,transcriber's ,note3 ,page numbers are retained in square brackets4 ,,japan ,,an ,,attempt ,,at ,,interpretation ,,by ,,lafcadio ,,hearn #aijd ,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,difficulties4444444444444444444444444# a ,,ii4 ,,strangeness ,,and ,,charm4444444444444444#e ,,iii4 ,,the ,,ancient ,,cult44444444444444444444#ba ,,iv4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,the ,,home444444444444#cc ,v4 ,,the ,,japanese ,,family44444444444444444#ee ,,vi4 ,,the ,,communal ,,cult4444444444444444444#ha ,,vii4 ,,developments ,,of ,,shinto4444444444444#ajg ,,viii4 ,,worship ,,and ,,purification44444444444#acc ,,ix4 ,,the ,,rule ,,of ,,the ,,dead444444444444444#aeg ,x4 ,,the ,,introduction ,,of ,,buddhism4444444#ahc ,,xi4 ,,the ,,higher ,,buddhism4444444444444444#bjg ,,xii4 ,,the ,,social ,,organization444444444444#bbi ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,rise ,,of ,,the ,,military ,,power44444#bei ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,loyalty444444444444#bhc ,,xv4 ,,the ,,jesuit ,,peril4444444444444444444#cjc ,,xvi4 ,,feudal ,,integration44444444444444444#cdc ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,shinto ,,revival44444444444444444#cfg ,,xviii4 ,,survivals44444444444444444444444444#ch a ,,xix4 ,,modern ,,restraints444444444444444444#cie ,,xx4 ,,official ,,education44444444444444444#dai ,,xxi4 ,,industrial ,,danger444444444444444444#ddc ,,xxii4 ,,reflections444444444444444444444444#de g ,,appendix444444444444444444444444444#dh a ,,bibliographical ,,notes44444444444444#dhg ,,index444444444444444444444444444444#dh i ,perhaps all very marked national characters can be traced back to a time of rigid and pervading discipline--,,walter ,,bagehot4 #a ,,difficulties ,a thousand books have been written about ,japan2 but among these1--setting aside artistic publications and works of a purely special character1--the really precious volumes will be found to number scarcely a score4 ,this fact is due to the immense difficulty of perceiving and comprehending what underlies the surface of ,japanese life4 ,no work fully interpreting that life1--no work picturing ,japan within and without1 historically and socially1 psychologically and ethically1--can be written for at least another fifty years4 ,so vast and intricate the subject that the united labour of a generation of scholars could not exhaust it1 and so difficult that the number of scholars willing to devote their time to it must always be small4 ,even among the ,japanese themselves1 no scientific knowledge of their own history is yet possible2 because the means of obtaining that knowledge have not yet been prepared1--though mountains of material have been collected4 ,the want of any good history upon a modern plan is but one of many discouraging wants4 ,data for the study of sociology #b are still inaccessible to the ,western investigator4 ,the early state of the family and the clan2 the history of the differentiation of classes2 the history of the differentiation of political from religious law2 the history of restraints1 and of their influence upon custom2 the history of regulative and cooperative conditions in the development of industry2 the history of ethics and aesthetics1--all these and many other matters remain obscure4 ,this essay of mine can serve in one direction only as a contribution to the ,western knowledge of ,japan4 ,but this direction is not one of the least important4 ,hitherto the subject of ,japanese religion has been written of chiefly by the sworn enemies of that religion3 by others it has been almost entirely ignored4 ,yet while it continues to be ignored and misrepresented1 no real knowledge of ,japan is possible4 ,any true comprehension of social conditions requires more than a superficial acquaintance with religious conditions4 ,even the industrial history of a people cannot be understood without some knowledge of those religious traditions and customs which regulate industrial life during the earlier stages of its development 4444 ,or take the subject of art4 ,art in ,japan is so intimately associated with religion that any attempt to study it without extensive knowledge of the #c beliefs which it reflects1 were mere waste of time4 ,by art ,i do not mean only painting and sculpture1 but every kind of decoration1 and most kinds of pictorial representation1--the image on a boy's kite or a girl's battledore1 not less than the design upon a lacquered casket or enamelled vase1--the figures upon a workman's towel not less than the pattern of the girdle of a princess1--the shape of the paper-dog or the wooden rattle bought for a baby1 not less than the forms of those colossal ,ni-,o who guard the gateways of ,buddhist temples 4444 ,and surely there can never be any just estimate made of ,japanese literature1 until a study of that literature shall have been made by some scholar1 not only able to understand ,japanese beliefs1 but able also to sympathize with them to at least the same extent that our great humanists can sympathize with the religion of ,euripides1 of ,pindar1 and of ,theocritus4 ,let us ask ourselves how much of ,english or ,french or ,german or ,italian literature could be fully understood without the slightest knowledge of the ancient and modern religions of the ,occident4 ,i do not refer to distinctly religious creators1--to poets like ,milton or ,dante1--but only to the fact that even one of ,shakespeare's plays must remain incomprehensible to a person knowing nothing either of ,christian beliefs or of the beliefs which preceded them4 ,the real mastery of any ,european tongue is impossible #d without a knowledge of ,european religion4 ,the language of even the unlettered is full of religious meaning3 the proverbs and household-phrases of the poor1 the songs of the street1 the speech of the workshop1--all are infused with significations unimaginable by any one ignorant of the faith of the people4 ,nobody knows this better than a man who has passed many years in trying to teach ,english in ,japan1 to pupils whose faith is utterly unlike our own1 and whose ethics have been shaped by a totally different social experience4 #e ,,strangeness ,,and ,,charm ,the majority of the first impressions of ,japan recorded by travellers are pleasurable impressions4 ,indeed1 there must be something lacking1 or something very harsh1 in the nature to which ,japan can make no emotional appeal4 ,the appeal itself is the clue to a problem2 and that problem is the character of a race and of its civilization4 ,my own first impressions of ,japan1--,japan as seen in the white sunshine of a perfect spring day1--had doubtless much in common with the average of such experiences4 ,i remember especially the wonder and the delight of the vision4 ,the wonder and the delight have never passed away3 they are often revived for me even now1 by some chance happening1 after fourteen years of sojourn4 ,but the reason of these feelings was difficult to learn1--or at least to guess2 for ,i cannot yet claim to know much about ,japan 4444 ,long ago the best and dearest ,japanese friend ,i ever had said to me1 a little before his death3 ,when you find1 in four or five years more1 that you cannot understand the ,japanese at #f all1 then you will begin to know something about them4 ,after having realized the truth of my friend's prediction1--after having discovered that ,i cannot understand the ,japanese at all1--,i feel better qualified to attempt this essay4 ,as first perceived1 the outward strangeness of things in ,japan produces 7in certain minds1 at least7 a queer thrill impossible to describe1--a feeling of weirdness which comes to us only with the perception of the totally unfamiliar4 ,you find yourself moving through queer small streets full of odd small people1 wearing robes and sandals of extraordinary shapes2 and you can scarcely distinguish the sexes at sight4 ,the houses are constructed and furnished in ways alien to all your experience2 and you are astonished to find that you cannot conceive the use or meaning of numberless things on display in the shops4 ,food-stuffs of unimaginable derivation2 utensils of enigmatic forms2 emblems incomprehensible of some mysterious belief2 strange masks and toys that commemorate legends of gods or demons2 odd figures1 too1 of the gods themselves1 with monstrous ears and smiling faces1--all these you may perceive as you wander about2 though you must also notice telegraph-poles and type-writers1 electric lamps and sewing machines4 ,everywhere on signs and hangings1 and on the backs of people passing by1 you will observe wonderful ,chinese #g characters2 and the wizardry of all these texts makes the dominant tone of the spectacle4 ,further acquaintance with this fantastic world will in nowise diminish the sense of strangeness evoked by the first vision of it4 ,you will soon observe that even the physical actions of the people are unfamiliar1--that their work is done in ways the opposite of ,western ways4 ,tools are of surprising shapes1 and are handled after surprising methods3 the blacksmith squats at his anvil1 wielding a hammer such as no ,western smith could use without long practice2 the carpenter pulls1 instead of pushing1 his extraordinary plane and saw4 ,always the left is the right side1 and the right side the wrong2 and keys must be turned1 to open or close a lock1 in what we are accustomed to think the wrong direction4 ,mr4 ,percival ,lowell has truthfully observed that the ,japanese speak backwards1 read backwards1 write backwards1--and that this is only the abc of their contrariety4 ,for the habit of writing backwards there are obvious evolutional reasons2 and the requirements of ,japanese calligraphy sufficiently explain why the artist pushes his brush or pencil instead of pulling it4 ,but why1 instead of putting the thread through the eye of the needle1 should the ,japanese maiden slip the eye of the needle over the point of the thread8 ,perhaps the most remarkable1 out of a hundred possible examples of antipodal action1 is furnished by the ,japanese art of fencing4 ,the #h swordsman1 delivering his blow with both hands1 does not pull the blade towards him in the moment of striking1 but pushes it from him4 ,he uses it1 indeed1 as other ,asiatics do1 not on the principle of the wedge1 but of the saw2 yet there is a pushing motion where we should expect a pulling motion in the stroke 4444 ,these and other forms of unfamiliar action are strange enough to suggest the notion of a humanity even physically as little related to us as might be the population of another planet1--the notion of some anatomical unlikeness4 ,no such unlikeness1 however1 appears to exist2 and all this oppositeness probably implies1 not so much the outcome of a human experience entirely independent of ,aryan experience1 as the outcome of an experience evolutionally younger than our own4 ,yet that experience has been one of no mean order4 ,its manifestations do not merely startle3 they also delight4 ,the delicate perfection of workmanship1 the light strength and grace of objects1 the power manifest to obtain the best results with the least material1 the achieving of mechanical ends by the simplest possible means1 the comprehension of irregularity as aesthetic value1 the shapeliness and perfect taste of everything1 the sense displayed of harmony in tints or colours1--all this must convince you at once that our ,occident has much to learn from this remote civilization1 not only in matters of art and taste1 but in matters likewise of #i economy and utility4 ,it is no barbarian fancy that appeals to you in those amazing porcelains1 those astonishing embroideries1 those wonders of lacquer and ivory and bronze1 which educate imagination in unfamiliar ways4 ,no3 these are the products of a civilization which became1 within its own limits1 so exquisite that none but an artist is capable of judging its manufactures1--a civilization that can be termed imperfect only by those who would also term imperfect the ,greek civilization of three thousand years ago4 ,but the underlying strangeness of this world1--the psychological strangeness1--is much more startling than the visible and superficial4 ,you begin to suspect the range of it after having discovered that no adult ,occidental can perfectly master the language4 ,east and ,west the fundamental parts of human nature--the emotional bases of it--are much the same3 the mental difference between a ,japanese and a ,european child is mainly potential4 ,but with growth the difference rapidly develops and widens1 till it becomes1 in adult life1 inexpressible4 ,the whole of the ,japanese mental superstructure evolves into forms having nothing in common with ,western psychological development3 the expression of thought becomes regulated1 and the expression of emotion inhibited in ways that bewilder and astound4 ,the ideas of this people are not our #aj ideas2 their sentiments are not our sentiments their ethical life represents for us regions of thought and emotion yet unexplored1 or perhaps long forgotten4 ,any one of their ordinary phrases1 translated into ,western speech1 makes hopeless nonsense2 and the literal rendering into ,japanese of the simplest ,english sentence would scarcely be comprehended by any ,japanese who had never studied a ,european tongue4 ,could you learn all the words in a ,japanese dictionary1 your acquisition would not help you in the least to make yourself understood in speaking1 unless you had learned also to think like a ,japanese1--that is to say1 to think backwards1 to think upside-down and inside-out1 to think in directions totally foreign to ,aryan habit4 ,experience in the acquisition of ,european languages can help you to learn ,japanese about as much as it could help you to acquire the language spoken by the inhabitants of ,mars4 ,to be able to use the ,japanese tongue as a ,japanese uses it1 one would need to be born again1 and to have one's mind completely reconstructed1 from the foundation upwards4 ,it is possible that a person of ,european parentage1 born in ,japan1 and accustomed from infancy to use the vernacular1 might retain in after-life that instinctive knowledge which could alone enable him to adapt his mental relations to the relations of any ,japanese environment4 ,there is actually an ,englishman named ,black1 born in ,japan1 whose proficiency #aa in the language is proved by the fact that he is able to earn a fair income as a professional storyteller 7hanashika74 ,but this is an extraordinary case 4444 ,as for the literary language1 ,i need only observe that to make acquaintance with it requires very much more than a knowledge of several thousand ,chinese characters4 ,it is safe to say that no ,occidental can undertake to render at sight any literary text laid before him--indeed the number of native scholars able to do so is very small2--and although the learning displayed in this direction by various ,europeans may justly compel our admiration1 the work of none could have been given to the world without ,japanese help4 ,but as the outward strangeness of ,japan proves to be full of beauty1 so the inward strangeness appears to have its charm1--an ethical charm reflected in the common life of the people4 ,the attractive aspects of that life do not indeed imply1 to the ordinary observer1 a psychological differentiation measurable by scores of centuries3 only a scientific mind1 like that of ,mr4 ,percival ,lowell1 immediately perceives the problem presented4 ,the less gifted stranger1 if naturally sympathetic1 is merely pleased and puzzled1 and tries to explain1 by his own experience of happy life on the other side of the world1 the social conditions that charm him4 ,let us suppose that he has the good fortune of being able to #ab live for six months or a year in some old-fashioned town of the interior4 ,from the beginning of this sojourn he can scarcely fail to be impressed by the apparent kindliness and joyousness of the existence about him4 ,in the relations of the people to each other1 as well as in all their relations to himself1 he will find a constant amenity1 a tact1 a good-nature such as he will elsewhere have met with only in the friendship of exclusive circles4 ,everybody greets everybody with happy looks and pleasant words2 faces are always smiling2 the commonest incidents of everyday life are transfigured by a courtesy at once so artless and so faultless that it appears to spring directly from the heart1 without any teaching4 ,under all circumstances a certain outward cheerfulness never falls3 no matter what troubles may come1--storm or fire1 flood or earthquake1--the laughter of greeting voices1 the bright smile and graceful bow1 the kindly inquiry and the wish to please1 continue to make existence beautiful4 ,religion brings no gloom into this sunshine3 before the ,buddhas and the gods folk smile as they pray2 the temple-courts are playgrounds for the children2 and within the enclosure of the great public shrines--which are places of festivity rather than of solemnity--dancing-platforms are erected4 ,family existence would seem to be everywhere characterized by gentleness3 there is no visible quarrelling1 no loud harshness1 no tears and reproaches4 ,cruelty1 even #ac to animals1 appears to be unknown3 one sees farmers1 coming to town1 trudging patiently beside their horses or oxen1 aiding their dumb companions to bear the burden1 and using no whips or goads4 ,drivers or pullers of carts will turn out of their way1 under the most provoking circumstances1 rather than overrun a lazy dog or a stupid chicken 4444 ,for no inconsiderable time one may live in the midst of appearances like these1 and perceive nothing to spoil the pleasure of the experience4 ,of course the conditions of which ,i speak are now passing away2 but they are still to be found in the remoter districts4 ,i have lived in districts where no case of theft had occurred for hundreds of years1--where the newly-built prisons of ,meiji remained empty and useless1--where the people left their doors unfastened by night as well as by day4 ,these facts are familiar to every ,japanese4 ,in such a district1 you might recognize that the kindness shown to you1 as a stranger1 is the consequence of official command2 but how explain the goodness of the people to each other8 ,when you discover no harshness1 no rudeness1 no dishonesty1 no breaking of laws1 and learn that this social condition has been the same for centuries1 you are tempted to believe that you have entered into the domain of a morally superior humanity4 ,all this soft urbanity1 impeccable honesty1 ingenuous kindliness of speech and act1 you might naturally interpret #ad as conduct directed by perfect goodness of heart4 ,and the simplicity that delights you is no simplicity of barbarism4 ,here every one has been taught2 every one knows how to write and speak beautifully1 how to compose poetry1 how to behave politely2 there is everywhere cleanliness and good taste2 interiors are bright and pure2 the daily use of the hot bath is universal4 ,how refuse to be charmed by a civilization in which every relation appears to be governed by altruism1 every action directed by duty1 and every object shaped by art8 ,you cannot help being delighted by such conditions1 or feeling indignant at hearing them denounced as heathen4 ,and according to the degree of altruism within yourself1 these good folk will be able1 without any apparent effort1 to make you happy4 ,the mere sensation of the milieu is a placid happiness3 it is like the sensation of a dream in which people greet us exactly as we like to be greeted1 and say to us all that we like to hear1 and do for us all that we wish to have done1--people moving soundlessly through spaces of perfect repose1 all bathed in vapoury light4 ,yes--for no little time these fairy-folk can give you all the soft bliss of sleep4 ,but sooner or later1 if you dwell long with them1 your contentment will prove to have much in common with the happiness of dreams4 ,you will never forget the dream1--never2 but it will lift at last1 like those vapours of spring which lend preternatural #ae loveliness to a ,japanese landscape in the forenoon of radiant days4 ,really you are happy because you have entered bodily into ,fairyland1--into a world that is not1 and never could be your own4 ,you have been transported out of your own century--over spaces enormous of perished time--into an era forgotten1 into a vanished age1--back to something ancient as ,egypt or ,nineveh4 ,that is the secret of the strangeness and beauty of things1--the secret of the thrill they give1--the secret of the elfish charm of the people and their ways4 ,fortunate mortal6 the tide of ,time has turned for you6 ,but remember that here all is enchantment1--that you have fallen under the spell of the dead1--that the lights and the colours and the voices must fade away at last into emptiness and silence4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,some of us1 at least1 have often wished that it were possible to live for a season in the beautiful vanished world of ,greek culture4 ,inspired by our first acquaintance with the charm of ,greek art and thought1 this wish comes to us even before we are capable of imagining the true conditions of the antique civilization4 ,if the wish could be realized1 we should certainly find it impossible to accommodate ourselves to those conditions1--not so much because of the difficulty of learning the environment1 as because of the much greater difficulty of feeling just as people used to feel some thirty centuries #af ago4 ,in spite of all that has been done for ,greek studies since the ,renaissance1 we are still unable to understand many aspects of the old ,greek life3 no modern mind can really feel1 for example1 those sentiments and emotions to which the great tragedy of ,oedipus made appeal4 ,nevertheless we are much in advance of our forefathers of the eighteenth century1 as regards the knowledge of ,greek civilization4 ,in the time of the ,french revolution1 it was thought possible to reestablish in ,france the conditions of a ,greek republic1 and to educate children according to the system of ,sparta4 ,to-day we are well aware that no mind developed by modern civilization could find happiness under any of those socialistic despotisms which existed in all the cities of the ancient world before the ,roman conquest4 ,we could no more mingle with the old ,greek life1 if it were resurrected for us1--no more become a part of it1--than we could change our mental identities4 ,but how much would we not give for the delight of beholding it1--for the joy of attending one festival in ,corinth1 or of witnessing the ,pan-,hellenic games8 444 ,and yet1 to witness the revival of some perished ,greek civilization1--to walk about the very ,crotona of ,pythagoras1--to wander through the ,syracuse of ,theocritus1--were not any more of a privilege than is the opportunity actually afforded us to study ,japanese life4 ,indeed1 from the evolutional #ag point of view1 it were less of a privilege1--since ,japan offers us the living spectacle of conditions older1 and psychologically much farther away from us1 than those of any ,greek period with which art and literature have made us closely acquainted4 ,the reader scarcely needs to be reminded that a civilization less evolved than our own1 and intellectually remote from us1 is not on that account to be regarded as necessarily inferior in all respects4 ,hellenic civilization at its best represented an early stage of sociological evolution2 yet the arts which it developed still furnish our supreme and unapproachable ideals of beauty4 ,so1 too1 this much more archaic civilization of ,old ,japan attained an average of aesthetic and moral culture well worthy of our wonder and praise4 ,only a shallow mind--a very shallow mind--will pronounce the best of that culture inferior4 ,but ,japanese civilization is peculiar to a degree for which there is perhaps no ,western parallel1 since it offers us the spectacle of many successive layers of alien culture superimposed above the simple indigenous basis1 and forming a very bewilderment of complexity4 ,most of this alien culture is ,chinese1 and bears but an indirect relation to the real subject of these studies4 ,the peculiar and surprising fact is that1 in spite of all superimposition1 the original character of the people and of their society should still remain recognizable4 #ah ,the wonder of ,japan is not to be sought in the countless borrowings with which she has clothed herself1--much as a princess of the olden time would don twelve ceremonial robes1 of divers colours and qualities1 folded one upon the other so as to show their many-tinted edges at throat and sleeves and skirt2--no1 the real wonder is the ,wearer4 ,for the interest of the costume is much less in its beauty of form and tint than in its significance as idea1--as representing something of the mind that devised or adopted it4 ,and the supreme interest of the old--,japanese civilization lies in what it expresses of the race-character1--that character which yet remains essentially unchanged by all the changes of ,meiji4 ,suggests were perhaps a better word than expresses1 for this race-character is rather to be divined than recognized4 ,our comprehension of it might be helped by some definite knowledge of origins2 but such knowledge we do not yet possess4 ,ethnologists are agreed that the ,japanese race has been formed by a mingling of peoples1 and that the dominant element is ,mongolian2 but this dominant element is represented in two very different types1--one slender and almost feminine of aspect2 the other1 squat and powerful4 ,chinese and ,korean elements are known to exist in the populations of certain districts2 and1 there appears to have been a large infusion of ,aino blood4 ,whether there be #ai any ,malay or ,polynesian element also has not been decided4 ,thus much only can be safely affirmed1--that the race1 like all good races1 is a mixed one2 and that the peoples who originally united to form it have been so blended together as to develop1 under long social discipline1 a tolerably uniform type of character4 ,this character1 though immediately recognizable in some of ,its aspects1 presents us with many enigmas that are very difficult to explain4 ,nevertheless1 to understand it better has become a matter of importance4 ,japan has entered into the world's competitive struggle2 and the worth of any people in that struggle depends upon character quite as much as upon force4 ,we can learn something about ,japanese character if we are able to ascertain the nature of the conditions which shaped it1--the great general facts of the moral experience of the race4 ,and these facts we should find expressed or suggested in the history of the national beliefs1 and in the history of those social institutions derived from and developed by religion4 #bj #ba ,,the ,,ancient ,,cult ,the real religion of ,japan1 the religion still professed in one form or other1 by the entire nation1 is that cult which has been the foundation of all civilized religion1 and of all civilized society1--,ancestor-worship4 ,in the course of thousands of years this original cult has undergone modifications1 and has assumed various shapes2 but everywhere in ,japan its fundamental character remains unchanged4 ,without including the different ,buddhist forms of ancestor-worship1 we find three distinct rites of purely ,japanese origin1 subsequently modified to some degree by ,chinese influence and ceremonial4 ,these ,japanese forms of the cult are all classed together under the name of ,shinto1 which signifies1 ,the ,way of the ,gods4 ,it is not an ancient term2 and it was first adopted only to distinguish the native religion1 or ,way from the foreign religion of ,buddhism called ,butsudo1 or ,the ,way of the ,buddha4 ,the three forms of the ,shinto worship of ancestors are the ,domestic ,cult1 the ,communal ,cult1 and the ,state ,cult2--or1 in other words1 the worship of family ancestors1 the worship of clan or tribal ancestors1 #bb and the worship of imperial ancestors4 ,the first is the religion of the home2 the second is the religion of the local divinity1 or tutelar god2 the third is the national religion4 ,there are various other forms of ,shinto worship2 but they need not be considered for the present4 ,of the three forms of ancestor-worship above mentioned1 the family-cult is the first in evolutional order1--the others being later developments4 ,but1 in speaking of the family-cult as the oldest1 ,i do not mean the home-religion as it exists to-day2--neither do ,i mean by family anything corresponding to the term household4 ,the ,japanese family in early times meant very much more than household3 it might include a hundred or a thousand households3 it was something like the ,greek 7,greek genos72 or the ,roman gens1--the patriarchal family in the largest sense of the term4 ,in prehistoric ,japan the domestic cult of the house-ancestor probably did not exist2--the family-rites would appear to have been performed only at the burial-place4 ,but the later domestic cult1 having been developed out of the primal family-rite1 indirectly represents the most ancient form of the religion1 and should therefore be considered first in any study of ,japanese social evolution4 ,the evolutional history of ancestor-worship has been very much the same in all countries2 and that #bc of the ,japanese cult offers remarkable evidence in support of ,herbert ,spencer's exposition of the law of religious development4 ,to comprehend this general law1 we must1 however1 go back to the origin of religious beliefs4 ,one should bear in mind that1 from a sociological point of view1 it is no more correct to speak of the existing ancestor-cult in ,japan as primitive1 than it would be to speak of the domestic cult of the ,athenians in the time of ,pericles as primitive4 ,no persistent form of ancestor-worship is primitive2 and every established domestic cult has been developed out of some irregular and non-domestic family-cult1 which1 again1 must have grown out of still more ancient funeral-rites4 ,our knowledge of ancestor-worship1 as regards the early ,european civilizations1 cannot be said to extend to the primitive form of the cult4 ,in the case of the ,greeks and the ,romans1 our knowledge of the subject dates from a period at which a domestic religion had long been established2 and we have documentary evidence as to the character of that religion4 ,but of the earlier cult that must have preceded the home-worship1 we have little testimony2 and we can surmise its nature only by study of the natural history of ancestor-worship among peoples not yet arrived at a state of civilization4 ,the true domestic cult begins with a settled civilization4 ,now when the ,japanese race first established itself in ,japan1 it does not appear to have #bd brought with it any civilization of the kind which we would call settled1 nor any well-developed ancestor-cult4 ,the cult certainly existed2 but its ceremonies would seem to have been irregularly performed at graves only4 ,the domestic cult proper may not have been established until about the eighth century1 when the spirit-tablet is supposed to have been introduced from ,china4 ,the earliest ancestor-cult1 as we shall presently see1 was developed out of the primitive funeral-rites and propitiatory ceremonies4 ,the existing family religion is therefore a comparatively modern development2 but it is at least as old as the true civilization of the country1 and it conserves beliefs and ideas which are indubitably primitive1 as well as ideas and beliefs derived from these4 ,before treating further of the cult itself1 it will be necessary to consider some of these older beliefs4 ,the earliest ancestor-worship1--the root of all religions1 as ,herbert ,spencer calls it1--was probably coeval with the earliest definite belief in ghosts4 ,as soon as men were able to conceive the idea of a shadowy inner self1 or double1 so soon1 doubtless1 the propitiatory cult of spirits began4 ,but this earliest ghost-worship must have long preceded that period of mental development in which men first became capable of forming abstract ideas4 ,the #be primitive ancestor-worshippers could not have formed the notion of a supreme deity2 and all evidence existing as to the first forms of their worship tends to show that there primarily existed no difference whatever between the conception of ghosts and the conception of gods4 ,there were1 consequently1 no definite beliefs in any future state of reward or of punishment1--no ideas of any heaven or hell4 ,even the notion of a shadowy underworld1 or ,hades1 was of much later evolution4 ,at first the dead were thought of only as dwelling in the tombs provided for them1--whence they could issue1 from time to time1 to visit their former habitations1 or to make apparition in the dreams of the living4 ,their real world was the place of burial1--the grave1 the tumulus4 ,afterwards there slowly developed the idea of an underworld1 connected in some mysterious way with the place of sepulture4 ,only at a much later time did this dim underworld of imagination expand and divide into regions of ghostly bliss and woe 4444 ,it is a noteworthy fact that ,japanese mythology never evolved the ideas of an ,elysium or a ,tartarus1--never developed the notion of a heaven or a hell4 ,even to this day ,shinto belief represents the pre-,homeric stage of imagination as regards the supernatural4 ,among the ,indo-,european races likewise there appeared to have been at first no difference between gods and ghosts1 nor any ranking of gods as greater #bf and lesser4 ,these distinctions were gradually developed4 ,the spirits of the dead1 says ,mr4 ,spencer1 forming1 in a primitive tribe1 an ideal group the members of which are but little distinguished from one another1 will grow more and more distinguished2--and as societies advance1 and as traditions1 local and general1 accumulate and complicate1 these once similar human souls1 acquiring in the popular mind differences of character and importance1 will diverge--until their original community of nature becomes scarcely recognizable4 ,so in antique ,europe1 and so in the ,far ,east1 were the greater gods of nations evolved from ghost-cults2 but those ethics of ancestor-worship which shaped alike the earliest societies of ,west and ,east1 date from a period before the time of the greater gods1--from the period when all the dead were supposed to become gods1 with no distinction of rank4 ,no more than the primitive ancestor-worshippers of ,aryan race did the early ,japanese think of their dead as ascending to some extra-mundane region of light and bliss1 or as descending into some realm of torment4 ,they thought of their dead as still inhabiting this world1 or at least as maintaining with it a constant communication4 ,their earliest sacred records do1 indeed1 make mention of an underworld1 where mysterious ,thunder-gods and evil goblins dwelt in corruption2 but this vague world of the dead communicated with the world of the living2 #bg and the spirit there1 though in some sort attached to its decaying envelope1 could still receive upon earth the homage and the offerings of men4 ,before the advent of ,buddhism1 there was no idea of a heaven or a hell4 ,the ghosts of the departed were thought of as constant presences1 needing propitiation1 and able in some way to share the pleasures and the pains of the living4 ,they required food and drink and light2 and in return for these2 they could confer benefits4 ,their bodies had melted into earth2 but their spirit-power still lingered in the upper world1 thrilled its substance1 moved in its winds and waters4 ,by death they had acquired mysterious force2--they had become superior ones1 ,kami1 gods4 ,that is to say1 gods in the oldest ,greek and ,roman sense4 ,be it observed that there were no moral distinctions1 ,east or ,west1 in this deification4 ,all the dead become gods1 wrote the great ,shinto commentator1 ,hirata4 ,so likewise1 in the thought of the early ,greeks and even of the late ,romans1 all the dead became gods4 ,m4 de ,coulanges observes1 in ,la ,cite ,antique3 ,this kind of apotheosis was not the privilege of the great alone4 no distinction was made 4444 ,it was not even necessary to have been a virtuous man3 the wicked man became a god as well as the good man1--only that in this after-existence1 he retained the evil inclinations of his former life4 ,such also #bh was the case in ,shinto belief3 the good man became a beneficent divinity1 the bad man an evil deity1--but all alike became ,kami4 ,and since there are bad as well as good gods1 wrote ,motowori1 it is necessary to propitiate them with offerings of agreeable food1 playing the harp1 blowing the flute1 singing and dancing and whatever is likely to put them in a good humour4 ,the ,latins called the maleficent ghosts of the dead1 ,larvae1 and called the beneficent or harmless ghosts1 ,lares1 or ,manes1 or ,genii1 according to ,apuleius4 ,but all alike were gods1--dii-manes2 and ,cicero admonished his readers to render to all dii-manes the rightful worship3 ,they are men1 he declared1 who have departed from this life2-consider them divine beings 4444 ,in ,shinto1 as in old ,greek belief1 to die was to enter into the possession of superhuman power1 to become capable of conferring benefit or of inflicting misfortune by supernatural means 4444 ,but yesterday1 such or such a man was a common toiler1 a person of no importance2--to-day1 being dead1 he becomes a