supporting native churches it has led all other denominations4 ,the first missionaries of the ,american ,board to ,japan were ,dr4 and ,mrs4 ,greene4 ,they arrived in ,yokohama ,november #cj1 #ahfi1 and1 with the usual intermissions for rest1 have labored here continuously since that time4 ,three years later the ,rev4 ,o4 ,h4 ,gulick and wife1 and the ,rev4 ,j4 ,d4 ,davis and wife1 joined the mission4 ,since that time the number of missionaries has been rapidly increased until now it reaches #gd4 ,the membership of the native church is about #aa1afb4 ,there are #fj ordained native ministers and #ed unordained4 ,there are four boarding-schools for girls1 with #hfc students4 ,the most advanced of these is the ,girls' ,school of ,kob1 with a curriculum as high as that of most female colleges in ,america4 ,there is also one school for the training of ,bible-women4 ,the chief educational institution of this body is the ,doshisha ,university1 in ,kyoto4 ,this #aha school is largely the result of the labors of ,dr4 ,neesima1 easily the first ,christian preacher and teacher ,japan has yet produced4 ,it is a large school1 beautifully located and well housed4 ,last year only #cbj students were in attendance1 a great decline from former years4 ,unfortunately this institution does not now exert the positive influence for ,christianity that it formerly did4 ,higher criticism and speculative philosophy have largely supplanted ,christian teaching4 ,the school is now entirely in the hands of the trustees 7all natives71 and the mission has no control over it whatever4 ,recently all of the missionaries of the ,american ,board who were serving as professors in the ,doshisha have1 because of dissatisfaction with the policy of the school authorities1 resigned4 ,the trustees affirm that it is their intention to keep the school strictly ,christian1 but they refuse to define the term ,christian4 ,such vital matters as the divinity of ,christ and the immortality of the soul are not positively affirmed4 ,the rationalism which has emanated from this school has perhaps done as much in recent years to impede the progress of ,christianity as any other one cause4 ,it is very sad to see an institution1 built up at great expense by bequests of earnest ,christian people1 intended by its founder to lead the evangelical ,christianity of this country1 thus turned aside from its original purpose4 #ahb ,we trust that a gradual growth of a deeper ,christian consciousness and a more positive faith in the hearts of the trustees and professors may yet lead them to make of this school a positive force for evangelical ,christianity4 ,the mission of the ,american ,board has experienced more trouble in recent years than any other1 especially in the attempt properly to adjust the relations between the native and foreign workers1 and in the matter of mission property4 ,most of the valuable property of the mission has passed into native hands1 and in some instances has been perverted from its original purpose4 ,the missionaries are regarded with jealousy by many in the native church2 they are entirely excluded from the church councils1 and are being gradually pushed out of the most important positions1 and their places filled with ,japanese4 ,it is a question just how far the policy adopted by this mission from the beginning is to blame for this unfortunate state of affairs4 ,this policy has been to push the native workers to the front1 to give them the important positions1 and to allow them perfect freedom in all church matters4 ,as a consequence1 that which was at first granted as a concession is now demanded as a right4 ,as a teacher in one of their own schools has comically put it1 the mission said in the beginning--in ,japanese phraseology--to the native brethren1 #ahc ,please honorably condescend to take the first place1 and they are just doing what they were bidden to do4 ,other boards1 with a different policy1 have fared better4 ,the ,episcopal ,church of ,japan1 which is one of the most active1 vigorous bodies at work here1 is governed by foreign bishops1 and nearly all the positions of importance are filled by foreign missionaries1 and yet the relations between the native and foreign workers are1 on the whole1 cordial and harmonious4 ,the ,methodist ,church is governed by foreign bishops1 and nearly all the presiding elders are foreign missionaries1 yet complete harmony prevails between the native and the foreign ministry4 ,the ,presbyterian ,church1 with a policy somewhat resembling the ,congregational1 is encountering the same difficulties in a milder form4 ,these facts seem to indicate that1 at least in part1 the policy of the mission is itself responsible for the position in which it now finds itself4 ,but in nearly every mission field1 as soon as a strong native church is developed1 misunderstandings and friction between the native and foreign workers have arisen4 ,questions regarding the position of the native church and its relation to the foreign boards and missionaries almost inevitably arise4 ,therefore what the ,american ,board has encountered may be partially encountered by all as soon as a stronger native church is #ahd developed4 ,perhaps the national characteristics of the people are to some extent responsible also for this trouble and friction4 ,the ,church of ,christ in ,japan ,this body represents an attempt at church union on a large scale4 ,it is composed of all the ,presbyterian and ,reformed churches working in ,japan4 ,these are the ,presbyterian ,church in the ,united ,states of ,america1 the ,reformed ,church in ,america1 the ,united ,presbyterian ,church of ,scotland1 the ,reformed ,church in the ,united ,states1 the ,presbyterian ,church in the ,united ,states 7,south71 the ,woman's ,union ,missionary ,society1 and the ,cumberland ,presbyterian ,church4 ,all of these bodies are engaged in building up one and the same native church--the ,church of ,christ in ,japan4 ,yet each has its own field and is doing its own individual work4 ,the growth and success of this body have been phenomenal4 ,it has #aa1ajj members1 #fj ordained native ministers1 #aac unordained catechists1 and #adf missionaries4 ,its leading educational institution is the ,meiji ,gakuin1 in ,tokyo1 with both an academic and a theological department4 ,this is a large1 well-equipped school1 with a good faculty4 ,in connection with this ,church of ,christ there #ahe is a good academic and theological school in ,nagasaki1 known as ,steele ,college1 and supported by the ,dutch ,reformed and ,southern ,presbyterian missions4 ,this school is as thoroughly evangelical and positive in its teachings as any to be found in ,japan4 ,there are besides these five boarding-schools for boys1 with #cgf students1 and sixteen boarding-schools for girls1 with #gie pupils4 ,the representatives of the ,church of ,christ are found throughout the length and breadth of the land and are doing a good work4 ,it is likely that this church will take the lead in the future4 ,methodist ,churches ,there are five branches of the ,methodist ,church at work1 namely1 the ,american ,methodist ,episcopal1 the ,canadian ,methodist ,episcopal1 the ,evangelical ,association of ,north ,america1 the ,methodist ,protestant1 and the ,american ,methodist ,episcopal 7,south74 ,there is no organic union between these bodies1 but harmony and fraternity prevail4 ,efforts at union have been made time and again1 but have been as yet unsuccessful4 ,we hope the future ,methodist ,church of ,japan will be a united body4 ,at present each one of these different bodies supports its own schools2 their efficiency is thus #ahf impaired1 and great loss of men1 time1 and money entailed4 ,in the whole ,methodist ,church there are five boys' boarding-schools1 with #cbi scholars2 sixteen girls' boarding-schools1 with #igj scholars2 and five theological schools1 with #fj students4 ,there are #adc missionaries1 #aae native ministers1 #aaf catechists1 and #gfgh members4 ,the ,methodist missions have had a rapid1 substantial growth and are exerting a strong influence4 ,they surpass all other bodies in annual contributions per member1 and ,i think it may be said that the native ,methodist churches have shown less of self-seeking and more of self-sacrifice than the others4 ,the emotional character of ,methodism adapts it to the taste of the people4 ,episcopalians ,the five branches of this church working in ,japan are laboring unitedly for the establishment of one native church1 called ,nippon ,sei ,kokwai4 ,these five bodies are the ,american ,protestant ,episcopal ,church1 the ,church ,missionary ,society 7,english71 the ,society for the ,propagation of the ,gospel 7,english71 the ,wyclif ,college ,mission 7,canada71 and the ,english ,church in ,canada4 ,the united body has #adi missionaries1 #cj native ministers1 #abd unordained helpers1 and #eeee communicant members4 #ahg ,this church conducts five boarding-schools for boys1 with #afi scholars2 eight boarding-schools for girls1 with #bfc scholars2 and four theological schools1 with #eb students4 ,this body has done a great deal of hard1 substantial work1 and has enjoyed a fair degree of the popular favor4 ,during these late reactionary years1 when other missions have made little progress1 its growth has continued uninterruptedly4 ,the ,nippon ,sei ,kokwai is presided over by five bishops1 four of whom are ,english and one ,american4 ,two are located in ,tokyo1 one in ,hokkaido1 one in ,osaka1 and one in ,nagasaki4 ,baptists ,there are four ,baptist societies doing mission work in ,japan3 the ,baptist ,missionary ,union 7,united ,states71 the ,disciples of ,christ1 the ,christian ,church of ,america1 and the ,southern ,baptist ,convention4 ,there is no organic union between them1 but the first- and last-named bodies work together4 ,the four bodies unitedly have #ib missionaries1 #ad native ministers1 #fh native catechists1 and #bcbg members4 ,they have one boarding-school for boys1 with #ad students2 six boarding-schools for girls1 with #bje students2 and two theological schools1 with #ba students4 #ahh ,the ,baptist missionaries laboring in ,japan are an able1 hard-working1 evangelical body of men1 and there are some good1 strong native ,baptist ministers4 ,lutherans ,the ,lutheran ,church began mission work in ,japan only four years ago1 and as yet her mission is small4 ,it is supported by the ,united ,synod of the ,evangelical ,lutheran ,church in the ,south 7,united ,states74 ,the ,lutheran ,church in the ,united ,states has occupied a peculiar position4 ,a large per cent4 of the emigrants from the ,old ,world are of ,lutheran antecedents4 ,hundreds of thousands of them have come over and settled in the ,west1 and the energies of the ,american ,lutheran ,church have been largely expended in caring for these unhoused and unshepherded sheep of her own flock4 ,it seems that ,providence has allotted to her this special work4 ,no other church in ,america is carrying on home mission work on so large a scale1 among so many different nationalities1 and in so many languages4 ,because of the great home mission work that has naturally fallen into her hands and demanded her men and money she has not engaged in foreign work as extensively as some other ,american bodies4 ,and yet the ,american contingent of this old #ahi mother church of ,protestantism has a foreign-mission record of which she is not ashamed4 ,she has supported for many years a mission on the west coast of ,africa1 at ,muhlenberg1 that is by universal consent the most successful mission in ,west ,africa4 ,she is also supporting two large and successful missions in ,india4 ,the ,lutheran mission in ,japan was begun as a venture4 ,the after development of the work has amply justified the wisdom of the undertaking4 ,it is not the purpose of the ,lutheran ,church to antagonize any of the bodies now at work in ,japan1 but rather to stand1 amid all the doctrinal unrest characteristic of ,japanese ,christianity1 for pure doctrine1 as she has always done4 ,it is her purpose to teach a positive1 evangelical ,christianity4 ,the working force of the mission consists of #b missionaries and their wives1 #b native helpers1 and #a ,bible-woman4 ,the field occupied is small4 ,there is only one station1 and that is in the city of ,saga1 on the island of ,kyushu4 ,much work is done in the surrounding villages and towns from ,saga as a center4 ,it is not the purpose of this mission to use large numbers of men and great quantities of money1 as some others have done4 ,it purposes working intensively rather than extensively4 ,it attempts to devote all of its time to evangelistic work1 and does not engage in #aij educational work further than theological instruction4 ,although the missionaries came to ,japan in #ahib1 the station was not opened until #ahic4 ,since that time about #ee converts have been baptized4 ,there are numerous small ,christian bodies at work1 such as the ,scandinavian ,japan ,alliance1 the ,society of ,friends1 the ,international ,missionary ,alliance1 the ,hephzibah ,faith ,missionary ,association1 and the ,salvation ,army4 ,there are also three liberal bodies working here1 generally classed as unevangelical3 the ,evangelical ,protestant ,missionary ,society1 the ,universalist mission1 and the ,unitarian mission4 ,the ,english and ,american ,bible and tract societies have ably seconded these missionary bodies by the circulation of large numbers of ,bibles1 tracts1 and various kinds of ,christian books4 ,the value of their work can hardly be estimated4 ,the ,american ,bible ,society1 the ,national ,bible ,society of ,scotland1 the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society1 the ,american ,tract ,society1 and the ,london ,religious ,tract ,society have all had a part in the work4 ,such is a brief enumeration of the ,christian forces at work in ,japan4 ,with so large a body of consecrated workers and so much missionary #aia machinery1 it seems that the work of evangelization ought to go on rapidly4 ,a great deal has already been accomplished1 as the figures given above show4 ,a native church of #dj1jjj people is no mean prize2 but this is only the smallest part of the work of the missions4 ,they have created a ,christian literature1 disseminated a certain knowledge of the gospel among the people1 and in a hundred different ways indirectly influenced the life of this nation4 ,japanese missions have been a brilliant success4 #aib ,,xi ,,qualifications ,,for ,,mission ,,work ,,in ,,japan ,for mission work1 as for every other calling in life1 some men are naturally adapted1 others are not4 ,those by nature fitted for the work will in all probability have a reasonable degree of success1 while no amount of zeal or spiritual fervor can make successful those not so fitted4 ,it is true to a large extent that missionaries are born1 not made4 ,how important it becomes1 then1 that mission boards and societies should carefully consider the qualifications of all applicants before they are sent to the mission field6 ,how necessary it is for all those contemplating work in certain fields1 before offering their services to the boards1 to examine whether their qualifications are such as to justify an expectation of a reasonable degree of success in those fields6 ,for the benefit of the various missionary #aic societies that are annually choosing and sending out new men to ,japan1 as well as for the advantage of those who contemplate offering themselves for work in this field1 ,i will put down a few thoughts on the necessary qualifications for successful mission work here4 ,these may be roughly classified as physical1 spiritual1 and mental4 ,,physical ,,qualifications4--,i regard physical qualifications as of supreme importance4 ,many of my readers will think that the spiritual should precede the physical1 but with this opinion ,i do not agree4 ,health is absolutely essential to successful work2 deep spirituality1 while greatly to be desired1 is not so essential4 ,many men have failed on the field and have been forced to withdraw because of a lack of physical qualifications1 while few have failed for lack of spiritual qualifications4 ,i think it is true that young men who when in college and seminary appear to be almost consumed with missionary zeal and enthusiasm1 who are pointed out as examples in spirituality1 and who are burning with a desire to get into the foreign field1 do not make as good missionaries as some others4 ,men who pledge themselves in youth1 and who1 actuated by a wild enthusiasm1 which has more zeal than knowledge1 urge themselves upon the mission boards1 do not do as good work as those chosen #aid by the boards themselves1 who may never have considered seriously foreign work before the call was extended to them4 ,enthusiasm and zeal are good things in their place1 but they are apt to lead men to extremes4 ,people who enter mission work simply because they are filled with a burning enthusiasm and zeal are not likely to stay as long or work as well as those who enter upon the work with more hesitation1 after careful deliberation and a counting of the cost4 ,wallace ,taylor1 ,m4,d41 of ,osaka1 ,japan1 himself an experienced missionary of the ,american ,board1 says3 ,i should advise that men be chosen for their physical and mental adaptation and ability rather than for their burning zeal for the foreign work4 ,to maintain health and be a successful missionary a man must possess more judgment than enthusiasm and more discretion than zeal4 ,enthusiasm and zeal are good qualities in a missionary1 but to these you must add that which is better--judgment1 wisdom1 and self-control4 ,the burning fire shut up in the bones1 that cannot be controlled1 only consumes vital energies and speedily produces failing health4 ,we need men who can stand and face the white harvest and the many calls to work1 and yet with cool deliberation preserve their strength for future work4 ,we want men sent for their cool deliberation and self-control rather than for their #aie burning zeal and enthusiasm4 ,we need men who are intellect rather than a bundle of nerves4 ,a nervous1 excitable1 uneasy person will fret and wear himself out in from six months to three years in ,japan4 ,it is desirable1 then1 in the first place1 that the missionary be a sound physical man4 ,no one should be accepted by a mission board for work in ,japan who cannot secure a policy in a reliable life-insurance company1 and it would be well if the medical examination were made by an examiner for such company4 ,the examinations made by a physician appointed by the mission boards are usually mere farces1 for the desire to go as a missionary frequently covers up many physical weaknesses and prevents a thorough examination4 ,the examination should therefore be made by a disinterested medical man1 who will not be influenced by such motives4 ,it seems hard to subject candidates for mission work to such rigid examinations1 and perhaps refuse to send them because of some small physical defect2 but the interests of the work make it imperative4 ,otherwise the young missionary will1 in all probability1 break down and have to go home in three or four years1 before he has been able to do any active work4 ,the experiment will have cost the board a large amount of money and a loss of several years1 and the #aif missionary some of the best years of his life1 probably making of him an incurable invalid4 ,in so serious a matter as this the boards cannot afford to be swayed by sentiment4 ,nothing but sound business principles should be followed4 ,the same physical requirements should be made for the woman as for the man4 ,she1 too1 should be subjected to a medical examination1 and any serious defect in her constitution should cause her immediate rejection4 ,it seems hard to subject the wife to this test1 as she is not a missionary in the strict sense of the term1 and to many the requirement will be distasteful2 but for their protection1 and for a judicious use of consecrated funds1 the boards should require it4 ,a little thought will show that the failure of the wife's health is just as disastrous for the mission as the failure of her husband's4 ,it cripples his efficiency while on the field1 and ultimately drives him home4 ,most boards operating in ,japan have not made this requirement1 and as a consequence many missionaries' wives are in poor health1 and as many men have had to return home because of the failure of their wives' health as for any other one cause4 ,the mission boards should not appoint too young men to work in ,japan4 ,it is well known that young men cannot endure so well as older ones change of climate and hard work4 ,those #aig who are physically and mentally immature will very probably be unable to bear the strain4 ,in general1 no one should be sent out under twenty-five years of age1 and it would be safer if all who came had attained the age of thirty4 ,against this it is argued that a young person will acquire the language more readily than an older one1 and this is doubtless true4 ,but health is of first importance4 ,,spiritual ,,qualifications4--,although ,i consider spiritual qualifications after physical ones1 ,i nevertheless regard them as of great importance4 ,it is highly desirable that every missionary be a deeply spiritual man1 fully consecrated to the cause of ,christ4 ,the consecration needed in the missionary is little different from that needed in the home pastor4 ,if he has given himself and all that he has to ,christ1 he will be ready to work for ,him anywhere4 ,those who come to the mission field without such consecration1 expecting the grandeur of the work to beget it1 will be bitterly disappointed4 ,in many instances contact with heathenism weakens more than it strengthens consecration4 ,the societies should require that those who are to do spiritual work should be consecrated1 spiritual men4 ,the missionary should be sound in the faith1 should clearly discern and readily accept the fundamental doctrines of ,christianity1 and should #aih be able to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials1 tenaciously holding to the former1 while allowing liberty in regard to the latter4 ,he will encounter many strange things in his new environment2 many of his pet theories will be exploded1 and he will meet much that will try his faith4 ,his belief in the essentials of ,christianity should be so strong that even if his views undergo a change in non-essentials he shall not be shaken at the center4 ,he must be able to defend his faith against its enemies1 as well as to impart it to those to whom he is sent4 ,to do this his own hold upon it must be firm and unyielding4 ,the missionary should have a positive1 not a negative1 faith4 ,his position should continually be one of offense1 not of defense4 ,his faith must be aggressive and dominant in its hold upon others1 must be both persuasive and constructive4 ,he must be sure of the faith in which he trusts1 and must be positive in his presentation of it to the world4 ,it is especially important that the missionary's doctrinal development be full and rounded4 ,he should see all the doctrines of the ,christian system in their proper relation to one another1 and should give due importance to each4 ,a one-sided1 eccentric man1 who has struck off from the main line of doctrinal development and is on a #aii side-track1 having exalted some one phase of the ,christian teaching or life to the exclusion of others1 is not fitted for mission work4 ,he can be used to better effect at home1 because there he is continually under restraining influences1 while here there are no restraints4 ,for this reason what would be only a harmless eccentricity at home may result in great mischief abroad4 ,those who are to found the church in ,japan1 to shape its theology and its life1 should be well-rounded men1 who will not unduly exalt any one doctrine1 but who1 having a comprehensive view of the ,christian system1 will give due importance to every part4 ,it is very important that prospective missionaries fully count the cost1 and be prepared beforehand to endure patiently the trials and hardships that will be sure to meet them4 ,no one should go out without having carefully considered all of these things1 and gained the full consent of his heart to endure them4 ,if the cost has not been counted1 and the work willingly entered upon with a full knowledge of its hardships and difficulties1 the encounter of these upon the field is apt to result in disappointment and dissatisfaction4 ,every missionary should be a lover of humanity1 even in its lowest and most degraded forms4 ,it is useless for us to attempt to persuade and influence non-,christian men if we do not love #bjj them4 ,the audiences we address may not be moved by our logic or rhetoric2 our most eloquent sermons may have no effect on them2 but practical illustrations of our love for them will always meet with a hearty response4 ,love is the key that opens all hearts4 ,faith1 hope1 love1 these three2 but the greatest of these is love4 ,to love refined ,christian men and women is easy1 but to love humanity in its more degraded forms is hard4 ,and yet the missionary must be prepared to love an alien race1 that regards him with coolness and distrust4 ,he must be ready to associate with lowly people1 amid humble and immoral surroundings1 and to be patient1 kind1 and loving to the most degraded4 ,no one who has not lived on the mission field and associated freely with the people knows how hard this is4 ,such love will win more men to ,christ than eloquent preaching or most careful instruction4 ,the man who possesses a large amount of it1 other things being equal1 will meet with success4 ,the missionary should1 as far as possible1 present in his own character all ,christian graces4 ,he will be looked upon as a product of the faith he represents1 and will exercise more influence by his life than by his words4 ,he must not be impatient1 quarrelsome1 or wilful1 and1 above all1 he must not be proud4 ,constant association with an inferior race is apt to beget a haughty1 #bja domineering manner1 and the missionary needs to be especially on his guard against this4 ,he may present no striking defects of character1 else his faith will be held responsible for them4 ,peculiarities and faults that are known to be merely personal at home are regarded in the mission field as the result of a bad religion4 ,it is very important that the missionary be an attractive man1 possessed of personal magnetism4 ,he should by nature draw men1 not repel them4 ,although hard to define1 we all know what this power is4 ,let a little child come into a room where two men are sitting4 ,it will readily go to the one1 but no amount of coaxing will induce it to go to the other4 ,the one possesses an innate power to attract1 while the other repels4 ,where the personal element plays so important a role it is essential that the missionary possess the power to draw men4 ,,mental ,,qualifications4--,hardly less important than physical and spiritual are the mental qualifications4 ,a mediocre man cannot do good work in any mission field1 least of all in a field like ,japan4 ,none but strong men should be sent out4 ,in former years1 when the science of missions was little understood1 it was thought a waste to send a man of unusual intellectual endowments1 because an ordinary man could do the work just as well2 but the boards have wisely #bjb abandoned that policy4 ,experience has clearly demonstrated the wisdom of sending the very best men that can be had4 ,in the first place1 the prospective missionary to ,japan should have as complete and thorough a mental training as possible4 ,a full academic and theological course is highly desirable4 ,he should know how to reason logically and profoundly1 and should be a skilled dialectician1 able to meet the native scholars on their own ground4 ,the subtle philosophies of the ,east1 which he will daily encounter1 can only be dealt with by a man thoroughly trained4 ,the atheistic and agnostic philosophies of the ,west are spread over all ,japan1 and the missionary must be able to combat them4 ,another reason why the missionary should be as highly educated as possible is that large numbers of the ,japanese people are highly educated1 and a man of poor ability and training cannot command their respect4 ,education is to-day being diffused more and more throughout ,japan1 and the missionary must work among an educated people4 ,it is necessary that he feel himself to be at least the intellectual equal of all with whom he comes in contact4 ,in order1 then1 successfully to combat the subtle philosophies of the ,east1 to show the fallacies of the prevalent skeptical philosophies of the #bjc ,west1 and to command the respect of the people among whom he labors1 the missionary to this land should have a thorough intellectual training4 ,linguistic talent is another essential1 and especially so in ,japan4 ,no one should be sent here who is deficient in this4 ,this language is perhaps the most difficult of all spoken languages for an ,occidental to acquire4 ,it is so thoroughly unlike any of the ,european languages that the student must change his view-point and learn to look at things as the ,japanese do before he can make much progress4 ,to master it one must study both ,japanese and ,chinese4 ,while a fair linguist can1 by hard work1 preach with comparative intelligibility after three years of study1 a complete mastery of the language is the work of a lifetime4 ,if any one contemplating mission work in ,japan remembers that he was a poor student of languages at college and made little progress in them1 let him feel assured that he can probably serve the ,lord better at home4 ,i state this matter strongly because just here is where so many missionaries fail4 ,there are men who have been here ten or fifteen years and yet who experience great difficulty in constructing the smallest sentence in ,japanese4 ,such men are not useless2 in certain departments they serve well2 #bjd but they would probably be of more use at home4 ,at least one third of all the missionaries in ,japan1 if called upon to make an extempore address in ,japanese1 would be found wanting4 ,in view of these facts1 how important it becomes that only those men be sent out who have a reasonable expectation of learning the language6 ,along with natural linguistic talent1 the prospective missionary should have a large amount of perseverance4 ,nothing but persistent1 slavish work through many years will enable one to speak ,japanese well2 and no one should come here who is not willing to stick to an unattractive task until it is accomplished4 ,it is of primary importance that the missionary have a large endowment of common sense4 ,nothing else will make up for deficiency in this4 ,it alone gives power to adapt one's self to a new environment and to live under changed conditions4 ,the demands upon common sense here are much greater than at home1 because the conditions under which we live are so different1 and the practical questions that daily meet us are so numerous4 ,dr4 ,lawrence finely says3 ,at home so much common sense has been organized into custom that we are all largely supported by the general fund1 and many men get along with a very slender stock of their own4 ,but on the #bje mission field1 where ,christian custom is yet in the making1 the drafts on common sense would soon overdraw a small account4 ,a knowledge of music will be found of great assistance to the missionary1 the more the better4 ,he will often have to start his own hymns1 play the organ1 or direct the music4 ,he may have to translate hymns and set them to music1 or even compose tunes himself4 ,good church music is now so essential in worship that every missionary should have a knowledge of it4 ,but this qualification1 while highly desirable1 is not indispensable4 ,the missionary also needs to a great degree the power of self-control4 ,he should be a cool1 conservative man1 able to govern himself under all circumstances4 ,he must not be moved to excessive labor by the present needs of the work1 but must exercise self-restraint1 husbanding his strength for future tasks4 ,one of the most difficult things to do is to refrain from overwork when the need of work is so apparent4 ,but the missionary must consider the permanent interests of the work ahead of its temporary needs4 ,to sum up the desired intellectual qualifications3 a missionary to ,japan should have a good mind1 well disciplined by thorough training2 an abundant supply of common sense2 linguistic ability1 and the power of self-control4 #bjf ,there is one other qualification1 that can hardly be classed under any of the above heads1 i4e41 the missionary should be a married man4 ,the vast majority of missionaries in the field to-day are unanimous in this judgment4 ,the experience of the various mission boards and societies also confirms it1 and they are sending out fewer single men each year4 ,married men make more efficient workers for many reasons4 ,they enjoy better health and are better satisfied4 ,they have a home to which they can go for rest and sympathy1 and in which they can find agreeable companionship4 ,they have the loving ministrations of a wife in times of sickness and despondency1 and they also have the cheer and relaxation of children's society4 ,all of these things tend to make the missionary healthier and happier1 and enable him to do better work4 ,again1 he should be married because a man of mature years who is single is regarded with more or less suspicion4 ,to the ,japanese celibacy is an unnatural state1 and it is seldom found4 ,most unmarried men here are immoral1 and therefore the unmarried missionary is naturally suspected of leading an immoral life1 which cripples his influence4 ,but the strongest argument in favor of married as against single missionaries is that the former #bjg alone are able to build ,christian homes4 ,the homes of single men are very poor things at best1 and certainly cannot be pointed to as models4 ,but the married man establishes a ,christian home in the midst of his people1 and sets them a concrete example of what ,christian family life should be4 ,this example is one of the most potent influences for good operating on the mission field4 ,in home life perhaps more than in any other respect ,japanese society is wanting4 ,the renovation of the home is one of the crying needs of the hour4 ,an open ,christian home1 exhibiting the proper relations between husband and wife1 parents and children1 will do much toward bringing this about4 ,this argument is not intended to apply against single women who come out to teach in the girls' schools4 ,their work is entirely different1 and is such as can be done best by single women4 ,the argument applies only to the missionary engaged in evangelistic work4 ,such ,i believe to be the qualifications essential to successful mission work in ,japan4 ,to many the requirements may seem too strict4 ,but the work to which the missionary is called is a high and noble one1 and the ideal for a worker should be correspondingly high4 ,the extreme difficulty of the work1 and its great expense1 make it imperative that only men adapted to it be sent out4 #bjh ,while setting forth this high ideal of what a missionary to this land should be1 no one is more sensible than the writer of the fact that many missionaries1 including himself1 fail to realize it4 ,but he is glad to be able to affirm that a large per cent4 of these desired qualifications are found in the majority of the missionary brethren in ,japan4 #bji ,,xii ,,private ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,missionary ,it is our purpose in this chapter to show the churches at home something of the life which their missionaries lead in ,japan4 ,we will attempt to draw aside the veil and look at their private life--the holy of holies4 ,this is a delicate task1 and ,i hesitate to undertake it4 ,and yet ,i think a knowledge of the trials1 perils1 discouragements1 temptations1 hopes1 and fears of the missionary may be very profitable to those who support our missions4 ,missionaries are men of like appetites1 passions1 hopes1 and desires with those at home4 ,they long for and enjoy the comforts and amenities of life4 ,they have wives and children whom they love as devotedly1 and for whom they desire to provide as comfortable homes1 as the pastor at home4 ,there was a time when missionaries were #baj called upon to forego nearly all social pleasures and submit to endless discomforts1 but that time is past4 ,the mission home to-day is frequently as comfortable as that of the pastor in ,america4 ,it is right that the standard of living in the home lands should be maintained by the missionaries abroad1 and that they surround themselves with all available pleasures and conveniences4 ,there is no reason why a man should lay aside all pleasures and comforts so soon as he becomes a missionary4 ,those who live in the foreign ports in ,japan have nice1 roomy houses modeled after ,western homes4 ,many of them are surrounded with beautiful lawns and fine flowers1 and are a comfort and delight to their possessors4 ,most of the missionaries who live in the interior occupy native houses1 slightly modified to suit foreign taste4 ,by building chimneys1 and substituting glass for paper windows1 the native houses can be made quite comfortable1 though they are colder in winter and do not look so well as foreign ones4 ,the writer has lived in such a home during most of his residence in ,japan1 and has suffered little inconvenience4 ,some of the wealthier mission boards have built foreign houses even in the interior1 and to-day there are a good many such scattered over ,japan4 ,as has been before remarked1 the mission #baa home is one of the most important factors in connection with the work2 it is a little bit of ,christendom set down in the midst of heathendom4 ,it presents to the non-,christian masses around it a concrete example of exalted family life1 with equality and trust between husband and wife1 and mutual love between parents and children--things not generally found in the native home4 ,it is a beacon-light shining in a dark place4 ,this is one of the many reasons why a missionary should be a married man4 ,the single man cannot create this model home1 which is to teach the people by example what ,christian family life should be4 ,in this respect ,catholic missions are deficient1 the celibacy of the priests precluding family life4 ,first1 then1 the mission home is an example to the non-,christian people around it4 ,it is frequently open to them1 and they can see its workings4 ,they often share its hospitality and sit at its table4 ,their keen eyes take in everything1 and a deep impression is made upon them4 ,just here arises one of the greatest difficulties the missionary has to contend with in his private life4 ,the people are so inquisitive naturally1 the mission home is so attractive to them1 and our idea of the privacy and sanctity of the home is so lacking in their etiquette1 that it is hard to keep #bab the home from becoming public4 ,people will come in large numbers at the most unseasonable hours1 simply out of curiosity1 wanting to see and handle everything in the house4 ,it is often necessary1 in self-defense1 to refuse them admittance1 except at certain hours4 ,not only are the seclusion and privacy of the home endangered1 but the missionary also is in great danger of having his valuable time uselessly frittered away4 ,notwithstanding all that the mission home is to the people1 it is much more to the missionary4 ,it should be to him a sure retreat and seclusion from the peculiarly trying cares and worries of his work4 ,it should be a place where he can evade the subtle influences of heathenism which creep in at every pore--a safe retreat from the sin and wickedness and vice around it4 ,the mission home should be a ,western home transplanted in the ,east4 ,it may not become too much orientalized4 ,it should have ,western furniture1 pictures1 musical instruments1 etc41 and should make its possessor feel that he is in a ,western home4 ,it should be well supplied with books and newspapers1 and everything else that will help to keep its inmates in touch with the life of the ,west4 ,the missionary may not be orientalized1 else he will be in danger of becoming heathenized4 ,for the sake of his children the missionary's #bac home should be as exact a reproduction of the ,western home as possible4 ,these children are citizens of the ,west1 heirs of its privileges2 and to it they will go before they reach years of maturity4 ,therefore it is but fair that their childhood home should reflect its civilization4 ,in order that the missionary may be able to build up such a home it is necessary that he be paid a liberal salary4 ,while living in native style is very cheap1 living in ,western style is perhaps as dear here as in any country in the world4 ,clothing1 furniture1 much of the food1 etc41 must be brought from the ,west2 and we must pay for it not only what the people at home pay1 but the cost of carrying it half-way round the world1 and the commission of two or three middlemen besides4 ,most boards operating in ,japan pay their men a liberal salary4 ,they also pay an allowance for each child1 health allowance1 etc4 ,all this is well4 ,man is an animal1 and1 like other animals1 he must be well cared for if he is to do his best work4 ,no farmer would expect to get hard work out of a horse that was only half fed1 and no mission board can expect to get first-class work out of a missionary who is not liberally supported4 ,the missionary has enough to worry him without having to be anxious about finances4 ,especially is it wise that the boards give their #bad men an allowance for children4 ,the expenses incident to a child's coming into the world in the ,east are very high4 ,the doctor's bill alone amounts frequently to more than #ajj4 ,then a nurse is absolutely necessary1 there being no relatives and friends to perform this office1 as sometimes there are in the ,west4 ,the birth of a child here means a cash outlay of #aej to #bjj1 to pay which the missionary is often reduced to hard straits4 ,if he belongs to a board that makes a liberal child's allowance he is fortunately relieved from this difficulty4 ,the allowance is also necessary to provide for the future education of the child4 ,as there are no suitable schools here1 children must be sent home to school at an early age4 ,they cannot stay in the parental home and attend school from there1 as ,american children do1 but must be from childhood put into a boarding-school1 and this takes money4 ,now no missionaries' salaries are sufficiently large to enable them to lay up much money1 and unless there is a child's allowance there will be no money for his education1 in which event the missionary must sacrifice his self-respect by asking some school or friends to educate his child4 ,he feels that if any one in the world deserves a salary sufficient to meet all necessary expenses without begging1 he does2 and it hurts him to give his life in hard service to #bae the church in a foreign land1 and then have his children educated on charity4 ,all mission boards should give their men an allowance for each child1 unless the salary paid is sufficiently large to enable them to lay aside a sufficient sum for this very purpose4 ,the health allowance is also a wise provision because the climate is such as often to necessitate calling in a physician1 and doctors' bills are enormously high4 ,if the missionary is not well he cannot work2 but if he is left to pay for medical attendance himself out of a very meager salary1 all of which is needed by his wife and children1 he will frequently deny himself the services of a physician when they are really needed4 ,the work of the missionary is most trying1 and the demands on his health and strength are very exhausting4 ,the petty worries and trials that constantly meet him1 the rivalries and quarrels which his converts bring to him for settlement1 the care of the churches1 anxiety about his family1 etc41 are a constant strain on his vital force1 in order to withstand which it is necessary that he should have regular periods of rest and recreation4 ,nature demands relaxation1 and she must have it1 or the health of the worker fails4 ,it is customary in ,japan for the missionaries to leave their fields of work during the summer season and spend six weeks or two months in #baf sanatoria among the mountains or by the seashore4 ,here their work1 with its cares and anxieties1 is all laid aside4 ,the best-known sanatoria in ,japan are ,karuizawa1 ,arima1 ,hakone1 ,sapporo1 and ,mount ,hiezan4 ,in most of these places good accommodations are provided1 and the hot weeks can be spent very pleasantly4 ,large numbers of missionaries gather there1 and for a short time the tired1 isolated worker can enjoy the society of his own kind2 his wife can meet and chat with other housewives2 and his children can enjoy the rare pleasure of playing with other children white like themselves4 ,these resorts are cool1 the air is pure and invigorating1 and the missionary returns from them in ,september feeling fresh and strong1 ready to take up with renewed vigor his arduous labors4 ,it is objected to these vacations that they take the missionary away from his field of work1 and that so long an absence on his part is very injurious to the cause4 ,this is partially true2 but a wise economy considers the health of the worker and his future efficiency more than the temporary needs of the work4 ,the absence of the foreign worker for a short period is not as hurtful as one would at first glance suppose4 ,a relatively larger part of the work is left in the hands of the native helpers in ,japan than in most mission fields1 and these evangelists stay at their posts #bag all through the summer1 and care for its interests while the foreigner is away4 ,the same need of a vacation does not exist in their case1 because they are accustomed to the climate1 and they work through their native tongue and among their own people4 ,the need of this missionary vacation is so evident that we need only give it in outline4 ,in the first place1 the unfavorable climate makes a change and rest desirable4 ,as ,i have already stated1 the climate of ,japan is not only very warm1 but also contains an excessive amount of moisture and a very small per cent4 of ozone1 and is lacking in atmospheric magnetism and electricity2 hence its effect upon people from the ,west is depressing4 ,besides the climate1 the missionary's work is so exhaustive and trying1 and its demands upon him are so great1 that a few weeks' rest are absolutely necessary4 ,the same reasons which at home justify the city pastor in taking a vacation are intensified in the missionary's case4 ,not least of these reasons is that the missionary may for a while enjoy congenial society4 ,many of us spend ten months of the year isolated almost entirely from all people of our own kind4 ,the ,japanese are so different that we can have but little social life with them2 and it is but natural and right that1 for a short period1 we should have the opportunity to meet and #bah associate with our fellow-missionaries4 ,the work which we do the remainder of the year is done much better because of this rest and fellowship4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,berry1 in a paper read before the missionary conference at ,osaka in #ahhc1 discusses very fully this question of missionary vacations and furloughs4 ,after elaborating the reasons for them1 which reasons ,i have given in brief above1 he says3 ,it therefore follows that1 because of the numerous and complex influences operating to-day to produce nerve-tire in the missionary in ,japan1 regard for the permanent interests of his work requires that a vacation be taken in summer by those residing in central and southern ,japan1 the same to be accompanied by as much of recreation and change as circumstances will permit4 ,with all the care and precaution that can be taken1 with systematic rests and vacations1 there soon comes a time when it is necessary for the missionary to return to his home land1 to breathe again the air of his youth1 and to replenish his physical1 mental1 and moral being4 ,all the mission boards recognize this and permit their men in this and in other fields to return home on furlough after a certain number of years4 ,the definite time required by the different missions before a furlough is granted varies from three to ten years1 the latter period being the most general4 #bai ,but this has been found to be too long1 and failing health usually compels an earlier return4 ,some boards have no set time1 but a tacit understanding exists that the missionary may go home at the end of six or eight years4 ,at the end of the prescribed period the missionary family is taken home at the expense of the board1 and is given a rest of a year or eighteen months4 ,during this time1 if the missionary is engaged in preaching or lecturing for the board1 as is generally the case1 he is paid his full salary4 ,if he does no work he is sometimes paid only half his salary4 ,this is very hard1 as the salary is just large enough to support him and his family1 and their expenses while at home are almost as great as while in the field4 ,if the salary is cut down the pleasure and benefit of the furlough are curtailed4 ,if the missionary in the service of the board exhausts his health and strength in an unfavorable climate it seems but fair that he should be properly supported while endeavoring to recuperate4 ,when a church at home votes its pastor a vacation1 instead of cutting down his salary during his absence1 it is customary to give him an extra sum to enable him to enjoy it4 ,why should not the same be done for the missionary8 ,he should at least be permitted to draw the full amount of his small salary4 ,against these vacations is urged their great #bbj expense to the boards1 the greater loss to the mission because of the absence of the worker1 and the moral effect of frequent returns upon the church at home4 ,all of these objections have weight1 but they are far outweighed by the reasons that necessitate the furlough4 ,the accumulated experience of the different boards makes the judgment unanimous that these are necessary4 ,the judgment of competent medical men also confirms the statement4 ,dr4 ,taylor said in the ,osaka conference3 ,i am convinced that a missionary's highest interest requires1 and the greatest efficiency in his work will be secured by1 a return home at stated intervals4 ,dr4 ,berry said in the same conference3 ,the new and strange social conditions under which the missionary is obliged to work2 the effects of climate1 intensified in many cases by comparative youth2 the absence of many of those home comforts and social1 intellectual1 and religious privileges with which the ,christian civilization of to-day so plentifully surrounds life2 the home ties1 strengthened by youthful affections1--all these combine with present facilities of travel to render it advisable that the young missionary be at liberty to take a comparatively early vacation in his native land4 ,from an economic standpoint it is wise to grant these furloughs4 ,it is poor economy to keep the workers in the field until they are completely #bba broken down1 and then have to replace them by inexperienced men1 who will not be able to do the work of the old ones for years4 ,far wiser is it to let them stop and recuperate in the home lands before this breakdown comes4 ,it costs less money to keep a missionary well than to care for him during a long1 unprofitable period of sickness4 ,i quote again on this point ,wallace ,taylor1 ,m4,d41 who1 in the paper referred to above1 said3 ,the present haphazard1 unsystematic methods of most missions and boards is attended with the greatest expense and the poorest returns4 ,some of the boards working in ,japan have lost more time and expended more money in caring for their broken-down missionaries than it would cost to carry out the recommendations herein made4 ,again1 ,i observe that many who do not break down begin to fail in health after the fourth or fifth year from entering on their work4 ,they remain on the field1 and are reluctantly obliged to spend more or less time in partial work1 while experiencing physical discomfort and dissatisfaction of mind4 ,very many of these cases would have accomplished more for the means expended by a furlough home at the close of the fifth or sixth year4444 ,over #ij1jjj have been expended in ,japan by one mission alone in distracted efforts to regain the health of its missionaries4 ,these furloughs are also needed to keep the #bbb missionary in touch with the life of the home churches4 ,the ,west is rapidly progressing in civilization1 in arts and sciences1 and in theology as well4 ,the missionary who spends ten or more years on the field before returning home finds himself in an entirely new atmosphere1 with which he is unfamiliar4 ,he looks at things from the standpoint of ten or more years ago2 his methods of work1 his language1 all are belated4 ,in order that he may give to the nascent churches of ,japan the very best theology1 the very best methods1 and the very best life of the ,western churches1 it is necessary for him to return frequently to breathe in their spirit and life and keep up with their forward march4 ,for the missionary's personal benefit he should be permitted to come into frequent contact with the home churches4 ,a too long uninterrupted breathing of the poisonous atmosphere of heathenism has a wonderfully cooling effect upon his ardor and zeal1 and is trying to his faith4 ,he needs to come into contact with the broader faith and deeper life of the home churches1 and receive from them new consecration and devotion to his work4 ,the church at home needs also to come frequently into contact with its missionaries4 ,nothing will so stir up interest and zeal in the mission cause as to see and hear its needs from living1 #bbc active workers1 fresh from the field4 ,if missionaries were more frequently employed to represent the cause to the churches at home perhaps our mission treasuries would not be so depleted4 ,mission addresses from home pastors are abstract and theoretical2 those from missionaries are concrete and practical4 ,the former speak from reading1 the latter from personal experience4 ,the address of the missionary comes with power because he speaks of what he has seen and felt1 and his personality is thrown into it4 ,for the sake1 then1 of the work abroad1 of the missionary himself1 and of the home churches1 missionaries should be required to take regular furloughs at stated intervals1 and should spend them in the home lands4 ,how long can the missionary safely work in ,japan before taking his first furlough8 ,that will depend upon the nature of the man himself1 and the kind of mission work in which he is engaged4 ,the average length of time spent here by the missionaries before the first furlough is about seven years4 ,there are no men more competent to pass judgment upon this matter than ,drs4 ,berry and ,taylor1 who have spent the better part of their lives here1 in the service of the ,american ,board1 and who are thoroughly acquainted with the conditions that surround us4 ,dr4 ,berry says3 ,i do not hesitate to affirm that the #bbd 'ten-year-or-longer rule1' still adhered to by some missionary societies1 and by many missionaries as well1 is too long for the first term4444 ,i indorse what in substance has been suggested by my friend ,dr4 ,mc,donald1 viz41 that the time of service on the field prior to the first furlough be seven years1 and that prior to subsequent furloughs be ten years2 this plan to be modified by health1 existing conditions of work1 home finances1 and by individual preferences4 ,dr4 ,taylor says3 ,my observations have led me to the conclusion that the first furlough ought to be taken at the close of the fifth or sixth year1 and after that once every eight or ten years4 ,we have yet to look at the trials and sorrows1 the encouragements and joys1 of the missionary4 ,we have already looked into the missionary's home2 let us now endeavor to look into his heart4 ,if the former is his sanctum1 this is his sanctum sanctorum2 and ,i trust my missionary brethren will pardon me for exposing it to the public view4 ,we will pass by all physical hardships1 such as climate1 improper food1 poor houses1 etc4 ,although these are often greater hardships than the people at home know1 they are but light afflictions to the missionary4 ,his real trials lie in an entirely different sphere4 ,the greatest hardship the missionary has to #bbe bear is his loneliness and isolation4 ,separated almost entirely from his own race1 he is deprived of all those social joys that are so dear to him4 ,the thought of his kinsmen and friends is ever in his mind1 but alas6 they are so far away4 ,he must go on year after year living among a people from whom an impassable gulf separates him1 leading the same lonely life4 ,for the first year or two he rather enjoys the quiet and privacy1 but by and by it becomes almost unendurable4 ,dr4 ,edward ,lawrence has correctly styled the missionary an exile4 ,we cannot do better than quote his words3 ,very many of the missionary's heaviest burdens are summed up in the one word whose height and breadth and length and depth none knows so well as he--that word 'exile4' ,it is not merely a physical exile from home and country and all their interests2 it is not only an intellectual exile from all that would feed and stimulate the mind2 it is yet more--a spiritual exile from the guidance1 the instruction1 the correction1 from the support1 the fellowship1 the communion of the saints and the church at home4 ,it is an exile as when a man is lowered with a candle into foul places1 where the noxious gases threaten to put out his light1 yet he must explore it all and find some way to drain off the refuse and let in the sweet air and sun to do their own cleansing work4444 ,the #bbf missionary is not only torn away from those social bonds that sustain1 or even almost compose1 our mental1 moral1 and spiritual life1 but he is forced into closest relations with heathenism1 whose evils he abhors1 whose power and fascinations1 too1 he dreads4 ,and when at last he can save his own children only by being bereft of them1 he feels himself an exile indeed4 ,the missionary's life is full of disappointments4 ,men for whom he has labored and prayed it may be for years1 and in whom he has placed implicit confidence1 will often bitterly disappoint him in their ,christian life4 ,boys who have been educated on his charity1 who are what they are solely by his help1 will frequently be guilty of base ingratitude1 and1 worse yet1 will repudiate his teachings4 ,the native church not having generations of ,christian ancestry behind it1 and not being in a ,christian environment1 is often1 it may be unwittingly1 guilty of heathen practices that sorely try the heart of the missionary4 ,the struggle between the new life and the old heathenism is still seen in the church-members and even in the native ministry4 ,each missionary1 if he would be well and cheerful in his work1 must learn to cast all burdens of such a character on the ,lord1 and not be oppressed by them4 ,one of the greatest trials some of us have to bear is that we must live in an environment so #bbg unconducive to personal growth and development ,there is a great deal of ambition lurking about us still1 and we do not like to see our own development cut short because of an unfavorable environment1 while our friends and classmates at home1 who were no more than our equals in former days1 far surpass us in intellectual development and in influence and power4 ,perhaps a missionary should be above such thoughts and should be perfectly content with a life of obscurity and partial development2 but missionaries are still men1 and to many an ambitious one the limits placed upon his personal development are very irksome4 ,but why are the conditions unfavorable to high personal development8 ,because those stimulants to prolonged1 vigorous effort that exist in the ,west are lacking4 ,the stimulus of competition1 the contact of thinking minds1 so necessary to enlist the full exercise of a man's powers1 are largely wanting4 ,one is shut up to his own thoughts and to those he gets from books1 and his development1 in so far as it does proceed1 is very apt to be one-sided4 ,this is the reason why so many missionaries are narrow1 unable to see a subject in all its relations and to give due importance to each4 ,the work of the missionary from beginning to end is one of self-sacrifice and self-effacement4 #bbh ,there is no future for him in the councils of the native church4 ,as the work grows and extends he must gradually take a back seat4 ,as the native ministry develops1 the foreign minister is less and less needed1 and must gradually withdraw4 ,again1 the home land1 father and mother1 brothers and sisters1 friends and companions1 are just as dear to the missionary as to any one else4 ,yet it seems inevitable that he will gradually grow away from them and be forgotten by them4 ,prolonged absence brings forgetfulness2 diverse labors and interests put people out of sympathy with one another4 ,when the new missionary first comes out to his field1 communication between him and friends is frequent4 ,letters pass regularly1 little remembrances are sent from time to time1 and he is still in touch with his friends at home4 ,but by and by a change comes4 ,after one or two years exchange of presents and remembrances ceases2 gradually the letters cease also1 and none come except those from his immediate family4 ,even these become less and less frequent4 ,the arrival of the mails1 which at first was looked forward to with so much joy1 is now scarcely noted4 ,an old ,american gentleman who has spent some forty years in the ,east tells me that he now receives from the home land not more than two or three letters per year4 #bbi ,after a few years of residence here one feels that he is largely out of touch with the life of the ,west1 and that he is forgotten1 by home and friends4 ,it seems to me that churches and friends can do much toward preventing this1 and toward brightening the lives of their missionaries1 if they will4 ,let pastors and friends throughout the church take special pains to write interesting personal letters to the missionary4 ,it will do him good just to be remembered in this way4 ,it is natural that the same kindness1 attention1 and love that are shown to the home pastor should not be shown to the missionary1 because he is so far away and the strong personal element is wanting4 ,but if the churches would make an effort to share their kindness and beneficence between the home pastor and the foreign one it would be highly appreciated by the latter4 ,especially does this seem but fair in a case where a church supports its own missionary and where most of its members are personally acquainted with him4 ,such churches speak of having two pastors2 one at home ministering to them1 and one abroad1 in their stead1 preaching the gospel to the heathen4 ,why should not these pastors have equal place in their hearts and receive equally their kindness and their gifts8 ,if any preference is shown1 it would seem that it should #bcj be to the foreign pastor1 for he has much the harder work4 ,but the foreign pastor is generally forgotten1 while the home pastor1 with whom living is much cheaper1 is paid a larger salary2 he is given a vacation1 and a purse to enable him to spend it pleasantly2 at ,christmas he is substantially remembered1 and all through the year he is presented with numerous gifts and shown many favors4 ,the poor lonely missionary is paid a moderate salary and is given no further thought4 ,imagine the feelings of a man in a mission field1 supported by one church which always speaks of him as its foreign pastor1 as he takes up a church paper and reads of the favors shown the home pastor2 among them such items as a nice purse of fifty dollars1 a three months' leave of absence1 and expenses to ----4 ,he cannot help thinking with a sigh of that unpaid doctor's bill of fifty dollars incurred by his wife's ill health last summer1 or of the money needed to send his boy home to be educated4 ,a church should try to remember its pastor abroad as well as the one at home4 ,the home pastor himself could see to it that this is done4 ,if he should simply say1 when handed a present for some purpose1 ,our foreign pastor has not been remembered by us1 and he needs it more than ,i1 therefore we will send this to him1 the result would probably be that he and the foreign #bca pastor would both be remembered4 ,if little expressions of appreciation and kindness1 such as this1 were occasionally shown the missionaries1 it would do much to brighten and cheer their hard lives4 ,these are little things1 but the little things have much to do with our happiness4 ,if the missionary life has its sorrows and disappointments1 it has its pleasures and joys as well4 ,it is with great pleasure that ,i turn from the dark to the bright side of our lives4 ,first ,i would mention that sweet peace and joy that come from the consciousness of doing one's duty4 ,the true missionary feels that ,god has called him into the work1 and that he is fulfilling the divine will4 ,this knowledge brings with it much pleasure4 ,the joy is all the sweeter because of the sacrifices that must be undergone in answer to the divine call4 ,he feels not only that he is in the field by the call of ,god1 but also that ,god is with him in his work1 leading1 guiding1 blessing1 helping him4 ,he hears the words of his ,master1 ,lo1 ,i am with you alway1 and he gladly responds1 ,in ,thy presence is fullness of joy4 ,the brooding ,spirit of ,god is especially near the ,christian worker in foreign lands1 and imparts to him much joy and peace4 ,another of the missionary's joys is to see the gospel gradually taking hold of the hearts of the people and renewing and transforming them4 ,it #bcb is passing pleasant to tell the gospel story1 so full of hope and joy1 to these people whose religious ideas and aspirations are only dark and gloomy4 ,who could desire sweeter joy than to watch the transforming power of the gospel in the heart of some poor heathen1 changing him from an idol-worshiping1 immoral creature into a pure1 consistent ,christian8 ,it is the good fortune of the missionary to see such changes taking place in the people to whom he ministers4 ,and what a change it is6 ,for gloom and dejection it gives joy and hope2 for blind1 irresistible fate it gives a loving providence4 ,the change is so great that every feature of the face expresses it4 ,lastly1 the crown of the missionary's life is to see a strong1 vigorous native church springing up around him1 the direct result of his labors2 to see it gradually and silently spreading