divine power1 and his children pray to him for the prosperity of their undertakings4 ,thus also we find the personages of ,greek tragedy1 such as ,alcestis1 suddenly transformed into divinities by death1 and addressed in the language of worship or prayer4 ,but1 in despite of their supernatural #bi power1 the dead are still dependent upon the living for happiness4 ,though viewless1 save in dreams1 they need earthly nourishment and homage1--food and drink1 and the reverence of their descendants4 ,each ghost must rely for such comfort upon its living kindred2--only through the devotion of that kindred can it ever find repose4 ,each ghost must have shelter1--a fitting tomb2--each must have offerings4 ,while honourably sheltered and properly nourished the spirit is pleased1 and will aid in maintaining the good-fortune of its propitiators4 ,but if refused the sepulchral home1 the funeral rites1 the offerings of food and fire and drink1 the spirit will suffer from hunger and cold and thirst1 and1 becoming angered1 will act malevolently and contrive misfortune for those by whom it has been neglected 4444 ,such were the ideas of the old ,greeks regarding the dead2 and such were the ideas of the old ,japanese4 ,although the religion of ghosts was once the religion of our own forefathers--whether of ,northern or ,southern ,europe1--and although practices derived from it1 such as the custom of decorating graves with flowers1 persist to-day among our most advanced communities1--our modes of thought have so changed under the influences of modern civilization that it is difficult for us to imagine how people could ever have supposed that the happiness of the dead depended upon material food4 ,but it #cj is probable that the real belief in ancient ,european societies was much like the belief as it exists in modern ,japan4 ,the dead are not supposed to consume the substance of the food1 but only to absorb the invisible essence of it4 ,in the early period of ancestor-worship the food-offerings were large2 later on they were made smaller and smaller as the idea grew up that the spirits required but little sustenance of even the most vapoury kind4 ,but1 however small the offerings1 it was essential that they should be made regularly4 ,upon these shadowy repasts depended the well-being of the dead2 and upon the well-being of the dead depended the fortunes of the living4 ,neither could dispense with the help of the other4 the visible and the invisible worlds were forever united by bonds innumerable of mutual necessity2 and no single relation of that union could be broken without the direst consequences4 ,the history of all religious sacrifices can be traced back to this ancient custom of offerings made to ghosts2 and the whole ,indo-,aryan race had at one time no other religion than this religion of spirits4 ,in fact1 every advanced human society has1 at some period of its history1 passed through the stage of ancestor-worship2 but it is to the ,far ,east that we must took to-day in order to find the cult coexisting with an elaborate civilization4 ,now the ,japanese ancestor-cult--though representing the beliefs of a #ca non-,aryan people1 and offering in the history of its development various interesting peculiarities--still embodies much that is characteristic of ancestor-worship in general4 ,there survive in it especially these three beliefs1 which underlie all forms of persistent ancestor-worship in all climes and countries3-- ,i4--,the dead remain in this world1--haunting their tombs1 and also their former homes1 and sharing invisibly in the life of their living descendants2-- ,,ii4--,all the dead become gods1 in the sense of acquiring supernatural power2 but they retain the characters which distinguished them during life2-- ,,iii4--,the happiness of the dead depends upon the respectful service rendered them by the living2 and the happiness of the living depends upon the fulfilment of pious duty to the dead4 ,to these very early beliefs may be added the following1 probably of later development1 which at one time must have exercised immense influence3-- ,,iv4--,every event in the world1 good or evil1--fair seasons or plentiful harvests1--flood and famine1--tempest and tidal-wave and earthquake1--is the work of the dead4 ,v4--,all human actions1 good or bad1 are controlled by the dead4 ,the first three beliefs survive from the dawn of civilization1 or before it1--from the time in which #cb the dead were the only gods1 without distinctions of power4 ,the latter two would seem rather of the period in which a true mythology--an enormous polytheism--had been developed out of the primitive ghost-worship4 ,there is nothing simple in these beliefs3 they are awful1 tremendous beliefs2 and before ,buddhism helped to dissipate them1 their pressure upon the mind of a people dwelling in a land of cataclysms1 must have been like an endless weight of nightmare4 ,but the elder beliefs1 in softened form1 are yet a fundamental part of the existing cult4 ,though ,japanese ancestor-worship has undergone many modifications in the past two thousand years1 these modifications have not transformed its essential character in relation to conduct2 and the whole framework of society rests upon it1 as on a moral foundation4 ,the history of ,japan is really the history of her religion4 ,no single fact in this connection is more significant than the fact that the ancient ,japanese term for government--matsuri-goto--signifies liberally matters of worship4 ,later on we shall find that not only government1 but almost everything in ,japanese society1 derives directly or indirectly from this ancestor-cult2 and that in all matters the dead1 rather than the living1 have been the rulers of the nation and--the shapers of its destinies4 #cc ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,the ,,home ,three stages of ancestor-worship are to be distinguished in the general course of religious and social evolution2 and each of these finds illustration in the history of ,japanese society4 ,the first stage is that which exists before the establishment of a settled civilization1 when there is yet no national ruler1 and when the unit of society is the great patriarchal family1 with its elders or war-chiefs for lords4 ,under these conditions1 the spirits of the family-ancestors only are worshipped2--each family propitiating its own dead1 and recognizing no other form of worship4 ,as the patriarchal families1 later on1 become grouped into tribal clans1 there grows up the custom of tribal sacrifice to the spirits of the clan-rulers2--this cult being superadded to the family-cult1 and marking the second stage of ancestor-worship4 ,finally1 with the union of all the clans or tribes under one supreme head1 there is developed the custom of propitiating the spirits of national1 rulers4 ,this third form of the cult becomes the obligatory religion #cd of the country2 but it does not replace either of the preceding cults3 the three continue to exist together4 ,though1 in the present state of our knowledge1 the evolution in ,japan of these three stages of ancestor-worship is but faintly traceable1 we can divine tolerably well1 from various records1 how the permanent forms of the cult were first developed out of the earlier funeral-rites4 ,between the ancient ,japanese funeral customs and those of antique ,europe1 there was a vast difference1--a difference indicating1 as regards ,japan1 a far more primitive social condition4 ,in ,greece and in ,italy it was an early custom to bury the family dead within the limits of the family estate2 and the ,greek and ,roman laws of property grew out of this practice4 ,sometimes the dead were buried close to the house4 ,the author of ',la ,cite ,antique' cites1 among other ancient texts bearing upon the subject1 an interesting invocation from the tragedy of ,helen1 by ,euripides3--,all hail6 my father's tomb6 ,i buried thee1 ,proteus1 at the place where men pass out1 that ,i might often greet thee2 and so1 even as ,i go out and in1 ,i1 thy son ,theoclymenus1 call upon thee1 father6 444 ,but in ancient ,japan1 men fled from the neighbourhood of death4 ,it was long the custom to abandon1 either temporarily1 or permanently1 the house in which a death occurred2 #ce and we can scarcely suppose that1 at any time1 it was thought desirable to bury the dead close to the habitation of the surviving members of the household4 ,some ,japanese authorities declare that in the very earliest ages there was no burial1 and that corpses were merely conveyed to desolate places1 and there abandoned to wild creatures4 ,be this as it may1 we have documentary evidence1 of an unmistakable sort1 concerning the early funeral-rites as they existed when the custom of burying had become established1--rites weird and strange1 and having nothing in common with the practices of settled civilization4 ,there is reason to believe that the family-dwelling was at first permanently1 not temporarily1 abandoned to the dead2 and in view of the fact that the dwelling was a wooden hut of very simple structure1 there is nothing improbable in the supposition4 ,at all events the corpse was left for a certain period1 called the period of mourning1 either in the abandoned house where the death occurred1 or in a shelter especially built for the purpose2 and1 during the mourning period1 offerings of food and drink were set before the dead1 and ceremonies performed without the house4 ,one of these ceremonies consisted in the recital of poems in praise of the dead1--which poems were called shinobigoto4 ,there was music also of flutes and drums1 and dancing2 and at night a fire was kept burning before the house4 ,after all this had been #cf done for the fixed period of mourning--eight days1 according to some authorities1 fourteen according to others--the corpse was interred4 ,it is probable that the deserted house may thereafter have become an ancestral temple1 or ghost-house1--prototype of the ,shinto miya4 ,at an early time1--though when we do not know1--it certainly became the custom to erect a moya1 or mourning-house in the event of a death2 and the rites were performed at the mourning-house prior to the interment4 ,the manner of burial was very simple3 there were yet no tombs in the literal meaning of the term1 and no tombstones4 ,only a mound was thrown up over the grave2 and the size of the mound varied according to the rank of the dead4 ,the custom of deserting the house in which a death took place would accord with the theory of a nomadic ancestry for the ,japanese people3 it was a practice totally incompatible with a settled civilization like that of the early ,greeks and ,romans1 whose customs in regard to burial presuppose small landholdings in permanent occupation4 ,but there may have been1 even in early times1 some exceptions to general custom--exceptions made by necessity4 ,to-day1 in various parts of the country1 and perhaps more particularly in districts remote from temples1 it is the custom for farmers to bury their dead upon their own lands4 #cg--;,at regular intervals after burial1 ceremonies were performed at the graves2 and food and drink were then served to the spirits4 ,when the spirit-tablet had been introduced from ,china1 and a true domestic cult established1 the practice of making offerings at the place of burial was not discontinued4 ,it survives to the present time1--both in the ,shinto and the ,buddhist rite2 and every spring an ,imperial messenger presents at the tomb of the ,emperor ,jimmu1 the same offerings of birds and fish and seaweed1 rice and rice-wine1 which were made to the spirit of the ,founder of the ,empire twenty-five hundred years ago4 ,but before the period of ,chinese influence the family would seem to have worshipped its dead only before the mortuary house1 or at the grave2 and the spirits were yet supposed to dwell especially in their tombs1 with access to some mysterious subterranean world4 ,they were supposed to need other things besides nourishment2 and it was customary to place in the grave various articles for their ghostly use1--a sword1 for example1 in the case of a warrior2 a mirror in the case of a woman1--together with certain objects1 especially prized during life1--such as objects of precious metal1 and polished stones or gems 4444 ,at this stage of ancestor-worship1 when the spirits are supposed to require shadowy service of a sort corresponding to that exacted during their life-time in the body1 we should expect to hear of #ch human sacrifices as well as of animal sacrifices4 ,at the funerals of great personages such sacrifices were common4 ,owing to beliefs of which all knowledge has been lost1 these sacrifices assumed a character much more cruel than that of the immolations of the ,greek ,homeric epoch4 ,the human victims99 were buried up to the neck in a circle about the grave1 and thus left to perish under the beaks of birds and the teeth of wild beasts4 99,how the horses and other animals were sacrificed1 does not clearly appear4 ,the term applied to this form of immolation1--hitogaki1 or human hedge1--implies a considerable number of victims in each case4 ,this custom was abolished1 by the ,emperor ,suinin1 about nineteen hundred years ago2 and the ,nihongi declares that it was then an ancient custom4 ,being grieved by the crying of the victims interred in the funeral mound erected over the grave of his brother1 ,yamato-hiko-no-mikoto1 the ,emperor is recorded to have said3 ,it is a very painful thing to force those whom one has loved in life to follow one in death4 ,though it be an ancient custom1 why follow it1 if it is bad8 ,from this time forward take counsel to put a stop to the following of the dead4 ,nomi-no-,sukune1 a court-noble--now apotheosized as the patron of wrestlers--then suggested the substitution of earthen images of men and horses for the living victims2 and his suggestion was approved4 ,the hitogaki1 was thus abolished2 but compulsory as well as voluntary following of the #ci dead certainly continued for many hundred years after1 since we find the ,emperor ,kotoku issuing an edict on the subject in the year #fdf ,a4,d43-- ,when a man dies1 there have been cases of people sacrificing themselves by strangulation1 or of strangling others by way of sacrifice1 or of compelling the dead man's horse to be sacrificed1 or of burying valuables in the grave in honour of the dead1 or of cutting off the hair and stabbing the thighs and in that condition pronouncing a eulogy on the dead4 ,let all such old customs be entirely discontinued4--,nihongi2 ,aston's translation4 ,as regarded compulsory sacrifice and popular custom1 this edict may have had the immediate effect desired2 but voluntary human sacrifices were not definitively suppressed4 ,with the rise of the military power there gradually came into existence another custom of junshi1 or following one's lord in death1--suicide by the sword4 ,it is said to have begun about #accc1 when the last of the ,hojo regents1 ,takatoki1 performed suicide1 and a number of his retainers took their own lives by harakiri1 in order to follow their master4 ,it may be doubted whether this incident really established the practice4 ,but by the sixteenth century junshi had certainly become an honoured custom among the samurai4 ,loyal retainers esteemed it a duty to kill themselves after the death of their lord1 in order to attend upon him during his ghostly journey4 ,a thousand years #dj of ,buddhist teaching had not therefore sufficed to eradicate all primitive notions' of sacrificial duty4 ,the practice continued into the time of the ,tokugawa shogunate1 when ,iyeyasu made laws to check it4 ,these laws were rigidly applied1--the entire family of the suicide being held responsible for a case of junshi3 yet the custom cannot be said to have become extinct until considerably after the beginning of the era of ,meiji4 ,even during my own time there have been survivals1--some of a very touching kind3 suicides performed in hope of being able to serve or aid the spirit of master or husband or parent in the invisible world4 ,perhaps the strangest case was that of a boy fourteen years old1 who killed himself in order to wait upon the spirit of a child1 his master's little son4 ,the peculiar character of the early human sacrifices at graves1 the character of the funeral-rites1 the abandonment of the house in which death had occurred4--all prove that the early ancestor-worship was of a decidedly primitive kind4 ,this is suggested also by the peculiar ,shinto horror of death as pollution3 even at this day to attend a funeral1--unless the funeral be conducted after the ,shinto rite1--is religious defilement4 ,the ancient legend of ,izanagi's descent to the nether world1 in search of his lost spouse1 illustrates the terrible beliefs that once existed as to goblin-powers presiding over decay4 #da ,between the horror of death as corruption1 and the apotheosis of the ghost1 there is nothing incongruous3 we must understand the apotheosis itself as a propitiation4 ,this earliest ,way of the ,gods was a religion of perpetual fear4 ,not ordinary homes only were deserted after a death3 even the ,emperors1 during many centuries1 were wont to change their capital after the death of a predecessor4 ,but1 gradually1 out of the primal funeral-rites1 a higher cult was evolved4 ,the mourning-house1 or moya1 became transformed into the ,shinto temple1 which still retains the shape of the primitive hut4 ,then under ,chinese influence1 the ancestral cult became established in the home2 and ,buddhism at a later day maintained this domestic cult4 ,by degrees the household religion became a religion of tenderness as well as of duty1 and changed and softened the thoughts of men about their dead4 ,as early as the eighth century1 ancestor-worship appears to have developed the three principal forms under which it still exists2 and thereafter the family-cult began to assume a character which offers many resemblances to the domestic religion of the old ,european civilizations4 ,let us now glance at the existing forms of this domestic cult1--the universal religion of ,japan4 ,in every home there is a shrine devoted to it4 ,if the family profess only the ,shinto belief1 this shrine1 #db or mitamaya99 7august-spirit-dwelling71--tiny model of a ,shinto temple1--is placed upon a shelf fixed against the wall of some inner chamber1 at a height of about six feet from the floor4 ,such a shelf is called ,mitama-,san-no-tana1 or--,shelf of the august spirits4 99,it is more popularly termed miya1 august house1--a name given to the ordinary ,shinto temples4 ,in the shrine are placed thin tablets of white wood1 inscribed with the names of the household dead4 ,such tablets are called by a name signifying spirit-substitutes 7mitamashiro71 or by a probably older name signifying spirit-sticks4 444 ,if the family worships its ancestors according to the ,buddhist rite1 the mortuary tablets are placed in the ,buddhist household-shrine1 or ,butsudan1 which usually occupies the upper shelf of an alcove in one of the inner apartments4 ,buddhist mortuary-tablets 7with some exceptions7 are called ihai1--a term signifying soul-commemoration4 ,they are lacquered and gilded1 usually having a carved lotos-flower as pedestal2 and they do not1 as a rule1 bear the real1 but only the religious and posthumous name of the dead4 ,now it is important to observe that1 in either cult1 the mortuary tablet actually suggests a miniature tombstone--which is a fact of some evolutional interest1 though the evolution itself should be ,chinese rather than ,japanese4 ,the plain gravestones in ,shinto cemeteries resemble in form the simple #dc wooden ghost-sticks1 or spirit-sticks2 while the ,buddhist monuments in the old-fashioned ,buddhist graveyards are shaped like the ihai1 of which the form is slightly varied to indicate sex and age1 which is also the case with the tombstone4 ,the number of mortuary tablets in a household shrine does not generally exceed five or six1--only grandparents and parents and the recently dead being thus represented2 but the name of remoter ancestors are inscribed upon scrolls1 which are kept in the ,butsudan or the mitamaya4 ,whatever be the family rite1 prayers are repeated and offerings are placed before the ancestral tablets every day4 ,the nature of the offerings and the character of the prayers depend upon the religion of the household2 but the essential duties of the cult are everywhere the same4 ,these duties are not to be neglected under any circumstances2 their performance in these times is usually intrusted to the elders1 or to the women of the household499 99,not1 however1 upon any public occasion1--such as a gathering of relatives at the home for a religious anniversary3 at such times the rites are performed by the head of the household4 ,speaking of the ancient custom 7once prevalent in every ,japanese household1 and still observed in ,shinto homes7 of making offerings to the deities of the cooking range and of food1 ,sir ,ernest ,satow observes3 ,the rites in honour of these gods were at first performed by the head of the household2 but in after-times the duty came to he delegated to the women of the family 7,ancient ,japanese ,rituals74 ,we may infer that in regard to the ancestral rites likewise1 the same transfer of duties occurred at an early time1 for obvious reasons of convenience4 ,when the duty devolves upon the elders of the family--grandfather and grandmother--it is usually the grandmother who attends to the offerings4 ,in the ,greek and ,roman household the performance of the domestic rites appears to have been obligatory upon the head of the household2 but we know that the women took part in them4 #dd ,there is no long ceremony1 no imperative rule about prayers1 nothing solemn3 the food-offerings are selected out of the family cooking2 the murmured or whispered invocations are short and few4 ,but1 trifling as the rites may seem1 their performance must never be overlooked4 ,not to make the offerings is a possibility undreamed of3 so long as the family exists they must be made4 ,to describe the details of the domestic rite would require much space1--not because they are complicated in themselves1 but because they are of a sort unfamiliar to ,western experience1 and vary according to the sect of the family4 ,but to consider the details will not be necessary3 the important matter is to consider the religion and its beliefs in relation to conduct and character4 ,it should be recognized that no religion is more sincere1 no faith more touching than this domestic worship1 which regards the dead as continuing to form a part of the household life1 and needing still the affection and the respect of their children and kindred4 ,originating in those dim ages when fear was stronger than love1--when the wish to please the ghosts of the departed must have been chiefly inspired by dread of their anger1--the cult at last developed into a religion of affection2 and this it yet remains4 ,the belief that the dead #de need affection1 that to neglect them is a cruelty1 that their happiness depends upon duty1 is a belief that has almost cast out the primitive fear of their displeasure4 ,they are not thought of as dead3 they are believed to remain among those who loved them4 ,unseen they guard the home1 and watch over the welfare of its inmates3 they hover nightly in the glow of the shrine-lamp2 and the stirring of its flame is the motion of them4 ,they dwell mostly within their lettered tablets2--sometimes they can animate a tablet1--change it into the substance of a human body1 and return in that body to active life1 in order to succour and console4 ,from their shrine they observe and hear what happens in the house2 they share the family joys and sorrows2 they delight in the voices and the warmth of the life about them4 ,they want affection2 but the morning and the evening greetings of the family are enough to make them happy4 ,they require nourishment2 but the vapour of food contents them4 ,they are exacting only as regards the daily fulfilment of duty4 ,they were the givers of life1 the givers of wealth1 the makers and teachers of the present3 they represent the past of the race1 and all its sacrifices2--whatever the living possess is from them4 ,yet how little do they require in return6 ,scarcely more than to be thanked1 as the founders and guardians of the home1 in simple words like these3--,for aid received1 by day and by night1 accept1 ,august ,ones1 our reverential gratitude4444 #df ,to forget or neglect them1 to treat them with rude indifference1 is the proof of an evil heart2 to cause them shame by ill-conduct1 to disgrace their name by bad actions1 is the supreme crime4 ,they represent the moral experience of the race3 whosoever denies that experience denies them also1 and falls to the level of the beast1 or below it4 ,they represent the unwritten law1 the traditions of the commune1 the duties of all to all3 whosoever offends against these1 sins against the dead4 ,and1 finally1 they represent the mystery of the invisible3 to ,shinto belief1 at least1 they are gods4 ,it is to be remembered1 of course1 that the ,japanese word for gods1 ,kami1 does not imply1 any more than did the old ,latin term1 dii-manes1 ideas like those which have become associated with the modern notion of divinity4 ,the ,japanese term might be more closely rendered by some such expression as the ,superiors1 the ,higher ,ones2 and it was formerly applied to living rulers as well as to deities and ghosts4 ,but it implies considerably more than the idea of a disembodied spirit2 for1 according to old ,shinto teaching the dead became world-rulers4 ,they were the cause of all natural events1--of winds1 rains1 and tides1 of buddings and ripenings1 of growth and decay1 of everything desirable or dreadful4 ,they formed a kind of subtler element1--an ancestral aether1--universally extending and #dg unceasingly operating4 ,their powers1 when united for any purpose1 were resistless2 and in time of national peril they were invoked en masse for aid against the foe 4444 ,thus1 to the eyes of faith1 behind each family ghost there extended the measureless shadowy power of countless ,kami2 and the sense of duty to the ancestor was deepened by dim awe of the forces controlling the world1--the whole invisible ,vast4 ,to primitive ,shinto conception the universe was filled with ghosts2--to later ,shinto conception the ghostly condition was not limited by place or time1 even in the case of individual spirits4 ,although1 wrote ,hirata1 the home of the spirits is in the ,spirit-house1 they are equally present wherever they are worshipped1--being gods1 and therefore ubiquitous4 ,the ,buddhist dead are not called gods1 but ,buddhas 7,hotoke71--which term1 of course1 expresses a pious hope1 rather than a faith4 ,the belief is that they are only on their way to some higher state of existence2 and they should not be invoked or worshipped after the manner of the ,shinto gods3 prayers should be said ,,for them1 not1 as a rule1 ,,to them499 99,certain ,buddhist rituals prove exceptions to this teaching4 ,but the vast majority of ,japanese ,buddhists are also followers of ,shinto2 and the two faiths1 though seemingly incongruous1 have long been reconciled in the popular mind4 ,the ,buddhist doctrine has #dh therefore modified the ideas attaching to the cult much less deeply than might be supposed4 ,in all patriarchal societies with a settled civilization1 there is evolved1 out of the worship of ancestors1 a ,religion of ,filial ,piety4 ,filial piety still remains the supreme virtue among civilized peoples possessing an ancestor-cult4444 ,by filial piety must not be understood1 however1 what is commonly signified by the ,english term1--the devotion of children to parents4 ,we must understand the word piety rather in its classic meaning1 as the pietas of the early ,romans1--that is to say1 as the religious sense of household duty4 ,reverence for the dead1 as well as the sentiment of duty towards the living2 the affection of children to parents1 and the affection of parents to children2 the mutual duties of husband and wife2 the duties likewise of sons-in-law and daughters-in-law to the family as a body2 the duties of servant to master1 and of master to dependent1--all these were included under the term4 ,the family itself was a religion2 the ancestral home a temple4 ,and so we find the family and the home to be in ,japan1 even at the present day4 ,filial piety in ,japan does not mean only the duty of children to parents and grandparents3 it means still more1 the cult of the ancestors1 reverential service to the dead1 the gratitude of the present to the past1 and the conduct of the individual in relation #di to the entire household4 ,hirata therefore declared that all virtues derived from the worship of ancestors2 and his words1 as translated by ,sir ,ernest ,satow1 deserve particular attention3-- ,it is the duty of a subject to be diligent in worshipping his ancestors1 whose minister he should consider himself to be4 ,the custom of adoption arose from the natural desire of having some one to perform sacrifices2 and this desire ought not to be rendered of no avail by neglect4 ,devotion to the memory of ancestors is the mainspring of all virtues4 ,no one who discharges his duty to them will ever be disrespectful to the gods or to his living parents4 ,such a man also will be faithful to his prince1 loyal to his friends1 and kind and gentle to his wife and children4 ,for the essence of this devotion is indeed filial piety4 ,from the sociologist's point of view1 ,hirata is right3 it is unquestionably true that the whole system of ,far-,eastern ethics derives from the religion of the household4 ,by aid of that cult have been evolved all ideas of duty to the living as well as to the dead1--the sentiment of reverence1 the sentiment of loyalty1 the spirit of self-sacrifice1 and the spirit of patriotism4 ,what filial piety signifies as a religious force can best be imagined from the fact that you can buy life in the ,east--that it has its price in the market4 ,this religion is the religion of ,china1 and of countries adjacent2 and life is for sale in ,china4 ,it was the filial piety of ,china that rendered #ej possible the completion of the ,panama railroad1 where to strike the soil was to liberate death1--where the land devoured labourers by the thousand1 until white and black labour could no more be procured in quantity sufficient for the work4 ,but labour could be obtained from ,china--any amount of labour--at the cost of life2 and the cost was paid2 and multitudes of men came from the ,east to toil and die1 in order that the price of their lives might be sent to their families4444 ,i have no doubt that1 were the sacrifice imperatively demanded1 life could be as readily bought in ,japan1--though not1 perhaps1 so cheaply4 ,where this religion prevails1 the individual is ready to give his life1 in a majority of cases1 for the family1 the home1 the ancestors4 ,and the filial piety impelling such sacrifice becomes1 by extension1 the loyalty that will sacrifice even the family itself for the sake of the lord1--or1 by yet further extension1 the loyalty that prays1 like ,kusunoki ,masashige1 for seven successive lives to lay down on behalf of the sovereign4 ,out of filial piety indeed has been developed the whole moral power that protects the state1--the power also that has seldom failed to impose the rightful restraints upon official despotism whenever that despotism grew dangerous to the common weal4 ,probably the filial piety that centred about the domestic altars of the ancient ,west differed in little #ea from that which yet rules the most eastern ,east4 ,but we miss in ,japan the ,aryan hearth1 the family altar with its perpetual fire4 ,the ,japanese home-religion represents1 apparently1 a much earlier stage of the cult than that which existed within historic time among the ,greeks and ,romans4 ,the homestead in ,old ,japan was not a stable institution like the ,greek or the ,roman home2 the custom of burying the family dead upon the family estate never became general2 the dwelling itself never assumed a substantial and lasting character4 ,it could not be literally said of the ,japanese warrior1 as of the ,roman1 that he fought pro aris et focis4 ,there was neither altar nor sacred fire3 the place of these was taken by the spirit-shelf or shrine1 with its tiny lamp1 kindled afresh each evening2 and1 in early times1 there were no ,japanese images of divinities4 ,for ,lares and ,penates there were only the mortuary-tablets of the ancestors1 and certain little tablets bearing names of other gods--tutelar gods 4444 ,the presence of these frail wooden objects still makes the home2 and they may be1 of course1 transported anywhere4 ,to apprehend the full meaning of ancestor-worship as a family religion1 a living faith1 is now difficult for the ,western mind4 ,we are able to imagine only in the vaguest way how our ,aryan forefathers felt and thought about their dead4 ,but in the #eb living beliefs of ,japan we find much to suggest the nature of the old ,greek piety4 ,each member of the family supposes himself1 or herself1 under perpetual ghostly surveillance4 ,spirit-eyes are watching every act2 spirit-ears are listening to every word4 ,thoughts too1 not less than deeds1 are visible to the gaze of the dead3 the heart must be pure1 the mind must be under control1 within the presence of the spirits4 ,probably the influence of such beliefs1 uninterruptedly exerted upon conduct during thousands of years1 did much to form the charming side of ,japanese character4 ,yet there is nothing stern or solemn in this home-religion to-day1--nothing of that rigid and unvarying discipline supposed by ,fustel de ,coulanges to have especially characterized the ,roman cult4 ,it is a religion rather of gratitude and tenderness2 the dead being served by the household as if they were actually present in the body 4444 ,i fancy that if we were able to enter for a moment into the vanished life of some old ,greek city1 we should find the domestic religion there not less cheerful than the ,japanese home-cult remains to-day4 ,i imagine that ,greek children1 three thousand years ago1 must have watched1 like the ,japanese children of to-day1 for a chance to steal some of the good things offered to the ghosts of the ancestors2 and ,i fancy that ,greek parents must have chidden quite as gently as ,japanese parents #ec chide in this era of ,meiji1--mingling reproof with instruction1 and hinting of weird possibilities499 99,food presented to the dead may afterwards be eaten by the elders of the household1 or given to pilgrims2 but it is said that if children eat of it1 they will grow with feeble memories1 and incapable of becoming scholars4 #ed #ee ,,the ,,japanese ,,family ,the great general idea1 the fundamental idea1 underlying every persistent ancestor-worship1 is that the welfare of the living depends upon the welfare of the dead4 ,under the influence of this idea1 and of the cult based upon it1 were developed the early organization of the family1 the laws regarding property and succession1 the whole structure1 in short1 of ancient society1--whether in the ,western or the ,eastern world4 ,but before considering how the social structure in old ,japan was shaped by the ancestral cult1 let me again remind the reader that there were at first no other gods than the dead4 ,even when ,japanese ancestor-worship evolved a mythology1 its gods were only transfigured ghosts1--and this is the history of all mythology4 ,the ideas of heaven and hell did not exist among the primitive ,japanese1 nor any notion of metempsychosis4 ,the ,buddhist doctrine of rebirth--a late borrowing--was totally inconsistent with the archaic ,japanese beliefs1 and required an elaborate metaphysical system to support it4 ,but we may suppose the early ideas of the ,japanese about the dead to have been much #ef like those of the ,greeks of the pre-,homeric era4 ,there was an underground world to which spirits descended2 but they were supposed to haunt by preference their own graves1 or their ghost-houses4 ,only by slow degrees did the notion of their power of ubiquity become evolved4 ,but even then they were thought to be particularly attached to their tombs1 shrines1 and homesteads4 ,hirata wrote1 in the early part of the nineteenth century3 ,the spirits of the dead continue to exist in the unseen world which is everywhere about us2 and they all become gods of varying character and degrees of influence4 ,some reside in temples built in their honour2 others hover near their tombs2 and they continue to render service to their prince1 parents1 wives1 and children1 as when in the body4 ,evidently the unseen world was thought to be in some sort a duplicate of the visible world1 and dependent upon the help of the living for its prosperity4 ,the dead and the living were mutually dependent4 ,the all-important necessity for the ghost was sacrificial worship2 the all-important necessity for the man was to provide for the future cult of his own spirit2 and to die without assurance of a cult was the supreme calamity 4444 ,remembering these facts we can understand better the organization of the patriarchal family1--shaped to maintain and to provide for the cult of its dead1 any neglect of which cult was believed to involve misfortune4 #eg ,the reader is doubtless aware that in the old ,aryan family the bond of union was not the bond of affection1 but a bond of religion1 to which natural affection was altogether subordinate4 ,this condition characterizes the patriarchal family wherever ancestor-worship exists4 ,now the ,japanese family1 like the ancient ,greek or ,roman family1 was a religious society in the strictest sense of the term2 and a religious society it yet remains4 ,its organization was primarily shaped in accordance with the requirements of ancestor-worship2 its later imported doctrines of filial piety had been already developed in ,china to meet the needs of an older and similar religion4 ,we might expect to find in the structure1 the laws1 and the customs of the ,japanese family many points of likeness to the structure and the traditional laws of the old ,aryan household1--because the law of sociological evolution admits of only minor exceptions4 ,and many such points of likeness are obvious4 ,the materials for a serious comparative study have not yet been collected3 very much remains to be learned regarding the past history of the ,japanese family4 ,but1 along certain general lines1 the resemblances between domestic institutions in ancient ,europe and domestic institutions in the ,far ,east can be clearly established4 ,alike in the early ,european and in the old ,japanese civilization it was believed that the prosperity #eh of the family depended upon the exact fulfilment of the duties of the ancestral cult2 and1 to a considerable degree1 this belief rules the life of the ,japanese family to-day4 ,it is still thought that the good fortune of the household depends on the observance of its cult1 and that the greatest possible calamity is to die without leaving a male heir to perform the rites and to make the offerings4 ,the paramount duty of filial piety among the early ,greeks and ,romans was to provide for the perpetuation of the family cult2 and celibacy was therefore generally forbidden1--the obligation to marry being enforced by opinion where not enforced by legislation4 ,among the free classes of ,old ,japan1 marriage was also1 as a general rule1 obligatory in the case of a male heir3 otherwise1 where celibacy was not condemned by law1 it was condemned by custom4 ,to die without offspring was1 in the case of a younger son1 chiefly a personal misfortune2 to die without leaving a male heir1 in the case of an elder son and successor1 was a crime against the ancestors1--the cult being thereby threatened with extinction4 ,no excuse existed for remaining childless3 the family law in ,japan1 precisely as in ancient ,europe1 having amply provided against such a contingency4 ,in case that a wife proved barren1 she might be divorced4 ,in case that there were reasons for not divorcing her1 a concubine might be taken for the purpose of obtaining an heir4 ,furthermore1 every family representative was privileged #ei to adopt an heir4 ,an unworthy son1 again1 might be disinherited1 and another young man adopted in his place4 ,finally1 in case that a man had daughters but no son1 the succession and the continuance of the cult could be assured by adopting a husband for the eldest daughter4 ,but1 as in the antique ,european family1 daughters could not inherit3 descent being in the male line1 it was necessary to have a male heir4 ,in old ,japanese belief1 as in old ,greek and ,roman belief1 the father1 not the mother1 was the life-giver2 the creative principle was masculine2 the duty of maintaining the cult rested with the man1 not with the woman499 99,wherever1 among ancestor-worshipping races1 descent is in the male line1 the cult follows the male line4 ,but the reader is doubtless aware that a still more primitive form of society than the patriarchal--the matriarchal--is supposed to have had its ancestor-worship4 ,mr4 ,spencer observes3 ,what has happened when descent in the female line obtains1 is not clear4 ,i have met with no statement showing that1 in societies characterized by this usage1 the duty of administering to the double of the dead man devolved on one of his children rather than on others1--,principles of ,sociology1 ,vol4 ,,iii1 section #fja4 ,the woman shared the cult2 but she could not maintain it4 ,besides1 the daughters of the family1 being destined1 as a general rule1 to marry into other households1 could bear only a temporary relation to the home-cult4 ,it was necessary that the religion of the wife should be the religion of the husband2 and the ,japanese1 like the ,greek woman1 on marrying into another household1 necessarily became attached to the cult of her husband's family4 ,for this reason especially the females in the patriarchal #fj family are not equal to the males2 the sister cannot rank with the brother4 ,it is true that the ,japanese daughter1 like the ,greek daughter1 could remain attached to her own family even after marriage1 providing that a husband were adopted for her1--that is to say1 taken into the family as a son4 ,but even in this case1 she could only share in the cult1 which it then became the duty of the adopted husband to maintain4 ,the constitution of the patriarchal family everywhere derives from its ancestral cult2 and before considering the subjects of marriage and adoption in ,japan1 it will be necessary to say something about the ancient family-organization4 ,the ancient family was called uji1--a word said to have originally signified the same thing as the modern term uchi1--interior1 or household1 but certainly used from very early times in the sense of name--clan-name especially4 ,there were two kinds of uji3 the o-uji1 or great families1 and the ko-uji1 or lesser families1--either term signifying a large body of persons united by kinship1 and by the cult of a common ancestor4 ,the o-uji corresponded in some degree to the ,greek 7,greek genos7 or the ,roman gens3 the ko-uji were its branches1 and subordinate to it4 ,the unit of society was the uji4 ,each o-uji1 with its dependent ko-uji1 represented something like a phratry or curia2 and all the larger groups making #fa up the primitive ,japanese society were but multiplications of the uji1--whether we call them clans1 tribes1 or hordes4 ,with the advent of a settled civilization1 the greater groups necessarily divided and subdivided2 but the smallest subdivision still retained its primal organization4 ,even the modern ,japanese family partly retains that organization4 ,it does not mean only a household3 it means rather what the ,greek or ,roman family became after the dissolution of the gens4 ,with ourselves the family has been disintegrated3 when we talk of a man's family1 we mean his wife and children4 ,but the ,japanese family is still a large group4 ,as marriages take place early1 it may consist1 even as a household1 of great-grandparents1 grandparents1 parents1 and children--sons and daughters of several generations2 but it commonly extends much beyond the limits of one household4 ,in early times it might constitute the entire population of a village or town2 and there are still in ,japan large communities of persons all bearing the same family name4 ,in some districts it was formerly the custom to keep all the children1 as far as possible1 within the original family group--husbands being adopted for all the daughters4 ,the group might thus consist of sixty or more persons1 dwelling under the same roof2 and the houses were of course constructed1 by successive extension1 so as to meet the requirement4 7,i am mentioning these curious facts #fb only by way of illustration47 ,but the greater uji1 after the race had settled down1 rapidly multiplied2 and although there are said to be house-communities still in some remote districts of the country1 the primal patriarchal groups must have been broken up almost everywhere at some very early period4 ,thereafter the main cult of the uji did not cease to be the cult also of its sub-divisions3 all members of the original gens continued to worship the common ancestor1 or uji-no-kami1 the god of the uji4 ,by degrees the ghost-house of the uji-no-kami became transformed into the modern ,shinto parish-temple2 and the ancestral spirit became the local tutelar god1 whose modern appellation1 ujigami1 is but a shortened form of his ancient title1 uji-no-kami4 ,meanwhile1 after the general establishment of the domestic cult1 each separate household maintained the special cult of its own dead1 in addition to the communal cult4 ,this religious condition still continues4 ,the family may include several households2 but each household maintains the cult of its dead4 ,and the family-group1 whether large or small1 preserves its ancient constitution and character2 it is still a religious society1 exacting obedience1 on the part of all its members1 to traditional custom4 ,so much having been explained1 the customs regarding marriage and adoption1 in their relation #fc to the family hierarchy1 can be clearly understood4 ,but a word first regarding this hierarchy1 as it exists to-day4 ,theoretically the power of the head of the family is still supreme in the household4 ,all must obey the head4 ,furthermore the females must obey the males--the wives1 the husbands2 and the younger members of the family are subject to the elder members4 ,the children must not only obey the parents and grandparents1 but must observe among themselves the domestic law of seniority3 thus the younger brother should obey the elder brother1 and the younger sister the elder sister4 ,the rule of precedence is enforced gently1 and is cheerfully obeyed even in small matters3 for example1 at meal-time1 the elder boy is served first1 the second son next1 and so on1--an exception being made in the case of a very young child1 who is not obliged to wait4 ,this custom accounts for an amusing popular term often applied in jest to a second son1 ,master ,cold-,rice 7,hiameshi-,san72 as the second son1 having to wait until both infants and elders have been served1 is not likely to find his portion desirably hot when it reaches him 4444 ,legally1 the family can have but one responsible head4 ,it may be the grandfather1 the father1 or the eldest son2 and it is generally the eldest son1 because according to a custom of ,chinese origin1 the old folks usually resign their active authority as soon as the eldest son is able to take charge of affairs4 #fd ,the subordination of young to old1 and of females to males1--in fact the whole existing constitution of the family1--suggests a great deal in regard to the probably stricter organization of the patriarchal family1 whose chief was at once ruler and priest1 with almost unlimited powers4 ,the organization was primarily1 and still remains1 religious3 the marital bond did not constitute the family2 and the relation of the parent to the household depended upon his or her relation to the family as a religious body4 ,to-day also1 the girl adopted into a household as wife ranks only as an adopted child3 marriage signifies adoption4 ,she is called flower-daughter 7hana-yome74 ,in like manner1 and for the same reasons1 the young man received into a household as a husband of one of the daughters1 ranks merely as an adopted son4 ,the adopted bride or bridegroom is necessarily subject to the elders1 and may be dismissed by their decision4 ,as for the adopted husband1 his position is both delicate and difficult1--as an old ,japanese proverb bears witness3 ,konuka san-go areba1 mukoyoshi to naruna 7,while you have even three go99 of rice-bran left1 do not become a son-in-law74 99,a go is something more than a pint4 ,jacob does not have to wait for ,rachel3 he is given to ,rachel on demand2 and his service then begins4 ,and after twice seven years of service1 ,jacob may be sent away4 ,in that event his children do not any more belong to him4 #fe but to the family4 ,his adoption may have had nothing to do with affection2 and his dismissal may have nothing to do with misconduct4 ,such matters1 however they may be settled in law1 are really decided by family interests--interests relating to the maintenance of the house and of its cult49999 9999,recent legislation has been in favour of the mukoyoshi2 but1 as a rule1 the law is seldom resorted to except by men dismissed from the family for misconduct1 and anxious to make profit by the dismissal4 ,it should not be forgotten that1 although a daughter-in-law or a son-in-law could in former times be dismissed almost at will1 the question of marriage in the old ,japanese family was a matter of religious importance1--marriage being one of the chief duties of filial piety4 ,this was also the case in the early ,greek and ,roman family2 and the marriage ceremony was performed1 as it is now performed in ,japan1 not at a temple1 but in the home4 ,it was a rite of the family religion1--the rite by which the bride was adopted into the cult in the supposed presence of the ancestral spirits4 ,among the primitive ,japanese there was probably no corresponding ceremony2 but after the establishment of the domestic cult1 the marriage ceremony became a religious rite1 and this it still remains4 ,ordinary marriages are not1 however1 performed before the household shrine or in front of the ancestral tablets1 except under certain circumstances4 ,the rule1 as regards such ordinary marriages1 seems to be that #ff if the parents of the bridegroom are yet alive1 this is not done2 but if they are dead1 then the bridegroom leads his bride before their mortuary tablets1 where she makes obeisance4 ,among the nobility1 in former times at least1 the marriage ceremony appears to have been more distinctly religious1--judging from the following curious relation in the book ,shorei-,hikki1 or ,record of ,ceremonies993 ,at the weddings of the great1 the bridal-chamber is composed of three rooms thrown into one by removal of the sliding-screens ordinarily separating them1 and newly decorated 4444 ,the shrine for the image of the family-god is placed upon a shelf adjoining the sleeping-place4 ,it is noteworthy also that ,imperial marriages are always officially announced to the ancestors2 and that the marriage of the heir-apparent1 or other male offspring of the ,imperial house1 is performed before the ,kashiko-dokoro1 or imperial temple of the ancestors1 which stands within the palace-grounds49999 9999,that was the case at the marriage of the present ,crown-,prince4 ,as a general rule it would appear that the evolution of the marriage-ceremony in ,japan chiefly followed ,chinese precedent2 and in the ,chinese patriarchal family the ceremony is in its own way quite as much of a religious rite as the early ,greek or ,roman marriage4 ,and though the relation of the ,japanese #fg rite to the family cult is less marked1 it becomes sufficiently clear upon investigation4 ,the alternate drinking of rice-wine1 by bridegroom and bride1 from the same vessels1 corresponds in a sort to the ,roman confarreatio4 ,by the wedding-rite the bride is adopted into the family religion4 ,she is adopted not only by the living but by the dead2 she must thereafter revere the ancestors of her husband as her own ancestors2 and should there be no elders in the household1 it will become her duty to make the offerings1 as representative of her husband4 ,with the cult of her own family she has nothing more to do2 and the funeral ceremonies performed upon her departure from the parental roof1--the solemn sweeping-out of the house-rooms1 the lighting of the death-fire before the gate1--are significant of this religious separation4 99,the translation is ,mr4 ,mitford's4 ,there are no images of the family-god1 and ,i suppose that the family's ,shinto-shrine is meant1 with its ancestral tablets4 ,speaking of the ,greek and ,roman marriage1 ,m4 de ,coulanges observes3--,une telle religion ne pouvait pas admettre la polygamie4 ,as relating to the highly developed domestic cult of those communities considered by the author of ,la ,cite ,antique1 his statement will scarcely be called in question4 ,but as regards ancestor-worship in general1 it would be incorrect2 since polygamy or polygyny1 and polyandry may coexist with ruder forms of ancestor-worship4 ,the ,western-,aryan societies1 in the epoch studied by ,m4 de ,coulanges1 were practically #fh monogamic4 ,the ancient ,japanese society was polygynous2 and polygyny persisted1 after the establishment of the domestic cult4 ,in early times1 the marital relation itself would seem to have been indefinite4 ,no distinction was made between the wife and the concubines3 they were classed together as 'women4'99 99,satow3 ,the ,revival of ,pure ,shintau ,probably under ,chinese influence the distinction was afterwards sharply drawn2 and with the progress of civilization1 the general tendency was towards monogamy1 although the ruling classes remained polygynous4 ,in the #edth article of ,iyeyasu's legacy1 this phase of the social condition is clearly expressed1--a condition which prevailed down to the present era3-- ,the position a wife holds towards a concubine is the same as that of a lord to his vassal4 ,the ,emperor has twelve imperial concubines4 ,the princes may have eight concubines4 ,officers of the highest class may have five mistresses4 ,a ,samurai may have two handmaids4 ,all below this are ordinary married men4 ,this would suggest that concubinage had long been 7with some possible exceptions7 an exclusive privilege2 and that it should have persisted down to the period of the abolition of the daimiates and of the military class1 is sufficiently explained by the militant character of the ancient society499 ,though #fi it is untrue that domestic ancestor-worship cannot coexist with polygamy or polygyny 7,mr4 ,spencer's term is the most inclusive71 it is at least true that such worship is favoured by the monogamic relation1 and tends therefore to establish it1--since monogamy insures to the family succession a stability that no other relation can offer4 ,we may say that1 although the old ,japanese society was not monogamic1 the natural tendency was towards monogamy1 as the condition best according with the religion of the family1 and with the moral feeling of the masses4 99,see especially ,herbert ,spencer's chapter1 ,the ,family1 in ,vol4 ,i1 ,principles of ,sociology1 section #cae4 ,once that the domestic ancestor-cult had become universally established1 the question of marriage1 as a duty of filial pity1 could not be judiciously left to the will of the young people themselves4 ,it was a matter to be decided by the family1 not by the children2 for mutual inclination could not be suffered to interfere with the requirements of the household religion4 ,it was not a question of affection1 but of religious duty2 and to think otherwise was impious4 ,affection might and ought to spring up from the relation4 ,but any affection powerful enough to endanger the cohesion of the family would be condemned4 ,a wife might therefore be divorced because her husband had become too much attached to her2 an adopted husband might be divorced because of his power to exercise1 through affection1 too #gj great an influence upon the daughter of the house4 ,other causes would probably he found for the divorce in either case--but they would not be difficult to find4 ,for the same reason that connubial affection could be tolerated only within limits1 the natural rights of parenthood 7as we understand them7 were necessarily restricted in the old ,japanese household4 ,marriage being for the purpose of obtaining heirs to perpetuate the cult1 the children were regarded as belonging to the family rather than to the father and mother4 ,hence1 in case of divorcing the son's wife1 or the adopted son-in-law1--or of disinheriting the married son1--the children would be retained by the family4 ,for the natural right of the young parents was considered subordinate to the religious rights of the house4 ,in opposition to those rights1 no other rights could be tolerated4 ,practically1 of course1 according to more or less fortunate circumstances1 the individual might enjoy freedom under the paternal roof2 but theoretically and legally there was no freedom in the old ,japanese family for any member of it1--not excepting even its acknowledged chief1 whose responsibilities were great4 ,every person1 from the youngest child up to the grandfather1 was subject to somebody else2 and every act of domestic life was regulated by traditional custom4 ,like the ,greek or ,roman father1 the patriarch of the ,japanese family appears to have had in early #ga times powers of life and death over all the members of the household4 ,in the ruder ages the father might either kill or sell his children2 and afterwards1 among the ruling classes his powers remained almost unlimited until modern times4 ,allowing for certain local exceptions1 explicable by tradition1 or class-exceptions1 explicable by conditions of servitude1 it may be said that originally the ,japanese paterfamilias was at once ruler1 priest1 and magistrate within the family4 ,he could compel his children to marry or forbid them to marry2 he could disinherit or repudiate them2 he could ordain the profession or calling which they were to follow2 and his power extended to all members of the family1 and to the household dependents4 ,at different epochs limits were placed to the exercise of this power1 in the case of the ordinary people2 but in the military class1 the patria potestas was almost unrestricted4 ,in its extreme form1 the paternal power controlled everything1--the right to life and liberty1--the right to marry1 or to keep the wife or husband already espoused1--the right to one's own children1--the right to hold property1--the right to hold office1--the right to choose or follow an occupation4 ,the family was a despotism4 ,it should not be forgotten1 however1 that the absolutism prevailing in the patriarchal family has its justification in a religious belief1--in the conviction that everything should be sacrificed for the sake #gb of the cult1 and every member of the family should be ready to give up even life1 if necessary1 to assure the perpetuity of the succession4 ,remembering this1 it becomes easy to understand why1 even in communities otherwise advanced in civilization1 it should have seemed right that a father could kill or sell his children4 ,the crime of a son might result in the extinction of a cult through the ruin of the family1--especially in a militant society like that of ,japan1 where the entire family was held responsible for the acts of each of its members1 so that a capital offence would involve the penalty of death on the whole of the household1 including the children4 ,again1 the sale of a daughter1 in time of extreme need1 might save a house from ruin2 and filial piety exacted submission to such sacrifice for the sake of the cult4 ,as in the ,aryan family199 property descended by right of primogeniture from father to son2 the eldest-born1 even in cases where the other property was to be divided among the children1 always inheriting the homestead4 ,the homestead property was1 however1 family property2 and it passed to the eldest son as representative1 not as individual4 ,generally speaking1 sons could not hold property1 without the father's consent1 during such time as he retained his #gc headship4 ,as a rule1--to which there were various exceptions1--a daughter could not inherit2 and in the case of an only daughter1 for whom a husband had been adopted1 the homestead property would pass to the adopted husband1 because 7until within recent times7 a woman could not become the head of a family4 ,this was the case also in the ,western ,aryan household1 in ancestor-worshipping times4 99,the laws of succession in ,old ,japan differed considerably according to class1 place1 and era2 the entire subject has not yet been fully treated2 and only a few safe general statements can be ventured at the present time4 ,to modern thinking1 the position of woman in the old ,japanese family appears to have been the reverse of happy4 ,as a child she was subject1 not only to the elders1 but to all the male adults of the household4 ,adopted into another household as wife1 she merely passed into a similar state of subjection1 unalleviated by the affection which parental and fraternal ties assured her in the ancestral home4 ,her retention in the family of her husband did not depend upon his affection1 but upon the will of the majority1 and especially of the elders4 ,divorced1 she could not claim her children3 they belonged to the family of the husband4 ,in any event her duties as wife were more trying than those of a hired servant4 ,only in old age could she hope to exercise some authority2 but even in old age she was under tutelage--throughout her entire life she was in tutelage4 ,a woman can have no house of her own in the ,three ,universes1 declared an old ,japanese proverb4 ,neither could she have a cult of her own3 there was no special cult for the women of a family #gd--no ancestral rite distinct from that of the husband4 ,and the higher the rank of the family into which she entered by marriage1 the more difficult would be her position4 ,for a woman of the aristocratic class no freedom existed3 she could not even pass beyond her own gate except in a palanquin 7kago7 or under escort2 and her existence as a wife was likely to be embittered by the presence of concubines in the house4 ,such was the patriarchal family in old times2 yet it is probable that conditions were really better than the laws and the customs would suggest4 ,the race is a joyous and kindly one2 and it discovered1 long centuries ago1 many ways of smoothing the difficulties of life1 and of modifying the harsher exactions of law and custom4 ,the great powers of the family-head were probably but seldom exercised in cruel directions4 ,he might have legal rights of the most formidable character2 but these were required by reason of his responsibilities1 and were not likely to be used against communal judgment4 ,it must be remembered that the individual was not legally considered in former times3 the family only was recognized2 and the head of it legally existed only as representative4 ,if he erred1 the whole family was liable to suffer the penalty of his error4 ,furthermore1 every extreme exercise of his authority involved proportionate responsibilities4 ,he could #ge divorce his wife1 or compel his son to divorce the adopted daughter-in-law2 but in either case he would have to account for this action to the family of the divorced2 and the divorce-right1 especially in the samurai class1 was greatly restrained by the fear of family resentment2 the unjust dismissal of a wife being counted as an insult to her kindred4 ,he might disinherit an only son2 but in that event he would be obliged to adopt a kinsman4 ,he might kill or sell either son or daughter2 but unless he belonged to some abject class1 he would have to justify his action to the community499 ,he might be reckless in his management of the family property2 but in that case an appeal to communal authority was possible1 and the appeal might result in his deposition4 ,so far as we are able to judge from the remains of old ,japanese law which have been studied1 it would seem to have been the general rule that the family-head could not sell or alienate the estate4 ,though the family-rule was despotic1 it was the rule of a body rather than of a chief2 the family-head really exercising authority in the name of the rest 4444 ,in this sense1 the family still remains a despotism2 but the powers of its legal head are now checked1 from within as well as from without1 #gf by later custom4 ,the acts of adoption1 disinheritance1 marriage1 or divorce1 are decided usually by general consent2 and the decision of the household and kindred is required in the taking of any important step to the disadvantage of the individual4 99,samurai fathers might kill a daughter convicted of unchastity1 or kill a son guilty of any action calculated to disgrace the family name4 ,but they would not sell a child4 ,the sale of daughters was practised only by the abject classes1 or by families of other castes reduced to desperate extremities4 ,a girl might1 however1 sell herself for the sake of her family4 ,of course the old family-organization had certain advantages which compensated the individual for his state of subjection4 ,it was a society of mutual help2 and it was not less powerful to give aid1 than to enforce obedience4 ,every member could do something to assist another member in case of need3 each had a right to the protection of all4 ,this remains true of the family to-day4 ,in a well-conducted household1 where every act is performed according to the old forms of courtesy and kindness1--where no harsh word is ever spoken1 where the young look up to the aged with affectionate respect1--where those whom years have incapacitated for more active duty1 take upon themselves the care of the children1 and render priceless service in teaching and training1--an ideal condition has been realized4 ,the daily life of such a home1--in which the endeavour of each is to make existence as pleasant as possible for all41--in which the bond of union is really love and gratitude1--represents religion in the best and purest sense2 and the place is holy 4444 ,it remains to speak of the dependants in the #gg ancient family4 ,though the fact has not yet been fully established1 it is probable that the first domestics were slaves or serfs2 and the condition of servants in later times1--especially of those in families of the ruling classes1--was much like that of slaves in the early ,greek and ,roman families4 ,though necessarily treated as inferiors1 they were regarded as members of the household3 they were trusted familiars1 permitted to share in the pleasures of the family1 and to be present at most of its reunions4 ,they could legally be dealt with harshly2 but there is little doubt that1 as a rule1 they were treated kindly1--absolute loyalty being expected from them4 ,the best indication of their status in past times is furnished by yet surviving customs4 ,though the power of the family over the servant no longer exists in law or in fact1 the pleasant features of the old relation continue2 and they are of no little interest4 ,the family takes a sincere interest in the welfare of its domestics1--almost such interest as would be shown in the case of poorer kindred4 ,formerly the family furnishing servants to a household of higher rank1 stood to the latter in the relation of vassal to liege-lord2 and between the two there existed a real bond of loyalty and kindliness4 ,the occupation of servant was then hereditary2 children were trained for the duty from an early age4 ,after the man-servant or maidservant had arrived at a certain age1 permission to #gh marry was accorded2 and the relation of service then ceased1 but not the bond of loyalty4 ,the children of the married servants would be sent1 when old enough1 to work in the house of the master1 and would leave it only when the time also came for them to marry4 ,relations of this kind still exist between certain aristocratic families and former vassal-families1 and conserve some charming traditions and customs of hereditary service1 unchanged for hundreds of years4 ,in feudal times1 of course1 the bond between master and servant was of the most serious kind2 the latter being expected1 in case of need1 to sacrifice life and all else for the sake of the master or of the master's household4 ,this also was the loyalty demanded of the ,greek and ,roman domestic1--before there had yet come into existence that inhuman form of servitude which reduced the toiler to the condition of a beast of burden2 and the relation was partly a religious one4 ,there does not seem to have been in ancient ,japan any custom corresponding to that1 described by ,m4 de ,coulanges1 of adopting the ,greek or ,roman servant into the household cult4 ,but as the ,japanese vassal-families furnishing domestics were1 as vassals1 necessarily attached to the clan-cult of their lord1 the relation of the servant to the family was to some extent a religious bond4 #gi ,the reader will be able to understand1 from the facts of this chapter1 to what extent the individual was sacrificed to the family1 as a religious body4 ,from servant to master--up through all degrees of the household hierarchy--the law of duty was the same3 obedience absolute to custom and tradition4 ,the ancestral cult permitted no individual freedom3 nobody could live according to his or her pleasure2 every one had to live according to rule4 ,the individual did not even have a legal existence2--the family was the unit of society4 ,even its patriarch existed in law as representative only1 responsible both to the living and the dead4 ,his public responsibility1 however1 was not determined merely by civil law4 ,it was determined by another religious bond1--that of the ancestral cult of the clan or tribe2 and this public form of ancestor-worship was even more exacting than the religion of the home4 #hj #ha ,,the ,,communal ,,cult ,as by the religion of the household each individual was ruled in every action of domestic life1 so1 by the religion of the village or district the family was ruled in all its relations to the outer world4 ,like the religion of the home1 the religion of the commune was ancestor-worship4 ,what the household shrine represented to the family1 the ,shinto parish-temple represented to the community2 and the deity there worshipped as tutelar god was called ,ujigami1 the god of the ,uji1 which term originally signified the patriarchal family or gens1 as well as the family name4 ,some obscurity still attaches to the question of the original relation of the community to the ,uji-god4 ,hirata declares the god of the ,uji to have been the common ancestor of the clan-family1--the ghost of the first patriarch2 and this opinion 7allowing for sundry exceptions7 is almost certainly correct4 ,but it is difficult to decide whether the ,uji-ko1 or children of the family 7as ,shinto parishioners are still termed7 at first included only the descendants of the clan-ancestor1 or also the whole of the inhabitants #hb of the district ruled by the clan4 ,it is certainly not true at the present time that the tutelar deity of each ,japanese district represents the common ancestor of its inhabitants1--though1 to this general rule1 there might be found exception in some of the remoter provinces4 ,most probably the god of the ,uji was first worshipped by the people of the district rather as the spirit of a former ruler1 or the patron-god of a ruling family1 than as the spirit of a common ancestor4 ,it has been tolerably well proved that the bulk of the ,japanese people were in a state of servitude from before the beginning of the historic period1 and so remained until within comparatively recent times4 ,the subject-classes may not have had at first a cult of their own3 their religion would most likely have been that of their masters4 ,in later times the vassal was certainly attached to the cult of the lord4 ,but it is difficult as yet to venture any general statement as to the earliest phase of the communal cult in ,japan2 for the history of the ,japanese nation is not that of a single people of one blood1 but a history of many clan-groups1 of different origin1 gradually brought together to form one huge patriarchal society4 ,however1 it is quite safe to assume1 with the best native authorities1 that the ,ujigami were originally clan-deities1 and that they were usually1 though not invariably1 worshipped as clan-ancestors4 #hc ,some ,ujigami belong to the historic period4 ,the war god ,hachiman1 for example1--to whom parish-temples are dedicated in almost every large city1--is the apotheosized spirit of the ,emperor ,ojin1 patron of the famed ,minamoto clan4 ,this is an example of ,ujigami worship in which the clan-god is not an ancestor4 ,but in many instances the ,ujigami is really the ancestor of an ,uji2 as in the case of the great deity of ,kasuga1 from whom the ,fujiwara clan claimed descent4 ,altogether there were in ancient ,japan1 after the beginning of the historic era1 #aahb clans1 great and small2 and these appear to have established the same number of cults4 ,we find1 as might be expected1 that the temples now called ,ujigami--which is to say1 ,shinto parish-temples in general--are always dedicated to a particular class of divinities1 and never dedicated to certain other gods4 ,also1 it is significant that in every large town there are ,shinto temples dedicated to the same ,uji-gods1--proving the transfer of communal worship from its place of origin4 ,thus the ,izumo worshipper of ,kasuga-,sama can find in ,osaka1 ,kyoto1 ,tokyo1 parish-temples dedicated to his patron3 the ,kyushu worshipper of ,hachiman-,sama can place himself under the protection of the same deity in ,musashi quite as well as in ,higo or ,bungo4 ,another fact worth observing is that the ,ujigami temple is not necessarily the most important ,shinto temple in the parish3 it is the parish-temple1 #hd and important to the communal worship2 but it may be outranked and overshadowed by some adjacent temple dedicated to higher ,shinto gods4 ,thus in ,kitzuki of ,izumo1 for example1 the great ,izumo temple is not the ,ujigami1--not the parish-temple2 the local cult is maintained at a much smaller temple 4444 ,of the higher cults ,i shall speak further on2 for the present let us consider only the communal cult1 in its relation to communal life4 ,from the social conditions represented by the worship of the ,ujigami to-day1 much can be inferred as to its influence in past times4 ,almost every ,japanese village has its ,ujigami2 and each district of every large town or city also has its ,ujigami4 ,the worship of the tutelar deity