itself throughout the whole nation as the leaven through the meal1 permeating every form of its life and impressing itself upon every phase of its character4 ,to this native church he confidently looks for the evangelization of the masses and the accomplishment of all that for which he has labored so long and so earnestly4 ,when the missionary can look upon such a native church with the feeling that it will be faithful to its ,lord and do ,his work2 when he can sit in its pews and hear soul-nourishing gospel sermons from his #bcc own pupils1 now grown strong in the ,lord--then indeed his cup of joy is full4 ,the trials and sorrows that were endured in connection with the work are all forgotten1 and his only emotion is one of glad thanksgiving4 ,in some lands many missionaries have already received this crown to their labors2 it has been partially received in ,japan1 and if we are but faithful to our trust shall yet be received in all lands4 #bcd ,,xiii ,,methods ,,of ,,work ,missionaries attempt in various ways to evangelize the nations to which they are sent4 ,the extent and variety of the work which the missionary is called upon to perform are much greater than the people at home are apt to think4 ,he must be at the same time a preacher1 a teacher1 a translator1 a financier1 a judge1 an author1 an editor1 an architect1 a musician4 ,the great variety of the work necessitates a well-rounded man4 ,all of these offices are1 in an indirect sense1 ways of doing mission work2 but we will here confine ourselves to the consideration of the more direct and positive methods in vogue in ,japan4 ,these are direct evangelization1 educational work1 literary work1 and medical work4 ,direct ,evangelization ,by this ,i mean the actual propagation of the gospel1 by word of mouth1 to the people to whom #bce we are sent4 ,i mention this first because ,i regard it as the most important of all methods4 ,the supreme vocation of the missionary is1 not to educate1 not to heal1 but to preach the gospel4 ,it is well for mission boards and missionaries to remember this1 for there is danger in many places of making this primary method secondary to education4 ,while it is probably true that the evangelization of the masses will depend ultimately upon the efforts of the native ministry1 this should not therefore be construed to mean that the foreign missionary has nothing to do with this department of the work4 ,he should personally engage in this evangelistic work1 should himself come into actual contact with the unevangelized masses1 and should proclaim the gospel directly to them4 ,in this way only can he understand thoroughly the nature of the work in which he is engaged1 and be enabled to sympathize with and advise his evangelists4 ,he should not only train native evangelists1 but should be an evangelist himself1 teaching his helpers1 by earnest1 zealous example as well as by precept1 right methods of the proclamation of the gospel4 ,such work must also bear direct fruit in the conversion of souls2 for even in this land1 in spite of the great nationalism and strong prejudice against foreigners1 a foreigner will draw larger congregations and be listened to with more attention than #bcf a native4 ,and this is not simply because of curiosity2 the people have more confidence in his ability properly to represent the foreign religion4 ,for these reasons1 then1 viz41 for the sake of the souls he may win1 for the sake of the example he may set to his helpers1 and for his own sake1 that he may rightly understand and appreciate the work1 every missionary should1 as far as possible1 be an evangelist4 ,this is emphasized here because in many places the evangelistic work is in danger of being subordinated to the educational1 and missionaries are not lacking who take the strange ground that it is neither necessary nor profitable for the missionary personally to come into contact with the unevangelized masses4 ,this seems to me to be a very mistaken view of the sphere of the foreign worker4 ,he should not only train helpers1 support and advise them1 but he should also go with them among the people and preach to them himself4 ,the direct propagation of the gospel may be either local or itinerating4 ,the missionary may reside in one place1 have a fixed chapel1 and there teach all who come to him2 or he may go on long tours through the country1 preaching from town to town and from village to village4 ,in general these methods are combined in ,japan4 ,the missionary is located in one town and to the work there gives most of his attention2 but he #bcg also at stated intervals visits the surrounding towns and country1 doing evangelistic work wherever he can4 ,,local ,,evangelism4--,for obvious reasons1 local evangelistic work yields the greatest returns4 ,to it the missionary gives his constant care and attention1 while his visits to the country are only periodical4 ,local evangelistic work in ,japan is carried on somewhat in the following manner3 ,a house1 as centrally located in the town as possible1 is rented and fitted up as a chapel4 ,the only furnishings needed are a small table and some lamps4 ,japanese houses are so constructed that the whole wall on the street side can be removed1 and people standing in the street can see and hear all that is going on within4 ,in this new chapel1 one or two evenings a week1 the gospel will be preached4 ,in ,china there is preaching in such chapels every day1 but in ,japan the people will not come oftener than once or twice a week4 ,in all probability both the missionary and the native evangelist will preach the same evening1 one after the other4 ,at first very few people will come into the house1 but numbers will congregate in the street and will listen to what is said4 ,after the service is over an opportunity is given for personal conversation on religious topics4 ,by and by a little interest is manifested1 and some begin to come into the house4 ,a great #bch deal has been gained when people will go so far as to come up into the ,christian chapel1 in plain view of the multitudes1 and hear the sermon4 ,in many cases the native evangelist lives in the chapel 7in the same building1 but occupying different rooms7 and daily meets and talks with people about religion4 ,in this way he hears of those who are interested1 and he and the missionary visit such in their homes and converse privately with them4 ,in my own mission1 as soon as any are interested1 they are organized into a catechetical class1 which meets weekly1 and are thoroughly instructed in ,luther's ,small ,catechism4 ,but ,i find that unless this is preceded by more elementary instruction this excellent little manual will not be well understood4 ,real inquirers are glad to come and study the catechism and the ,bible1 and they study them well4 ,some of the most satisfactory work ,i have done in ,japan has been along the line of catechetical instruction4 ,some of the larger missions working here have not been sufficiently careful about giving their converts sound elementary instruction in ,christian doctrine1 but have left them to gather all the necessary knowledge from the sermons they hear and the instruction given in the ,sunday-schools4 ,one of the desiderata of most missions in ,japan is more systematic catechetical instruction4 ,among the first things a missionary does in #bci beginning work in a town is to open a ,sunday-school4 ,the children are generally more accessible than the older people1 and many of them will come to the school4 ,they cannot at first be organized into classes1 as their interest is not sufficiently great to induce them to attend regularly and to study4 ,the first instruction is usually by means of large ,bible pictures that catch the eye and teach a religious truth4 ,by and by1 when the work becomes more substantial and the interest more developed1 the pupils can be organized into classes and more systematic instruction given4 ,if there are any ,christians in connection with the chapel their children form the backbone of the ,sunday-school4 ,a considerable part of the time of the missionary doing local evangelistic work1 if he is wise1 will be occupied in house-to-house visitation4 ,the ,japanese are a very social people1 and it is wonderful how a little personal kindness and interest in them will break down the prejudice against us and our work4 ,as a rule1 the missionary who goes into a native home with humility1 simplicity1 and love will gain the good will of the whole household4 ,men feel freer to talk about religious subjects in the privacy of their own homes4 ,in a discourse to a promiscuous audience the truth is scattered broadcast1 and each one catches what he can2 but in a private #bdj conversation in the home the truth especially adapted to the hearer can be given4 ,it is like a man trying to fill a bottle with water2 he will get it full much quicker by taking it up in his hand and pouring the water into it than by throwing a whole bowlful at it from a distance4 ,it is a very pleasant experience to enter a friendly home in the evening1 to sit around the social hibachi 7fire-box71 sip tea1 and talk about the great questions of time and eternity4 ,one is generally received with cordiality and made to feel at home4 ,he is listened to attentively and respectfully1 and the questions asked are intelligent1 appreciative ones4 ,if the missionary expects his host immediately to be convinced by his eloquence1 to agree to all he says1 to discard at once his old religion and embrace the new1 he will be disappointed4 ,but if he is content to seek an opportunity to present the truth under most favorable circumstances1 leaving it to do its own work silently and gradually1 he will be sure to find it4 ,house-to-house visitation and personal talks with the people are of great importance in local evangelistic work4 ,but in doing such work great care should be taken to comply strictly with ,japanese etiquette and rules of propriety1 and especially to avoid a haughty bearing4 ,the ordinary native home is much smaller1 simpler1 #bda and frequently dirtier1 than the missionary's1 and the people are constantly watching for any recognition of this fact on his part4 ,he should carefully guard himself against any look or expression which might imply his superiority1 or his dissatisfaction with things around him4 ,i have been both amused and pained by overhearing ,japanese imitate the sayings and actions of two visiting missionaries4 ,according to the imitation1 the one bears himself haughtily and proudly2 as soon as he comes near the door he instinctively draws back as though fearing bad odors2 when he comes in he bows stiffly1 seats himself on the best mat1 carefully draws up his clothes as though fearing contamination1 casts a scornful look at the bare walls1 utters a few commonplace sentiments1 and hastily departs4 ,the other one comes with a cheery greeting1 a smiling countenance1 and a humble demeanor4 ,he never notices the lowly house and bare walls1 but quietly and unconcernedly takes the place assigned him1 freely and appreciatively partakes of the tea and cakes set before him1 and kindly and sympathetically talks with the people as one of them4 ,it is very evident which one of these two will do the most good4 ,as soon as the work grows and a small company of believers has been gathered the duties of the missionary increase4 ,there now rests upon #bdb him that burden which so oppressed ,paul--the care of the churches4 ,he must look after the regular worship of the church1 must develop in his people a church-going sentiment1 and must instruct them in the observance of all ,christian duties4 ,in this work he will need much patience1 wisdom1 and zeal4 ,the native converts1 not having generations of ,christian ancestors as we have1 will need oft to be exhorted1 oft rebuked1 and loved much4 ,christian duties that are with us almost habitual must be urged upon these people time and again4 ,the church must be organized and developed into an harmonious working body4 ,in all of this the missionary is fortunate if he has the assistance of a wise1 godly native helper4 ,perhaps the most attractive and interesting feature of all mission work is this forming and molding1 under one's own hand1 of the theology1 the life1 and the activities of a young church4 ,the one who is privileged to do this occupies a position of responsibility than which none could be greater4 ,may ,god give us grace to do it aright4 ,,itinerating ,,evangelism4--,no true missionary living in a non-,christian land will confine his labors to the town in which he resides4 ,his heart will be constantly yearning over the people in the surrounding towns and country1 and he will gladly take advantage of every opportunity #bdc to make them occasional visits1 telling to them also the old1 old story4 ,but there are other workers whose sole business it is to visit these outlying points and carry a knowledge of the gospel to those who cannot have regular gospel ministrations4 ,perhaps this feature of missionary work is the one most prominent in the minds of the people at home1 who are fond of picturing their missionary as a man who goes about from town to town and from village to village1 proclaiming the gospel to all who will hear4 ,christianity is by nature diffusive4 ,it spreads itself as naturally as the leaven spreads in the meal4 ,confucius taught3 ,the philosopher need not go about to proclaim his doctrines2 if he has the truth the people will come to him4 ,in striking contrast to this ,christ taught3 ,go ye into all the world1 and preach the gospel to every creature4 ,we are not only to teach those who come to us1 but we are also to go out in search of hearers1 to carry our message to the people4 ,when our ,saviour was upon earth the work ,he did was largely itinerating2 going about from place to place1 teaching in the synagogue1 by the wayside1 or on the sea-shore4 ,the disciples were all itinerating evangelists1 carrying their message from city to city and from land to land4 #bdd ,st4 ,paul was an itinerating missionary on a large scale4 ,not content to abide long in any one place1 but looking out continually to the regions beyond1 his life was one ceaseless activity in itinerating evangelism4 ,the missionaries through whom northern ,europe and ,england were converted were itinerants4 ,and those who to-day in mission fields take their valises well stocked with tracts and sermons and go out into the country on long evangelistic tours can feel that they are following in the footsteps of worthy exemplars4 ,we can hardly overestimate the importance of this work4 ,the word of mouth is still the most effective means of conveying a message to the masses1 and a knowledge of ,christian principles that could else hardly be given is in this way spread abroad throughout the land4 ,illustration3 ,jinrikishas4 ,the facilities for itinerating in ,japan are excellent4 ,most of the important points are easily reached by rail or water4 ,but in general1 on an itinerating tour1 the missionary has little use for the steamers and railways4 ,the points he wants to visit are not on the great thoroughfares1 but are in out-of-the-way places4 ,there is1 however1 a good system of roads1 and the jinrikisha1 which is everywhere found1 is easily capable of carrying one #dj or #ej miles a day4 ,this little cart resembles a buggy1 except that it has only two wheels and is much smaller4 ,the seat is #bde just large enough to accommodate one person4 ,a small ,japanese coolie between the shafts furnishes all the necessary motive power4 ,these are very convenient and comfortable little conveyances1 and are the ones in ordinary use by missionaries in their itinerating work4 ,in recent years the bicycle has become popular for this purpose4 ,as the wheel has been made to serve almost every other interest1 it is but fair that it should also serve the gospel4 ,perhaps to-day one half of all the male missionaries in ,japan ride wheels4 ,they have decided advantages over the jinrikisha1 chiefly in the way of speed1 personal comfort1 and pleasure4 ,i wish my readers could see their representatives in ,japan just starting on their wheels for a tour in the interior4 ,dressed in neglige shirts1 caps1 and knickerbockers1 with a large bundle tied upon the wheel in front of each one1 they present a comical appearance4 ,many sermons have been preached in ,japan in neglige shirts and knickerbockers4 ,there are nice1 clean little inns in all the villages and towns1 and the missionary is not put to such straits for a place in which to rest and sleep as he is sometimes in other mission fields4 ,but as the food offered him is unpalatable to most foreigners1 he carries with him a few things1 such as bread1 canned meats1 and condensed milk4 #bdf ,the splendid telegraph system extending over all ,japan keeps him in communication with his family and friends1 no matter where he may go1 and he need not hesitate to go into the interior on that score4 ,a good daily mail system is also at hand to carry his letters4 ,formerly the greatest hindrance to itinerating in ,japan was the difficulty of obtaining passports to travel in the interior4 ,no one was permitted to go outside of certain limits without a special passport1 and such passports were only given for two purposes3 for health1 and for scientific observation4 ,the government did not intend by this restriction to prohibit mission work in the interior1 but aimed simply to prohibit foreigners from engaging in interior trade4 ,as the missionaries were not going for purposes of trade1 many of them availed themselves of these passports2 but there were some whose consciences would not permit them so to do4 ,several high officials were directly spoken to about the matter by missionaries2 and they replied that1 in the eyes of the law1 a man could want to travel for only three purposes3 for health1 for trade1 or for scientific observation4 ,as this restriction was simply to prevent foreigners from engaging in interior trade1 and as the missionaries were not going for that purpose1 they were told that they should go on with their work4 ,the government knew well #bdg the purpose for which they were going1 and permitted it2 hence their consciences might be at rest4 ,these explanations on the part of the officials removed the difficulty in the minds of some1 but not of all4 ,fortunately1 since the revision of the treaties1 passports are granted without any question as to the purpose for which they are wanted1 and all who ask it are freely given permission to travel where they will4 ,since this restriction has been removed more itinerating is being done1 and it is probable that it will still increase4 ,the missionary does two kinds of itinerating in ,japan3 7#a7 he visits periodically a large number of outstations1 where are native evangelists2 7#b7 he goes into regions where there are no evangelists and heralds the gospel4 ,itinerating among stations where native workers are located and regular work kept up is by far the most frequent4 ,these tours are generally made about every two or three months1 one missionary visiting perhaps a dozen stations4 ,the local evangelist makes all preparations for the meetings1 which are generally of a special character4 ,there will probably be a special preaching service for non-believers1 and a communion service with the ,christians4 ,if there are any baptisms the sacrament is then administered4 ,the visit of the missionary is intended to be as much a stimulus and encouragement to the evangelist #bdh as anything else4 ,these men1 living in out-of-the-way places where there are few1 if any1 ,christians1 are apt to get despondent and discouraged1 and they need occasionally the sympathy and advice of a fellow-worker4 ,the missionary who has charge of this kind of work is a sort of bishop1 with an extended parish4 ,when fields where no regular work is carried on are visited the work is necessarily different4 ,in this case the missionary must take his helper with him4 ,he seldom goes alone1 for various reasons4 ,when on one of these tours he will spend one or two days in a village1 talking personally with all who will come to him4 ,very likely he will rent a room in the inn in which he is stopping1 and he and his helper will there preach one or two evenings4 ,sometimes1 if the weather is good1 he obtains permission of the authorities to hold the meeting in the open air1 and preaches on the street or in the public squares4 ,wherever an audience can be gathered the message is told4 ,after one or two days spent in this manner they move on to the next town1 and there do as they did before1 thus going their whole round4 ,the most that is accomplished by this method of preaching is to spread abroad a general knowledge of ,christianity among the people and break down their prejudice against it4 ,not many conversions result from it4 #bdi ,some may ask what kind of sermons one preaches on these itinerating tours4 ,they should be of the plainest1 simplest character4 ,it is profitable to consume a good deal of time in disproving the false ideas which prevail concerning ,christianity1 and in giving the people correct views of its nature4 ,the nature of ,god must be carefully explained1 both because the word we use for ,god is in ,japanese applicable to an earthly hero as well as to a divine being1 and because the divinities of ,japan differ very much in nature from the ,christian conception of ,god4 ,one can preach a long time on sin before getting the people properly to understand it4 ,the ,japanese are really without any sense of sin1 and have no word in their language to express the idea exactly4 ,we use the word which means crime or offense against the laws of the land4 ,then the old story of ,christ simply told always commands a hearing everywhere4 ,the kind of itinerating last described is open to serious objection4 ,it is uncertain and fitful4 ,one visit may be made to a town each year1 or some years not even one4 ,no provision is made for carrying on the work1 or for keeping alive any interest that may have been aroused4 ,to be made very profitable such itinerating should be regular and systematic2 the visits should not be too far apart2 and as soon as some inquirers are #bej found1 a native evangelist should be stationed there to care for them4 ,when conducted in this way it is conducive of great good4 ,educational ,work ,the educational department of mission work has in recent years been coming more and more into prominence4 ,this feature of the work attracts the attention of the visitor from the home lands more than any other1 because it makes more show4 ,the imposing buildings that are erected1 and the large number of students that can be gathered into them1 make a favorable impression4 ,educational work is generally more attractive than evangelistic4 ,the former is regular1 while the latter is desultory4 ,the former is continuous1 occupying one's time and attention every day2 the latter is intermittent4 ,the former can be pursued at home1 and the missionary can enjoy the constant society of his family2 the latter takes him away from his family and occupies him abroad4 ,educational work is usually carried on in the open ports and large cities1 where one enjoys all the conveniences of life1 with sympathetic society2 evangelistic work takes the missionary into the interior1 where there are few conveniences and no society4 ,lastly1 educational work is more #bea or less welcomed by the natives1 while evangelistic work is unwelcome4 ,japan possesses a large number of mission schools4 ,their imposing buildings are seen in almost every city of the empire4 ,every mission of large size has its schools for both boys and girls4 ,the annual support of these schools costs the various boards more money than all the evangelistic work that is done in ,japan4 ,more missionaries are engaged in educational than in evangelistic work4 ,a certain amount of educational work seems necessary to the success of every mission4 ,first in importance is theological training4 ,a body of well-trained native pastors is absolutely essential4 ,especially in this land1 where there are many educated people and where all forms of rationalism and skepticism are rife1 is it necessary that the evangelist have a liberal education1 that he be well rooted and grounded in ,christian doctrine1 and able to answer the philosophical objections to ,christianity that meet him on every side4 ,an educated ministry is just as necessary in ,japan as it is in the ,west1 and the schools that are providing such a ministry are doing a good work4 ,but some of the methods used by them are open to criticism4 ,heretofore most theological training has been in the ,english language1 and #beb the language alone has taken up a great deal of the student's time and strength4 ,and again1 very few ,japanese young men gain a sufficient knowledge of ,english to appreciate or derive full benefit from a theological course in that language4 ,against this is urged the paucity of ,christian literature in ,japanese1 and the wide field of religious thought which a knowledge of the ,english language opens to the student4 ,this is very true2 but if the same amount of time and energy that has been expended in instruction in ,english had been given to the creation of a native ,christian literature the evil would not exist4 ,i am glad to note that recently nearly all the theological schools have introduced courses in the vernacular for those who cannot take the ,english course4 ,it would be well if the ,english course were dispensed with entirely and all instruction were given in the vernacular4 ,many of the missions operating in ,japan have sent worthy young men to ,america and ,england for theological training4 ,in nearly every instance this has proved an unwise investment4 ,the good people at home take up these young men and nurse and pet them until they are completely spoiled4 ,they come back to ,japan unfitted by taste and education for the position they must occupy and the work they must do4 ,most of them become dissatisfied in the work after a few #bec years4 ,foreign education largely denationalizes them and removes them from the sympathies of their own people4 ,of course there have been some exceptions to this rule2 but1 in general1 experience has proved that locally trained evangelists are best suited for the work and give most satisfaction in it4 ,by this it is not intended to imply that ,japanese pastors and teachers should not have the advantages offered by the ,western seminaries when they desire them and are able to obtain them for themselves4 ,they are as capable of receiving advanced instruction as we are1 and have the same right to it4 ,but the money which foreign boards spend for training evangelists should be spent in the field4 ,besides the theological schools there are large numbers of academical schools for young men1 in which a great deal of mission money is spent4 ,in justification of these it is argued that they are necessary for the preparatory training of evangelists4 ,it is said that the education of these future pastors of the church should be ,christian from the beginning1 and this is true4 ,but more than half the evangelists now laboring in ,japan have not received such training4 ,the education they received from government and private schools answers very well in their case4 ,actual experience has proved that1 whatever may be the #bed aim of these academies1 as a matter of fact they do not train evangelists4 ,most of the men who take their full course enter other professions4 ,one of the oldest missions in ,japan1 employing about twenty evangelists1 has among them only one man who has taken the full academical course in its mission college2 but many men have been educated at the church's expense for other professions4 ,again1 it is said in justification of these academies and their large expenditure of mission money that a ,christian education must be provided for the children of the constituency of the mission4 ,the church provides a ,christian education for her sons and daughters at home2 why should she not do it for her wards abroad8 ,far be it from me to attempt to minimize the importance of ,christian education2 but will it not be time enough for such education when the constituency of the native church feels its need to such an extent that it will demand this education itself1 support the schools with its money1 and send its sons and daughters to them8 ,at present even the ,christian people frequently prefer a government school to a mission school2 and they often send their children to the latter1 when they do send them1 because they will there be given financial aid4 ,there was a time when ,christian schools did a good work in ,japan4 ,before the government #bee schools were brought up to their present standard the mission schools were well patronized1 and they considerably benefited the cause of missions4 ,but to-day the government has schools of every grade1 and frequently they are better than the mission schools4 ,the students who formerly flocked to the mission schools now flock to those of the government1 and the former have but few pupils4 ,the times have changed1 and these large1 expensive schools are now hardly needed4 ,in so far as they are needed for the preparatory training of a native ministry1 and can be made to serve that end1 they may be all right1 but certainly as an evangelizing agency they are not justified4 ,the native church should be encouraged and stimulated to educate its own children2 it might even be assisted in the attempt1 when it has shown an honest effort to do this2 but its children should not be educated for it by the mission free of charge4 ,to spend so large an amount of the people's money in purely secular education seems to me a misappropriation of funds4 ,more than half the mission schools in ,japan are boarding-schools for girls4 ,nearly all the unmarried women engaged in mission work are in these schools1 and there are many of them4 ,some of these schools have very fine locations and buildings1 about as good as those of the average #bef girls' college at home4 ,that they are more popular and better patronized than those for boys is because the government does not provide for the higher education of girls as it does for boys4 ,the purpose of these girls' boarding-schools is to train up earnest ,christian women1 who will be the wives and mothers of the new ,japan4 ,it is said that if the mothers of the nation are made ,christian the evangelization of the whole people will speedily follow4 ,this purpose is a worthy one4 ,most of the girls who enter these mission schools become ,christians1 and the training given them seems to be good4 ,i recently attended the closing exercises of one of the largest of these1 and was surprised at the progress made by the girls4 ,they could paint and draw1 and recite classical music as well as the young ladies of the seminaries at home2 and ,i have no doubt that the graduates leave the schools pure-minded1 earnest ,christians1 with worthy aims and aspirations1 and with a full intention to exert their influence for ,god and ,his church4 ,but alas6 when they go back to their homes the position ,japanese etiquette assigns them so effectually ties their hands that the results are bitterly disappointing4 ,i will mention one case which came under my own observation4 ,a young lady was educated by a mission school in a certain city1 who was noted for her piety and #beg earnest ,christian spirit4 ,her teachers had most extravagant hopes as to the strong positive influence she would exert for ,christianity4 ,after her graduation she spent several years in the same school as a teacher1 and her ,christian life was broadened and deepened by longer and more intimate contact with the foreign teachers4 ,she finally married and removed to her new home1 in a distant city4 ,there she attended church once or twice and then stopped entirely4 ,neither the urgent personal request of the native pastor nor the oft-repeated invitation of the ,christian congregation could induce her to come any more4 ,instead of exerting an influence for good upon others she herself became a fit subject for mission work4 ,i have known several cases of this kind1 and all missionaries have had the same experience4 ,social conditions in ,japan are such that a girl marrying into a non-,christian home can exert little ,christian influence4 ,but admitting for the moment the utility of this ,christian training for the girls1 these large schools are open to serious objections on other grounds4 ,the course is too long1 and the instruction given too advanced4 ,in many of these schools the girls are kept for twelve or fourteen years4 ,during all this time they are more or less supported by mission funds1 even down to pin-money4 ,they are taught all kinds of abstract #beh sciences and advanced ideas that can be of no possible use to them4 ,latin and ,greek1 biology1 geology1 psychology1 and many other things are taught them that they neither need nor can appreciate4 ,painting1 drawing1 vocal and instrumental music form a prominent part of the curriculum4 ,girls are made to practise on the piano for ten years or more who will in all probability never see a piano after they leave school4 ,of course these are not the only subjects taught2 more useful ones are taught as well4 ,if mission schools for the education of girls should exist at all the instruction should be much more elementary and practical4 ,a course of two or three years1 teaching them how wisely to fill their position as wives and mothers1 would amply suffice4 ,it is claimed by the ,japanese with great reason that these schools unfit the girls for the sphere they must occupy in after life4 ,a life of ten1 twelve1 or fourteen years in constant association with foreign teachers1 in a foreign building1 with all necessaries and conveniences supplied1 pursuing a pleasant course of study1 does not fit the pupil for life in her humble home4 ,no wonder she loves the school and dreads to see the day approaching when she must leave it4 ,having lived so long under much better circumstances1 her home1 with its thatched roof1 narrow walls1 #bei and homely duties1 becomes distasteful to her4 ,of what use now are her music and painting1 her ,latin and ,greek1 when her time must be spent in boiling rice and mending old1 worn-out clothes8 ,there is such a thing as educating people above their sphere in life1 and such education is more hurtful than otherwise4 ,but it is said1 ,we are training future ,bible-women who will go out and teach the gospel to their country-women4 ,in reply to this it can be answered that not a great many graduates of girls' schools become ,bible-women2 and it is the experience of nearly every missionary that the best ,bible-women are middle-aged women1 who may never have been in a mission school4 ,again1 it is said that it is worth while to have these schools if only to train educated ,christian wives for the native evangelists4 ,but many of the evangelists1 even among those who themselves have received a more or less foreign training1 prefer wives who have never been in a mission school1 saying that these girls who have lived so long under better surroundings will not be contented and happy in the homes they can provide4 ,it is also true that many of the young ladies who graduate from these schools object to marrying at all1 feeling that they have been unfitted for the life they would have to lead4 ,a very serious objection to the present #bfj educational method in use by many missions in ,japan is that it hinders self-support in the native churches4 ,these large foreign plants1 with their costly appliances1 can never be supported by the native churches1 and the evident futility of the effort so discourages them that they will not even do what they can4 ,the day when the churches of ,japan can become self-supporting is very much postponed by the existence of these costly schools4 ,at present the native churches could hardly keep the school buildings in repair4 ,the whole work of missions in ,japan was in the beginning projected on too high a plane4 ,to many it seems a great mistake that such large and costly buildings were erected and the schools started on a foreign basis4 ,should not the buildings have been entirely of native architecture from the beginning1 and the educational work projected on a plane corresponding to ,japanese life8 ,if small wooden houses1 with straw roofs and no furniture1 are good enough for these people to live in and to transact all kinds of business in1 then they are good enough for them to study in and to worship ,god in4 ,if from the very beginning the schools and churches had been built on a plane corresponding with ordinary ,japanese houses and life the day would much sooner have come when the ,japanese themselves could undertake their support4 ,when1 in the providence of #bfa ,god1 the native church shall have been sufficiently developed1 materially and spiritually1 to undertake the education of her children and the training of her own pastors1 the manner in which she will do it will be very different from that in which it is now done by the mission boards4 ,i am aware that many missionaries in ,japan1 for whose opinions ,i have all respect1 will not agree with these views4 ,but1 after most careful thought and investigation1 the above are the conclusions to which ,i have arrived2 and ,i am glad to know that my views are shared by many of my fellow-missionaries4 ,it is my sincere conviction that most of the money now being used for educational purposes in ,japan is misapplied1 and would yield far greater results if used in other ways4 ,literary ,work ,one of the most important and fruitful branches of missionary work is the literary4 ,the creation of a sound ,christian literature is one of the first and most imperative duties pressing upon the missionary to the heathen4 ,this is an exceedingly difficult task4 ,when we think of how much labor and how many precious lives our own ,christian literature has cost us1 we begin to have some conception of the immensity of the task of creating a ,christian #bfb literature in a heathen land4 ,in the first place1 the missionary must have a complete mastery of the language1--in ,japan an appalling task1--and then he must create the terms to express so many ideas4 ,many of our ,christian ideas have no counterpart in non-,christian lands1 and the very words to express them must be coined4 ,a common device is to take words of kindred meaning and to make them serve the purpose1 endeavoring to attach our own meaning to them by gradual processes of instruction and use4 ,thus with the words for ,god and sin in use by most missions in ,japan4 ,these words are kami and tsumi4 ,now kami is the word used for numerous mythological divinities1 with natures very different from our ,god1 and is also applied to the ancient heroes of ,japan4 ,as it expresses the idea better than any other word we have1 we use it for ,god2 but we must be careful always to explain the sense in which we use it4 ,the word tsumi means crime1 or offense against the laws of the land4 ,our idea of sin is lacking in the ,japanese mind1 and hence there is no word that exactly expresses it4 ,we take the word tsumi as being nearest it1 and endeavor to impart to it our own meaning4 ,in this way we have not only to translate the ideas1 but also to coin or modify the words to express them4 ,this work of the missionary is very different #bfc from that of translating ,english books into a ,european language which has a circle of ideas similar to our own1 for there the words are found ready-made to express the ideas4 ,generally the first literary work to be done by missionaries is the translation and publication of portions of ,scripture and of tracts4 ,as soon as their knowledge of the language is sufficiently advanced1 they translate the whole ,bible and some good hymns4 ,then follow apologetical and evidential works1 and treatises on theology and morality4 ,afterward biographical and devotional books1 magazines1 and ,christian newspapers are published4 ,we cannot overestimate the value of a good ,christian newspaper4 ,it will carry gospel truth to people whom the missionary and the native evangelist cannot reach1 and it will help much to nourish and strengthen the life of the native converts4 ,in such a paper the latter will probably see their religion set forth in all its relations to the questions of practical life in a way they seldom hear it done in sermons4 ,i think parish papers1 which are becoming so common at home1 would also exert a splendid influence in ,japan4 ,in this field a considerable ,christian literature has already been created4 ,among the most important books translated so far might be mentioned the ,bible1 the ,book of ,common ,prayer1 #bfd ,luther's ,small ,catechism1 the ,heidelberg ,catechism1 ,bynyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,a considerable number of books on apologetical1 evidential1 dogmatic1 and historical theology have been published1 besides biographical1 ethical1 and devotional books4 ,there are also several ,christian newspapers1 and recently the missionaries of the ,american ,board have begun the publication of a ,christian magazine4 ,a ,christian literature which will be a powerful auxiliary to our work is at present forming rapidly in ,japan4 ,medical ,work ,medical work is one of the youngest departments of missionary labor4 ,christ healed the body as well as the soul1 and it is peculiarly fitting that the missionary be able to heal the body likewise4 ,medical missions have done more in some countries toward breaking down the prejudice against ,christianity than any other one thing4 ,doors effectually closed to the evangelist have been opened wide to the doctor4 ,the power for good of a consecrated physician in many mission fields is boundless4 ,the mission boards have fully recognized this fact1 and have wisely used large numbers of medical missionaries4 ,in former times medical missionaries accomplished much good in ,japan4 ,they helped greatly #bfe to break down the prejudice and opposition to ,christianity4 ,many who came to the hospitals to have their bodies healed went away having their ears filled with words from the great ,physician1 and their hearts moved by the kindness and love of these ,christian doctors4 ,not only was much direct mission work accomplished in this way1 but the principles of physiology and medicine were also taught to large numbers of native physicians and students4 ,among the men who did most in this work were ,drs4 ,hepburn1 ,berry1 and ,taylor4 ,although they have accomplished much good1 medical missions are no longer needed in ,japan4 ,the ,japanese themselves have become adepts in medical science1 and especially in surgery4 ,every town and city has one or more hospitals where competent medical consultation and treatment can be had1 and these now occupy the position formerly filled only partially by the mission hospitals4 ,a few hospitals and dispensaries are still kept in operation by some missions1 but most of them were years ago dispensed with as no longer profitable4 ,we rejoice that ,japan has so far progressed as to be well able to care for the health of her own people1 and we adapt ourselves to the changed circumstances1 diverting into more fruitful channels the energies formerly expended in this way4 #bff ,,xiv ,,hindrances ,many of the hindrances that oppose the progress of ,christianity in ,japan have already been indirectly suggested in other portions of this book4 ,but that they may be more clearly apprehended by the friends of missions at home1 and that the effect of their militating influence may be fully felt1 we will endeavor in this chapter to arrange them in order and show just how they oppose our work4 ,for the sake of clearness and logical order we will consider the subject under two divisions3 #a4 ,hindrances in ,japan common to all mission fields2 #b4 ,hindrances peculiar to ,japan4 #a4 ,there are certain things inherent in the very nature of ,christianity that impede her progress4 ,they are necessities of her being1 and cannot be gotten rid of4 ,these things may be either a part of ,christianity herself1 belonging to her nature1 #bfg or they may be necessary results of her acceptance by non-,christian peoples4 ,for this reason they are encountered wherever the gospel is propagated2 they are common hindrances to the advance of our faith alike in ,china1 ,india1 ,africa1 and ,japan4 ,although not peculiar to ,japan1 it seems to me wise briefly to refer to these universal hindrances1 because often they are not realized in their full force and power either by the people