is maintained by the whole body of parishioners1 the ,ujiko1 or children of the tutelar god4 ,every such parish-temple has its holy days1 when all ,ujiko are expected to visit the temple1 and when1 as a matter of fact1 every household sends at least one representative to the ,ujigami4 ,there are great festival-days and ordinary festival-days2 there are processions1 music1 dancing1 and whatever in the way of popular amusement can serve to make the occasion attractive4 ,the people of adjacent districts vie with each other in rendering their respective temple-festivals 7matsuri7 enjoyable3 every household contributes according to its means4 #he ,the ,shinto parish-temple has an intimate relation to the life of the community as a body1 and also to the individual existence of every ,ujiko4 ,as a baby he or she is taken to the ,ujigami--7at the expiration of thirty-one days after birth if a boy1 or thirty-three days after birth if a girl7--and placed under the protection of the god1 in whose supposed presence the little one's name is recorded4 ,thereafter the child is regularly taken to the temple on holy days1 and of course to all the big festivals1 which are made delightful to young fancy by the display of toys on sale in temporary booths1 and by the amusing spectacles to be witnessed in the temple grounds1--artists forming pictures on the pavement with coloured sands1--sweetmeat-sellers moulding animals and monsters out of sugar-paste1--conjurors and tumblers exhibiting their skill4444 ,later1 when the child becomes strong enough to run about1 the temple gardens and groves serve for a playground4 ,school-life does not separate the ,ujiko from the ,ujigami 7unless the family should permanently leave the district72 the visits to the temple are still continued as a duty4 ,grown-up and married1 the ,ujiko regularly visits the guardian-god1 accompanied by wife or husband1 and brings the children to pay obeisance4 ,if obliged to make a long journey1 or to quit the district forever1 the ,ujiko pays a farewell visit to the ,ujigami1 as well as to the tombs of the family ancestors2 and on returning to one's native place after prolonged #hf absence1 the first visit is to the god 4444 ,i have more than once been touched by the spectacle of soldiers at prayer before lonesome little temples in country places1--soldiers but just returned from ,korea1 ,china1 or ,formosa3 their first thought on reaching home was to utter their thanks to the god of their childhood1 whom they believed to have guarded them in the hour of battle and the season of pestilence4 ,the best authority on the local customs and laws of ,old ,japan1 ,john ,henry ,wigmore1 remarks that the ,shinto cult had few relations with local administration4 ,in his opinion the ,ujigami were the deified ancestors of certain noble families of early times2 and their temples continued to be in the patronage of those families4 ,the office of the ,shinto priest1 or god-master 7kannushi7 was1 and still is1 hereditary2 and1 as a rule1 any kannushi can trace back his descent from the family of which the ,ujigami was originally the patron-god4 ,but the ,shinto priests1 with some few exceptions1 were neither magistrates nor administrators2 and ,professor ,wigmore thinks that this may have been due to the lack of administrative organization within the cult itself499 #hg ,this would be an adequate explanation4 ,but in spite of the fact that they exercised no civil function1 ,i believe it can be shown that ,shinto priests had1 and still have1 powers above the law4 ,their relation to the community was of an extremely important kind3 their authority was only religious but it was heavy and irresistible4 99,the vague character of the ,shinto hierarchy is probably best explained by ,mr4 ,spencer in ,chapter ,,viii of the third volume of ,principles of ,sociology3 ,the establishment of an ecclesiastical organization separate from the political organization1 but akin to it in its structure1 appears to be largely determined by the rise of a decided distinction in thought between the affairs of this world and those of a supposed other world4 ,where the two are conceived as existing in continuity1 or as intimately related1 the organizations appropriate to their respective administrations remain either identical or imperfectly distinguished 4444 if the ,chinese are remarkable for the complete absence of a priestly caste1 it is because1 along with their universal and active ancestor-worship1 they have preserved that inclusion of the duties of priest in the duties of ruler1 which ancestor-worship in its simple form shows us4 ,mr4 ,spencer remarks in the same paragraph on the fact that in ancient ,japan religion and government were the same4 ,a distinct ,shinto hierarchy was therefore never evolved4 ,to understand this1 we must remember that the ,shinto priest represented the religious sentiment of his district4 ,the social bond of each community was identical with the religious bond1--the cult of the local tutelar god4 ,it was to the ,ujigami that prayers were made for success in all communal undertakings1 for protection against sickness1 for the triumph of the lord in time of war1 for succour in the season of famine or epidemic4 ,the ,ujigami was the giver of all good things1--the special helper and guardian of the people4 ,that this belief still prevails may be verified by any one who studies the peasant-life of ,japan4 ,it is not to the ,buddhas that the farmer prays for bountiful harvests1 or for rain in time of drought2 it is not to the ,buddhas #hh that thanks are rendered for a plentiful rice-crop--but to the ancient local god4 ,and the cult of the ,ujigami embodies the moral experience of the community1--represents all its cherished traditions and customs1 its unwritten laws of conduct1 its sentiment of duty 4444 ,now just as an offence against the ethics of the family must1 in such a society1 be regarded as an impiety towards the family-ancestor1 so any breach of custom in the village or district must be considered as an act of disrespect to its ,ujigami4 ,the prosperity of the family depends1 it is thought1 upon the observance of filial piety1 which is identified with obedience to the traditional rules of household conduct2 and1 in like manner1 the prosperity of the commune is supposed to depend upon the observance of ancestral custom1--upon obedience to those unwritten laws of the district1 which are taught to all from the time of their childhood4 ,customs are identified with morals4 ,any offence against the customs of the settlement is an offence against the gods who protect it1 and therefore a menace to the public weal4 ,the existence of the community is endangered by the crime of any of its members3 every member is therefore held accountable by the community for his conduct4 ,every action must conform to the traditional usages of the ,ujiko3 independent exceptional conduct is a public offence4 ,what the obligations of the individual to the #hi community signified in ancient times may therefore be imagined4 ,he had certainly no more right to himself than had the ,greek citizen three thousand years ago1--probably not so much4 ,to-day1 though laws have been greatly changed1 he is practically in much the same condition4 ,the mere idea of the right to do as one pleases 7within such limits as are imposed on conduct by ,english and ,american societies1 for example7 could not enter into his mind4 ,such freedom1 if explained to him1 he would probably consider as a condition morally comparable to that of birds and beasts4 ,among ourselves1 the social regulations for ordinary people chiefly settle what must not be done4 ,but what one must not do in ,japan--though representing a very wide range of prohibition means much less than half of the common obligation3 what one must do1 is still more necessary to learn 4444 ,let us briefly consider the restraints which custom places upon the liberty of the individual4 ,first of all1 be it observed that the communal will reinforces the will of the household1--compels the observance of filial piety4 ,even the conduct of a boy1 who has passed the age of childhood1 is regulated not only by the family1 but by the public4 ,he must obey the household2 and he must also obey public opinion in regard to his domestic relations4 ,any marked act of disrespect1 inconsistent #ij with filial piety1 would be judged and rebuked by1 all4 ,when old enough to begin work or study1 a lad's daily conduct is observed and criticised2 and at the age when the household law first tightens about him1 he also commences to feel the pressure of common opinion4 ,on coming of age1 he has to marry2 and the idea of permitting him to choose a wife for himself is quite out of the question3 he is expected to accept the companion selected for him4 ,but should reasons be found for humouring him in the event of an irresistible aversion1 then he must wait until another choice has been made by the family4 ,the community would not tolerate insubordination in such matters3 one example of filial revolt would constitute too dangerous a precedent4 ,when the young man at last becomes the head of a household1 and responsible for the conduct of its members1 he is still constrained by public sentiment to accept advice in his direction of domestic affairs4 ,he is not free to follow his own judgment1 in certain contingencies4 ,for example1 he is bound by custom to furnish help to relatives2 and he is obliged to accept arbitration in the event of trouble with them4 ,he is not permitted to think of his own wife and children only1--such conduct would be deemed intolerably selfish3 he must be able to act1 to outward seeming at least1 as if uninfluenced by paternal or marital affection in his public conduct4 ,even supposing that1 later in life1 he should be #ia appointed to the position of village or district headman1 his right of action and judgment would be under just as much restriction as before4 ,indeed1 the range of his personal freedom actually decreases in proportion to his ascent in the social scale4 ,nominally he may rule as headman3 practically his authority is only lent to him by the commune1 and it will remain to him just so long as the commune pleases4 ,for he is elected to enforce the public will1 not to impose his own1--to serve the common interests1 not to serve his own1--to maintain and confirm custom1 not to break with it4 ,thus1 though appointed chief1 he is only the public servant1 and the least free man in his native place4 ,various documents translated and published by ,professor ,wigmore1 in his ,notes on ,land ,tenure and ,local ,institutions in ,old ,japan1 give a startling idea of the minute regulation of communal life in country-districts during the period of the ,tokujawa ,shoguns4 ,much of the regulation was certainly imposed by higher authority2 but it is likely that a considerable portion of the rules represented old local custom4 ,such documents were called ,kumi-cho or ,kumi99-enactments3 they established the rules of conduct to be observed by all the members of a village-community1 and their social interest is very great4 ,by personal inquiry ,i have learned that in various parts of the country1 rules much like those recorded in the ,kumi-cho1 are still enforced by village custom4 ,i select a few examples from ,professor ,wigmore's translation3-- 99,down to the close of the feudal period1 the mass of the population throughout the country1 in the great cities as well as in the villages1 was administratively ordered by groups of families1 or rather of households1 called ,kumi1 or companies4 ,the general number of households in a ,kumi was five2 but there were in some provinces ,kumi consisting of six1 and of ten1 households4 ,the heads of the households composing a ,kumi elected one of their number as chief1--who became the responsible representative of all the members of the ,kumi4 ,the origin and history of the ,kumi-system is obscure3 a similar system exists in ,china and in ,korea4 7,professor ,wigmore's reasons for doubting that the ,japanese ,kumi-system had a military origin1 appear to be cogent47 ,certainly the system greatly facilitated administration4 ,to superior authority the ,kumi was responsible1 not the single household4 #ib ,if there be any of our number who are unkind to parents1 or neglectful or disobedient1 we will not conceal it or condone it1 but will report it 4444 ,we shall require children to respect their parents1 servants to obey their masters1 husbands and wives and brothers and sisters to live together in harmony1 and the younger people to revere and to cherish their elders 4444 ,each kumi group of five households shall carefully watch over the conduct of its members1 so as to prevent wrongdoing4 ,if any member of a kumi1 whether farmer1 merchant1 or artizan1 is lazy1 and does not attend properly to his business1 the ban-gashira chief officer will advise him1 warn him1 and lead him into better ways4 ,if the person does not listen to this advice1 and becomes angry and obstinate1 he is to be reported to the toshiyori village elder 4444 ,when men who are quarrelsome and who like to #ic indulge in late hours away from home will not listen to admonition1 we will report them4 ,if any other kumi neglects to do this1 it will be part of our duty to do it for them 4444 ,all those who quarrel with their relatives1 and refuse to listen to their good advice1 or disobey their parents1 or are unkind to their fellow-villagers1 shall be reported to the village officers 4444 ,dancing1 wrestling1 and other public shows shall be forbidden4 ,singing and dancing-girls and prostitutes shall not be allowed to remain a single night in the mura village4 ,quarrels among the people shall be forbidden4 ,in case of dispute the matter shall be reported4 ,if this is not done1 all parties shall be indiscriminately punished 4444 ,speaking disgraceful things of another man1 or publicly posting him as a bad man1 even if he is so1 is forbidden4 ,filial piety and faithful service to a master should be a matter of course2 but when there is any one who is especially faithful and diligent in these things1 we promise to report him 444 for recommendation to the government 4444 ,as members of a kumi we will cultivate friendly feeling even more than with our relatives1 and will promote each other's happiness1 as well as share each other's griefs4 ,if there is an unprincipled or lawless person in a kumi1 we will all share the responsibility for him499 99,notes on ,land ,tenure and ,local ,institutions in ,old ,japan 7,transactions ,asiatic ,society of ,japan1 ,vol4 ,,xix1 ,part ,i7 ,i have chosen the quotations from different kumi-cho1 and arranged them illustratively4 #id ,the above are samples of the moral regulations only3 there were even more minute regulations about other duties4--for instance3-- ,when a fire occurs1 the people shall immediately hasten to the spot1 each bringing a bucketful of water1 and shall endeavour1 under direction of the officers1 to put the fire out 4444 ,those who absent themselves shall be deemed culpable4 ,when a stranger comes to reside here1 enquiries shall be made as to the mura whence he came1 and a surety shall be furnished by him 4444 ,no traveller shall lodge1 even for a single night1 in a house other than a public inn4 ,news of robberies and night attacks shall be given by the ringing of bells or otherwise2 and all who hear shall join in pursuit1 until the offender is taken4 ,any one wilfully refraining1 shall1 on investigation1 be punished4 ,from these same ,kumi-cho1 it appears that no one could leave his village even for a single night1 without permission1--or take service elsewhere1 or marry in another province1 or settle in another place4 ,punishments were severe1--a terrible flogging being the common mode of chastisement by the higher authority4444 ,to-day1 there are no such punishments2 and1 legally1 a man can go where he pleases4 ,but as a matter of fact he can nowhere do as he pleases2 for individual liberty is still largely restricted by the survival of communal sentiment and old-fashioned custom4 ,in any country community it would be unwise to proclaim such a doctrine as that #ie a man has the right to employ his leisure and his means as he may think proper4 ,no man's time or money or effort can be considered exclusively his own1--nor even the body that his ghost inhabits4 ,his right to live in the community rests solely upon his willingness to serve the community2 and whoever may need his help or sympathy has the privilege of demanding it4 ,that a man's house is his castle cannot be asserted in ,japan--except in the case of some high potentate4 ,no ordinary person can shut his door to lock out the rest of the world4 ,everybody's house must be open to visitors3 to close its gates by day would be regarded as an insult to the community1--sickness affording no excuse4 ,only persons in very great authority have the right of making themselves inaccessible4 ,and to displease the community in which one lives1--especially if the community be a rural one1--is a serious matter4 ,when a community is displeased1 if acts as an individual4 ,it may consist of five hundred1 a thousand1 or several thousand persons2 but the thinking of all is the thinking of one4 ,by a single serious mistake a man may find himself suddenly placed in solitary opposition to the common will1--isolated1 and most effectively ostracized4 ,the silence and the softness of the hostility only render it all the more alarming4 ,this is the ordinary form of punishment for a grave offence against custom3 violence is rare1 and when resorted to is intended 7except in #if some extraordinary cases presently to be noticed7 as a mere correction1 the punishment of a blunder4 ,in certain rough communities1 blunders endangering life are immediately punished by physical chastisement1--not in anger1 but on traditional principle4 ,once ,i witnessed at a fishing-settlement1 a chastisement of this kind4 ,men were killing tunny in the surf2 the work was bloody and dangerous2 and in the midst of the excitement1 one of the fishermen struck his killing-spike into the head of a boy4 ,everybody knew that it was a pure accident2 but accidents involving danger to life are rudely dealt with1 and this blunderer was instantly knocked senseless by the men nearest him1--then dragged out of the surf and flung down on the sand to recover himself as best he might4 ,no word was said about the matter2 and the killing went on as before4 ,young fishermen1 ,i am told1 are roughly handled by their fellows on board a ship1 in the case of any error involving risk to the vessel4 ,but1 as ,i have already observed1 only stupidity is punished in this fashion2 and ostracism is much more dreaded than violence4 ,there is1 indeed1 only one yet heavier punishment than ostracism--namely1 banishment1 either for a term of years or for life4 ,banishment must in old feudal times have been a very serious penalty2 it is a serious penalty even to-day1 under the new order of things4 ,in former years the man expelled from his native place by the #ig communal will--cast out from his home1 his clan1 his occupation --found himself face to face with misery absolute4 ,in another community there would be no place for him1 unless he happened to have relatives there2 and these would be obliged to consult with the local authorities1 and also with the officials of the fugitive's native place1 before venturing to harbour him4 ,no stranger was suffered to settle in another district than his own without official permission4 ,old documents are extant which record the punishments inflicted upon households for having given shelter to a stranger under pretence of relationship4 ,a banished man was homeless and friendless4 ,he might be a skilled craftsman2 but the right to exercise his craft depended upon the consent of the guild representing that craft in the place to which he might go2 and banished men were not received by the guilds4 ,he might try to become a servant2 but the commune in which he sought refuge would question the right of any master to employ a fugitive and a stranger4 ,his religious connexions could not serve him in the least3 the code of communal life was decided not by ,buddhist1 but by ,shinto ethics4 ,since the gods of his birthplace had cast him out1 and the gods of any other locality had nothing to do with his original cult1 there was no religious help for him4 ,besides1 the mere fact of his being a refugee was itself proof that he must have offended against his own cult4 #ih ,in any event no stranger could look for sympathy among strangers4 ,even now to take a wife from another province is condemned by local opinion 7it was forbidden in feudal times73 one is still expected to live1 work1 and marry in the place where one has been born1--though1 in certain cases1 and with the public approval of one's own people1 adoption into another community is tolerated4 ,under the feudal system there was incomparably less likelihood of sympathy for the stranger2 and banishment signified hunger1 solitude1 and privation unspeakable4 ,for be it remembered that the legal existence of the individual1 at that period1 ceased entirely outside of his relation to the family and to the commune4 ,everybody lived and worked for some household2 every household for some clan2 outside of the household1 and the related aggregate of households1 there was no life to be lived--except the life of criminals1 beggars1 and pariahs4 ,save with official permission1 one could not even become a ,buddhist monk4 ,the very outcasts--such as the ,eta classes--formed self-governing communities1 with traditions of their own1 and would not voluntarily accept strangers4 ,so the banished man was most often doomed to become a hinin1--one of that wretched class of wandering pariahs who were officially termed not-men1 and lived by beggary1 or by the exercise of some vulgar profession1 such as that of ambulant musician or #ii mountebank4 ,in more ancient days a banished man could have sold himself into slavery2 but even this poor privilege seems to have been withdrawn during the ,tokugawa era4 ,we can scarcely imagine to-day the conditions of such banishment3 to find a ,western parallel we must go back to ancient ,greek and ,roman times long preceding the ,empire4 ,banishment then signified religious excommunication1 and practically expulsion from all civilized society1--since there yet existed no idea of human brotherhood1 no conception of any claim upon kindness except the claim of kinship4 ,the stranger was everywhere the enemy4 ,now in ,japan1 as in the ,greek city of old time1 the religion of the tutelar god has always been the religion of a group only1 the cult of a community3 it never became even the religion of a province4 ,the higher cults1 on the other hand1 did not concern themselves with the individual3 his religion was only of the household and of the village or district2 the cults of other households and districts were entirely distinct2 one could belong to them only by adoption1 and strangers1 as a rule1 were not adopted4 ,without a household or a clan-cult1 the individual was morally and socially dead2 for other cults and clans excluded him4 ,when cast out by the domestic cult that regulated his private life1 and by the local cult that ordered his life in relation to the community1 he simply ceased to exist in relation to human society4 #ajj ,how small were the chances in past times for personality to develop and assert itself may be imagined from the foregoing facts4 ,the individual was completely and pitilessly sacrificed to the community4 ,even now the only safe rule of conduct in a ,japanese settlement is to act in all things according to local custom2 for the slightest divergence from rule will be observed with disfavour4 ,privacy does not exist2 nothing can be hidden2 everybody's vices or virtues are known to everybody else4 ,unusual behaviour is judged as a departure from the traditional standard of conduct2 all oddities are condemned as departures from custom2 and tradition and custom still have the force of religious obligations4 ,indeed1 they really are religious and obligatory1 not only by reason of their origin1 but by reason of their relation also to the public cult1 which signifies the worship of the past4 ,it is therefore easy to understand why ,shinto never had a written code of morals1 and why its greatest scholars have declared that a moral code is unnecessary4 ,in that stage of religious evolution which ancestor-worship represents1 there can be no distinction between religion and ethics1 nor between ethics and custom4 ,government and religion are the same2 custom and law are identified4 ,the ethics of ,shinto were all included in conformity to custom4 ,the traditional rules of the household1 the traditional laws of the commune--these were #aja the morals of ,shinto3 to obey them was religion2 to disobey them1 impiety 4444 ,and1 after all1 the true significance of any religious code1 written or unwritten1 lies in its expression of social duty1 its doctrine of the right and wrong of conduct1 its embodiment of a people's moral experience4 ,really the difference between any modern ideal of conduct1 such as the ,english1 and the patriarchal ideal1 such as that of the early ,greeks or of the ,japanese1 would be found on examination to consist mainly in the minute extension of the older conception to all details of individual life4 ,assuredly the religion of ,shinto needed no written commandment3 it was taught to everybody from childhood by precept and example1 and any person of ordinary intelligence could learn it4 ,when a religion is capable of rendering it dangerous for anybody to act outside of rules1 the framing of a code would be obviously superfluous4 ,we ourselves have no written code of conduct as regards the higher social life1 the exclusive circles of civilized existence1 which are not ruled merely by the ,ten ,commandments4 ,the knowledge of what to do in those zones1 and of how to do it1 can come only by training1 by experience1 by observation1 and by the intuitive recognition of the reason of things4 ,and now to return to the question of the authority of the ,shinto priest as representative of communal #ajb sentiment1--an authority which ,i believe to have been always very great 4444 ,striking proof that the punishments inflicted by a community upon its erring members were originally inflicted in the name of the tutelar god is furnished by the fact that manifestations of communal displeasure still assume1 in various country districts1 a religious character4 ,i have witnessed such manifestations1 and ,i am assured that they still occur in most of the provinces4 ,but it is in remote country-towns or isolated villages1 where traditions have remained almost unchanged1 that one can best observe these survivals of antique custom4 ,in such places the conduct of every resident is closely watched and rigidly judged by all the rest4 ,little1 however1 is said about misdemeanours of a minor sort until the time of the great local ,shinto festival1--the annual festival of the tutelar god4 ,it is then that the community gives its warnings or inflicts its penalties3 this at least in the case of conduct offensive to local ethics4 ,the god1 on the occasion of this festival1 is supposed to visit the dwellings of his ,ujiko2 and his portable shrine1--a weighty structure borne by thirty or forty men1--is carried through the principal streets4 ,the bearers are supposed to act according to the will of the god1--to go whithersoever his divine spirit directs them 4444 ,i may describe the incidents of the procession as ,i saw it in a seacoast village1 not once1 but several times4 #ajc ,before the procession a band of young men advance1 leaping and wildly dancing in circles3 these young men clear the way2 and it is unsafe to pass near them1 for they whirl about as if moved by frenzy 4444 ,when ,i first saw such a band of dancers1 ,i could imagine myself watching some old ,dionysiac revel2--their furious gyrations certainly realized ,greek accounts of the antique sacred frenzy4 ,there were1 indeed1 no ,greek heads2 but the bronzed lithe figures1 naked save for loin-cloth and sandals1 and most sculpturesquely muscled1 might well have inspired some vase-design of dancing fauns4 ,after these god-possessed dancers--whose passage swept the streets clear1 scattering the crowd to right and left--came the virgin priestess1 white-robed and veiled1 riding upon a horse1 and followed by several mounted priests in white garments and high black caps of ceremony4 ,behind them advanced the ponderous shrine1 swaying above3 the heads of its bearers like a junk in a storm4 ,scores of brawny arms were pushing it to the right2 other scores were pushing it to the left3 behind and before1 also1 there was furious pulling and pushing2 and the roar of voices uttering invocations made it impossible to hear anything else4 ,by immemorial custom the upper stories of all the dwellings had been tightly closed3 woe to the ,peeping ,tom who should be detected1 on such a day1 in the impious act of looking down upon the god6444 #ajd ,now the shrine-bearers1 as ,i have said1 are supposed to be moved by the spirit of the god--7probably by his ,rough ,spirit2 for the ,shinto god is multiple72 and all this pushing and pulling and swaying signifies only the deity's inspection of the dwellings on either hand4 ,he is looking about to see whether the hearts of his worshippers are pure1 and is deciding whether it will be necessary to give a warning1 or to inflict a penalty4 ,his bearers will carry him whithersoever he chooses to go--through solid walls if necessary4 ,if the shrine strikes against any house1--even against an awning only1--that is a sign that the god is not pleased with the dwellers in that house4 ,if the shrine breaks part of the house1 that is a serious warning4 ,but it may happen that the god wills to enter a house1--breaking his way4 ,then woe to the inmates1 unless they flee at once through the back-door2 and the wild procession1 thundering in1 will wreck and rend and smash and splinter everything on the premises before the god consents to proceed upon his round4 ,upon enquiring into the reasons of two wreckings of which ,i witnessed the results1 ,i learned enough to assure me that from the communal point of view1 both aggressions were morally justifiable4 ,in one case a fraud had been practised2 in the other1 help had been refused to the family of a drowned resident4 ,thus one offence had been legal2 the other only moral4 ,a country community #aje will not hand over its delinquents to the police except in case of incendiarism1 murder1 theft1 or other serious crime4 ,it has a horror of law1 and never invokes it when the matter can be settled by any other means4 ,this was the rule also in ancient times1 and the feudal government encouraged its maintenance4 ,but when the tutelar deity has been displeased1 he insists upon the punishment or disgrace of the offender2 and the offender's entire family1 as by feudal custom1 is held responsible4 ,the victim can invoke the new law1 if he dares1 and bring the wreckers of his home into court1 and recover damages1 for the modern police-courts are not ruled by ,shinto4 ,but only a very rash man will invoke the new law against the communal judgment1 for that action in itself would be condemned as a gross breach of custom4 ,the community is always ready1 through its council1 to do justice in cases where innocence can be proved4 ,but if a man really guilty of the faults charged to his account should try to avenge himself by appeal to a non-religious law1 then it were well for him to remove himself and his family1 as soon as possible thereafter1 to some far-away place4 ,we have seen that1 in ,old ,japan1 the life of the individual was under two kinds of religious control4 ,all his acts were regulated according to the traditions either of the domestic or of the communal #ajf cult2 and these conditions probably began with the establishment of a settled civilization4 ,we have also seen that the communal religion took upon itself to enforce the observance of the household religion4 ,the fact will not seem strange if we remember that the underlying idea in either cult was the same1--the idea that the welfare of the living depended upon the welfare of the dead4 ,neglect of the household rite would provoke1 it was believed1 the malevolence of the spirits2 and their malevolence might bring about some public misfortune4 ,the ghosts of the ancestors controlled nature2--fire and flood1 pestilence and famine were at their disposal as means of vengeance4 ,one act of impiety in a village might1 therefore1 bring about misfortune to all4 ,and the community considered itself responsible to the dead for the maintenance of filial piety in every home4 #ajg ,,developments ,,of ,,shinto ,the teaching of ,herbert ,spencer that the greater gods of a people--those figuring in popular imagination as creators1 or as particularly directing certain elemental forces--represent a later development of ancestor-worship1 is generally accepted to-day4 ,ancestral ghosts1 considered as more or less alike in the time when primitive society had not yet developed class distinctions of any important character1 subsequently become differentiated1 as the society itself differentiates1 into greater and lesser4 ,eventually the worship of some one ancestral spirit1 or group of spirits1 overshadows that of all the rest2 and a supreme deity1 or group of supreme deities1 becomes evolved4 ,but the differentiations of the ancestor-cult must be understood to proceed in a great variety of directions4 ,particular ancestors of families engaged in hereditary occupations may develop into tutelar deities presiding over those occupations--patron gods of crafts and guilds4 ,out of other ancestral cults1 through various processes of mental association1 may be evolved the worship of deities of strength1 of health1 of long life1 of particular products1 of particular localities4 #ajh ,when more light shall have been thrown upon the question of ,japanese origins1 it will probably be found that many of the lesser tutelar or patron gods now worshipped in the country were originally the gods of ,chinese or ,korean craftsmen2 but ,i think that ,japanese mythology1 as a whole1 will prove to offer few important exceptions to the evolutional law4 ,indeed1 ,shinto presents us with a mythological hierarchy of which the development can be satisfactorily explained by that law alone4 ,besides the ,ujigami1 there are myriads of superior and of inferior deities4 ,there are the primal deities1 of whom only the names are mentioned1--apparitions of the period of chaos2 and there are the gods of creation1 who gave shape to the land4 ,there are the gods of earth1 and1 sky1 and the gods of the sun and moon4 ,also there are gods1 beyond counting1 supposed to preside over all things good or evil in human life1--birth and marriage and death1 riches and poverty1 strength and disease 4444 ,it can scarcely be supposed that all this mythology was developed out of the old ancestor-cult in ,japan itself3 more probably its evolution began on the ,asiatic continent4 ,but the evolution of the national cult--that form of ,shinto which became the state religion--seems to have been ,japanese1 in the strict meaning of the word4 ,this cult is the worship of the gods from whom the emperors claim descent1--the worship of the imperial ancestors4 #aji ,it appears that the early emperors of ,japan--the heavenly sovereigns1 as they are called in the old records--were not emperors at all in the true meaning of the term1 and did not even exercise universal authority4 ,they were only the chiefs of the most powerful clan1 or ,uji1 and their special ancestor-cult had probably in that time no dominant influence4 ,but eventually1 when the chiefs of this great clan really became supreme rulers of the land1 their clan-cult spread everywhere1 and overshadowed1 without abolishing1 all the other cults4 ,then arose the national mythology4 ,we therefore see that the course of ,japanese ancestor-worship1 like that of ,aryan ancestor-worship1 exhibits those three successive stages of development before mentioned4 ,it may be assumed that on coming from the continent to their present island home1 the race brought with them a rude form of ancestor-worship1 consisting of little more than rites and sacrifices performed at the graves of the dead4 ,when the land had been portioned out among the various clans1 each of which had its own ancestor cult1 all the people of the district belonging to any particular clan would eventually adopt the religion of the clan ancestor2 and thus arose the thousand cults of the ,ujigami4 ,still later1 the special cult of the most powerful clan developed into a national religion1--the worship of the goddess of the sun1 #aaj from whom the supreme ruler claimed descent4 ,then1 under ,chinese influence1 the domestic form of ancestor-worship was established in lieu of the primitive family-cult3 thereafter offerings and prayers were made regularly in the home1 where the ancestral tablets represented the tombs of the family dead4 ,but offerings were still made1 on special occasions1 at the graves2 and the three ,shinto forms of the cult1 together with later forms of ,buddhist introduction1 continued to exist2 and they rule the life of the nation to-day4 ,it was the cult of the supreme ruler that first gave to the people a written account of traditional beliefs4 ,the mythology of the reigning house furnished the scriptures of ,shinto1 and established ideas linking together all the existing forms of ancestor-worship4 ,all ,shinto traditions were by these writings blended into one mythological history1--explained upon the basis of one legend4 ,the whole mythology is contained in two books1 of which ,english translations have been made4 ,the oldest is entitled ,ko-ji-ki1 or ,records of ,ancient ,matters2 and it is supposed to have been compiled in the year #gab ,a4,d4 ,the other and much larger work is called ,nihongi1 ,chronicles of ,nihon ,japan1 and dates from about #gbj ,a4,d4 ,both works profess to be histories2 but a large portion of them is mythological1 and either begins with a story of creation4 #aaa ,they were compiled1 mostly1 from oral tradition we are told1 by imperial order4 ,it is said that a yet earlier work1 dating from the seventh century1 may have been drawn upon2 but this has been lost4 ,no great antiquity can1 therefore1 be claimed for the texts as they stand2 but they contain traditions which must be very much older1--possibly thousands of years older4 ,the ,ko-ji-ki is said to have been written from the dictation of an old man of marvellous memory2 and the ,shinto theologian ,hirata would have us believe that traditions thus preserved are especially trustworthy4 ,it is probable1 he wrote1 that those ancient traditions1 preserved for us by exercise of memory1 have for that very reason come down to us in greater detail than if they had been recorded in documents4 ,besides1 men must have had much stronger memories in the days before they acquired the habit of trusting to written characters for facts which they wished to remember1--as is shown at the present time in the case of the illiterate1 who have to depend on memory alone4 ,we must smile at ,hirata's good faith in the changelessness of oral tradition2 but ,i believe that folk-lorists would discover in the character of the older myths1 intrinsic evidence of immense antiquity4--,chinese influence is discernible in both works2 yet certain parts have a particular quality not to be found1 ,i imagine1 in anything ,chinese1--a primeval artlessness1 a weirdness1 and a strangeness #aab having nothing in common with other mythical literature4 ,for example1 we have1 in the story of ,izanagi1 the world-maker1 visiting the shades to recall his dead spouse1 a myth that seems to be purely ,japanese4 ,the archaic naivete of the recital must impress anybody who studies the literal translation4 ,i shall present only the substance of the legend1 which has been recorded in a number of different versions399-- 99,see for these different versions ,aston's translation of the ,nihongi1 ,vol ,i4 ,when the time came for the ,fire-god1 ,kagu-,tsuchi1 to be born1 his mother1 ,izanami-no-,mikoto1 was burnt1 and suffered change1 and departed4 ,then ,izanagi-no-,mikoto1 was wroth and said1 ,oh6 that ,i should have given my loved younger sister in exchange for a single child6 ,he crawled at her head and he crawled at her feet1 weeping and lamenting2 and the tears which he shed fell down and became a deity 4444 ,thereafter ,izanagi-no-,mikoto went after ,izanami-no-,mikoto into the ,land of ,yomi1 the world of the dead4 ,then ,izanami-no-,mikoto1 appearing still as she was when alive1 lifted the curtain of the palace 7of the dead71 and came forth to meet him2 and they talked together4 ,and ,izanagi-no-,mikoto said to her3 ,i have come because ,i sorrowed for thee1 my lovely younger sister4 ,o my lovely younger sister1 the lands that ,i and thou were making together are not #aac yet finished2 therefore come back6 ,then ,izanami-no-,mikoto made answer1 saying1 ,my august lord and husband1 lamentable it is that thou didst not come sooner1--for now ,i have eaten of the cooking-range of ,yomi4 ,nevertheless1 as ,i am thus delightfully honoured by thine entry here1 my lovely elder brother1 ,i wish to return with thee to the living world4 ,now ,i go to discuss the matter with the gods of ,yomi4 ,wait thou here1 and look not upon me4 ,so having spoken1 she went back2 and ,izanagi waited for her4 ,but she tarried so long within that he became impatient4 ,then1 taking the wooden comb that he wore in the left bunch of his hair1 he broke off a tooth from one end of the comb and lighted it1 and went in to look for ,izanami-no-,mikoto4 ,but he saw her lying swollen and festering among worms2 and eight kinds of ,thunder-,gods sat upon her 4444 ,and ,izanagi1 being overawed by that sight1 would have fled away2 but ,izanami rose up1 crying3 ,thou hast put me to shame6 ,why didst thou not observe that which ,i charged thee8444 ,thou hast seen my nakedness2 now ,i will see thine6 ,and she bade the ,ugly ,females of ,yomi to follow after him1 and slay him2 and the eight ,thunders also pursued him1 and ,izanami herself pursued him 4444 ,then ,izanagi-no-,mikoto drew his sword1 and flourished it behind him as he ran4 ,but they followed close upon him4 ,he took off his black headdress and flung it down2 #aad and it became changed into grapes2 and while the ,ugly ,ones were eating the grapes1 he gained upon them4 ,but they followed quickly2 and he then took his comb and cast it down1 and it became changed into bamboo sprouts2 and while the ,ugly ,ones were devouring the sprouts1 he fled on until he reached the mouth of ,yomi4 ,then taking a rock which it would have required the strength of a thousand men to lift1 he blocked therewith the entrance as ,izanami came up4 ,and standing behind the rock1 he began to pronounce the words of divorce4 ,then1 from the other side of the rock1 ,izanami cried out to him1 ,my dear lord and master1 if thou dost so1 in one day will ,i strangle to death a thousand of thy people6 ,and ,izanagi-no-,mikoto answered her1 saying1 ,my beloved younger sister1 if thou dost so1 ,i will cause in one day to be born fifteen hundred 4444 ,but the deity ,kukuri-hime-no-,kami then came1 and spake to ,izanami some word which she seemed to approve1 and thereafter she vanished away 4444 ,the strange mingling of pathos with nightmare-terror in this myth1 of which ,i have not ventured to present all the startling naiveti1 sufficiently proves its primitive character4 ,it is a dream that some one really dreamed1--one of those bad dreams in which the figure of a person beloved becomes horribly transformed2 and it has a particular interest as #aae expressing that fear of death and of the dead informing all primitive ancestor-worship4 ,the whole pathos and weirdness of the myth1 the vague monstrosity of the fancies1 the formal use of terms of endearment in the moment of uttermost loathing and fear1--all impress one as unmistakably ,japanese4 ,several other myths scarcely less remarkable are to be found in the ,ko-ji-ki and ,nihongi2 but they are mingled with legends of so light and graceful a kind that it is scarcely possible to believe these latter to have been imagined by the same race4 ,the story of the magical jewels and the visit to the sea-god's palace1 for example1 in the second book of the ,nihongi1 sounds oddly like an ,indian fairy-tale2 and it is not unlikely that the ,ko-ji-ki and ,nihongi both contain myths derived from various alien sources4 ,at all events their mythical chapters present us with some curious problems which yet remain unsolved4 ,otherwise the books are dull reading1 in spite of the light which they shed upon ancient customs and beliefs2 and1 generally speaking1 ,japanese mythology is unattractive4 ,but to dwell here upon the mythology1 at any length1 is unnecessary2 for its relation to ,shinto can be summed up in the space of a single brief paragraph-- ,in the beginning neither force nor form was manifest2 and the world was a shapeless mass that floated #aaf like a jelly-fish upon water4 ,then1 in some way--we are not told how--earth and heaven became separated2 dim gods appeared and disappeared2 and at last there came into existence a male and a female deity1 who gave birth and shape to things4 ,by this pair1 ,izanagi and ,izanami1 were produced the islands of ,japan1 and the generations of the gods1 and the deities of the ,sun and ,moon4 ,the descendants of these creating deities1 and of the gods whom they brought into being1 were the eight thousand 7or eighty thousand7 myriads of gods worshipped by ,shinto4 ,some went to dwell in the blue ,plain of ,high ,heaven2 others remained on earth and became the ancestors of the ,japanese race4 ,such is the mythology of the ,ko-ji-ki and the ,nihongi1 stated in the briefest possible way4 ,at first it appears that there were two classes of gods recognized3 ,celestial and ,terrestrial2 and the old ,shinto rituals 7norito7 maintain this distinction4 ,but it is a curious fact that the celestial gods of this mythology do not represent celestial forces2 and that the gods who are really identified with celestial phenomena are classed as terrestrial gods1--having been born or produced upon earth4 ,the ,sun and ,moon1 for example1 are said to have been born in ,japan1--though afterwards placed in heaven2 the ,sun-goddess1 ,ama-terasu-no-oho-,kami1 having been produced from the left eye of ,izanagi1 and the #aag ,moon-god1 ,tsuki-yomi-no-,mikoto1 having been produced from the right eye of ,izanagi when1 after his visit to the under-world1 he washed himself at the mouth of a river in the island of ,tsukushi4 ,the ,shinto scholars of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries established some order in this chaos of fancies by denying all distinction between the ,celestial and ,terrestrial gods1 except as regarded the accident of birth4 ,they also denied the old distinction between the so-called ,age of the ,gods 7,kami-yo71 and the subsequent period of the ,emperors4 ,it was true1 they said1 that the early rulers of ,japan were gods2 but so were also the later rulers4 ,the whole ,imperial line1 the ,sun's ,succession1 represented one unbroken descent from the ,goddess of the ,sun4 ,hirata wrote3 ,there exists no hard and fast line between the ,age of the ,gods and the present age--and there exists no justification whatever for drawing one1 as the ,nihongi does4 ,of course this position involved the doctrine of a divine descent for the whole race1--inasmuch as1 according to the old mythology1 the first ,japanese were all descendants of gods1--and that doctrine ,hirata boldly accepted4 ,all the ,japanese1 he averred1 were of divine origin1 and for that reason superior to the people of all other countries4 ,he even held that their divine descent could be proved without difficulty4 ,these are his words3 ,the descendants of the gods who accompanied ,ninigi-no-,mikoto grandson of the ,sun-goddess1 #aah and supposed founder of the ,imperial house1--as well as the offspring of the successive ,mikados1 who entered the ranks of the subjects of the ,mikados1 with the names of ,taira1 ,minamoto1 and so forth1--have gradually increased and multiplied4 ,although numbers of ,japanese cannot state with certainty from what gods they are descended1 all of them have tribal names 7kabane71 which were originally bestowed on them by the ,mikados2 and those who make it their province to study genealogies can tell from a man's ordinary surname1 who his remotest ancestor must have been4 ,all the ,japanese were gods in this sense2 and their country was properly called the ,land of the ,gods1--,shinkoku or ,kami-no-kuni4 ,are we to understand ,hirata literally8 ,i think so--but we must remember that there existed in feudal times large classes of people1 outside of the classes officially recognized as forming the nation1 who were not counted as ,japanese1 nor even as human beings3 these were pariahs1 and reckoned as little better than animals4 ,hirata probably referred to the four great classes only--samurai1 farmers1 artizans1 and merchants4 ,but even in that case what are we to think of his ascription of divinity to the race1 in view of the moral and physical feebleness of human nature8 ,the moral side of the question is answered by the ,shinto theory of evil deities1 gods of crookedness1 who were alleged to have originated from the impurities contracted by #aai ,izanagi during his visit to the under-world4 ,as for the physical weakness of men1 that is explained by a legend of ,ninigi-no-,mikoto1 divine founder of the imperial house4 ,the ,goddess of ,long ,life1 ,iha-naga-hime 7,rock-long-princess71 was sent to him for wife2 but he rejected her because of her ugliness2 and that unwise proceeding brought about the present shortness of the lives of men4 ,most mythologies ascribe vast duration to the lives of early patriarchs or rulers3 the farther we go back into mythological history1 the longer-lived are the sovereigns4 ,to this general rule ,japanese mythology presents no exception4 ,the son of ,ninigi-no-,mikoto is said to have lived five hundred and eighty years at his palace of ,takachiho2 but that1 remarks ,hirata1 was a short life compared with the lives of those who lived before him4 ,thereafter men's bodies declined in force2 life gradually became shorter and shorter2 yet in spite of all degeneration the ,japanese still show traces of their divine origin4 ,after death they enter into a higher divine condition1 without1 however1 abandoning this world 4444 ,such were ,hirata's views4 ,accepting the ,shinto theory of origins1 this ascription of divinity to human nature proves less inconsistent than it appears at first sight2 and the modern ,shintoist may discover a germ of scientific truth in the doctrine which traces back the beginnings of life to the ,sun4 #abj ,more than any other ,japanese writer1 ,hirata has enabled us to understand the hierarchy of ,shinto mythology1--corresponding closely1 as we might have expected1 to the ancient ordination of ,japanese society4 ,in the lowermost ranks are the spirits of common people1 worshipped only at the household shrine or at graves4 ,above these are the gentile gods or ,ujigami1--ghosts of old rulers now worshipped as tutelar gods4 ,all ,ujigami1 ,hirata tells us1 are under the control of the ,great ,god of ,izumo1--,oho-kuni-nushi-no-,kami1--and1 acting as his agents1 they rule the fortunes of human beings before their birth1 during their life1 and after their death4 ,this means that the ordinary ghosts obey1 in the world invisible1 the commands of the clan-gods or tutelar deities2 that the conditions of communal worship during life continue after death4 ,the following extract from ,hirata will be found of interest1--not only as showing the supposed relation of the individual to the ,ujigami1 but also as suggesting how the act of abandoning one's birthplace was formerly judged by common opinion3-- ,when a person removes his residence1 his original ,ujigami has to make arrangements with the ,ujigami of the place whither he transfers his abode4 ,on such occasions it is proper to take leave of the old god1 and to pay a visit to the temple of the new god as soon as possible after coming within his jurisdiction4 ,the apparent reasons which a man imagines to have induced him to change his #aba abode may be many2 but the real reasons cannot be otherwise than that either he has offended his ,ujigami1 and is therefore expelled1 or that the ,ujigami of another place has negotiated his transfer 444499 99,translated by ,satow4 ,the italics are mine4 ,it would thus appear that every person was supposed to be the subject1 servant1 or retainer of some ,ujigami1 both during life and after death4 ,there were1 of course1 various grades of these clan-gods1 just as there were various grades of living rulers1 lords of the soil4 ,above ordinary ,ujigami ranked the deities worshipped in the chief ,shinto temples of the various provinces1 which temples were termed ,ichi-no-miya1 or temples of the first grade4 ,these deities appear to have been in many cases spirits of princes or greater daimyo1 formerly1 ruling extensive districts2 but all were not of this category4 ,among them were deities of elements or elemental forces1--,wind1 ,fire1 and ,sea1--deities also of longevity1 of destiny1 and of harvests1--clan-gods1 perhaps1 originally1 though their real history had been long forgotten4 ,but above all other ,shinto divinities ranked the gods of the ,imperial ,cult1--the supposed ancestors of the ,mikados4 ,of the higher forms of ,shinto worship1 that of the imperial ancestors proper is the most important1 being the ,state cult2 but it is not the oldest4 ,there are two supreme cults3 that of the ,sun-goddess1 #abb represented by the famous shrines of ,ise2 and the ,izumo cult1 represented by the great temple of ,kitzuki4 ,this ,izumo temple is the centre of the more ancient cult4 ,it is dedicated to ,oho-kuni-nushi-no-,kami1 first ruler of the ,province of the ,gods1 and offspring of the brother of the ,sun-goddess4 ,dispossessed of his realm in favour of the founder of the imperial dynasty1 ,oho-kuni-nushi-no-,kami became the ruler of the ,unseen ,world1--that is to say the ,world of ,ghosts4 ,unto his shadowy dominion the spirits of all men proceed after death2 and he rules over all of the ,ujigami4 ,we may therefore term him the ,emperor of the ,dead4 ,you cannot hope1 ,hirata says1 to live more than a hundred years1 under the most favourable circumstances2 but as you will go to the ,unseen ,realm of ,oho-kuni-nushi-no-,kami after death1 and be subject to him1 learn betimes to bow down before him4 444 ,that weird fancy expressed in the wonderful fragment by ,coleridge1 ,the ,wanderings of ,cain1 would therefore seem to have actually formed an article of ancient ,shinto faith3 ,the ,lord is ,god of the living only3 the dead have another ,god4 444 ,the ,god of the ,living in ,old ,japan was1 of course1 the ,mikado1--the deity incarnate1 ,arahito-gami1--and his palace was the national sanctuary1 the ,holy of ,holies4 ,within the precincts of that #abc palace was the ,kashiko-,dokoro 7,place of ,awe71 the private shrine of the ,imperial ,ancestors1 where only the court could worship1--the public form of the same cult being maintained at ,ise4 ,but the ,imperial ,house worshipped also by deputy 7and still so worships7 both at ,kitzuki and ,ise1 and likewise at various other great sanctuaries4 ,formerly a great number of temples were maintained1 or partly maintained1 from the imperial revenues4 ,all ,shinto temples of importance used to be classed as greater and lesser shrines4 ,there were #cjd of the first rank1 and #bhbh of the second rank4 ,but multitudes of temples were not included in this official classification1 and depended upon local support4 ,the recorded total of ,shinto shrines to-day is upwards of #aie1jjj4 ,we have thus--without counting the great ,izumo cult of ,oho-kuni-nushi-no-,kami--four classes of ancestor-worship3 the domestic religion1 the religion of the ,ujigami1 the worship at the chief shrines ,ichi-no-miya of the several provinces1 and the national cult at ,ise4 ,all these cults are now linked together by tradition2 and the devout ,shintoist worships the divinities of all1 collectively1 in his daily morning prayer4 ,occasionally he visits the chief shrine of his province2 and he makes a pilgrimage to ,ise if he can4 ,every ,japanese is expected to visit the shrines of ,ise once in his lifetime1 #abd or to send thither a deputy4 ,inhabitants of remote districts are not all able1 of course1 to make the pilgrimage2 but there is no village which does not1 at certain intervals1 send pilgrims either to ,kitzuki or to ,ise on behalf of the community1 the expense of such representation being defrayed by local subscription4 ,and1 furthermore1 every ,japanese can worship the supreme divinities of ,shinto in his own house1 where upon a god-shelf 7,kamidana7 are tablets inscribed with the assurance of their divine protection1--holy charms obtained from the priests of ,ise or of ,kitzuki4 ,in the case of the ,ise cult1 such tablets are commonly made from the wood of the holy shrines themselves1 which1 according to primal custom1 must be rebuilt every twenty years1--the timber of the demolished structures being then cut into tablets for distribution throughout the country4 ,another development of ancestor-worship--the cult of gods presiding over crafts and callings--deserves special study4 ,unfortunately we are as yet little informed upon the subject4 ,anciently this worship must have been more definitely ordered and maintained than it is now4 ,occupations were hereditary2 artizans were grouped into guilds--perhaps we might even say castes2--and each guild or caste then probably had in patron-deity4 ,in some cases the craft-gods may have been ancestors #abe of ,japanese craftsmen2 in other cases they were perhaps of ,korean or ,chinese origin1--ancestral gods of immigrant artizans1 who brought their cults with them to ,japan4 ,not much is known about them4 ,but it is tolerably safe to assume that most1 if not all of the guilds1 were at one time religiously organized1 and that apprentices were adopted not only in a craft1 but into a cult4 ,there were corporations of weavers1 potters1 carpenters1 arrow-makers1 bow-makers1 smiths1 boat-builders1 and other tradesmen2 and the past religious organization of these is suggested by the fact that certain occupations assume a religious character even to-day4 ,for example1 the carpenter still builds according to ,shinto tradition3 he dons a priestly costume at a certain stage of the work1 performs rites1 and chants invocations1 and places the new house under the protection of the gods4 ,but the occupation of the swordsmith was in old days the most sacred of crafts3 he worked in priestly garb1 and practised ,shinto7 rites of purification while engaged in the making of a good blade4 ,before his smithy was then suspended the sacred rope of rice-straw 7shime-nawa71 which is the oldest symbol of ,shinto3 none even of his family might enter there1 or speak to him2 and he ate only of food cooked with holy fire4 ,the #aie1jjj shrines of ,shinto represent1 however1 more than clan-cults or guild-cults or national-cults 4444 #abf ,many are dedicated to different spirits of the same god2 for ,shinto holds that the spirit of either a man or a god may divide itself into several spirits1 each with a different character4 ,such separated spirits are called waka-mi-tama 7august-divided-spirits74 ,thus the spirit of the ,goddess of ,food1 ,toyo-uke-bime1 separated itself into the ,god of ,trees1 ,kukunochi-no-,kami1 and into the ,goddess of ,grasses1 ,kayanu-hime-no-,kami4 ,gods and men were supposed to have also a ,rough ,spirit and a ,gentle ,spirit2 and ,hirata remarks that the ,rough ,spirit of ,oho-kuni-nushi-no-,kami was worshipped at one temple1 and his ,gentle ,spirit at another499444 ,also we have to remember that great numbers of ,ujigami temples are dedicated to the same divinity4 ,these duplications or multiplications are again offset by the fact that in some of the principal temples a multitude of different deities are enshrined4 ,thus the number of ,shinto temples in actual existence affords no indication whatever of the actual number of gods worshipped1 nor of the variety of their cults4 ,almost every deity mentioned in the ,ko-ji-ki or ,nihongi has a shrine somewhere2 and hundreds of others--including many later apotheoses--have their temples4 ,numbers of temples have been dedicated1 for example1 to #abg historical personages1--to spirits of great ministers1 captains1 rulers1 scholars1 heroes1 and statesmen4 ,the famous minister of the ,empress ,jingo1 ,takeno-uji-no-,sukune1--who served under six successive sovereigns1 and lived to the age of three hundred years1--is now invoked in many a temple as a giver of long life and great wisdom4 ,the spirit of ,sugiwara-no-,michizane1 once minister to the ,emperor ,daigo1 is worshipped as the god of calligraphy1 under the name of ,tenjin1 or ,temmangu3 children everywhere offer to him the first examples of their handwriting1 and deposit in receptacles1 placed before his shrine1 their worn-out writing-brushes4 ,the ,soga brothers1 victims and heroes of a famous twelfth-century tragedy1 have become gods to whom people pray for the maintenance of fraternal harmony4 ,kato ,kiyomasa1 the determined enemy of ,jesuit ,christianity1 and ,hideyoshi's greatest captain1 has been apotheosized both by ,buddhism and by ,shinto4 ,iyeyasu is worshipped under the appellation of ,toshogu4 ,in fact most of the great men of ,japanese history have had temples erected to them2 and the spirits of the daimyo were1 in former years1 regularly worshipped by the subjects of their descendants and successors4 99,even men had the ,rough and the ,gentle ,spirit2 but a god had three distinct spirits1--the ,rough1 the ,gentle1 and the ,bestowing1--respectively termed ,ara-mi-tama1 ,nigi-mi-tama1 and ,saki-mi-tama4--,see ,,satow's ,revival of ,pure ,shintau4 ,besides temples to deities presiding over industries and agriculture1--or deities especially invoked by the peasants1 such as the goddess of silkworms1 #abh the goddess of rice1 the gods of wind and weather1--there are to be found in almost every part of the country what ,i may call propitiatory temples4 ,these latter ,shinto shrines have been erected by way of compensation to spirits of persons who suffered great injustice or misfortune4 ,in these cases the worship assumes a very curious character1 the worshipper always appealing for protection against the same kind of calamity or trouble as that from which the apotheosized person suffered during life4 ,in ,izumo1 for example1 ,i found a temple dedicated to the spirit of a woman1 once a prince's favourite4 ,she had been driven to suicide by the intrigues of jealous rivals4 ,the story is that she had very beautiful hair2 but it was not quite black1 and her enemies used to reproach her with its color4 ,now mothers having children with brownish hair pray to her that the brown may be changed to black2 and offerings are made to her of tresses of hair and ,tokyo coloured prints1 for it is still remembered that she was fond of such prints4 ,in the same province there is a shrine erected to the spirit of a young wife1 who pined away for grief at the absence of her lord4 ,she used to climb a hill to watch for his return1 and the shrine was built upon the place where she waited2 and wives pray there to her for the safe return of absent husbands 4444 ,an almost similar kind of propitiatory worship is practised in cemeteries4 ,public pity seeks to apotheosize those #abi urged to suicide by cruelty1 or those executed for offences which1 although legally criminal1 were inspired by patriotic or other motives commanding sympathy4 ,before their graves offerings are laid and prayers are murmured4 ,spirits of unhappy lovers are commonly invoked by young people who suffer from the same cause 4444 ,and1 among other forms of propitiatory worship ,i must mention the old custom of erecting small shrines to spirits of animals1--chiefly domestic animals1--either in recognition of dumb service rendered and ill-rewarded1 or as a compensation for pain unjustly inflicted4 ,yet another class of tutelar divinities remains to be noticed1--those who dwell within or about the houses of men4 ,some are mentioned in the old mythology1 and are probably developments of ,japanese ancestor-worship2 some are of alien origin2 some do not appear to have any temples2 and some represent little more than what is called ,animism4 ,this class of divinities corresponds rather to the ,roman dii genitales than to the ,greek 7,greek daemones74 ,suijin-,sarna1 the ,god of ,wells2 ,kojin1 the ,god of the ,cooking-range 7in almost every kitchen there is either a tiny shrine for him1 or a written charm bearing his name72 the gods of the ,cauldron and ,saucepan1 ,kudo-no-,kami and ,kobe-no-,kami 7anciently called ,okitsuhiko and ,okitsuhime72 the ,master of ,ponds1 ,ike-no-,nushi1 #acj supposed to make apparition in the form of a serpent2 the ,goddess of the ,rice-pot1 ,o-,kama-,sama2 the ,gods of the ,latrina1 who first taught men how to fertilize their fields 7these are commonly represented by little figures of paper1 having the forms of a man and a woman1 but faceless72 the ,gods of ,wood and ,fire and ,metal2 the ,gods likewise of ,gardens1 ,fields1 ,scarecrows1 ,bridges1 ,hills1 ,woods1 and ,streams2 and also the ,spirits of ,trees 7for ,japanese mythology has its dryads73 most of these are undoubtedly of ,shinto4 ,on the other hand1 we find the roads under the protection of ,buddhist deities chiefly4 ,i have not been able to learn anything regarding gods of boundaries1--termes1 as the ,latins called them2 and one sees only images of the ,buddhas at the limits of village territories4 ,but in almost every garden1 on the north side1 there is a little ,shinto shrine1 facing what is called the ,ki-,mon1 or ,demon-,gate1--that is to say1 the direction from which1 according to ,chinese teaching1 all evils come2 and these little shrines1 dedicated to various ,shinto deities1 are supposed to protect the home from evil spirits4 ,the belief in the ,ki-,mon is obviously a ,chinese importation4 ,one may doubt1 however1 if ,chinese influence alone developed the belief that every part of a house1--every beam of it1--and every domestic utensil has its invisible guardian4 ,considering this belief1 it is not surprising that the building of a #aca house--unless the house be in foreign style--is still a religious act1 and that the functions of a master-builder include those of a priest4 ,this brings us to the subject of ,animism4 7,i doubt whether any evolutionist of the contemporary school holds to the old-fashioned notion that animism preceded ancestor-worship1--a theory involving the assumption that belief in the spirits of inanimate objects was evolved before the idea of a human ghost had yet been developed47 ,in ,japan it is now as difficult to draw the line between animistic beliefs and the lowest forms of ,shinto1 as to establish a demarcation between the vegetable and the animal worlds2 but the earliest ,shinto literature gives no evidence of such a developed animism as that now existing4 ,probably the development was gradual1 and largely influenced by ,chinese beliefs4 ,still1 we read in the ,ko-ji-ki of evil gods who glittered like fireflies or were disorderly as mayflies1 and of demons who made rocks1 and stumps of trees1 and the foam of the green waters to speak1--showing that animistic or fetichistic notions were prevalent to some extent before the period of ,chinese influence4 ,and it is significant that where animism is associated with persistent worship 7as in the matter of the reverence paid to strangely shaped stones or trees71 the form of the worship is1 in most cases1 ,shinto4 ,before such objects there is usually #acb to be seen the model of a ,shinto gateway1--torii4444 ,with the development of animism1 under ,chinese and ,korean influence1 the man of ,old ,japan found himself truly in a world of spirits and demons4 ,they spoke to him in the sound of tides and of cataracts in the moaning of wind and the whispers of leafage1 in the crying of birds1 and the trilling of insects1 in all the voices of nature4 ,for him all visible motion--whether of waves or grasses or shifting mist or drifting cloud--was ghostly2 and the never moving rocks--nay1 the very stones by the wayside--were informed with viewless and awful being4 #acc ,,worship ,,and ,,purification ,we have seen that1 in ,old ,japan1 the world of the living was everywhere ruled by the world of the dead1--that the individual1 at every moment of his existence1 was under ghostly supervision4 ,in his home he was watched by the spirits of his fathers2 without it1 he was ruled by the god of his district4 ,all about him1 and above him1 and beneath him were invisible powers of life and death4 ,in his conception of nature all things were ordered by the dead1--light and darkness1 weather and season1 winds and tides1 mist and rain1 growth and decay1 sickness and health4 ,the viewless atmosphere was a phantom-sea1 an ocean of ghost2 the soil that he tilled was pervaded by spirit-essence2 the trees were haunted and holy2 even the rocks and the stones were infused with conscious life 4444 ,how might he discharge his duty to the infinite concourse of the invisible8 ,few scholars could remember the names of all the greater gods1 not to speak of the lesser2 and no mortal could have found time to address those greater gods by their respective names in his daily #acd prayer4 ,the later ,shinto teachers proposed to simplify the duties of the faith by prescribing one brief daily prayer to the gods in general1 and special prayers to a few gods in particular2 and in thus doing they were most likely confirming a custom already established by necessity4 ,hirata wrote3 ,as the number of the gods who possess different functions is very great1 it will be convenient to worship by name the most important only1 and to include the rest in a general petition4 ,he prescribed ten prayers for persons having time to repeat them1 but lightened the duty for busy folk1--observing3 ,persons whose daily affairs are so multitudinous that they have not time to go through all the prayers1 may content themselves with adoring 7#a7 the residence of the ,emperor1 7#b7 the domestic god-shelf1--kamidana1 7#c7 the spirits of their ancestors1 7#d7 their local patron-god1 ,ujigami1 7#e7 the deity of their particular calling4 ,he advised that the following prayer should be daily repeated before the god-shelf3-- ,reverently adoring the great god of the two palaces of ,ise in the first1 place1--the eight hundred myriads of celestial gods1--the eight hundred myriads of terrestrial gods1--the fifteen hundred myriads of gods to whom are consecrated the great and small temples in all provinces1 all islands1 and all places of the ,great ,land of ,eight ,islands1--the fifteen hundred myriads of gods whom they cause to serve them1 and the gods of branch-palaces and branch-temples1 #ace--;and ,sohodo-no-,kami99 whom ,i have invited to the shrine set up on this divine shelf1 and to whom ,i offer praises day by day1--,i pray with awe that they will deign to correct the unwilling faults which1 heard and seen by them1 ,i have committed2 and that1 blessing and favouring me according to the powers which they severally wield1 they will cause me to follow the divine example1 and to perform good works in the ,way49999 99,sohodo-no-,kami is the god of scarecrows1--protector of the fields4 9999,translated by ,satow4 ,this text is interesting as an example of what ,shinto's greatest expounder thought a ,shinto prayer should be2 and1 excepting the reference to ,so-ho-do-no-,kami1 the substance of it is that of the morning prayer still repeated in ,japanese households4 ,but the modern prayer is very much shorter4444 ,in ,izumo1 the oldest ,shinto province1 the customary morning worship offers perhaps the best example of the ancient rules of devotion4 ,immediately upon rising1 the worshipper performs his ablutions2 and after having washed his face and rinsed his mouth1 he turns to the sun1 claps his hands1 and with bowed head reverently utters the simple greeting3 ,hail to thee this day1 ,august ,one6 ,in thus adoring the sun he is also fulfilling his duty as a subject1 paying obeisance to the ,imperial ,ancestor 4444 ,the act is performed out of doors1 not kneeling1 but standing2 and the spectacle of this simple worship is impressive4 ,i can now see in memory1-- #acf just as plainly as ,i saw with my eyes many years ago1 off the wild ,oki coast1--the naked figure of a young fisherman erect at the prow of his boat1 clapping his hands in salutation to the rising sun1 whose ruddy glow transformed him into a statue of bronze4 ,also ,i retain a vivid memory of pilgrim-figures poised upon the topmost crags of the summit of ,fuji1 clapping their hands in prayer1 with faces to the ,east 4444 ,perhaps ten thousand--twenty thousand-years ago all humanity so worshipped the ,lord of ,day 4444 ,after having saluted the sun1 the worshipper returns to his house1 to pray before the ,kamidana and before the tablets of the ancestors4 ,kneeling1 he invokes the great gods of ,ise or of ,izumo1 the gods of the chief temples of his province1 the god of his parish-temple also 7,ujigami71 and finally all the myriads of the deities of ,shinto4 ,these prayers are not said aloud4 ,the ancestors are thanked for the foundation of the home2 the higher deities are invoked for aid and protection 4444 ,as for the custom of bowing in the direction of the ,emperor's palace1 ,i am not able to say to what extent it survives in the remoter districts2 but ,i have often seen the reverence performed4 ,once1 too1 ,i saw reverence done immediately in front of the gates of the palace in ,tokyo by country-folk on a visit to the capital4 ,they knew me1 because ,i had often sojourned in their village2 and on reaching ,tokyo #acg they sought me out1 and found me1 ,i took them to the palace2 and before the main entrance they removed their hats1 and bowed1 and clapped their hands1 just as they would have done when saluting the gods or the rising sun1--and this with a simple and dignified reverence that touched me not a little4 ,the duties of morning worship1 which include the placing of offerings before the tablets1 are not the only duties of the domestic cult4 ,in a ,shinto household1 where the ancestors and the higher gods are separately worshipped1 the ancestral shrine may be said to correspond with the ,roman lararium2 while the god-shelf1 with its taima or o-nusa 7symbols of those higher gods especially revered by the family71 may be compared with the place accorded by ,latin custom to the worship of the ,penates4 ,both ,shinto cults have their particular feast-days2 and1 in the case of the ancestor-cult1 the feast-days are occasions of religious assembly1--when the relatives of the family should gather to celebrate the domestic rite 4444 ,the ,shintoist must also take part in the celebration of the festivals of the ,ujigami1 and must at least aid in the celebration of the nine great national holidays related to the national cult2 these nine1 out of a total eleven1 being occasions of imperial ancestor-worship4 ,the nature of the public rites varied according to #ach the rank of the gods4 ,offerings and prayers were made to all2 but the greater deities were worshipped with exceeding ceremony4 ,to-day the offerings usually consist of food and rice-wine1 together with symbolic articles representing the costlier gifts of woven stuffs presented by ancient custom4 ,the ceremonies include processions1 music1 singing1 and dancing4 ,at the very small shrines there are few ceremonies1--only offerings of food are presented4 ,but at the great temples there are hierarchies of priests and priestesses 7miko7--usually daughters of priests2 and the ceremonies are elaborate and solemn4 ,it is particularly at the temples of ,ise 7where1 down to the fourteenth century the high-priestess was a daughter of emperors71 or at the great temple of ,izumo1 that the archaic character of the ceremonial can be studied to most advantage4 ,there1 in spite of the passage of that huge wave of ,buddhism1 which for a period almost submerged the more ancient faith1 all things remain as they were a score of centuries ago2--,time1 in those haunted precincts1 would seem to have slept1 as in the enchanted palaces of fairy-tale4 ,the mere shapes of the buildings1 weird and tall1 startle by their unfamiliarity4 ,within1 all is severely plain and pure3 there are no images1 no ornaments1 no symbols visible--except those strange paper-cuttings 7gohei71 suspended to upright rods1 which are symbols of offerings and also tokens of the #aci viewless4 ,by the number of them in the sanctuary1 you know the number of the deities to whom the place is consecrate4 ,there is nothing imposing but the space1 the silence1 and the suggestion of the past4 ,the innermost shrine is veiled3 it contains1 perhaps1 a mirror of bronze1 an ancient sword1 or other object enclosed in multiple wrappings3 that is all4 ,for this faith1 older than icons1 needs no images3 its gods are ghosts2 and the void stillness of its shrines compels more awe than tangible representation could inspire4 ,very strange1 to ,western eyes at least1 are the rites1 the forms of the worship1 the shapes of sacred objects4 ,not by any modern method must the sacred fire be lighted1--the fire that cooks the food of the gods3 it can be kindled only in the most ancient of ways1 with a wooden fire-drill4 ,the chief priests are robed in the sacred colour1--white1--and wear headdresses of a shape no longer seen elsewhere3 high caps of the kind formerly worn by lords and princes4 ,their assistants wear various colours1 according to grade2 and the faces of none are completely shaven2--some wear full beards1 others the mustache only4 ,the actions and attitudes of these hierophants are dignified1 yet archaic1 in a degree difficult to describe4 ,each movement is regulated by tradition2 and to perform well the functions of a ,kannushi1 a long disciplinary preparation is necessary4 ,the office is hereditary2 the training begins in boyhood2 and #adj the impassive deportment eventually acquired is really a wonderful thing4 ,officiating1 the ,kannushi seems rather a statue than a man1--an image moved by invisible strings2--and1 like the gods1 he never winks4 ,not at least observably4444 ,once1 during a great ,shinto procession1 several ,japanese friends1 and ,i myself1 undertook to watch a young priest on horseback1 in order to see how long he could keep from winking2 and none of us were able to detect the slightest movement of eyes or eyelids1 notwithstanding that the priest's horse became restive during the time that we were watching4 ,the principal incidents of the festival ceremonies within the great temples are the presentation of the offerings1 the repetition of the ritual1 and the dancing of the priestesses4 ,each of these performances retains a special character rigidly fixed by tradition4 ,the food-offerings are served upon archaic vessels of unglazed pottery 7red earthenware mostly73 boiled rice pressed into cones of the form of a sugar-loaf1 various preparations of fish and of edible sea-weed1 fruits and fowls1 rice-wine presented in jars of immemorial shape4 ,these offerings are carried into the temple upon white wooden trays of curious form1 and laid upon white wooden tables of equally curious form2--the faces of the bearers being covered1 below the eyes1 with sheets of white paper1 in order that their breath may #ada not contaminate the food of the gods2 and the trays1 for like reason1 must be borne at arms' length 4444 ,in ancient times the offerings would seem to have included things much more costly than food1--if we may credit the testimony of what are probably the oldest documents extant in the ,japanese tongue1 the ,shinto rituals1 or norito499 ,the following excerpt from ,satow's translation of the ritual prayer to the ,wind-gods of ,tatsuta is interesting1 not only as a fine example of the language of the norito1 but also as indicating the character of the great ceremonies in early ages1 and the nature of the offerings3-- 99,several have been translated by ,satow1 whose opinion of their antiquity is here cited2 and translations have also been made into ,german4 ,as the great offerings set up for the ,youth-god1 ,i set up various sorts of offerings3 for ,clothes1 bright cloth1 glittering cloth1 soft cloth1 and coarse cloth1--and the five kinds of things1 a mantlet1 a spear1 a horse furnished with a saddle2--for the ,maiden-god ,i set up various sorts of offerings--providing ,clothes1 a golden thread-box1 a golden tatari1 a golden skein-holder1 bright cloth1 glittering cloth1 soft cloth1 and coarse cloth1 and the five kinds of things1 a horse furnished with a saddle2--as to ,liquor1 ,i raise high the beer-jars1 fill and range-in-a-row the bellies of the beer-jars2 soft grain and coarse grain2--as to things which dwell in the hills1 things soft of hair and things coarse of hair2--as to things which grow in the great field--plain1 sweet herbs and bitter herbs2--as to things which dwell in the blue sea-plain1 things broad of fin and things narrow of fin--down to the weeds of the offing and weeds of the #adb shore4 ,and if the sovran gods will take these great offerings which ,i set up1--piling them up like a range of hills1--peacefully in their hearts1 as peaceful offerings and satisfactory offerings2 and if the sovran gods1 deigning not to visit the things produced by1 the great ,people of the region under heaven with bad winds and rough waters1 will open and bless them1--,i will at the autumn service set up the first fruits1 raising high the beer-jars1 filling and ranging-in-rows the bellies of the beer-jars1--and drawing them hither in juice and in ear1 in many hundred rice-plants and a thousand rice-plants4 ,and for this purpose the princes and councillors and all the functionaries1 the servants of the six farms of the country of ,yamato--even to the males and females of them--have all come and assembled in the fourth month of this year1 and1 plunging down the root of the neck cormorant-wise in the presence of the sovran gods1 fulfil their praise as the ,sun of to-day rises in glory4444 ,the offerings are no longer piled up like a range of hills1 nor do they include all things dwelling in the mountains and in the sea2 but the imposing ritual remains1 and the ceremony is always impressive4 ,not the least interesting part of it is the sacred dance4 ,while the gods are supposed to be partaking of the food and wine set out before their shrines1 the girl-priestesses1 robed in crimson and white1 move gracefully to the sound of drums and flutes1--waving fans1 or shaking bunches of tiny bells as they circle about the sanctuary4 ,according to our ,western notions4 the performance of the #adc miko could scarcely be called dancing2 but it is a graceful spectacle1 and very curious1--for every step and attitude is regulated by traditions of unknown antiquity4 ,as for the plaintive music1 no ,western ear can discern in it anything resembling a real melody2 but the gods should find delight in it1 because it is certainly performed for them to-day exactly as it used to be performed twenty centuries ago4 ,i speak of the ceremonies especially as ,i have witnessed them in ,izumo3 they vary somewhat according to cult and province4 ,at the shrines of ,ise1 ,kasuga1 ,kompira1 and several others which ,i visited1 the ordinary priestesses are children2 and when they have reached the nubile age1 they retire from the service4 ,at ,kitzuki the priestesses are grown-up women3 their office is hereditary2 and they are permitted to retain it even after marriage4 ,formerly the ,miko was more than a mere officiant3 the songs which she is still obliged to learn indicate that she was originally offered to the gods as a bride4 ,even yet her touch is holy2 the grain sown by her hand is blessed4 ,at some time in the past she seems to have been also a pythoness3 the spirits of the gods possessed her and spoke through her lips4 ,all the poetry of this most ancient of religions centres in the figure of its little ,vestal1--child-bride of ghosts1--as she flutters1 #add like some wonderful white-and-crimson butterfly1 before the shrine of the ,invisible4 ,even in these years of change1 when she must go to the public school1 she continues to represent all that is delightful in ,japanese girlhood2 for her special home-training keeps her reverent1 innocent1 dainty in all her little ways1 and worthy to remain the pet of the gods4 ,the history of the higher forms of ancestor-worship in other countries would lead us to suppose that the public ceremonies of the ,shinto-cult must include some rite of purification4 ,as a matter of fact1 the most important of all ,shinto ceremonies is the ceremony of purification1--o-harai1 as it is called1 which term signifies the casting-out or expulsion of evils 4444 ,in ancient ,athens a corresponding ceremony took place every year2 in ,rome1 every four years4 ,the o-harai is performed twice every year1--in the sixth month and the twelfth month by the ancient calendar4 ,it used to be not less obligatory than the ,roman lustration2 and the idea behind the obligation was the same as that which inspired the ,roman laws on the subject 4444 ,so long as men believe that the welfare of the living depends upon the will of the dead1--that all happenings in the world are ordered by spirits of different characters1 evil as well as good1--that every bad action lends additional power to the viewless #ade forces of destruction1 and therefore endangers the public prosperity1--so long will the necessity of a public purification remain an article of common faith4 ,the presence in any community of even one person who has offended the gods1 consciously or unwillingly1 is a public misfortune1 a public peril4 ,yet it is not possible for all men to live so well as never to vex the gods by thought1 word1 or deed1--through passion or ignorance or carelessness4 ,every one1 declares ,hirata1 is certain to commit accidental offences1 however careful he may be444 ,evil acts and words are of two kinds3 those of which we are conscious1 and those of which we are not conscious 4444 ,it is better to assume that we have committed such unconscious offences4 ,now it should be remembered that for the man of ,old ,japan1--as for the ,greek or the ,roman citizen of early times1--religion consisted chiefly in the exact observance of multitudinous custom2 and that it was therefore difficult to know whether1 in performing the duties of the several cults1 one had not inadvertently displeased the ,unseen4 ,as a means of maintaining and assuring the religious purity of the people periodical lustration was consequently deemed indispensable4 ,from the earliest period ,shinto exacted scrupulous cleanliness --indeed1 we might say that it regarded physical impurity as identical with moral impurity1 and intolerable to the gods4 ,it has #adf always been1 and still remains1 a religion of ablutions4 ,the ,japanese love of cleanliness--indicated by the universal practice of daily bathing1 and by the irreproachable condition of their homes has been maintained1 and was probably initiated1 by their religion4 ,spotless cleanliness being required by the rites of ancestor-worship1--in the temple1 in the person of the officiant1 and in the home1--this rule of purity was naturally extended by degrees to all the conditions of existence4 ,and besides the great periodical ceremonies of purification1 a multitude of minor lustrations were exacted by the cult4 ,this was the case also1 it will be remembered in the early ,greek and ,roman civilizations--the citizen had to submit to purification upon almost every important occasion of existence4 ,there were lustrations indispensable at birth1 marriage1 and death2 lustrations on the eve of battle2 lustrations at regular periods1 of the dwelling1 estate1 district1 or city4 ,and1 as in ,japan1 no one could approach a temple without a preliminary washing of hands4 ,but ancient ,shinto exacted more than the ,greek or the ,roman cult3 it required the erection of special houses for birth1 --parturition-houses2 special houses for the consummation of marriage1--nuptial-huts2 and special buildings for the dead1--mourning-houses4 ,formerly women were obliged during the period of menstruation1 as well as during the time of confinement1 to live apart4 ,these harsher archaic customs #adg have almost disappeared1 except in one or two remote districts1 and in the case of certain priestly families2 but the general rules as to purification1 and as to the times and circumstances forbidding approach to holy places1 are still everywhere obeyed4 ,purity of heart is not less insisted upon than physical purity2 and the great rite of lustration1 performed every six months1 is of course a moral purification4 ,it is performed not only at the great temples1 and at all the ,ujigami1 but likewise in every home 99,on the kamidana1 or god-shelf1 there is usually placed a kind of oblong paper-box containing fragments of the wands used by the priests of ,ise at the great national purification-ceremony1 or o-harai4 ,this box is commonly called by the name of the ceremony1 o-harai1 or august purification1 and is inscribed with the names of the great gods of ,ise4 ,the presence of this object is supposed to protect the home2 but it should be replaced by a new o-harai at the expiration of six months2 for the virtue of the charm is supposed to last only during the interval between two official purifications4 ,this distribution to thousands of homes of fragments of the wands1 used to drive away evils at the time of the ,ise lustration1 represents of course the supposed extension of the high-priest's protection to those homes until the time of the next o-harai4 ,the modern domestic form of the harai is very simple4 ,each ,shinto parish-temple furnishes to all its ,ujiko1 or parishioners1 small paper-cuttings called hitogata 7mankind-shapes71 representing figures of men1 women1 and children as in silhouette1--only that the paper is white1 and folded curiously4 ,each household receives a number of hitogata corresponding to the number of its members1--men-shapes for the men and boys1 women-shapes #adh for the women and girls4 ,each person in the house touches his head1 face1 limbs1 and body with one of these hitogata2 repeating the while a ,shinto invocation1 and praying that any misfortune or sickness incurred by reason of offences involuntarily committed against the gods 7for in ,shinto belief sickness and misfortune are divine punishments7 may be mercifully taken away4 ,upon each hitogata is then written the age and sex 7not the name7 of the person for whom it was furnished2 and when this has been done1 all are returned to the parish-temple1 and there burnt1 with rites of purification4 ,thus the community is lustrated every six ,months4 ,in the old ,greek and ,latin cities lustration was accompanied with registration4 ,the attendance of every citizen at the ceremony was held to be so necessary that one who wilfully failed to attend might be whipped and sold as a slave4 ,non-attendance involved loss of civic rights4 ,it would seem that in ,old ,japan also every member of a community was obliged to be present at the rite2 but ,i have not been able to learn whether any registration was made upon such occasions4 ,probably it would have been superfluous3 the ,japanese individual was not officially recognized2 the family-group alone was responsible1 and the attendance of the several members would have been assured by the responsibility of the group4 ,the use of the hitogata1 on which the name is not written1 but only the sex and age #adi of the worshipper1 is probably modern1 and of ,chinese origin4 ,official registration existed1 even in early times2 but it appears to have had no particular relation to the o-harai2 and the registers were kept1 it seems1 not by the ,shinto1 but by the ,buddhist parish-priests 4444 ,in concluding these remarks about the o-harai1 ,i need scarcely add that special rites were performed in cases of accidental religious defilement1 and that any person judged to have sinned against the rules of the public cult had to submit to ceremonial purification4 ,closely related by origin to the rites of purification are sundry ascetic practices of ,shinto4 ,it is not an essentially ascetic religion3 it offers flesh and wine to its gods2 and it prescribes only such forms of self-denial as ancient custom and decency require4 ,nevertheless1 some of its votaries perform extraordinary austerities on special occasions1--austerities which always include much cold-water bathing4 ,it is not uncommon for the very fervent worshipper to invoke the gods as he stands naked under the ice-cold rush of a cataract in midwinter 4444 ,but the most curious phase of this ,shinto asceticism is represented by a custom still prevalent in remote districts4 ,according to this custom a community yearly appoints one of its citizens to devote himself wholly to the gods on behalf of the rest4 ,during the term of his consecration1 this communal representative #aej must separate from his family1 must not approach women1 must avoid all places of amusement1 must eat only food cooked with sacred fire1 must abstain from wine1 must bathe in fresh cold water several times a day1 must repeat particular prayers at certain hours1 and must keep vigil upon certain nights4 ,when he has performed these duties of abstinence and purification for the specified time1 he becomes religiously free2 and another man is then elected to take his place4 ,the prosperity of the settlement is supposed to depend upon the exact observance by its representative of the duties prescribed3 should any public misfortune occur1 he would be suspected of having broken his vows4 ,anciently1 in the case of a common misfortune1 the representative was put to death4 ,in the little town of ,mionoseki1 where ,i first learned of this custom1 the communal representative is called ichi-nen-gannushi 7one-year god-master72 and his full term of vicarious atonement is twelve months4 ,i was told that elders are usually appointed for this duty1--young men very seldom4 ,in ancient times such a communal representative was called by a name signifying abstainer4 ,references to the custom have been found in ,chinese notices of ,japan dating from a time before the beginning of ,japanese authentic history4 ,every persistent form of ancestor-worship has its #aea system or systems of divination2 and ,shinto exemplifies the general law4 ,whether divination ever obtained in ancient ,japan the official importance which it assumed among the ,greeks and the ,romans is at present doubtful4 ,but long before the introduction of ,chinese astrology1 magic1 and fortune-telling1 the ,japanese practised various kinds of divination1 as is proved by their ancient poetry1 their records1 and their rituals4 ,we find mention also of official diviners1 attached to the great cults4 ,there was divination by bones1 by birds1 by rice1 by barley-gruel1 by footprints1 by rods planted in the ground1 and by listening in public ways to the speech of people passing by4 ,nearly all--probably all--of these old methods of divination are still in popular use4 ,but the earliest form of official divination was performed by scorching the shoulder-blade of a deer1 or other animal1 and observing the cracks produced by the heat499 ,tortoise-shells were afterwards used for the same purpose4 ,diviners were especially attached1 it appears1 to the imperial palace2 and ,motowori1 writing in the latter half of the eighteenth century1 speaks of divination as still being1 in that epoch1 a part of the imperial function4 ,to the end of time1 he said1 the ,mikado is the child of the ,sun-goddess4 ,his mind is in perfect harmony of thought and feeling with hers4 ,he does not seek out new inventions2 but he rules in accordance with precedents which date from the ,age of the ,gods2 and if he is ever in doubt1 he has recourse to divination1 which reveals to him the mind of the great goddess4 99,concerning this form of divination1 ,satow remarks that it was practised by the ,mongols in the time of ,genghis ,khan1 and is still practised by the ,khirghiz ,tartars1--facts of strong interest in view of the probable origin of the early ,japanese tribes4 ,for instances of ancient official divination see ,aston's translation of the ,nihongi1 ,vol4 ,i1 pp4 #aeg1 #ahi1 #bbg1 #bii1 #bcg4 #aeb ,within historic times at least1 divination would not seem to have been much used in warfare1--certainly not to the extent that it was used by the ,greek and ,roman armies4 ,the greatest ,japanese captains1--such as ,hideyoshi and ,nobunaga--were decidedly irreverent as to omens4 ,probably the ,japanese1 at an early period of their long military history1 learned by experience that the general who conducts his campaign according to omens must always be at a hopeless disadvantage in dealing with a skilful enemy who cares nothing about omens4 ,among the ancient popular forms of divination which still survive1 the most commonly practised in households is divination by dry rice4 ,for the public1 ,chinese divination is still in great favour2 but it is interesting to observe that the ,japanese fortune-teller invariably invokes the ,shinto gods before consulting his ,chinese books1 and maintains a ,shinto shrine in his reception-room4 #aec ,we have seen that the developments of ancestor-worship in ,japan present remarkable analogies with the developments of ancestor-worship in ancient ,europe1--especially in regard to the public cult1 with its obligatory rites of purification4 ,but ,shinto seems nevertheless to represent conditions of ancestor-worship less developed than those which we are accustomed to associate with early ,greek and ,roman life2 and the coercion which it exercised appears to have been proportionally more rigid4 ,the existence of the individual worshipper was ordered not merely in relation to the family and the community1 but even in relation to inanimate things4 ,whatever his occupation might be1 some god presided over it2 whatever tools he might use1 they had to be used in such manner as tradition prescribed for all admitted to the craft-cult4 ,it was necessary that the carpenter should so perform his work as to honour the deity of carpenters1--that the smith should fulfil his daily task so as to honour the god of the bellows1--that the farmer should never fail in respect to the earth-god1 and the food-god1 and the scare-crow god1 and the spirits of the trees--about his habitation4 ,even the domestic utensils were sacred3 the servant could not dare to forget the presence of the deities of the cooking-range1 the hearth1 the cauldron1 the brazier1--or the supreme necessity of keeping the fire pure4 ,the professions1 not less #aed than the trades1 were under divine patronage3 the physician1 the teacher1 the artist--each had his religious duties to observe1 his special traditions to obey4 ,the scholar1 for example1 could not dare to treat his writing-implements with disrespect1 or put written paper to vulgar uses3 such conduct would offend the god of calligraphy4 ,nor were women ruled less religiously than men in their various occupations3 the spinners and weaving-maidens were bound to revere the ,weaving-goddess and the ,goddess of ,silkworms2 the sewing-girl was taught to respect her needles2 and in all homes there was observed a certain holiday upon which offerings were made to the ,spirits of ,needles4 ,in ,samurai families the warrior was commanded to consider his armour and his weapons as holy things3 to keep them in beautiful order was an obligation of which the neglect might bring misfortune in the time of combat2 and on certain days offerings were set before the bows and spears1 arrows and swords1 and other war-implements1 in the alcove of the family guest-room4 ,gardens1 too1 were holy2 and there were rules to be observed in their management1 lest offence should be given to the gods of trees and flowers4 ,carefulness1 cleanliness1 dustlessness1 were everywhere enforced as religious obligations4 444 ,it has often been remarked in these latter days that the ,japanese do not keep their public offices1 their railway stations1 their new factory-buildings1 #aee thus scrupulously clean4 ,but edifices built foreign style1 with foreign material1 under foreign supervision1 and contrary to every local tradition1 must seem to old-fashioned thinking ,god-forsaken places2 and servants amid such unhallowed surroundings do not feel the invisible about them1 the weight of pious custom1 the silent claim of beautiful and simple things to human respect4 #aef #aeg ,,the ,,rule ,,of ,,the ,,dead ,it should now be evident to the reader that the ethics of ,shinto were all comprised in the doctrine of unqualified obedience to customs originating1 for the most part1 in the family cult4 ,ethics were not different from religion2 religion was not different from government2 and the very word for government signified matters-of-religion4 ,all government ceremonies were preceded by prayer and sacrifice2 and from the highest rank of society to the lowest every person was subject to the law of tradition4 ,to obey was piety2 to disobey was impious2 and the rule of obedience was enforced upon each individual by the will of the community to which he belonged4 ,ancient morality consisted in the minute observance of rules of conduct regarding the household1 the community1 and the higher authority4 ,but these rules of behaviour mostly represented the outcome of social experience2 and it was scarcely possible to obey them faithfully1 and yet to remain a bad man4 ,they commanded reverence toward the ,unseen1 respect for authority1 affection to parents1 #aeh tenderness to wife and children1 kindness to neighbours1 kindness to dependants1 diligence and exactitude in labour1 thrift and cleanliness in habit4 ,though at first morality signified no more than obedience to tradition1 tradition itself gradually became identified with true morality4 ,to imagine the consequent social condition is1 of course1 somewhat difficult for the modern mind4 ,among ourselves1 religious ethics and social ethics have long been practically dissociated2 and the latter have become1 with the gradual weakening of faith1 more imperative and important than the former4 ,most of us learn1 sooner or later in life1 that it is not enough to keep the ten commandments1 and that it is much less dangerous to break most of the commandments in a quiet way than to violate social custom4 ,but in ,old ,japan there was no distinction tolerated between ethics and custom--between moral requirements and social obligations3 convention identified both1 and to conceal a breach of either was impossible1--as privacy did not exist4 ,moreover the unwritten commandments were not limited to ten2 they were numbered by hundreds1 and the least infringement was punishable1 not merely as a blunder1 but as a sin4 ,neither in his own home nor anywhere else could the ordinary person do as he pleased2 and the extraordinary person was under the surveillance of zealous dependants whose constant duty was to reprove any breach of usage4 ,the religion capable #aei of regulating every act of existence by the force of common opinion requires no catechism4 ,early moral custom must be coercive custom4 ,but as many habits1 at first painfully formed under compulsion only1 become easy through constant repetition1 and at last automatic1 so the conduct compelled through many generations by religious and civil authority1 tends eventually to become almost instinctive4 ,much depends1 no doubt1 upon the degree to which religious compulsion is hindered by exterior causes1--by long-protracted war1 for example1--and in ,old ,japan there was interference extraordinary4 ,nevertheless1 the influence of ,shinto accomplished wonderful things1--evolved a national type of character worthy1 in many ways1 of earnest admiration4 ,the ethical sentiment developed in that character differed widely from our own2 but it was exactly adapted to the social requirements4 ,for this national type of moral character was invented the name ,yamato-damashi 7or ,yamato-gokoro71--the ,soul of ,yamato 7or ,heart of ,yamato71--the appellation of the old province of ,yamato1 seat of the early emperors1 being figuratively used for the entire country4 ,we might correctly1 though less literally1 interpret the expression ,yamato-damashi as ,the ,soul of ,old ,japan4 ,it was in reference to this ,soul of ,old ,japan that the great ,shinto scholars of the eighteenth #afj and nineteenth centuries put forth their bold assertion that conscience alone was a sufficient ethical guide4 ,they declared the high quality of the ,japanese conscience a proof of the divine origin of the race4 ,human beings1 wrote ,motowori1 having been produced by the spirits of the two ,creative ,deities1 are naturally endowed with the knowledge of what they ought to do1 and of what they ought to refrain from doing4 ,it is unnecessary for them to trouble their minds with systems of morality4 ,if a system of morals were necessary1 men would be inferior to animals1--all of whom are endowed with the knowledge of what they ought to do1 only in an inferior degree to men499444 99,all of these extracts are quoted from ,satow's great essay on the ,shinto revival4 ,mabuchi1 at an earlier day1 had made a comparison between ,japanese and ,chinese morality1 greatly to the disadvantage of the latter4 ,in ancient times1 said ,mabuchi1 when men's dispositions were straightforward1 a complicated system of morals was unnecessary4 ,it would naturally happen that bad actions might be occasionally committed2 but the straightforwardness of men's dispositions would prevent the evil from being concealed and so growing in extent4 ,so in those days it was unnecessary to have a doctrine of right and wrong4 ,but the ,chinese1 being bad at heart1 in spite of the teaching which they got1 were good #afa only on the outside2 so their bad acts became of such magnitude that society was thrown into disorder4 ,the ,japanese1 being straightforward1 could do without teaching4 ,motowori repeated these ideas in a slightly different way3 ,it is because the ,japanese were truly moral in their practice1 that1 they required no theory of morals2 and the fuss made by the ,chinese about theoretical morals is owing to their laxity1 in practice4444 ,to have learned that there is no ,way ethical system to be learned and practised1 is really to have learned to practise the ,way of the ,gods4 ,at a later day ,hirata wrote ,learn to stand in awe of the ,unseen1 and that will prevent you from doing wrong4 ,cultivate the conscience implanted in you then you will never wander from the ,way4 ,though the sociologist may smile at these declarations of moral superiority 7especially as based on the assumption that the race had been better in primeval times1 when yet fresh from the hands of the gods71 there was in them a grain of truth4 ,when ,mabuchi and ,motowori wrote1 the nation had been long subjected to a discipline of almost incredible minuteness in detail1 and of extraordinary rigour in application4 ,and this discipline had actually brought into existence a wonderful average of character1--a character of surprising patience1 unselfishness1 honesty1 kindliness1 and docility combined with high courage4 ,but only the evolutionist #afb can imagine what the cost of developing that character must have been4 ,it is necessary here to observe that the discipline to which the nation had been subjected up to the age of the great ,shinto writers1 seems to have had a curious evolutional history of its own4 ,in primitive times it had been much less uniform1 less complex1 less minutely organized1 though not less implacable2 and it had continued to develop and elaborate more and more with the growth and consolidation of society1 until1 under the ,tokugawa ,shogunate the possible maximum of regulation was reached4 ,in other words1 the yoke had been made heavier and heavier in proportion to the growth of the national strength1--in proportion to the power of the people to bear it4444 ,we have seen that1 from the beginning of this civilization1 the whole life of the citizen was ordered for him3 his occupation1 his marriage1 his rights of fatherhood1 his rights to hold or to dispose of property1--all these matters were settled by religious custom4 ,we have also seen that outside as well as inside of his home1 his actions were under supervision1 and that a single grave breach of usage might cause his social ruin1--in which case he would be given to understand that he was not merely a social1 but also a religious offender2 that the communal god was angry with him2 and that to pardon his fault might #afc provoke the divine vengeance against the entire settlement4 ,but it yet remains to be seen what rights were left him by the central authority ruling his district1--which authority represented a third form of religious despotism from which there was no appeal in ordinary cases4 ,material for the study of the old laws and customs have not yet been collected in sufficient quantity to yield us full information as to the conditions of all classes before ,meiji4 ,but a great deal of precious work has been accomplished in this direction by ,american scholars2 and the labours of ,professor ,wigmore and of the late ,dr4 ,simmons have furnished documentary evidence from which much can be learned about the legal status of the masses during the ,tokugawa period4 ,this1 as ,i have said1 was the period of the most elaborated regulation4 ,the extent to which the people were controlled can be best inferred from the nature and number of the sumptuary laws to which they were subjected4 ,sumptuary laws in ,old ,japan probably exceeded in multitude and minuteness anything of which ,western legal history yields record4 ,rigidly as the family-cult dictated behaviour in the home1 strictly as the commune enforced its standards of communal duty1--just so rigidly and strictly did the rulers of the nation dictate how the individual--man1 woman1 or child--should dress1 walk1 sit1 #afd speak1 work1 eat1 drink4 ,amusements were not less unmercifully regulated than were labours4 ,every class of ,japanese society was under sumptuary regulation1--the degree of regulation varying in different centuries2 and this kind of legislation appears to have been established at an early period4 ,it is recorded that1 in the year #fha ,a4,d41 the ,emperor ,temmu regulated the costumes of all classes1--from the ,princes of the ,blood down to the common people1--and the wearing of headdresses and girdles1 as well as of all kinds of coloured stuffs1--according to a scale499 99 ,see ,nihongi ,aston's translation1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 pp4 #cdc1 #cdi1 #cej4 ,the costumes and the colours to be worn by priests and nuns had been already fixed1 by an edict issued in #fgi ,a4,d4 ,afterwards these regulations were greatly multiplied and detailed4 ,but it was under the ,tokugawa rulers1 a thousand years later1 that sumptuary laws obtained their most remarkable development2 and the nature of them is best3 indicated by the regulations applying to the peasantry4 ,every detail of the farmer's existence was prescribed for by law1--from the size1 form1 and cost of his dwelling1 down even to such trifling matters as the number and the quality of the dishes to be served to him at meal-times4 ,a farmer with an income of #ajj koku of rice--7let us say #ij to #ajj pounds per annum7--might build a house #fj feet long1 but no longer3 he was forbidden to construct it with a room containing an alcove2 and he was not #afe allowed--except by special permission--to roof it with tiles4 ,none of his family were permitted to wear silk2 and in case of the marriage of his daughter to a person legally entitled to wear silk1 the bridegroom was to be requested not to wear silk at the wedding4 ,three kinds of viands only were to be served at the wedding of such a farmer's daughter or son2 and the quality as well as the quantity of the soup1 fish1 or sweetmeats offered to the