of our home churches or even by our pastors4 ,to appreciate fully their militating influence one must go to the mission field1 and there observe them actually hindering the rapid progress of evangelization4 ,there they are seen in a new light1 and are impressed upon the mind as they can hardly be otherwise4 ,if ,i can succeed in causing the constituency of the churches at home to realize the number1 magnitude1 and power of these hindrances ,i will have done good service for the cause of missions4 ,as the first one of these universal militating influences1 inherent in the very nature of missions1 opposing the progress of ,christianity wherever its teachings are newly propagated1 ,i would mention its revolutionizing tendency4 ,christian missions are in their nature revolutionizing4 ,the result is inevitable and unavoidable4 ,the advance of ,christianity in a heathen land #bfh necessitates the revolutionizing of many institutions that have obtained for centuries4 ,not only must the religious ideas undergo a revolution1 but all moral ideas1 and manners and customs as well4 ,the reasons for this are very evident4 ,religion is intimately connected with the life of man4 ,it furnishes the motive power of his life1 controls his actions1 creates his morality1 determines his manners and customs1 and shapes his laws4 ,the ethnic religions are just as intimately interwoven with the lives of their adherents as ,christianity is with the lives of ,christians2 and ,buddhism1 ,confucianism1 and ,brahmanism have shaped and determined the lives and actions of their adherents4 ,the connection between religion and morality is a necessary and indissoluble one4 ,the two are united in their growth and development1 and the form of morality is necessarily colored by the dominant religion4 ,wherever the ,buddhist faith has been accepted there has sprung up a system of morality peculiar to it2 so that we speak of a ,buddhistic in opposition to a ,christian morality4 ,this morality is dependent upon the religion1 and a change of religion must bring about a change of morality4 ,christianity1 having necessarily developed a morality in accord with its principles1 must1 as it advances1 destroy the existing systems and create #bfi widely different ones4 ,while the better element in heathen nations has more or less outgrown its religious ideas and superstitions1 and can calmly contemplate a change of religion1 yet its moral system has a stronger hold1 and anything which antagonizes it is severely condemned4 ,this necessary revolutionizing of moral ideas very much opposes the progress of ,christianity4 ,the acceptance of ,christianity necessitates also a revolution in manners and customs4 ,these are partially an expression of the faith that is in us1 their nature being determined by it4 ,a change of religion1 therefore1 means a change in all of these4 ,people have great respect for time-honored customs1 and that which antagonizes these brings upon itself condemnation4 ,christianity changes the manners and customs1 and therefore the people do all they can to oppose it4 ,in these ways the work of missions is revolutionizing1 and must expect to encounter the opposition of the spirit of conservatism1 which is much stronger in the ,east than in the ,west4 ,a second principle inherent in the very nature of ,christianity which hinders its progress in heathen lands is its exclusiveness4 ,our religion is among the most intolerant in its attitude toward other faiths4 ,we believe and teach that there is none other name under heaven given among #bgj men1 whereby we must be saved1 than the name of ,christ4 ,while acknowledging that other religions contain grains of truth1 we must affirm that1 as religious systems1 they are false4 ,christ sent forth ,his apostles to make disciples of all1 winning them to the ,christian faith4 ,and the aim of the church to-day is1 not to cultivate brotherly love and communion with other religions1 but rather to exterminate them and make ,christians of all4 ,she can brook no rival4 ,her adherents must give their allegiance to her alone4 ,christianity not only claims to be the only religion1 but she can offer no hope to those outside of her pale4 ,while the ,bible does not demand that ,i teach the ,japanese that their ancestors are surely lost1 it certainly gives me no ground for assuring them of their salvation4 ,we all revere our forefathers1 but none so much as the ,oriental4 ,he pays periodical visits to the tombs of his ancestors2 he worships his father and commemorates the day of his death by mourning4 ,a heaven from which his ancestors are excluded has little attractions for him4 ,often does the ,shintoist say1 ,i would rather be in hell with my ancestors than in heaven without them4 ,if ,christianity could be less exclusive and more tolerant of other faiths she would find a much more ready acceptance at the hands of non-,christian peoples4 ,but she cannot be so and be true #bga to her own nature and mission4 ,in ancient ,rome1 when the church was called to pass through fire1 the manifestation of a more tolerant spirit would have saved her from that awful persecution4 ,the ,romans had many gods and did not object to one more4 ,they adopted those of all the conquered peoples1 and were ready to adopt the ,christians'1 and erect an altar to ,him1 if the ,christians would acknowledge ,him as simply one among the other gods4 ,and from that day to this the exclusive claims of ,christianity have brought upon her trials and persecutions1 and have hindered her progress throughout the earth4 ,especially is this religious exclusiveness unpopular in ,japan1 because there the native religions are very tolerant of one another4 ,these are some of the strongest hindrances to the rapid progress of ,christianity in pagan lands4 ,they belong to the very nature of our faith1 and cannot be avoided4 ,their antagonizing influence is encountered wherever the gospel is preached4 #b4 ,but ,i think that the greatest hindrances to mission work in ,japan to-day are those which are peculiar to this field4 ,many circumstances conspire to make ,japan stand alone among mission fields4 ,she has been pronounced at once the most promising and the most difficult of all fields for evangelistic work3 the most promising because of the life1 force1 and ability of her people2 the #bgb most difficult because of the host of peculiar hindrances under which the evangelist must labor there4 ,i will proceed to point out some of these4 7#a7 ,perhaps the most potent at present is the extreme nationalistic feeling1 which has brought into disrepute everything of foreign origin4 ,the ,christian religion1 being a foreign institution1 is therefore unpopular1 and is thought to be less adapted to the people and less liable to nourish a strong national feeling than the native ,shinto4 ,it is hard for us to realize the fanatical intensity of their patriotism4 ,having been taught for so many centuries that this is the first virtue1 the people have exalted it above everything else4 ,japan first1 forever1 and always1 is the universal motto4 ,there is hardly a man1 woman1 or child in the empire to-day who would not be perfectly willing to lay down his life for the good of the country4 ,this extreme patriotism operates in several ways to hinder the progress of ,christianity4 ,it prevents the ready acceptance of the new religion4 ,there are a great many so ignorant and inconsistent as to hate ,christianity just because it is of foreign origin1 thinking that nothing good can originate outside of ,japan4 ,such people adhere to the native religion1 in spite of its inferiority1 simply because they think that to do so is patriotic4 ,but there is a much larger and more #bgc influential class that is led to antagonize ,christianity from patriotic motives other than this4 ,they hold that a belief in the native religions is necessary to preserve their darling patriotic spirit1 and that the adoption of any foreign religion would gradually destroy all patriotism and loyalty4 ,christianity is not national1 but cosmopolitan4 ,it teaches the ,fatherhood of ,god and the brotherhood of man1 both of which great ideas are repugnant to most ,japanese1 because they do not harmonize with their ideas of the divine origin of the imperial family1 and their national superiority to the other races of the world4 ,they want a religion which exalts ,japan above everything and inculcates patriotism and loyalty to her alone4 ,but the most hurtful influence of this extreme nationalism is felt within the pale of the church herself4 ,actuated by it1 many of the native ,christians1 both clerical and lay1 want to do away with everything foreign in connection with the churches4 ,the more strictly national they can make their work the better satisfied are they4 ,not only do they antagonize the missionary and try to push him off the field1 but they also antagonize foreign theology1 and want to build up a native system with no foreign taint4 ,the result is great friction between the native and foreign workers1 strained relations1 and in many instances #bgd open antagonism4 ,this want of cordiality and harmony1 for which the national feeling is largely responsible1 is very hurtful to the best interests of our work4 ,but the desire for a purely native theology1 which this strong1 benighted patriotism begets1 is even more hurtful than its sowing seeds of discord among the workers4 ,many of the leading native ministers and laymen say that it is folly for their churches to perpetuate the theological divisions and creeds of the ,west1 and they propose to develop a theology peculiarly their own4 ,now ,christianity cannot be kept pure and sound without paying due regard to its historical development2 and the ,japanese1 in cutting loose from this1 have already run into heresy4 ,the danger is that a ,christianity may be developed which is lacking in all that is distinctively ,christian1 and which will be harder to overcome than the old heathenism4 7#b7 ,another hindrance which has operated with great power throughout the whole history of ,protestant missions in ,japan is the past record of ,christianity4 ,in a former chapter upon the ,first ,introduction of ,christianity ,i have told how ,christianity was first introduced1 how it grew to magnificent proportions1 and how finally it was crushed by the secular arm4 ,the fact that the government once felt constrained to extirpate #bge ,christianity1 at whatever cost1 and especially the fact that the ,christians dared oppose the government1 have brought our religion into disrepute4 ,since1 according to native morality1 whatever government does is right and whatever government opposes is wrong1 the mere fact of this opposition on the part of the government is enough to condemn ,christianity in the eyes of many4 ,then the fact that the ,christians at last rebelled gives color to the idea already formed that ,christianity is disloyal to ,japan4 ,that idea prevails widely1 and in many quarters ,christians are regarded with suspicion4 ,a memory of the past bitter persecutions and of the hated rebellion still lingers4 ,the old people talk of them around the hibachi1 as they sip their tea and smoke their pipes2 the young read of them in the histories1 and thus their memory is kept alive4 ,many are still living who saw and read the rigid prohibitions of ,christianity on the sign-boards over all the country1 and they cannot forget them4 ,there are not a few people in the empire who to this day have hardly learned that the changed attitude of the government toward ,christianity is more than outward2 and these still regard the foreign faith as the chief of all evils4 ,it is really pathetic sometimes to hear them talk of it4 ,there was an old man living near a ,christian chapel not far from here1 who one day was #bgf complaining of his woes and wishing to die4 ,he said it had been a bad year1 and none of his crops had done well1 two of his children had died1 his country had been insulted by a foreign power1 and1 to cap the climax1 ,christianity had come and taken up its abode next door to him4 ,this last evil was too much1 and he wanted to die4 ,he still regarded our faith as the worst of evils4 ,i once gave a few tracts to some old men in a mountain village near ,saga1 and they remarked that they remembered the time when it would have meant certain death to be seen with one of those little books4 7#c7 ,the character of the education prevalent in ,japan to-day is also antagonistic to ,christianity4 ,the ,japanese are a studious race and are capable of high mental development4 ,the country is so well supplied with schools--nearly all of them government institutions--that no one is too poor to receive some education4 ,there is1 on the part of the school authorities1 no open antagonism to ,christianity as such4 ,according to the regulations1 no one religion is to be favored more than another in the schools1 and complete religious liberty is to be allowed4 ,but the general tenor of the education given is unchristian--an exaltation of reason above faith1 of science above religion4 ,especially is the tendency of the higher education against any form of religion4 ,the #bgg educators of ,japan are training a nation of atheists and agnostics4 ,the scientific schools of the ,west that have no room for religion are studied earnestly and copied by educated ,japan4 ,in philosophy ,herbert ,spencer and his school have been acknowledged masters4 ,indeed1 it never seems to have occurred to the minds of thinking ,japanese that there are systems of philosophy other than the materialistic4 ,all religious sentiment is crushed in the schools1 other things being substituted4 ,science1 learning1 is thought to be all that is necessary1 and religion is left for old women and children4 ,men who still believe in religion are thought superstitious and uneducated1 and are regarded with a sort of lordly contempt4 ,in a conversation some time ago with a graduate of the ,imperial ,university ,i was dogmatically told that ,christianity was acknowledged to be absurd by all thinking men everywhere1 that all religions are only for the infancy of the race1 and that full-grown men can dispense with them4 ,this man's views are the usual product of the higher education1 of ,japan to-day4 ,hence it happens that few students of the higher schools are ,christian1 and frequently men go there with ,christian sentiments1 only to lose them before they leave4 7#d7 ,the old religions of ,japan strongly oppose the march of ,christianity4 ,men often speak as though the old heathen faiths had lost their power #bgh and were no longer really believed4 ,their power is on the wane1 but they lack much of being dead4 ,they still possess enough vitality strongly to oppose the evangelization of this land4 ,the old ,shinto faith1 having the decided advantage of national origin1 and fitting in exactly with ,japanese ideas of their relative national importance and the nature of their emperor1 is a strong opposing influence4 ,buddhism still possesses a strong hold upon the masses of the people4 ,it has the recommendation of age1 has played a prominent part in the national history1 and is dear to the hearts of the people4 ,it occupies a decided vantage-ground from which it opposes us and our work4 ,to some in the ,west it seems almost incredible that these people should really believe and trust in these faiths4 ,and yet be assured that they do believe and trust in them4 ,there are about the same sincerity1 the same confidence1 and the same faith placed in ,buddhism by its adherents as are placed in ,christianity by its4 ,the religious cravings and instincts of the people are1 on the whole1 satisfied by their native religions4 ,the opposition of ,buddhism to ,christianity does not consist solely in misrepresentation1 nor is it founded on ignorance1 but is an intelligent opposition4 ,some of the ,buddhist priests study carefully our language for the purpose of reading #bgi our theology and informing themselves as to our faith4 ,it is said that one of the very best collections of books of ,christian evidences and apologetics to be found in all ,japan is in the ,buddhist library in ,kyoto4 ,buddhism has learned some useful lessons from ,christianity4 ,she is now learning the value of stated preaching for the information of her people in ,buddhist doctrine1 and the value of organized1 systematic effort4 ,a ,young ,men's ,buddhist ,association has been formed1 after the model of the ,young ,men's ,christian ,association1 which is doing much toward holding the young men to the ,buddhist faith4 ,buddhism is on the alert1 is quick and active1 antagonizes us at every turn1 and is one of the very strongest hindrances to the progress of ,christianity4 7#e7 ,the social ostracism visited upon those who become ,christians very much hinders our progress4 ,most of our converts1 unless their relatives and friends are ,christians1 are ostracized2 in many cases they are entirely cut off from their families and are disinherited4 ,in ,america1 when one becomes a ,christian1 he has the encouragement and sympathy of all good people1 and his family and friends rejoice with him4 ,in ,japan for a member of a family to become a ,christian is considered a disgrace1 and the united influence of family and friends is powerfully exerted to prevent such a #bhj calamity4 ,influential men in our city have told me that perhaps the greatest hindrance to my work is that by becoming a ,christian a man shuts himself off from his family and friends4 ,i am convinced that many would take a stand for ,christ much more readily if the home influence were not so antagonistic4 ,a student in the ,normal ,school of our city1 who came to me for many months to study ,christianity1 told me that his family bitterly hated the ,christian religion1 and that he could not return home if he became a believer4 ,in spite of this he was led by the ,spirit to ask for baptism1 and ,i baptized him4 ,afterward he wrote very dutiful letters to his home1 trying to explain that he felt impelled by duty to take this step1 and that ,christianity was not so heinous a thing as they supposed2 but no answers came4 ,in course of time1 being compelled to return to his own town on business1 he went to his home to spend the night2 but his mother and brothers would not recognize him1 and he had to go away to a hotel4 ,his father was dead1 and his mother tried to disinherit him1 but was by the law prevented4 ,his family and friends have never forgiven him1 and now he never sees them4 ,similar cases could be cited without number proving the same thing4 ,is it not natural1 then1 for a man to hesitate to take this step8 #bha 7#f7 ,another obstacle to the progress of missions in ,japan is that the church is too much divided4 ,almost every small religious body known has felt it incumbent upon itself to undertake work here4 ,it may be true that denominations working separately are no hindrance to the cause of ,christ in the home field1 but ,i think they are surely a hindrance in the foreign work4 ,it is a fine rhetorical figure to liken the various denominations and sects to different divisions of one vast army1 all engaged under the same general1 in the same work2 but the figure does not represent the facts4 ,we do not have one vast ,christian army1 each division occupying only its own field1 directed by one mind1 and moving in unison4 ,the most optimistic cannot so regard the different denominations and sects of ,christendom4 ,like other oft-used figures1 this one is entirely at variance with the facts4 ,oftener is it true that these sects oppose one another1 and much prefer their own welfare to that of the whole body of ,christ4 ,you cannot satisfactorily explain to non-,christian people the reasons why you must have a ,lutheran1 a ,methodist1 a ,presbyterian1 and a ,baptist church2 and if they could be brought to understand our differences this would in no way recommend us or our creed to them4 ,it is a great pity that each mission field is not allotted to some one denomination and left alone by all #bhb the others4 ,if this cannot be1 at least only one body should work in one town4 ,then these complications would be partially avoided1 and ,christianity would more recommend itself to the thoughtful citizen4 ,we suffer in ,japan more from a superfluity of sects than of denominations4 ,the ,universalists and ,unitarians are here with their heresies1 and are poisoning many minds4 ,many other bodies are here1 antagonizing the established order of things and teaching religious anarchy4 ,i suppose there is no mission field in the world that has a larger number of sects and divisions4 ,but the regular orthodox denominations work more harmoniously in ,japan than in the home lands4 ,strifes and jealousies between them are rare1 while expressions of mutual appreciation and of ,christian courtesy are common4 7#g7 ,i think the foreign communities in the open ports of ,japan are a hindrance to the work of evangelization4 ,in the seven treaty ports there are regular concessions for foreign residence and trade1 and thousands of foreigners live in them4 ,these communities are largely composed of merchants and of those connected with the various consulates1 most of whom have come here for purposes of gain1 and are interested in nothing besides money-getting4 ,a large per cent4 of this population is very undesirable4 ,as representatives #bhc of ,western civilization 7the product of ,christianity7 the foreign settlements should be model ,christian communities1 and were they such they could exert a powerful influence for good4 ,but as it is1 their example does not recommend itself to the ,japanese4 ,to say nothing whatever of the charges of immorality and dissoluteness preferred against these men1 they are certainly not ,christians4 ,one would think1 to observe them1 that they had not come from ,christian lands at all4 ,many who are here only temporarily1 being away from all home influences and restraints1 set a most ungodly example4 ,they will not attend church2 they take no interest in religious work2 they speak disparagingly of religion in general1 and of the ,christian religion in particular2 and to them a missionary is an eyesore4 ,while we are laboring to ,christianize the people1 our own countrymen1 the representatives of ,christian lands and the exponents of a ,christian civilization1 