wedding-guests1 were legally fixed4 ,so likewise the number of the wedding-gifts3 even the cost of the presents1 of rice-wine and dried fish was prescribed1 and the quality of the single fan which it was permissible to offer the bride4 ,at no time was a farmer allowed to make any valuable presents to his friends4 ,at a funeral he might serve the guests with certain kinds of plain food2 but if rice-wine were served it was not to be served in wine-cups1--only in soup-cups6 7,the latter regulation probably referred to ,shinto funerals in especial47 ,on the occasion of a child's birth1 the grandparents were allowed to make only four presents 7according to custom71--including one cotton baby-dress2 and the values of the presents were fixed4 ,on the occasion of the ,boy's ,festival1 the presents to be given to the child by the whole family1 including grandparents1 were limited by law to one paper-flag1 and two toy-spears4 444 ,a farmer whose1 property was assessed at #ej koku was forbidden to #aff build a house more than #de feet long4 ,at the wedding of his daughter the gift-girdle was not to exceed #ej sen in value2 and it was forbidden to serve more than one kind of soup at the wedding-feast4444 ,a farmer with a property assessed at #bj koku was not allowed to build a house more than #cf feet long1 or to use in building it such superior qualities of wood as keyaki or hinoki4 ,the roof of his house was to be made of bamboo-thatch or straw2 and he was strictly forbidden the comfort of floor-mats4 ,on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter he was forbidden to have fish or any roasted food served at the wedding-feast4 ,the women of his family were not allowed to wear leather sandals3 they might wear only straw-sandals or wooden clogs2 and the thongs of the sandals or the clogs were to be made of cotton4 ,the women were further forbidden to wear hair-bindings of silk1 or hair-ornaments of tortoise-shells2 but they might wear wooden combs and combs of bone--not ivory4 ,the men were forbidden to wear stockings1 and their sandals were to be made of bamboo499 99,there are sandals or clogs made of bamboo-wood1 but the meaning here is bamboo-grass4 ,they were also forbidden to use sun-shades --hi-gasa--or paper-umbrellas4444 ,a farmer assessed at #aj koku was forbidden to build a house more than #cj feet long4 ,the women of his family were required to wear sandals with thongs of #afg bamboo-grass4 ,at the wedding of his son or daughter one present only was allowed1--a quilt-chest4 ,at the birth of his child one present only was to be made3 namely1 one toy-spear1 in the case of a boy2 or one paper-doll1 or one mud-doll1 in the case of a girl444 ,as for the more unfortunate class of farmers1 having no land of their own1 and officially termed mizunomi1 or water-drinkers1 it is scarcely necessary to remark that these were still more severely restricted in regard to food1 apparel1 etc4 ,they were not even allowed1 for example1 to have a quilt-chest as a wedding-present4 ,but a fair idea of the complexity of these humiliating restrictions can only be obtained by reading the documents published by ,professor ,wigmore1 which chiefly consist of paragraphs like these3-- ,the collar and the sleeve-ends of the clothes may be ornamented with silk1 and an obi 7soft girdle7 of silk or crepe-silk may be worn--but not in public4 444 ,a family ranking less than #bj koku must use the ,takeda-wan 7,takeda rice-bowl71 and the ,nikko-zen 7,nikko tray7444 7,these were utensils of the cheapest kind of lacquer-ware47 ,large farmers or chiefs of ,kumi may use umbrellas2 but small farmers and farm-labourers must use only mino 7straw-raincoats71 and broad straw-hats4 444 ,these documents published by ,professor ,wigmore contain only the regulations issued for the daimiate of ,maizuru2 but regulations equally #afh minute and vexatious appear to have been enforced throughout the whole country4 ,in ,izumo ,i found that1 prior to ,meiji1 there were sumptuary laws prescribing not only the material of the dresses to be worn by the various classes1 but even the colours of them1 and the designs of the patterns4 ,the size of rooms1 as well as the size of houses1 was fixed there by law1--also the height of buildings and of fences1 the number of windows1 the material of construction4444 ,it is difficult for the ,western mind to understand how human beings could patiently submit to laws that regulated not only the size of one's dwelling1 and the cost of its furniture1 but even the substance and character of clothing1--not only the expense of a wedding outfit1 but the quality of the marriage-feast1 and the quality of the vessels in which the food was to be served1--not only the kind of ornaments to be worn in a woman's hair1 but the material of the thongs of her sandals1--not only the price of presents to be made to friends1 but the character and the cost of the cheapest toy to be given to a child4 ,and the peculiar constitution of society made it possible to enforce this sumptuary legislation by communal will2 the people were obliged to coerce themselves6 ,each community1 as we have seen1 had been organized in groups of five or more households1 called kumi2 and the heads of the households forming a kumi elected one of their number as kumi-gashira1 or group-chief1 directly #afi responsible to the higher authority4 ,the kumi was accountable for the conduct of each and all of its members2 and each member was in some sort responsible for the rest4 ,every member of a kumi1 declares one of the documents above mentioned1 must carefully watch the conduct of his fellow-members4 ,if any one violates these regulations1 without due excuse1 he is to be punished2 and his kumi will also be held responsible4 ,responsible even for the serious offence of giving more than one paper-doll to a child6 444 ,but we should remember that in early ,greek and ,roman societies there was much legislation of a similar kind4 ,the laws of ,sparta regulated the way in which a woman should dress her hair2 the laws of ,athens fixed the number of her robes4 ,at ,rome1 in early times1 women were forbidden to drink wine2 and a similar law existed in the ,greek cities of ,miletus and ,massilia4 ,in ,rhodes and ,byzantium the citizen was forbidden to shave2 in ,sparta he was forbidden to wear a moustache4 7,i need scarcely refer to the later ,roman laws regulating the cost of marriage-feasts1 and the number of guests that might be invited to a banquet2 for this legislation was directed chiefly against luxury47 ,the astonishment evoked by ,japanese sumptuary laws1 particularly as inflicted upon the peasantry1 is justified less by their general character than by their implacable minuteness1--their ferocity of detail4444 #agj ,where a man's life was legally ordered even to the least particulars1--even to the quality of his foot-gear and head-gear1 the cost of his wife's hairpins1 and the price of his child's doll1--one could hardly suppose that freedom of speech would have been tolerated4 ,it did not exist2 and the degree to which speech became regulated can be imagined only by those who have studied the spoken tongue4 ,the hierarchical organization of society was faithfully reflected in the conventional organization of language1--in the ordination of pronouns1 nouns1 and verbs1--in the grades conferred upon adjectives by prefixes or suffixes4 ,with the same merciless exactitude which prescribed rules for dress1 diet1 and manner of life1 all utterance was regulated both negatively and positively1--but positively much more than negatively4 ,there was little insistence upon what was not to be said2 but rules innumerable decided exactly what should be said1--the word to be chosen1 the phrase to be used4 ,early training enforced caution in this regard3 everybody had to learn that only certain verbs and nouns and pronouns were lawful when addressing superiors1 and other words permissible only when speaking to equals or to inferiors4 ,even the uneducated were obliged to learn something about this4 ,but education cultivated a system of verbal etiquette so multiform that only the training of years could enable any one to master it4 ,among the #aga higher classes this etiquette developed almost inconceivable complexity4 ,grammatical modifications of language1 which1 by implication1 exalted the person addressed or humbly depreciated the person addressing1 must have come into general use at some very early period2 but under subsequent ,chinese influence these forms of propitiatory speech multiplied exceedingly4 ,from the ,mikado himself--who still makes use of personal pronouns1 or at least pronominal expressions1 forbidden to any other mortal--down through all the grades of society1 each class had an ,i peculiarly its own4 ,of terms corresponding to you or thou there are still sixteen in use2 but formerly there were many more4 ,there are yet eight different forms of the second person singular used only in addressing children1 pupils1 or servants499 ,honorific or humble forms of nouns indicating relationship were similarly multiplied and graded3 there are still in use nine terms signifying father1 nine terms signifying mother1 eleven terms for wife1 eleven terms for son1 nine terms for daughter1 and seven terms for husband4 ,the rules of the verb1 above all1 were complicated by the exigencies of etiquette to a #agb degree of which no idea can be given in any brief statement4444 ,at nineteen or twenty years of age a person carefully trained from childhood might have learned all the necessary verbal usages of respectable society2 but for a mastery of the etiquette of superior converse many more years of study and experience were required4 ,with the unceasing multiplication of ranks and classes there came into existence a corresponding variety of forms of language3 it was possible to ascertain to what class a man or a woman belonged by listening to his or to her conversation4 ,the written1 like the spoken tongue1 was regulated by strict convention3 the forms used by women were not those used by men2 and those differences in verbal etiquette arising from the different training of the sexes resulted in the creation of a special epistolary style1--a woman's language1 which remains in use4 ,and this sex-differentiation of language was not confined to letter-writing3 there was a woman's language also of converse1 varying according to class4 ,even to-day1 in ordinary conversation1 an educated woman makes use of words and phrases not employed by men4 ,samurai women especially had their particular forms of expression in feudal times2 and it is still possible to decide1 from the speech of any woman brought up according to the old home-training1 whether she belongs to a ,samurai family4 99,the sociologist will of course understand that these facts are not by any means inconsistent with that very sparing use of pronouns so amusingly discussed in ,percival ,lowell's ,soul of the ,far ,east4 ,in societies where subjection is extreme there is an avoidance of the use of personal pronouns1 though1 as ,herbert ,spencer points out in illustrating this law1 it is just among such societies that the most elaborate distinctions in pronominal forms of address are to be found4 #agc ,of course the matter as well as the manner of converse was restricted2 and the nature of the restraints upon free speech can be inferred from the nature of the restraints upon freedom of demeanour4 ,demeanour was most elaborately and mercilessly regulated1 not merely as to obeisances1 of which there were countless grades1 varying according to sex as well as class1--but even in regard to facial expression1 the manner of smiling1 the conduct of the breath1 the way of sitting1 standing1 walking1 rising4 ,everybody was trained from infancy in this etiquette of expression and deportment4 ,at what period it first became a mark of disrespect to betray1 by look or gesture1 any feeling of grief or pain in the presence of a superior1 we cannot know2 there is reason to believe that the most perfect self-control in this regard was enforced from prehistoric times4 ,but there was gradually developed--partly1 perhaps1 under ,chinese teaching--a most elaborate code of deportment which exacted very much more than impassiveness4 ,it required not only that any sense of anger or pain should be denied all outward expression1 but that the sufferer's face and manner should indicate the contrary feeling4 ,sullen submission was an offence2 mere impassive obedience inadequate3 the proper degree of submission should manifest itself by a pleasant smile1 and by a soft and happy tone of voice4 ,the smile1 however1 was also regulated4 #agd ,one had to be careful about the quality of the smile3 it was a mortal offence1 for example1 so to smile in addressing a superior1 that the back teeth could be seen4 ,in the military class especially this code of demeanour was ruthlessly enforced4 ,samurai women were required1 like the women of ,sparta1 to show signs of joy on hearing that their husbands or sons had fallen in battle3 to betray any natural feeling under the circumstances was a grave breach of decorum4 ,and in all classes demeanour was regulated so severely that even to-day the manners of the people everywhere still reveal the nature of the old discipline4 ,the strangest fact is that the old-fashioned manners appear natural rather than acquired1 instinctive rather than made by training4 ,the bow1--the sibilant in drawing of the breath which accompanies the prostration1 and is practised also in praying to the gods1--the position of the hands upon the floor in the moment of greeting or of farewell1--the way of sitting or rising or walking in presence of a guest1--the manner of receiving or presenting anything1--all these ordinary actions have a charm of seeming naturalness that mere teaching seems incapable of producing4 ,and this is still more true of the higher etiquette1--the exquisite etiquette of the old-time training in cultivated classes1 --particularly as displayed by women4 ,we must suppose that the capacity to acquire such manners depends considerably upon inheritance1--that it could only have #age been formed by the past experience of the race under discipline4 ,what such discipline1 as regards politeness1 must have signified for the mass of the people1 may be inferred from the enactment of ,iyeyasu authorizing a ,samurai to kill any person of the three inferior classes guilty of rudeness4 ,be it observed that ,iyeyasu was careful to qualify the meaning of rude3 he said that the ,japanese term for a rude fellow signified an other-than-expected person--so that to commit an offence worthy of death it was only necessary to act in an unexpected manner2 that is to say1 contrary to prescribed etiquette3-- ,the ,samurai are the masters of the four classes4 ,agriculturists1 artizans1 and merchants may not behave in a rude manner towards ,samurai4 ,the term for a rude man is an 'other-than-expected fellow'2 and a ,samurai is not to be interfered with in cutting down a fellow who has behaved to him in a manner other than is expected4 ,the ,samurai are grouped into direct retainers1 secondary retainers1 and nobles and retainers of high and low grade2 but the same line of conduct is equally allowable to them all towards an other-than-expected fellow4--,art4 #de4 ,but there is little reason to suppose that ,iyeyasu created any new privilege of slaughter3 he probably did no more than confirm by enactment certain long established military rights4 ,stern rules about the conduct of inferiors to superiors would seem to have been pitilessly enforced long before the rise of the #agf military power4 ,we read that the ,emperor ,yuriaku1 in the latter part of the fifth century1 killed a steward for the misdemeanour of remaining silent1 through fear1 when spoken to3 we also find it recorded that he struck down a maid-of-honour who had brought him a cup of wine1 and that he would have cut off her head but for the extraordinary presence of mind which enabled her to improvise a poetical appeal for mercy4 ,her only fault had been that1 in carrying the wine-cup1 she failed to notice that a leaf had fallen into it1--probably because court-custom obliged her to carry the cup in such a way as not to breathe upon it2 for emperors and high nobles were served after the manner of gods4 ,it is true that ,yuriaku was in the habit of killing people for little mistakes2 but it is evident that1 in the cases cited1 such mistakes were regarded as breaches of long-established decorum4 ,probably before as well as after the introduction of the ,chinese penal codes1--the so-called ,ming and ,tsing codes1 by which the country was ruled under the ,shoguns1--the bulk of the nation was literally under the rod4 ,common folk were punished by cruel whippings for the most trifling offences4 ,for serious offences1 death by torture was an ordinary penalty2 and there were extraordinary penalties as savage1 or almost as savage1 as those established during our own medieval period1--#agg burnings and crucifixions and quarterings and boiling alive in oil4 ,the documents regulating the life of village-folk do not contain any indication of the severity of legal discipline3 the ,kumi-cho declarations that such and such conduct shall be punished suggest nothing terrible to the reader who has not made himself familiar with the ancient codes4 ,as a matter of fact the term punishment in a ,japanese legal document might1 signify anything from a trifling fine up to burning alive4444 ,some evidence of the severity used to repress quarrelling even as late as the time of ,iyeyasu1 may be found in a curious letter of ,captain ,saris1 who visited ,japan in #afac4 ,the first of ,july1 wrote the ,captain1 two of our ,company happened to quarrell the one with the other1 and were very likely to haue gone into the field i4e4 to have fought a duel to the endangering of vs all4 ,for it is a custome here that whosoever drawes a weapon in anger1 although he do noe harme therewith1 hee is presently cut in peeces2 and1 doing but small hurt1 not only themselues are so executed1 but their whole generation4 444 ,the literal meaning of cut in peeces he explains later on1 when recounting in the same letter an execution that came under his observation3-- ,the eighth1 three ,iaponians were executed1 viz41 two men and one woman3 the cause this1--the woman1 none of the honestest 7her husband being trauelled from home7 #agh had appointed these two their several hours to repair vnto her4 ,the latter man1 not knowing of the former1 and comming in before the houre appointed1 found the first man1 and enraged thereat1 he whipped out his cattan katana and wounded both of them very sorely1--hauing very neere hewn the chine of the mans back in two4 ,but as well as hee might he cleared himselfe1 and recouering his cattan1 wounded the other4 ,the street1 taking notice of the fray1 forthwith seased vpon them1 led them aside1 and acquainted ,king ,foyne therewith1 and sent to know his pleasure1 7for according to his will1 the partie is executed71 who presently gaue order that they should cut off their heads3 which done1 euery man that listed 7as very many did7 came to try the sharpness of their cattans vpon the corps1 so that1 before they left off1 they had hewne them all three into peeces as small as a mans hand1--and yet notwithstanding1 did not then giue over1 but1 placing the peeces one vpon another1 would try how many of them they could strike through at a blow2 and the peeces are left to the fowles to deuoure4 4444 ,evidently the execution was in this case ordered for cause more serious than the offence of fighting2 but it is true that quarrels were strictly forbidden and rigorously punished4 ,though privileged to cut down other-than-expected people of inferior rank1 the military class itself had to endure a discipline even more severe than that which it maintained4 ,the penalty for a word or a look that displeased1 or for a trifling mistake in performance of duty1 might be death4 ,in #agi most cases the ,samurai was permitted to be his own executioner2 and the right of self-destruction was deemed a privilege2 but the obligation to thrust a dagger deeply into one's belly on the left side1 and then draw the blade slowly and steadily across to the right side1 so as to sever all the entrails1 was certainly not less cruel than the vulgar punishment of crucifixion1 or rather1 double-transfixion4 ,just as all matters relating to the manner of the individual's life were regulated by law1 so were all matters relating to his death1--the quality of his coffin1 the expenses of his interment1 the order of his funeral1 the form of his tomb4 ,in the seventh century laws were passed to the effect that no one should be buried with unseemly expense2 and these laws fixed the cost of funerals according to rank and grade4 ,subsequent edicts decided the dimensions and material of coffins1 and the size of graves4 ,in the eighth century every detail of funerals1 for all classes of persons from prince to peasant1 was fixed by decree4 ,other laws1 and modifications of laws1 were made upon the subject in later centuries2 but there appears to have always been a general tendency to extravagance in the matter of funerals1--a tendency so strong that1 in spite of centuries of sumptuary legislation1 it remains to-day a social danger4 ,this can easily be understood if we remember the beliefs regarding duty to the dead1 and the consequent #ahj desire to honour and to please the spirit even at the risk of family impoverishment4 ,most of the legislation to which reference has already been made must appear to modern minds tyrannical2 and some of the regulations seem to us strangely cruel4 ,there was1 moreover1 no way of evading or shirking these obligations of law and custom3 whoever failed to fulfil them was doomed to perish or to become an outcast2 implicit obedience was the condition of survival4 ,the tendency of such regulation was necessarily to suppress all mental and moral differentiation1 to numb personality1 to establish one uniform and unchanging type of character2 and such was the actual result4 ,to this day every ,japanese mind reveals the lines of that antique mould by which the ancestral mind was compressed and limited4 ,it is impossible to understand ,japanese psychology without knowing something of the laws that helped to form it1--or1 rather1 to crystallize it under pressure4 ,yet1 on the other hand1 the ethical effects of this iron discipline were unquestionably excellent4 ,it compelled each succeeding generation to practise the frugality of the forefathers2 and that--compulsion was partly justified by the great poverty of the nation4 ,it reduced the cost of living to a figure far below our ,western comprehension of the necessary2 it cultivated sobriety1 simplicity1 economy2 it enforced #aha cleanliness1 courtesy1 and hardihood4 ,and--strange as the fact may seem--it did not make the people miserable3 they found the world beautiful in spite of all their trouble2 and the happiness of the old life was reflected in the old ,japanese art1 much as the joyousness of ,greek life yet laughs to us from the vase-designs of forgotten painters4 ,and the explanation is not difficult4 ,we must remember that the coercion was not exercised only from without3 it was really maintained from within4 ,the discipline of the race was self-imposed4 ,the people had gradually created their own social conditions1 and therefore the legislation conserving those conditions2 and they believed that legislation the best possible4 ,they believed it to be the best possible for the excellent reason that it had been founded upon their own moral experience2 and they could greatly endure because they had great faith4 ,only religion could have enabled any people to bear such discipline without degenerating into mopes and cowards2 and the ,japanese never so degenerated3 the traditions that compelled self-denial and obedience1 also cultivated courage1 and insisted upon cheerfulness4 ,the power of the ruler was unlimited because the power of all the dead supported him4 ,laws1 says ,herbert ,spencer1 whether written or unwritten1 formulate the rule of the dead over the living4 ,in addition to that power which past generations exercise over present generations1 by transmitting #ahb their natures1--bodily and mental1--and in addition to the power they exercise over them by bequeathed habits and modes of life1 there is the power they exercise through their regulations for public conduct1 handed down orally1 or in writing4444 ,i emphasize these truths1--he adds1--for the purpose of showing that they imply a tacit ancestor-worship4 444 ,of no other laws in the history of human civilization are these observations more true than of the laws of ,old ,japan4 ,most strikingly did they formulate the rule of the dead over the living4 ,and the hand of the dead was heavy3 it is heavy upon the living even to-day4 #ahc ,,the ,,introduction ,,of ,,buddhism ,the nature of the opposition which the ancient religion of ,japan could offer to the introduction of any hostile alien creed1 should now be obvious4 ,the family being founded upon ancestor-worship1 the commune being regulated by ancestor-worship1 the clan-group or tribe being governed by ancestor-worship1 and the ,supreme ,ruler being at once the high-priest and deity of an ancestral cult which united all the other cults in one common tradition1 it must be evident that the promulgation of any religion essentially opposed to ,shinto would have signified nothing less than an attack upon the whole system of society4 ,considering these circumstances1 it may well seem strange that ,buddhism should have succeeded1 after some preliminary struggles 7which included one bloody battle71 in getting itself accepted as a second national faith4 ,but although the original ,buddhist doctrine was essentially in disaccord with ,shinto beliefs1 ,buddhism had learned in ,india1 in ,china1 in ,korea1 and in divers adjacent countries1 how to meet the spiritual needs of peoples maintaining a persistent ancestor-worship4 #ahd ,intolerance of ancestor-worship would have long1 ago resulted in the extinction of ,buddhism2 for its vast conquests have all been made among ancestor-worshipping races4 ,neither in ,india nor in ,china nor in ,korea1--neither in ,siam nor ,burmah nor ,annam1--did it attempt to extinguish ancestor-worship1 ,everywhere it made itself accepted as an ally1 nowhere as an enemy1 of social custom4 ,in ,japan it adopted the same policy which had secured its progress on the continent2 and in order to form any clear conception of ,japanese religious conditions1 this fact must be kept in mind4 ,as the oldest extant ,japanese texts--with the probable exception of some ,shinto rituals--date from the eighth century1 it is only possible to surmise the social conditions of that earlier epoch in which there was no form of religion but ancestor-worship4 ,only by imagining the absence of all ,chinese and ,korean influences1 can we form some vague idea of the state of things which existed during the so-called ,age of the ,gods1--and it is difficult to decide at what period these influences began to operate4 ,confucianism appears to have preceded ,buddhism by a considerable interval2 and its progress1 as an organizing power1 was much more rapid4 ,buddhism was first introduced from ,korea1 about #eeb ,a4,d42 but the mission accomplished little4 ,by the end of the eighth century #ahe the whole fabric of ,japanese administration had been reorganized upon the ,chinese plan1 under ,confucian influence2 but it was not until well into the ninth century that ,buddhism really began to spread throughout the country4 ,eventually it over-shadowed the national life1 and coloured all the national thought4 ,yet the extraordinary conservatism of the ancient ancestor-cult--its inherent power of resisting fusion--was exemplified by the readiness with which the two religions fell apart on the disestablishment of ,buddhism in #ahga4 ,after having been literally overlaid by ,buddhism for nearly a thousand years1 ,shinto immediately reassumed its archaic simplicity1 and reestablished the unaltered forms of its earliest rites4 ,but the attempt of ,buddhism to absorb ,shinto seemed at one period to have almost succeeded4 ,the method of the absorption is said to have been devised1 about the year #hjj1 by the famous founder of the ,shingon sect1 ,kukai or ,kobodaishi 7as he is popularly called71 who first declared the higher ,shinto gods to be incarnations of various ,buddhas4 ,but in this matter1 of course1 ,kobodaishi was merely following precedents of ,buddhist policy4 ,under the name of ,ryobu-,shinto199 the new compound of ,shinto and ,buddhism obtained imperial approval and support4 99,the term ,ryobu signifies two-departments or two religions4 ,thereafter1 in hundreds of #ahf places1 the two religions were domiciled within the same precinct--sometimes even within the same building3 they seemed to have been veritably amalgamated4 ,and nevertheless there was no real fusion2--after ten centuries of such contact they separated again1 as lightly as if they had never touched4 ,it was only in the domestic form of the ancestor-cult that ,buddhism really affected permanent modifications2 yet even these were neither fundamental nor universal4 ,in certain provinces they were not made2 and almost everywhere a considerable part of the population preferred to follow the ,shinto form of the ancestor-cult4 ,yet another large class of persons1 converts to ,buddhism1 continued to profess the older creed as well2 and1 while practising their ancestor-worship according to the ,buddhist rite1 maintained separately also the domestic worship of the elder gods4 ,in most ,japanese houses to-day1 the god-shelf and the ,buddhist shrine can both be found2 both cults being maintained under the same roof499 444 ,but ,i am mentioning these facts only as illustrating the conservative vitality of ,shinto1 not as indicating any weakness in the ,buddhist propaganda4 ,unquestionably the influence which ,buddhism exerted upon ,japanese #ahg civilization was immense1 profound1 multiform1 incalculable2 and the only wonder is that it should not have been able to stifle ,shinto forever4 ,to state1 as various writers have carelessly stated1 that ,buddhism became the popular religion1 while ,shinto remained the official religion1 is altogether misleading4 ,as a matter of fact ,buddhism became as much an official religion as ,shinto itself1 and influenced the lives of the highest classes not less than the lives of the poor4 ,it made monks of ,emperors1 and nuns of their daughters2 it decided the conduct of rulers1 the nature of decrees1 and the administration of laws4 ,in every community the ,buddhist parish-priest was a public official as well as a spiritual teacher3 he kept the parish register1 and made report to the authorities upon local matters of importance4 99,the ancestor-worship and the funeral rites are ,buddhist1 as a general rule1 if the family be ,buddhist2 but the ,shinto gods are also worshipped in most ,buddhist households1 except those attached to the ,shin sect4 ,many followers of even the ,shin sect1 however1 appear to follow the ancient religion likewise2 and they have their ,ujigami4 ,by introducing the love of learning1 ,confucianism had partly prepared the way for ,buddhism4 ,as early even as the first century there were some ,chinese scholars in ,japan2 but it was toward the close of the third century that the study of ,chinese literature first really became fashionable among the ruling classes4 ,confucianism1 however1 did not represent a new religion3 it was a system of ethical teachings founded upon an ancestor-worship much like that of ,japan4 ,what it had to offer was a kind of social philosophy1--an explanation of the #ahh eternal reason of things4 ,it reinforced and expanded the doctrine of filial piety2 it regulated and elaborated preexisting ceremonial2 and it systematized all the ethics of government4 ,in the education of the ruling classes it became a great power1 and has so remained down to the present day4 ,its doctrines were humane1 in the best meaning of the word2 and striking evidence of its humanizing effect on government policy may be found in the laws and the maxims of that wisest of ,japanese rulers--,iyeyasu4 ,but the religion of the ,buddha brought to ,japan another and a wider humanizing influence1--a new gospel of tenderness1--together with a multitude of new beliefs that were able to accommodate themselves to the old1 in spite of fundamental dissimilarity4 ,in the highest meaning of the term1 it was a civilizing power4 ,besides teaching new respect for life1 the duty of kindness to animals as well as to all human beings1 the consequence of present acts upon the conditions of a future existence1 the duty of resignation to pain as the inevitable result of forgotten error1 it actually gave to ,japan the arts and the industries of ,china4 ,architecture1 painting1 sculpture1 engraving1 printing1 gardening--in short1 every art and industry that helped to make life beautiful--developed first in ,japan under ,buddhist teaching4 ,there are many forms of ,buddhism2 and in #ahi modern ,japan there are twelve principal ,buddhist sects2 but1 for present purposes1 it will be enough to speak1 in the most general way1 of popular ,buddhism only1 as distinguished from philosophical ,buddhism1 which ,i shall touch upon in a subsequent chapter4 ,the higher ,buddhism could not1 at any time or in any country1 have had a large popular following2 and it is a mistake to suppose that its particular doctrines--such as the doctrine of ,nirvana--were taught to the common people4 ,only such forms of doctrine were preached as could be made intelligible and attractive to very simple minds4 ,there is a ,buddhist proverb3 ,first observe the person2 then preach the ,law1--that is to say1 ,adapt your instruction to the capacity of the listener4 ,in ,japan1 as in ,china1 ,buddhism had to adapt its instruction to the mental capacity of large classes of people yet unaccustomed to abstract ideas4 ,even to this day the masses do not know so much as the meaning of the word ,nirvana 7,nehan73 they have been taught only the simpler forms of the religion2 and in dwelling upon these1 it will be needless to consider differences of sect and dogma4 ,to appreciate the direct influence of ,buddhist teaching upon the minds of the common people1 we must remember that in ,shinto there was no doctrine of metempsychosis4 ,as ,i have said before1 the spirits of the dead1 according to ancient ,japanese thinking1 continued to exist in the world3 they #aij mingled somehow with the viewless forces of nature1 and acted through them4 ,everything happened by the agency of these spirits--evil or good4 ,those who had been wicked in life remained wicked after death2 those who had been good in life became good gods after death2 but all were to be propitiated4 ,no idea of future reward or punishment existed before the coming of ,buddhism3 there was no notion of any heaven or hell4 ,the happiness of ghosts and gods alike was supposed to depend upon the worship and the offerings of the living4 ,with these ancient beliefs ,buddhism attempted to interfere only by expanding and expounding them1--by interpreting them in a totally new light4 ,modifications were effected1 but no suppressions3 we might even say that ,buddhism accepted the whole body of the old beliefs4 ,it was true1 the new teaching declared1 that the dead continued to exist invisibly2 and it was not wrong to suppose that they became divinities1 since all of them were destined1 sooner or later1 to enter upon the way to ,buddhahood--the divine condition4 ,buddhism acknowledged likewise the greater gods of ,shinto1 with all their attributes and dignities1--declaring them incarnations of ,buddhas or ,bodhisattvas3 thus the goddess of the sun was identified with ,dai-,nichi-,nyorai 7the ,tathagata ,mahavairokana72 the deity ,hachiman was identified with ,amida 7,amitabha74 ,nor did ,buddhism deny the existence of goblins #aia and evil gods3 these were identified with the ,pretas and the ,merakayikas2 and the ,japanese popular term for goblin1 ,ma1 to-day reminds us of this identification4 ,as for wicked ghosts1 they were to be thought of as ,pretas only1--,gaki1--self-doomed by the errors of former lives to the ,circle of ,perpetual ,hunger4 ,the ancient sacrifices to the various gods of disease and pestilence--gods of fever1 small-pox1 dysentery1 consumption1 coughs1 and colds--were continued with ,buddhist approval2 but converts were bidden to consider such maleficent beings as ,pretas1 and to present them with only such food-offerings as are bestowed upon ,pretas--not for propitiation1 but for the purpose of relieving ghostly pain4 ,in this case1 as in the case of the ancestral spirits1 ,buddhism prescribed that the prayers to be repeated were to be said for the sake of the haunters1 rather than to them4444 ,the reader may be reminded of the fact that ,roman ,catholicism1 by making a similar provision1 still practically tolerates a continuance of the ancient ,european ancestor-worship4 ,and we cannot consider that worship extinct in any of those ,western countries where the peasants still feast their dead upon the ,night of ,all ,souls4 ,buddhism1 however1 did more than tolerate the old rites4 ,it cultivated and elaborated them4 ,under its teaching a new and beautiful form of the domestic cult came into existence2 and all the #aib touching poetry of ancestor-worship in