are in the foreign ports setting a most ungodly example4 ,the natives are quick to notice these things1 and they reason that1 if our faith is as good as we represent it to be1 why have our countrymen not profited better by it8 ,the presence of these antichristian representatives of ,christendom is a great hindrance4 ,but not all of the foreigners in the open ports #bhd of ,japan are of this character4 ,there are some good ,christian men and women among the business classes1 who are interested in all kinds of ,christian work4 ,and yet the prevailing tendency of the foreign business communities is against ,christian work4 7#h7 ,the last but not the least hindrance ,i will mention is the language4 ,it has been said of both ,chinese and ,japanese that they were invented by the devil to keep ,christian missionaries from speaking freely with the natives4 ,whether that be true or not1 it certainly is true that ,japanese is one of the most difficult languages on the globe4 ,to know it well1 three different languages must be acquired3 spoken ,japanese1 written ,japanese1 and ,chinese4 ,the colloquial and the book language are quite different1 the literary being partly ,chinese4 ,the latter is written by ideographs1 and you must have a sign for each idea4 ,about five thousand of these characters will enable one to get along1 although there are probably fifty thousand in all4 ,by a sheer act of memory to learn five thousand hideous characters is no little task4 ,the colloquial itself is exceedingly difficult to use aright4 ,my readers may be surprised to learn that of the missionaries laboring in ,japan one third cannot speak the language intelligibly to the natives4 ,it seems that many ,occidentals1 laboring never so hard1 really cannot #bhe acquire the language4 ,one never feels sure in this language that he is saying just what he wants to say4 ,if it were less difficult1 so that missionaries could acquire complete command of it and use it as readily as they do their mother tongue1 the work of evangelization would go on more rapidly4 ,these1 as ,i understand them1 are the principal things which at present hinder the progress of ,christianity in ,japan4 ,some of them are inherent in the very nature of the work1 and will be encountered to the end4 ,others1 ,i believe1 are transient1 and will by and by pass away4 #bhf ,,xv ,,special ,,problems ,in the broad sphere of labor which the missionary must fill he daily meets most difficult problems1 whose solution requires the exercise of consummate judgment1 skill1 and patience4 ,although these problems are not given a prominent place in mission reports1 and are not therefore very well known at home1 they loom up mountain-high before every missionary4 ,they have a practical importance in the field surpassed by none other4 ,men differ so widely in regard to their solution that they not infrequently work division in a mission4 ,a brief presentation of some of these problems will enable the home churches better to understand our work and to sympathize with us1 and will be of practical worth to those who contemplate coming to work in this field4 ,the first problem to meet the missionary is1 how to deal with inquirers4 #bhg ,in ,japan not one in three at first comes with sincere motives and good intentions4 ,on the contrary1 he comes seeking some material advantage1 hoping in some way to profit by his association with the missionary1 or vaguely expecting to be benefited by an alliance with what appears to be a stronger and more living cause4 ,those who from the first are impelled to come by real spiritual motives are indeed rare4 ,how to deal with such inquirers is the question4 ,to turn them away would be to send them back into heathenism4 ,manifestly we must hold them until they have more spiritual motives4 ,i suppose all missionaries would agree that1 no matter how material and selfish their motives1 inquirers should be encouraged to continue coming1 with the hope of gradually leading them into the truth4 ,we could hardly expect them at first to have pure motives1 as such are practically unknown to them4 ,heathenism1 with its degrading idolatries and immoralities1 does not beget these1 and we cannot expect to discover them until the old religions have been discarded and the inquirers have been brought under the instruction and care of the church4 ,therefore1 whatever the motive1 we should receive them1 and after a long period of ,christian teaching and discipline look for a change of heart4 ,but the length of this probation before they are received #bhh into the church1 and whether it shall be required--those are matters upon which the practice of missions differs widely4 ,some have a prescribed time which must elapse before candidates are admitted to membership2 others leave it to the judgment of the local evangelist or missionary4 ,the latter seems the better plan4 ,another question is1 ,just how much shall candidates for church-membership be required to give up8 ,as to strictly heathen practices1 such as idolatry and gross immorality1 there can be no question4 ,but what of practices about which the judgment of men differs8 ,some missions require total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks4 ,some1 like the ,methodist1 require abstinence from the use of tobacco1 especially on the part of pastors and evangelists4 ,these churches urge in favor of their position the comparative ease with which such restrictions may be applied in the young churches of ,japan4 ,shall we follow the lead of these more conservative churches1 or shall we adopt a more liberal policy8 ,shall we require converts who are engaged in any way in the manufacture or sale of tobacco or liquor to change their business8 ,the practice of our own mission 7the ,lutheran7 is1 except in the manufacture1 sale1 or inordinate use of intoxicants1 to allow liberty of conscience4 #bhi ,another and a very perplexing problem we find to be1 what to do with honest inquirers who have no means of support4 ,this class is numerous4 ,there are a great many poor in ,japan--in fact1 nearly all are poor4 ,as ,japanese custom--even more in ancient times than at present--made the poorer classes look to the rich for their maintenance and support1 many converts look to the missionary1 not to support them outright1 but to help them into positions where they can earn a living4 ,not a few have their means of support cut off by the very act of becoming ,christians4 ,in such cases it seems but fair that the mission should do what it can to assist them4 ,but how8 ,to support them is too expensive1 besides being demoralizing to them and the community4 ,in some mission fields industrial schools1 mission farms1 and various other enterprises are established to provide employment for such1 and in this way they are helped to support themselves4 ,but in a country like ,japan1 where industrial and commercial life is highly organized and developed1 it is almost impossible for the missions to do such work4 ,we have neither the means nor the skill to compete with the industries around us4 ,this question of support for the poor of the churches is a pressing one1 and causes the missionary much anxiety and thought4 ,the native church can do #bij much more toward its solution than the missionary1 and as the church grows in influence and resources the problem may solve itself4 ,after a body of converts has been gathered1 and the time has come for organizing a church1 the greatest problem of all arises--the problem of the native church4 ,this is not one problem1 but is rather a combination of problems1 some of which are the following3 ,what shall be the form of its organization8 ,how shall its ministry be supplied8 ,how shall it be supported8 ,what is the relation of the missionary to the native church8 ,what shall be its attitude toward national customs8 ,these are important and difficult problems1 and on their right solution will depend in no small measure the prosperity and success of the native church4 ,some missions do not seem thoroughly to grasp and give due prominence to this idea of the native church4 ,they interpret their commission to mean the evangelization of the masses rather than the building up of a strong native church4 ,but the ,christianization of any land will ultimately depend upon the native church1 and not upon the foreign missionary4 ,therefore the first and chief aim of the missionary should be to call out and develop a strong1 self-supporting1 and self-propagating native church1 in whose hands the #bia evangelization of the masses of the people can ultimately be left4 ,in the organization of the native church1 what polity shall be given it8 ,shall it be organized exactly as the home church which the mission represents1 or shall it be free to develop its own form of organization8 ,both of these plans are unsatisfactory4 ,most churches are agreed that no special form of church polity has divine sanction1 this being merely a question of expediency2 and that therefore the new churches should1 as far as possible1 be left free to adopt a constitution in harmony with the national character and habits4 ,at the same time1 forms of church government that have been tried at home and approved should not be ignored4 ,what has stood the test of time1 and proved its worth in many lands1 doubtless will in its main features be of substantial value in the mission field4 ,it is but natural that ,presbyterian societies should organize native churches under their own form of government1 ,methodist under theirs1 and ,episcopal under theirs4 ,but1 in the very nature of the case1 a first organization will only be tentative4 ,as the church develops it will probably develop a polity of its own4 ,in view of this1 the polity imposed upon the native church by the mission at its first organization should be as flexible as possible4 #bib ,it would be folly for the ,lutheran ,church1 for instance1 which has one polity in ,germany1 another in ,sweden1 another in ,iceland1 and still another in ,america1 to attempt permanently to impose any one of those special forms upon the ,japanese ,lutheran ,church2 it will have its own special polity1 but this should not cause us any anxiety or concern4 ,if the faith and life of the church are right1 it matters but little about its polity4 ,we should be more concerned for the broader interests of the kingdom than for the perpetuation of our special form of the church1 for the promise of final triumph is only to the kingdom4 ,experience has settled certain points in regard to the native church1 which ,dr4 ,lawrence1 in his admirable book on ,modern ,missions in the ,east1 denominates axioms of missions4 ,my own experience and judgment lead me to give them my hearty indorsement4 ,three are named3 #a4 ,the native church in each country should be organized as a distinct church1 ecclesiastically independent of the church in any other country4 #b4 ,the pastorate of the native church should be a native pastorate4 ,whatever else the missionary is1 he should not be pastor4 #c4 ,the principles of self-control1 self-help1 and self-extension should be recognized in the #bic very organization of the church4 ,to postpone them to days of strength is to postpone both strength and blessing4 ,the question of self-support and independence is one of the gravest in connection with the native church4 ,all are agreed as to its desirableness1 and all aim ultimately to attain it2 but the success hitherto attained in ,japan is not what might be expected4 ,there are perhaps a larger number of self-supporting churches in ,japan than in most mission fields1 but not so many as there should be4 ,the native churches1 as a rule1 do not contribute what they should or could toward their own support4 ,in this regard the statistics usually given are very deceptive4 ,many of those churches put down as self-supporting either are so largely through the private contributions of the missionaries of the station1 or are churches in connection with mission schools1 where the expense is small because one of the professors1 who draws a salary from the board1 acts as pastor4 ,i have heard of one church marked self-supporting that was composed of only one man and his family4 ,this man was the evangelist1 who1 having some private means1 supported himself4 ,while the annual statistics show fairly good contributions by the native churches1 it should be borne in mind that the contributions of a large body of missionaries1 who are liberal givers1 are #bid included4 ,at most stations they give more than the whole native church combined4 ,native ,christians do not contribute as much toward the support of the gospel as they formerly did toward the support of their false religions4 ,the reasons for this are1 first1 that heathenism induced larger gifts by teaching that every one who makes a contribution for religious purposes is thereby heaping up merit for himself in the life to come4 ,and1 second1 that the native churches have from the beginning leaned on the missionaries and societies1 until independent giving and self-sacrifice have been discouraged4 ,the mission board is looked upon as an institution of limitless resources1 whose business it is to provide money for the work4 ,and1 third1 that in many instances the native evangelists do not heartily second the efforts of the missionaries to bring the churches to a self-supporting basis4 ,they would much rather draw their salaries from the mission treasurer than from the members of their churches4 ,the reasons for this are obvious3 they could not conscientiously urge their flocks to support them on a better scale than they themselves live1 but they can ask the mission to do this2 again1 when their salaries come from the mission they are prompt and sure1 while if they come from the churches they are irregular and uncertain4 ,but in justice to ,japanese #bie pastors it should be said that1 while the above is true of many of them1 there are others who have willingly made personal sacrifices1 living on much smaller salaries than formerly1 in order to assist their churches to self-support4 ,how to overcome all these obstacles and develop a liberal1 self-supporting spirit in the native church is a difficult problem with which the mission boards are at present grappling4 ,the ,congregational ,church has more nearly solved it than any other1 yet its number of independent churches fell off considerably during the past year4 ,the native church must not be judged too harshly for its failure in self-support4 ,it has not yet been educated in giving as the home churches have1 and its resources are very limited4 ,most of its members are exceedingly poor and have all they can do to provide for the support of themselves and families4 ,our proper attitude toward them in this matter is one of patience1 sympathy1 and help4 ,how shall the native church be provided with a competent ministry8 ,this is a perplexing question to the churches in the home lands2 how much more so in a mission field6 ,it is necessary to provide pastors1 evangelists1 catechists1 teachers1 ,bible-women1 etc4--a whole army of workers4 #bif ,the first question in this connection is1 ,how is the material to be provided8 ,shall bright1 active boys who seem adapted to the work be selected out of the mission schools and especially trained for this work at the expense of the mission1 without waiting for a divine call8 ,this is the usual method1 but it is far from satisfactory4 ,such1 not having sought the ministerial office1 do not feel its dignity and responsibility as much as those who are brought into it by a personal call4 ,some of the brightest and most promising1 after having been educated at the expense of the mission1 are easily enticed into other callings4 ,men so chosen and educated are very apt to consider themselves1 and to be considered by others1 as simply paid agents of the mission4 ,often their labors are performed in a mere routine and perfunctory manner1 they evidently caring more for employment than for conversions4 ,these are serious objections1 and yet many good and noble men have been so trained2 it does seem that in the early stages of mission work there is hardly any other way of providing a native ministry4 ,so soon as a native church is developed1 with its accompanying ,christian sentiment1 the personal call to the ministry can be relied upon to furnish the material4 ,an effort is then made by most of the larger missionary bodies to give a broad training to many men1 and to rely upon a #big certain number1 in answer to a divine call1 seeking the ministerial office4 ,in this way the mission schools supply a portion of the theological students1 but in ,japan the larger portion are not graduates of the mission schools4 ,after the men are supplied1 how shall they be trained for work8 ,shall instruction be given in ,japanese only1 or shall ,english be taught also8 7,for full discussion of this question see ,chapter ,,xiii47 ,shall ,greek and ,hebrew be studied8 ,how far shall the native religions be taught8 ,shall the curriculum in other respects be about what it is at home1 or shall it be modified and especial stress laid upon certain subjects8 ,shall students study privately with the missionaries1 or shall theological seminaries be erected8 ,shall students be encouraged to complete their theological training in ,europe and ,america8 ,space does not permit a discussion of each of these questions1 but only a bare statement of the consensus of judgment and practice in ,japan after years of experience4 ,shall instruction in the original languages of ,scripture be given8 ,as to the desirability of this there can be no question2 but as the whole science of theology is entirely new here1 and a study of its more important branches requires a long time1 it has not been customary to give instruction in either of these languages4 ,in recent years some seminaries have been trying to #bih introduce primary courses in ,greek and ,hebrew1 and as the schools grow older1 and their equipment improves1 these languages will gradually be added to the curriculum4 ,shall the religious systems and books of ,japan be taught in theological schools8 ,it is highly desirable that native ministers clearly understand and be able intelligently to combat the false religions around them2 and to this end some seminaries give instruction in the doctrines of ,buddhism and ,shinto as well as ,christianity4 ,in one or two instances ,buddhism is taught in ,christian theological schools by ,buddhist priests1 but it is usually taught by ,christian teachers in connection with dogmatic theology4 ,as a rule1 the native ministry desires more thorough instruction in the native religions1 while the missionaries oppose any extension of the curriculum in that direction4 ,in general the same branches of theology are taught here that are taught at home4 ,it is especially desirable that instruction in dogmatics and apologetics be thorough and sound1 and these branches should perhaps be emphasized more than others4 ,experience has proved that it is much better to have theological schools where the native ministry may be instructed than for the missionary to undertake such instruction in private4 ,all the larger missions have fairly well-equipped #bii theological schools1 and private instruction is only given by a few men whose missions have not yet been able to establish these4 ,it is unfortunate1 both for the student and for the missionary1 when theological instruction must be given in private4 ,many ,japanese have been sent abroad to complete their theological course1 but the experiment has not been satisfactory4 ,the consensus of opinion now is that for the main body of pastors and evangelists a local training is much better than a foreign one4 ,a few men of exceptional ability may be educated abroad as teachers and leaders1 but great care must be taken not to denationalize them4 ,another perplexing question in connection with the native church is its relation to the missionaries4 ,on this subject there is great diversity of opinion4 ,shall the missionary retain any control over the native church1 or shall he have only advisory power8 ,can he take an active part in its deliberations1 or shall he be excluded from them8 ,as the church grows and develops it will come more and more to rely upon itself and to act independently of the mission4 ,the majority of ,japanese ,christians take the ground that the missionary has nothing to do with the organized native church1 but that his sphere is with the unevangelized masses and unorganized chapels4 #cjj ,in the ,congregational churches the missionaries have no voice or vote in the meetings and councils1 and are recognized only as advisory members4 ,in contrast to this policy is that of the ,episcopal and ,methodist bodies1 in whose councils natives and foreigners meet together and deliberate in harmony4 ,the meetings are presided over by the foreigners1 and they have a controlling voice in all legislation4 ,the ,presbyterians also take part in presbytery and synod1 but the ,japanese usually preside and are in the majority4 ,certainly the missionary should not be pastor of the native church and should not exercise lordly control over it2 but it does seem that he should retain some influence1 or at least should have veto power against unwise legislation4 ,what shall be the attitude of the native church toward certain national habits and customs8 ,here is a problem that often perplexes missionaries and evangelists4 ,it is recognized by all that anything squarely in contradiction to ,christianity must be opposed4 ,on the other hand1 it is recognized that national customs should be carefully observed when they are not antichristian or immoral4 ,there are some customs in ,japan about the nature of which great difference of opinion prevails1 such as the honors shown dead ancestors1 bowing before the emperor's picture1 contributing to certain religious festivals1 etc4 #cja ,when a parent dies it is customary for the children to pay regular visits to the tomb1 to make offerings there1 and to reverence or worship the departed4 ,in the eyes of some this act involves real worship2 to others it is merely an expression of reverence and respect4 ,it seems that ,paul's principle of not eating meat for his weak brother's sake should be applied here4 ,the act in itself may be performed without compromising a ,christian's conscience2 but for the sake of the common people1 to whom it means worship1 it should be omitted by ,christians1 and the churches generally forbid it4 ,in all the schools1 at certain festivals1 the emperor's picture is brought out1 and all teachers and pupils are required to bow before it4 ,this is a national custom very dear to the hearts of the people1 and any one failing to comply with it is severely censured4 ,much has been said and written as to the religious significance of the act4 ,to the more enlightened of the ,japanese this prostration before the emperor's picture may be only an act of deep reverence and respect1 such as is shown to royalty in the ,west by the lifting of the hat1 but to the masses it doubtless is real worship1 in so far as they know what worship is4 ,this is not strange when we remember the almost universally accepted belief as to the divine origin of the mikado4 ,the government itself virtually #cjb acknowledged the religious significance of the act when it passed a law permitting foreign teachers in the various schools to absent themselves on the day of the exaltation of the imperial picture1 if they so desired4 ,now here is a national custom very dear to the people1 in itself harmless1 but which in the eyes of many involves real worship4 ,what shall be the attitude of the church toward it8 ,some religious festivals are observed in ,japan which have more or less political significance4 ,while they are generally held in connection with some temple1 there may be nothing distinctively heathen about the festival itself4 ,to provide for the expense1 each house is asked to contribute a certain amount of money--the ,christians along with the rest4 ,there is no legal compulsion in the matter1 but every one contributes1 and there is a moral necessity to do so4 ,now what stand shall the ,christian church take on this matter8 ,shall the members be advised to comply with the custom1 or shall they be forbidden to do so8 ,how to remain faithful to her ,lord1 and yet not unnecessarily wound the national feelings of her countrymen1 is the delicate and difficult problem which the native church must solve4 ,a very important problem is1 how to bring about more coperation in mission work4 ,it is highly desirable that ,christianity present an #cjc undivided front to the enemy1 that its forces at least work in harmony with one another4 ,while men's views on important theological questions differ so radically as at present it is useless to talk of organic union2 but there can and should be brotherly recognition1 mutual assistance whenever possible1 respect for one another's views1 absence of controversy1 scrupulous regard for another's recognized territory1 and hearty coperation in all possible ways4 ,there is something of this realized in ,japan to-day4 ,the ,christian bodies1 as a rule1 dwell together in peace and harmony1 rejoicing in one another's welfare4 ,contentions and strife are much less common than in the ,west4 ,all the various branches of the ,reformed and ,presbyterian churches are laboring in hearty coperation to build up one united native church4 ,the various ,episcopal bodies1 while themselves organically distinct1 are also building up an undivided ,japanese ,episcopal ,church4 ,but much yet remains that might be done in this line4 ,in matters of publication1 theological education1 etc41 that involve heavy expense1 plans might be devised whereby several missions could coperate1 and thus the expense be lessened to each and the work better done4 ,to illustrate3 here is a small mission1 with only a few workers and a very small amount of money wherewith to #cjd operate4 ,it has all the evangelistic work it can do1 and is unable to support its own theological school4 ,some of its missionaries are taken from the evangelistic work and forced to train1 as best they can1 one or two theological students4 ,in the same community is a good theological school belonging to a sister mission1 that has only a few students and would be glad to give its advantages to the students of the other mission4 ,it does seem that some plan of coperation should be devised whereby each could be accommodated4 ,this problem is unsolved1 and each little mission goes on working independently of all the others1 at the cost of larger expenditure and poorer work4 ,an easier form of coperation very much to be desired1 which has not yet been consummated1 is that between different branches of the same church4 ,that those known by the same name1 whose doctrine and polity differ but little1 and who are separated in the ,west only by geographical divisions1 should coperate on the mission field is a plain duty1 failure to effect which is culpable4 ,take the great ,methodist ,church4 ,there are five different ,methodist bodies at work in ,japan--each one prosecuting its work separate and distinct from the others4 ,there is no conflict between them1 neither is there any coperation4 ,what a saving there would be if these bodies would coperate1 especially in the matter of #cje educational work6 ,as it is1 each one of them supports its own academical and theological school1 at a cost of men and money almost sufficient for the needs of all if united4 ,many of these different schools are at present poorly attended and consequently poorly equipped2 whereas if the whole educational work were done by one or at most two institutions there would be a large number of students and the equipment could be made first-class4 ,an effort has been made on several occasions to unite these various ,methodist bodies1 and most of them desire a union1 but as yet it has failed of accomplishment4 ,the responsibility for this failure lies much more with the home boards than with the missionaries4 ,the latter generally desire more coperation1 and could bring it about were it not for the restrictions placed upon them4 ,this is a problem to the solution of which the various missionary societies should set themselves in earnest4 ,if the advance of the kingdom is partly hindered by a lack of this coperation1 then the mission boards are responsible before ,god4 ,the above are but some of the problems which present themselves to-day in ,japan4 ,if ,i have succeeded in impressing the reader with their number1 complexity1 and difficulty of solution1 my purpose is accomplished4 #cjf ,,xvi ,,the ,,outlook ,it is exceedingly difficult to form a reliable conjecture concerning the future state of ,christianity in ,japan4 ,in this land the unexpected always happens4 ,it has been called a land of surprises4 ,instability1 vacillation1 and change are its characteristics4 ,what is in favor to-day may be out to-morrow2 what is out of favor to-day may be in to-morrow4 ,the signs of the times may clearly indicate a certain trend of events for the next year1 but ere that year has come all may change and the happenings be quite different from what was expected4 ,the fact is1 ,japan is undergoing a peaceable social and political revolution1 and it is hard to tell what a day may bring forth4 ,but there are certain factors which1 if left to their natural development1 will tend to bring about a certain condition1 and by considering #cjg those factors we can tell something about what that condition ought to be4 ,we will attempt1 then1 to take a bird's-eye view of the influences in operation on this mission field1 and will make a surmise as to their probable outcome in the future4 ,there are three factors which must be considered in attempting to form an opinion as to the outlook3 the working forces2 the opposition to their work2 and the natural adaptability or inadaptability of the people4 ,we will endeavor to look right closely into these4 ,humanly speaking1 the forces engaged in any work will determine1 to some extent1 the future condition of that work4 ,the future of ,christianity in ,japan will depend in part upon the present working ,christian forces4 ,these forces are the native church1 the body of missionaries1 and the whole mass of mission machinery4 ,the burden of the work rests with the native church4 ,the evangelization of the masses must be chiefly by her effort4 ,the standing of ,christianity in the empire will depend upon her4 ,if true to her ,lord1 and faithful in the discharge of the task which ,he has given1 the result will probably be good4 ,now what is the condition of the native church in ,japan to-day8 ,there are #ajj1jjj ,christians1 including ,protestants1 ,greeks1 and ,romanists4 ,these ,christians have manifested commendable zeal1 earnestness1 and #cjh piety4 ,the native church is organized1 hopeful1 and aggressive1 yet in many respects not what her friends desire and what they pray she may be4 ,very much is yet to be desired in the matters of orthodoxy1 self-support1 and internal harmony1 but it is not sure that this native church is more lacking in these respects than native churches in other mission fields4 ,church history seems to indicate that the church in every land must go through a certain period of doctrinal development4 ,the old heresies of ,arianism1 ,pelagianism1 and ,sabellianism spring up in their order on each mission field1 and are finally succeeded by orthodoxy4 ,japan is now in that developing period1 and loose theological views are to be expected4 ,there are many men of unorthodox views in the native church1 who exert a strong influence2 but there are also many men of sound evangelical views1 who will be able probably to restrain the radicals and determine the future development4 ,i think in time there will come to the church in ,japan a sounder faith and a fuller ,christian consciousness1 and that she will faithfully bear her part in the evangelization of this land4 ,although there are now many elements in the church which should not be there1 we must have faith to leave the removal of them to the influence of time and the guidance of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,god will take care of ,his church #cji and endow her for the work ,he has given her to do4 ,the foreign missionaries in ,japan can be depended upon to do all in their power to bring about the triumph of ,christianity4 ,they are a large body of earnest1 consecrated workers1 led by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,with but a few exceptions1 a more faithful and talented body of men cannot be found4 ,there are in all branches of the church1 including ,greek and ,roman ,catholics1 #hgf ,european missionaries4 ,this number includes single and married women4 ,such a force1 led by the ,holy ,spirit1 ought to be able to do much to hasten the coming of the kingdom in ,japan4 ,besides the native and foreign workers1 all the machinery and institutions of various kinds necessary for the growth and expansion of the church are now in operation4 ,a good ,christian literature is rapidly forming1 numerous ,christian schools of various grades are planted over all the empire1 and a large number of ,christian colleges and theological seminaries are already open4 ,when we thus review the human forces upon which the future depends we have reason to feel encouraged4 ,but no matter how strong and consecrated the body of workers1 the success of the work will in some degree be conditioned by the hindrances #caj which are placed in the way4 ,there may be certain social or governmental oppositions1 certain combinations of militating circumstances1 which will prove insurmountable to the best workers1 effectually hindering the future of a work otherwise promising4 ,formerly1 as has been shown1 the government put every opposition it could in the way of ,christian work4 ,long after the prohibitions of ,christianity were removed governmental influence was exerted against it in many ways4 ,even after religious liberty was granted by the promulgation of the constitution it was far from being realized4 ,in certain departments of the governmental service1 especially in the military and educational departments1 until very recent years persecutions were still practised in a mild but effective way4 ,but all this is now a thing of the past4 ,the attitude of the government has changed recently1 and instead of hindering it has actually encouraged and in several ways helped in our work4 ,during the late war with ,china it permitted the sending to the army of three native chaplains1 and on the field encouraged and helped them all it could4 ,these men were not officially styled ,christian chaplains1 but were called imonshi1 or comforters4 ,it is not true1 as has recently been affirmed by a minister in ,new ,york1 #caa that there are regularly appointed permanent ,christian chaplains to the ,japanese army4 ,none but these three have ever been appointed1 and their appointment was only temporary4 ,but the fact that the government granted them permission to accompany the armies and encouraged their work shows clearly a changed attitude toward the ,christian religion4 ,the same is indicated by the fact that the authorities willingly gave permission for the distribution of ,bibles to the soldiers in every department of the army4 ,they even aided in the distribution1 and often arranged for those who distributed them to preach to the soldiers4 ,i think few non-,christian lands have ever gone so far as this in their encouragement of ,christianity4 ,from these facts ,i infer that the government will no longer place obstacles in the way of our work4 ,such obstacles have in the past prevented many from favoring ,christianity1 and their removal augurs well for the future4 ,the native religions have very much hindered the evangelization of ,japan4 ,their militating influence is still active and powerful1 but ,i think it is gradually declining4 ,buddhism will die hard1 but she is too old1 effete1 and corrupt permanently to withstand her younger and more powerful foe4 ,the inherent truth of ,christianity must ultimately give it the victory4 ,as ,japanese education and #cab enlightenment advance1 the intrinsic superiority of ,christianity over ,buddhism must appear and must recommend it to the people4 ,the hope of our religion in this land lies largely in the fact of the insatiable desire of the people for ,western learning and civilization4 ,the ever-increasing introduction of ,western literature1 the adoption of our civilization and institutions1 will necessarily bring about a better acquaintance with ,christianity1 its spirit and aims4 ,then the prejudice against it will gradually die out1 and it will1 appealing to them in its true light1--the germ and base of all true civilization1 and the foster-mother of education and enlightenment1--be readily accepted4 ,the social hindrances operating against ,christianity to-day are all local and personal1 and will probably become less and less until they die a natural death4 ,every part of the empire is absolutely open1 and there is nothing to hinder a full and free proclamation of the gospel in every town1 village1 and hamlet in ,japan4 ,the superior position of ,christianity at present to that which it held a few years ago is striking4 ,professor ,chamberlain1 a very close observer1 whose experience in ,japan has extended over many years1 says3 ,to those who can look back thirty years1 or even only twenty years1 the change in the position of ,christianity in ,japan #cac is most striking1 indeed well-nigh incredible4 ,from a hated and despised thing it has risen to a position in which it commands the respect of many of the best men in the land4 ,but there is another element which must be taken into consideration in making up an estimate of the outlook1 and that is the natural adaptability or inadaptability of the people for ,christianity4 ,the farmer may labor long and hard2 he may sow the best seed2 sunshine and rain may lend their encouragement2 but if the soil is uncongenial the yield will be small4 ,in the same way1 a strong1 consecrated working force may labor1 unopposed1 with might and main in the mission field1 but if the soil is not congenial the results will be small4 ,are the ,japanese people well or ill adapted by nature to the reception of ,christianity8 ,the strongest opposition to our work1 and the one which makes us most anxious for the future1 lies in the natural constitution of the people for whom we labor4 ,many natural characteristics of this people predispose them to reject ,christianity4 ,i must again refer to that strong nationalistic feeling which is inborn in every ,japanese and which hinders the rapid progress of the gospel4 ,this principle1 operating within the church1 threatens to destroy the orthodoxy and integrity of the faith4 ,animated by a patriotic feeling #cad that is more blind than enlightened1 the creeds1 the polity1 the life of the church of the ,west1 are considered as of little worth1 and many parts of the native church are extremely anxious to cut off everything possible that has a foreign flavor1 and to create a form of ,christianity peculiarly ,japanese4 ,again1 the nationalistic feeling prompts many1 both in the church and out of it1 to chafe at the presence of foreign religious teachers in their midst4 ,the very presence of these teachers is looked upon as an implication that the ,japanese are not competent to instruct themselves in religious matters1 and this is much resented4 ,as a prominent ,japanese put it not long ago1 ,what could be more inconsistent or improper than for great ,japan1 that has so recently humbled ,china and forced the admiration of the world for her skill in arms1 as well as for her educational1 commercial1 and industrial development1 to be instructed in religious matters by foreigners8 ,operating in these ways1 ,japanese patriotism ill adapts the people for a reception of ,christianity4 ,another feature of the native character which is not favorable is its lack of seriousness and stability4 ,religion is a serious1 solemn matter1 but the ,japanese are not a serious-minded people4 ,their beliefs have always sat lightly upon them1 to be taken off and put on at will4 ,where these #cae characteristics are largely wanting the progress of ,christianity will probably be slow4 ,at present the ,japanese are too materialistic properly to appreciate a religion so spiritual as ours4 ,in religion1 as in all other things1 they desire to receive some present material benefit2 and when the rewards of ,christianity are found to be chiefly spiritual1 and most of them not realized in the present life1 a deaf ear is turned4 ,this is an era of great material prosperity in ,japan1 and the minds of the people are fully occupied with commercial and industrial questions1 to the exclusion of moral and religious ones4 ,the most common attitude of the ,japanese public toward ,christianity to-day is one of absolute indifference4 ,the people think that if the government permits this religion it cannot be so very bad2 it is making little progress anyway1 and they need give it no notice whatever4 ,if others care to go and hear about it1 all right1 but as for themselves1 they have no relations with it4 ,the usual experience now when a new chapel is opened and preaching begun is that for a few times large numbers of people will come out of curiosity2 then after a little they stop1 and no further regard is paid to the chapel or the preaching4 ,the conflict of religions1 the inconsistencies and shortcomings of the old faiths1 the advancing knowledge1 have combined to bring about a state #caf of indifference1 wide-spread and hard to overcome4 ,it is in many respects more hurtful than a position of open antagonism4 ,the natural tendency of the ,japanese mind to be skeptical in regard to all supernatural questions has been fostered by education to such an extent that educated ,japan is to-day largely a nation of atheists1 or at least of agnostics4 ,the proud pharisaic spirit is abroad1 indisposing the race to accept ,christ4 ,the course of ,christianity in the future will not be an unopposed1 easy march to victory4 ,there yet remains a great deal to be done1 ,many clouds still linger on the horizon1 making us anxious about the morrow4 ,but so much has already been done that the churches at home should feel encouraged to renew their energies for the final contest4 ,when one division of an army has forced a breach in the enemy's lines1 it is not left to hold the position alone1 but reinforcements are hurried forward to its assistance1 and the advantage gained is instantly followed up4 ,the attack has been made in ,japan2 the enemy's lines have been broken1 but the victory is not yet4 ,this is no time for retreat1 for hesitancy1 or for cavil2 this is a time for prompt reinforcement and liberal support4 ,let the home churches feel that such is their present duty toward the work in ,japan4 #cag ,although the outlook to-day is not to the natural eye very bright1 to the spiritual eye all is as noonday4 ,the victory has been assured from the beginning4 ,however indisposed by nature the people among whom we labor may be1 whatever hindrances may oppose our work1 the word of the ,almighty has gone forth--the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our ,lord and of ,his ,christ4 ,the victory is sure1 because ,god reigns4 ,in ,his own good time every opposing influence will pass away1 and the banner of ,king ,immanuel will wave over all this fair land4 ,it may not be in the present century2 it may not even be in the lifetime of any now living2 but it will surely be when ,god's time is fulfilled4 ,with an assured faith1 built upon the firm promises of ,god1 we confidently look forward to the time when the empire of ,japan shall no longer be a mission field1 but shall herself send the message of light and life to the darkened millions around her4 ,may ,god hasten the day4 #cai ,,index ,ainu1 #aj1 #cc4 ,american ,board 7,congregational71 #aga2 history of work1 #agi2 strained relations with native church1 #ahb4 ,ancestors1 worship of1 #aag1 #bgj1 #cja4 ,animals1 #bi4 ,art1 #ie4 ,asama1 #aa4 ,ashikaga1 #db4 ,ballagh1 ,rev4 ,mr41 baptized first convert1 #age4 ,banking1 #ajc4 ,baptists1 #aga1 #ahg4 ,bathing1 #hc4 ,beautiful1 love of the1 #ei4 ,belief1 missionary's1 #aih4 ,berry1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,c41 opinions on vacations1 #bah1 #bbj1 #bbc2 his medical work1 #bfe4 ,bible1 first portions translated1 #adg1 #agd2 translation of1 essential1 #afb2 translation committee and 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