modern ,japan can be traced to the teaching of the ,buddhist missionaries4 ,though ceasing to regard their dead as gods in the ancient sense1 the ,japanese converts were encouraged to believe in their presence1 and to address them in terms of reverence and affection4 ,it is worthy of remark that the doctrine of ,pretas gave new force to the ancient fear of neglecting the domestic rites4 ,ghosts unloved might not become evil gods in the ,shinto meaning of the term2 but the malevolent ,gaki was even more to be dreaded than the malevolent ,kami1--for ,buddhism defined in appalling ways the nature of the ,gaki's power to harm4 ,in various ,buddhist funeral-rites1 the dead are actually addressed as ,gaki1--beings to be pitied but also to be feared1--much needing human sympathy and succour1 but able to recompense the food-giver by ghostly help4 ,one particular attraction of ,buddhist teaching was its simple and ingenious interpretation of nature4 ,countless matters which ,shinto had never attempted to explain1 and could not have explained1 ,buddhism expounded in detail1 with much apparent consistency4 ,its explanations of the mysteries of birth1 life1 and death were at once consoling to pure minds1 and wholesomely discomforting to bad consciences4 ,it taught that the dead were happy or unhappy not directly because of the attention or the #aic neglect shown them by the living1 but because of their past conduct while in the body499 ,it did not attempt to teach the higher doctrine of successive rebirths1--which the people could not possibly have understood1--but the merely symbolic doctrine of transmigration1 which everybody could understand4 ,to die was not to melt back into nature1 but to be reincarnated2 and the character of the new body1 as well as the conditions of the new existence1 would depend upon the quality of one's deeds and thoughts in the present body4 ,all states and conditions of being were the consequence of past actions4 ,such a man was now rich and powerful1 because in previous lives he had been generous and kindly2 such another man was now sickly and poor1 because in some previous existence he had been sensual and selfish4 ,this woman was happy in her husband and her children1 because in the time of a former birth she had proved herself a loving daughter and a faithful spouse2 this other was wretched and childless1 because in some anterior existence she had been a jealous wife and a cruel mother4 ,to hate your enemy1 the ,buddhist preacher would proclaim1 is #aid foolish as well as wrong3 he is now your enemy only because of some treachery that you practised upon him in a previous life1 when he desired to be your friend4 ,resign yourself to the injury which he now does you accept it as the expiation of your forgotten fault444 ,the girl whom you hoped to marry has been refused you by her parents1--given away to another4 ,but once1 in another existence1 she was yours by promise2 and you broke the pledge then given4444 ,painful indeed the loss of your child2 but this loss is the consequence of having1 in some former life1 refused affection where affection was due4444 ,maimed by mishap1 you can no longer earn your living as before4 ,yet this mishap is really due to the fact that in some previous existence you wantonly inflicted bodily injury4 ,now the evil of your own act has returned upon you3 repent of your crime1 and pray that its ,karma may be exhausted by this present suffering4 444 ,all the sorrows of men were thus explained and consoled4 ,life was expounded as representing but one stage of a measureless journey1 whose way stretched back through all the night of the past1 and forward through all the mystery of the future1--out of eternities forgotten into the eternities to be2 and the world itself was to be thought of only as a traveller's resting-place1 an inn by the roadside4 99,the reader will doubtless wonder how ,buddhism could reconcile its doctrine of successive rebirths with the ideas of ancestor-worship1 ,if one died only to be born again1 what could be the use of offering food or addressing any kind of prayer to the reincarnated spirit8 ,this difficulty was met by the teaching that the dead were not immediately reborn in most cases1 but entered into a particular condition called ,chu-,u4 ,they might remain in this disembodied condition for the time of one hundred years1 after which they were reincarnated4 ,the ,buddhist services for the dead are consequently limited to the time of one hundred years4 ,instead of preaching to the people about ,nirvana1 #aie ,buddhism discoursed to them of blisses to be won and pains to be avoided3 the ,paradise of ,amida1 ,lord of ,immeasurable ,light2 the eight hot hells called ,to-kwatsu1 and the eight icy hells called ,abuda4 ,on the subject of future punishment the teaching was very horrible3 ,i should advise no one of delicate nerves to read the ,japanese1 or rather the ,chinese accounts of hell4 ,but hell was the penalty for supreme wickedness only3 it was not eternal2 and the demons themselves would at last be saved4444 ,heaven was to be the reward of good deeds3 the reward might indeed be delayed1 through many successive rebirths1 by reason of lingering ,karma2 but1 on the other hand1 it might be attained by virtue of a single holy act in this present life4 ,besides1 prior to the period of supreme reward1 each succeeding rebirth could be made happier than the preceding one by persistent effort in the holy ,way4 ,even as regarded conditions in this transitory world1 the results of virtuous conduct were not to be despised4 ,the beggar of to-day might to-morrow be reborn in the palace of a daimyo2 the blind shampooer might become1 in his very next life1 an imperial minister4 ,always the recompense would be proportionate to the sum of merit4 ,in this lower world to practise the highest virtue was difficult2 and the great rewards were hard to win4 ,but for all good deeds a recompense was sure2 and there was no one who could not acquire merit4 #aif ,even the ,shinto doctrine of conscience--the god-given sense of right and wrong--was not denied by ,buddhism4 ,but this conscience was interpreted as the essential wisdom of the ,buddha dormant in every human creature1--wisdom darkened by ignorance1 clogged by desire1 fettered by ,karma1 but destined sooner or later to fully awaken1 and to flood the mind with light4 ,it would seem that the ,buddhist teaching of the duty of kindness to all living creatures1 and of pity for all suffering1 had a powerful effect upon national habit and custom1 long before the new religion found general acceptance4 ,as early as the year #fge1 a decree was issued by the ,emperor ,temmu forbidding the people to eat the flesh of kine1 horses1 dogs1 monkeys1 or barn-door fowls1 and prohibiting the use of traps or the making of pitfalls in catching game499 99,see ,aston's translation of the ,nihongi1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #cbi4 ,the fact that all kinds of flesh-meat were not forbidden is probably explained by this ,emperor's zeal for the maintenance of both creeds2--an absolute prohibition might have interfered with ,shinto usages1 and would certainly have been incompatible with ,shinto traditions4 ,but1 although fish never ceased to be an article of food for the laity1 we may say that from about this time the mass of the nation abandoned its habits of diet1 and forswore the eating of meat1 in accordance with #aig ,buddhist teaching4444 ,this teaching was based upon the doctrine of the unity of all sentient existence4 ,buddhism explained the whole visible world by its doctrine of ,karma1--simplifying that doctrine so as to adapt it to popular comprehension4 ,the forms of all creatures1--bird1 reptile1 or mammal2 insect or fish1--represented only different results of ,karma3 the ghostly life in each was one and the same2 and1 in even the lowest1 some spark of the divine existed4 ,the frog or the serpent1 the bird or the bat1 the ox or the horse1--all had had1 at some past time1 the privilege of human 7perhaps even superhuman7 shape3 their present conditions represented only the consequence of ancient faults4 ,any human being also1 by reason of like faults1 might hereafter be reduced to the same dumb state1--might be reborn as a reptile1 a fish1 a bird1 or a beast of burden4 ,the consequence of wanton cruelty to any animal might cause the perpetrator of that cruelty to be reborn as an animal of the same kind1 destined to suffer the same cruel treatment4 ,who could even be sure that the goaded ox1 the over-driven horse1 or the slaughtered bird1 had not formerly been a human being of closest kin1--ancestor1 parent1 brother1 sister1 or child8 444 ,not by words only were all these things taught4 ,it should be remembered that ,shinto had no art3 its ghost-houses1 silent and void1 were not even #aih decorated4 ,but ,buddhism brought in its train all the arts of carving1 painting1 and decoration4 ,the images of its ,bodhisattvas1 smiling in gold1--the figures of its heavenly guardians and infernal judges1 its feminine angels and monstrous demons1--must have startled and amazed imaginations yet unaccustomed to any kind of art4 ,great paintings hung in the temples1 and frescoes limned upon their walls or ceilings1 explained better than words the doctrine of the ,six ,states of ,existence1 and the dogma of future rewards and punishments4 ,in rows of kakemono1 suspended side by side1 were displayed the incidents of a ,soul's journey to the realm of judgment1 and all the horrors of the various hells4 ,one pictured the ghosts of faithless wives1 for ages doomed to pluck1 with bleeding fingers1 the rasping bamboo-grass that grows by the ,springs of ,death2 another showed the torment of the slanderer1 whose tongue was torn by demon-pincers2 in a third appeared the spectres of lustful men1 vainly seeking to flee the embraces of women of fire1 or climbing1 in frenzied terror1 the slopes of the ,mountain of ,swords4 ,pictured also were the circles of the ,preta-world1 and the pangs of the ,hungry ,ghosts1 and likewise the pains of rebirth in the form of reptiles and of beasts4 ,and the art of these early representations--many of which have been preserved--was an art of no mean order4 ,we can hardly conceive the effect upon inexperienced imagination of the crimson frown of ,emma #aii 7,yama71 ,judge of the dead1--or the vision of that weird ,mirror which reflected1 to every spirit the misdeeds of its life in the body1--or the monstrous fancy of that double-faced ,head before the judgment seat1 representing the visage of the woman ,mirume1 whose eyes behold all secret sin2 and the vision of the man ,kaguhana1 who smells all odours of evil-doing4444 ,parental affection must have been deeply touched by the painted legend of the world of children's ghosts1--the little ghosts that must toil1 under demon-surveillance1 in the ,dry ,bed of the ,river of ,souls4444 ,but pictured terrors were offset by pictured consolations1--by the beautiful figure of ,kwannon1 white ,goddess of ,mercy1--by the compassionate smile of ,jizo1 the playmate of infant-ghosts1--by the charm also of celestial nymphs1 floating on iridescent wings in light of azure4 ,the ,buddhist painter opened to simple fancy the palaces of heaven1 and guided hope1 through gardens of jewel-trees1 even to the shores of that lake where the souls of the blessed are reborn in lotos-blossoms1 and tended by angel-nurses4 ,moreover1 for people accustomed only to such simple architecture as that of the ,shinto miya1 the new temples erected by the ,buddhist priests must have been astonishments4 ,the colossal ,chinese gates1 guarded by giant statues2 the lions and lanterns of bronze and stone2 the enormous suspended #bjj bells1 sounded by swinging-beams2 the swarming of dragon-shapes under the caves of the vast roofs2 the glimmering splendour of the altars2 the ceremonial likewise1 with its chanting and its incense-burning and its weird ,chinese music1--cannot have failed to inspire the wonder-loving with delight and awe4 ,it is a noteworthy fact that the earliest ,buddhist temples in ,japan still remain1 even to ,western eyes1 the most impressive4 ,the ,temple of the ,four ,deva ,kings at ,osaka--which1 though more than once rebuilt1 preserves the original plan--dates from #fjj ,a4,d42 the yet more remarkable temple called ,horyuji1 near ,nara1 dates from about the year #fjg4 ,of course the famous paintings and the great statues could be seen at the temples only2 but the ,buddhist image-makers soon began to people even the most desolate places with stone images of ,buddhas and of ,bodhisattvas4 ,then first were made those icons of ,jizo1 which still smile upon the traveller from every roadside1--and the images of ,koshin1 protector of highways1 with his three symbolic ,apes1--and the figure of that ,bato-,kwannon1 who protects the horses of the peasant1--with other figures in whose rude but impressive art suggestions of ,indian origin are yet recognizable4 ,gradually the graveyards became thronged with dreaming ,buddhas or ,bodhisattvas1--holy guardians of the dead1 throned upon lotos-flowers of #bja stone1 and smiling with closed eyes the smile of the ,calm ,supreme4 ,in the cities everywhere ,buddhist sculptors opened shops1 to furnish pious households with images of the chief divinities worshipped by the various ,buddhist sects2 and the makers of ihai1 or ,buddhist mortuary tablets1 as well as the makers of household shrines1 multiplied and prospered4 ,meanwhile the people were left free to worship their ancestors according to either creed2 and if a majority eventually gave preference to the ,buddhist rite1 this preference was due in large measure to the peculiar emotional charm which ,buddhism had infused into the cult4 ,except in minor details1 the two rites differed scarcely at all2 and there was no conflict whatever between the old ideas of filial piety and the ,buddhist ideas attaching to the new ancestor-worship1 ,buddhism taught that the dead might be helped and made happier by prayer1 and that much ghostly comfort could be given them by food-offerings4 ,they were not to be offered flesh or wine2 but it was proper to gratify them with fruits and rice and cakes and flowers and the smoke of incense4 ,besides1 even the simplest food-offerings might be transmuted1 by force of prayer1 into celestial nectar and ambrosia4 ,but what especially helped the new ancestor-cult to popular favour1 was the fact that it included many beautiful and touching customs not known to the old4 ,everywhere #bjb the people soon learned to kindle the hundred and eight fires of welcome for the annual visit of their dead1--to supply the spirits with little figures made of straw1 or made out of vegetables1 to-serve for oxen or horses199--also to prepare the ghost-ships 7shoryobune71 in which the souls of the ancestors were to return1 over the sea1 to their under-world4 ,then too were instituted the ,bon-odori1 or ,dances of the ,festival of the ,dead19999 and the custom of suspending white lanterns at graves1 and coloured lanterns at house-gates1 to light the coining and the going of the visiting dead4 99,an eggplant1 with four pegs of wood stuck into it1 to represent legs1 usually stands for an ox2 and a cucumber1 with four pegs1 serves for a horse4444 ,one is reminded of the fact that1 at some of the ancient ,greek sacrifices1 similar substitutes for real animals were used4 ,in the worship of ,apollo1 at ,thebes1 apples with wooden pegs stuck into them1 to represent feet and horns1 were offered as substitutes for sheep4 9999,the dances themselves--very curious and very attractive to witness--are much older than ,buddhism2 but ,buddhism made them a feature of the festival referred to1 which lasts for three days4 ,no person who has not witnessed a ,bon-odori can form the least idea of what ,japanese dancing means3 it is something utterly different from what usually goes by the name1--something indescribably archaic1 weird1 and nevertheless fascinating4 ,i have repeatedly sat up all night to watch the peasants dancing4 ,japanese dancing girls1 be it observed1 do not dance3 they pose4 ,the peasants dance4 ,but perhaps the greatest value of ,buddhism to the nation was educational4 ,the ,shinto priests were not teachers4 ,in early times they were mostly aristocrats1 religious representatives of the clans2 and the idea of educating the common people could not even have occurred to them4 ,buddhism1 on #bjc the other hand1 offered the boon of education to all1--not merely a religious education1 but an education in the arts and the learning of ,china4 ,the ,buddhist temples eventually became common schools1 or had schools attached to them2 and at each parish temple the children of the community were taught1 at a merely nominal cost1 the doctrines of the faith1 the wisdom of the ,chinese classics1 calligraphy1 drawing1 and much besides4 ,by degrees the education of almost the whole nation came under ,buddhist control2 and the moral effect was of the best4 ,for the military class indeed there was another and special system of education2 but ,samurai scholars sought to perfect their knowledge under ,buddhist teachers of renown2 and the imperial household itself employed ,buddhist instructors4 ,for the common people everywhere the ,buddhist priest was the schoolmaster2 and by virtue of his occupation as teacher1 not less than by reason of his religious office1 he ranked with the samurai4 ,much of what remains most attractive1 in ,japanese character--the winning and graceful aspects of it--seems to have been developed under ,buddhist training4 ,it was natural enough that to his functions of public instructor1 the ,buddhist priest should have added those of a public registrar4 ,until the period of disendowment1 the ,buddhist clergy remained1 throughout the country1 public as well as religious officials4 ,they kept the parish records1 and furnished #bjd at need certificates of birth1 death1 or family descent4 ,to give any just conception of the immense civilizing influence which ,buddhism exerted in ,japan would require many volumes4 ,even to summarize the results of that influence by stating only the most general facts1 is scarcely possible1--for no general statement can embody the whole truth of the work accomplished4 ,as a moral force1 ,buddhism strengthened authority and cultivated submission1 by its capacity to inspire larger hopes and fears than the more ancient religion could create4 ,as teacher1 it educated the race1 from the highest to the humblest1 both in ethics and in esthetics4 ,all that can be classed under the name of art in ,japan was either introduced or developed by ,buddhism2 and the same may be said regarding nearly all ,japanese literature possessing real literary quality1--excepting some ,shinto rituals1 and some fragments of archaic poetry4 ,buddhism introduced drama1 the higher forms of poetical composition1 and fiction1 and history1 and philosophy4 ,all the refinements of ,japanese life were of ,buddhist introduction1 and at least a majority of its diversions and pleasures4 ,there is even to-day scarcely one interesting or beautiful thing1 produced in the country1 for which the nation is not in some sort indebted to ,buddhism4 ,perhaps the best and briefest way of #bje stating the range of such indebtedness1 is simply to1 say that ,buddhism brought the whole of ,chinese civilization into ,japan1 and thereafter patiently modified and reshaped it to ,japanese requirements4 ,the elder civilization was not merely superimposed upon the social structure1 but fitted carefully into it1 combined with it so perfectly that the marks of the welding1 the lines of the juncture1 almost totally disappeared4 #bjg ,,the ,,higher ,,buddhism ,philosphical ,buddhism requires some brief consideration in this place1--for two reasons4 ,the first is that misapprehension or ignorance of the subject has rendered possible the charge of atheism against the intellectual classes of ,japan4 ,the second reason is that some persons imagine the ,japanese common people--that is to say1 the greater part of the nation--believers in the doctrine of ,nirvana as extinction 7though1 as a matter of fact1 even the meaning of the word is unknown to the masses71 and quite resigned to vanish from the face of the earth1 because of that incapacity for struggle which the doctrine is supposed to create4 ,a little serious thinking ought to convince any intelligent man that no such creed could ever have been the religion of either a savage or a civilized people4 ,but myriads of ,western minds are ready at all times to accept statements of impossibility without taking the trouble to think about them2 and if ,i can show some of my readers how far beyond popular comprehension the doctrines of the higher ,buddhism really are1 something will have been accomplished for the cause of truth and #bjh common-sense4 ,and besides the reasons already given for dwelling upon the subject1 there is this third and special reason1--that it is one of extraordinary interest to the student of modern philosophy4 ,before going further1 ,i must remind you that the metaphysics of ,buddhism can be studied anywhere else quite as well as in ,japan1 since the more important sutras have been translated into various ,european languages1 and most of the untranslated texts edited and published4 ,the texts of ,japanese ,buddhism are ,chinese2 and only ,chinese scholars are competent to throw light upon the minor special phases of the subject4 ,even to read the ,chinese ,buddhist canon of #gjjj volumes is commonly regarded as an impossible feat1--though it has certainly been accomplished in ,japan4 ,then there are the commentaries1 the varied interpretations of different sects1 the multiplications of later doctrine1 to heap confusion upon confusion4 ,the complexities of ,japanese ,buddhism are incalculable2 and those who try to unravel them soon become1 as a general rule1 hopelessly lost in the maze of detail4 ,all this has nothing to do with my present purpose1 ,i shall have very little to say about ,japanese ,buddhism as distinguished from other ,buddhism1 and nothing at all to say about sect-differences4 ,i shall keep to general facts as regards the higher doctrine1--selecting from among such facts only those most suitable #bji for the illustration of that doctrine4 ,and ,i shall not take up the subject of ,nirvana1 in spite of its great importance1--having treated it as fully as ,i was able in my ,gleanings in ,buddha-,fields1 --but confine myself to the topic of certain analogies between the conclusions of ,buddhist metaphysics and the conclusions of contemporary ,western thought4 ,in the best single volume yet produced in ,english on the subject of ,buddhism199 the late ,mr4 ,henry ,clarke ,warren observed3 ,a large part of the pleasure that ,i have experienced in the study of ,buddhism has arisen from what ,i may call the strangeness of the intellectual landscape4 99,buddhism in ,translations1 by ,henry ,clarke ,warren 7,cambridge1 ,massachusetts1 #ahif74 ,published by ,harvard ,university4 ,all the ideas1 the modes of argument1 even the postulates assumed and not argued about1 have always seemed so strange1 so different from anything to which ,i have been accustomed1 that ,i felt all the time as though walking in ,fairyland4 ,much of the charm that the ,oriental thoughts and ideas have for me appears to be because they so seldom fit into ,western categories4 444 ,the serious attraction of ,buddhist philosophy could not be better suggested3 it is indeed the strangeness of the intellectual landscape1 as of a world inside-out and upside-down1 that has chiefly interested ,western #baj thinkers heretofore4 ,yet after all1 there is a class of ,buddhist concepts which can be fitted1 or very nearly fitted1 into ,western categories4 ,the higher ,buddhism is a kind of ,monism2 and it includes doctrines that accord1 in the most surprising manner1 with the scientific theories of the ,german and the ,english monists4 ,to my thinking1 the most curious part of the subject1 and its main interest1 is represented just by these accordances1--particularly in view of the fact that the ,buddhist conclusions have been reached through mental processes unknown to ,western thinking1 and unaided by any knowledge of science4444 ,i venture to call myself a student of ,herbert ,spencer2 and it was because of my acquaintance with the ,synthetic ,philosophy that ,i came to find in ,buddhist philosophy a more than romantic interest4 ,for ,buddhism is also a theory of evolution1 though the great central idea of our scientific evolution 7the law of progress from homogeneity to heterogeneity7 is not correspondingly implied by ,buddhist doctrine as regards the life of this world4 ,the course of evolution as we conceive it1 according to ,professor ,huxley1 must describe a trajectory like that of a ball fired from a mortar2 and the sinking half of that course is as much a part of the general process of evolution as the rising4 ,the highest point of the trajectory would represent what ,mr4 ,spencer calls ,equilibration1--the supreme point of development preceding the period #baa of decline2 but1 in ,buddhist evolution1 this supreme point vanishes into ,nirvana4 ,i can best illustrate the ,buddhist position by asking you to imagine the trajectory line upside-down1--a course descending out of the infinite1 touching ground1 and ascending again to mystery4444 ,nevertheless1 some ,buddhist ideas do offer the most startling analogy with the evolutional ideas of our own time2 and even those ,buddhist concepts most remote from ,western thought can be best interpreted by the help of illustrations and of language borrowed from modern science4 ,i think that we may consider the most remarkable teachings of the higher ,buddhism1--excluding the doctrine of ,nirvana1 for the reason already given1--to be the following3-- ,that there is but one ,reality2-- ,that the ,consciousness is not the real ,self2-- ,that ,matter is an aggregate of phenomena created by the force of acts and thoughts2-- ,that all objective and subjective existence is made by ,karma1-- the present being the creation of the ,past1 and the actions of the present and the past1 in combination1 determining the conditions of the future4444 7,or1 in other words1 that the universe of ,matter1 and the universe of conditioned ,mind1 represent in their evolution a strictly moral order47 ,it will he worth while now to briefly consider #bab these doctrines in their relation to modern thought1 beginning with the first1 which is ,monism3-- ,all things having form or name1--,buddhas1 gods1 men1 and all living creatures1--suns1 worlds1 moons1 the whole visible cosmos1--are transitory phenomena4444 ,assuming1 with ,herbert ,spencer1 that the test of reality is permanence1 one can scarcely question this position2 it differs little from the statement with which the closing chapter of the ,first ,principles concludes3-- ,though the relation of subject and object renders necessary to us these antithetical conceptions of ,spirit and ,matter1 the one is no less than the other to be regarded as but a sign of the ,unknown ,reality which underlies both4--,edition of #ahid4 ,for ,buddhism the sole reality is the ,absolute1--,buddha as unconditioned and ,infinite ,being4 ,there is no other veritable existence1 whether of ,matter or of ,mind2 there is no real individuality or personality2 the ,i and the ,not-,i are essentially nowise different4 ,we are reminded of ,mr4 ,spencer's position1 that it is one and the same ,reality which is manifested to us both subjectively and objectively4 ,mr4 ,spencer goes on to say3 ,subject and ,object1 as actually existing1 can never be contained in the consciousness produced by the cooperation of the two1 though they are necessarily #bac implied by it2 and the antithesis of ,subject and ,object1 never to be transcended while consciousness lasts1 renders impossible all knowledge of that ,ultimate ,reality in which ,subject and ,object are united4444 ,i do not think that a master of the higher ,buddhism would dispute ,mr4 ,spencer's doctrine of ,transfigured ,realism4 ,buddhism does not deny the actuality of phenomena as phenomena1 but denies their permanence1 and the truth of the appearances which they present to our imperfect senses4 ,being transitory1 and not what they seem1 they are to be considered in the nature of illusions1--impermanent manifestations of the only permanent ,reality4 ,but the ,buddhist position is not agnosticism3 it is astonishingly different1 as we shall presently see4 ,mr4 ,spencer states that we cannot know the ,reality so long as consciousness lasts1--because while consciousness lasts we cannot transcend the antithesis of ,object and ,subject1 and it is this very antithesis which makes consciousness possible4 ,very true1 the ,buddhist metaphysician would reply2 we cannot know the sole ,reality while consciousness lasts4 ,but destroy consciousness1 and the ,reality becomes cognizable4 ,annihilate the illusion of ,mind1 and the light will come4 ,this destruction of consciousness signifies ,nirvana1--the extinction of all that we call ,self4 ,self is blindness3 destroy it1 and the ,reality will be revealed as infinite vision and infinite peace4 #bad ,we have now to ask what1 according to ,buddhist philosophy1 is the meaning of the visible universe as phenomenon1 and the nature of the consciousness that perceives4 ,however transitory1 the phenomenon makes an impression upon consciousness2 and consciousness itself1 though transitory1 has existence2 and its perceptions1 however delusive1 are perceptions of actual relation4 ,buddhism answers that both the universe and the consciousness are merely aggregates of ,karma--complexities incalculable of conditions shaped by acts and thoughts through some enormous past4 ,all substance and all conditioned mind 7as distinguished from unconditioned mind7 are products of acts and thoughts3 by acts and thoughts the atoms of bodies have been integrated2 and the affinities of those atoms--the polarities of them1 as a scientist might say--represent tendencies shaped in countless vanished lives4 ,i may quote here from a modern ,japanese treatise on the subject3-- ,the aggregate actions of all sentient beings give birth to the varieties of mountains1 rivers1 countries1 etc4 ,they are caused by aggregate actions1 and so are called aggregate fruits4 ,our present life is the reflection of past actions4 ,men consider these reflections as their real selves4 ,their eyes1 noses1 ears1 tongues1 and bodies--as well as their gardens1 woods1 farms1 residences1 servants1 and maids--men imagine to be their own possessions2 but1 in fact1 they are only results endlessly produced by innumerable #bae actions4 ,in tracing every thing back to the ultimate limits of the past1 we cannot find a beginning3 hence it is said that death and birth have no beginning4 ,again1 when seeking the ultimate limit of the future1 we cannot find the end499 99,outlines of the ,maheyena ,philosophy1 by ,s4 ,kuroda4 ,this teaching that all things are formed by ,karma--whatever is good in the universe representing the results of meritorious acts or thoughts2 and what ever is evil1 the results of evil acts or thoughts--has the approval of five of the great sects2 and we may accept it as a leading doctrine of ,japanese ,buddhism4444 ,the cosmos is1 then1 an aggregate of ,karma2 and the mind of man is an aggregate of ,karma2 and the beginnings thereof are unknown1 and the end cannot be imagined4 ,there is a spiritual evolution1 of which the goal is ,nirvana2 but we have no declaration as to a final state of universal rest1 when the shaping of substance and of mind will have ceased forever4444 ,now the ,synthetic ,philosophy assumes a very similar position as regards the evolution of ,phenomena3 there is no beginning to evolution1 nor any conceivable end4 ,i quote from ,mr4 ,spencer's reply to a critic in the ,north ,american ,review3 ,that 'absolute commencement of organic life upon the globe1' which the reviewer says ,i 'cannot evade the admission of1' ,i distinctly deny4 ,the affirmation of #baf universal evolution is in itself the negation of an absolute commencement of anything4 ,construed in terms of evolution1 every kind of being is conceived as a product of modification wrought by insensible gradations upon a preexisting kind of being2 and this holds as fully of the supposed 'commencement of organic life' as of all subsequent developments of organic life4444 ,that organic matter was not produced all at once1 but was reached through steps1 we are well warranted in believing by the experiences of chemists499 444 99,principles of ,biology1 ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #dhb4 ,of course it should be understood that the ,buddhist silence1 as to a beginning and an end1 concerns only the production of phenomena1 not any particular existence of groups of phenomena4 ,that of which no beginning or end can be predicated is simply the ,eternal ,becoming4 ,and1 like the older ,indian philosophy from which it sprang1 ,buddhism teaches the alternate apparition and disparition of universes4 ,at certain prodigious periods of time1 the whole cosmos of one hundred thousand times ten millions of worlds vanishes away1--consumed by fire or otherwise destroyed1--but only to be reformed again4 ,these periods are called ,world-,cycles1 and each ,world-,cycle is divided into four ,immensities1--but we need not here consider the details of the doctrine4 ,it is only the fundamental idea of a evolutional rhythm that is really interesting4 ,i need scarcely remind the reader that #bag the alternate disintegration and reintegration of the cosmos is also a scientific conception1 and a commonly accepted article of evolutional belief4 ,i may quote1 however1 for other reasons1 the paragraph expressing ,herbert ,spencer's views upon the subject3-- ,apparently the universally coexistent forces of attraction and repulsion1 which1 as we have seen1 necessitate rhythm in all minor changes throughout the ,universe1 also necessitate rhythm in the totality of changes1--produce now an immeasurable period during which the attractive forces1 predominating1 cause universal concentration2 and then an immeasurable period during which the repulsive forces1 predominating1 cause diffusion1--alternate eras of ,evolution and ,dissolution4 ,and thus there is suggested to us the conception of a past during which there have been successive ,evolutions analogous to that which is now going on2 and a future during which successive other such ,evolutions may go on-ever the same in principle1 but never the same in concrete result4--,first ,principles1 ,section #ahc99 99,this paragraph1 from the fourth edition1 has been considerably qualified in the definitive edition of #aijj4 ,further on1 ,mr4 ,spencer has pointed out the vast logical consequence involved by this hypothesis3-- ,if1 as we saw reason to think1 there is an alternation of ,evolution and ,dissolution in the totality of things1--if1 as we are obliged to infer from the ,persistence of ,force1 the arrival at either limit of this vast rhythm brings about the conditions under which a counter-movement commences1 #bah--;if we are hence compelled to entertain the conception of ,evolutions that have filled an immeasurable past1 and ,evolutions that will fill an immeasurable future1--we can no longer contemplate the visible creation as having a definite beginning or end1 or as being isolated4 ,it becomes unified with all existence before and after2 and the ,force which the ,universe presents falls into the same category with its ,space and ,time as admitting of no limitation in thought499--,first ,principles1 ,section #aij4 99,condensed and somewhat modified in the definitive edition of #aijj2 but1 for present purposes of illustration1 the text of the fourth edition has been preferred4 ,the foregoing ,buddhist positions sufficiently imply that the human consciousness is but a temporary aggregate1--not an eternal entity4 ,there is no permanent self3 there is but one eternal principle in all life1--the supreme ,buddha4 ,modern ,japanese call this ,absolute the ,essence of ,mind4 ,the fire fed by faggots1 writes one of these1 dies when the faggots have been consumed2 but the essence of fire is never destroyed4444 ,all things in the ,universe are ,mind4 ,so stated1 the position is unscientific2 but as for the conclusion reached1 we may remember that ,mr4 ,wallace has stated almost exactly the same thing1 and that there are not a few modern preachers of the doctrine of a universe of mind-stuff4 ,the hypothesis is unthinkable4 ,but the most serious thinker will agree with the ,buddhist assertion that the relation of all phenomena to the unknowable is merely that of waves to sea4 ,every #bai feeling and thought being but transitory1 says ,mr4 ,spencer1 an entire life made up of such feelings and thoughts being but transitory1--nay1 the objects amid which life is passed1 though less transitory1 being severally in course of losing their individualities quickly or slowly1--we learn that the one thing permanent is the ,unknown ,reality hidden under all these changing shapes4 ,here the ,english and the ,buddhist philosophers are in accord2 but thereafter they suddenly part company4 ,for ,buddhism is not agnosticism1 but gnosticism1 and professes to know the unknowable4 ,the thinker of ,mr4 ,spencer's school cannot make assumptions as to the nature of the sole ,reality1 nor as to the reason of its manifestations4 ,he must confess himself intellectually incapable of comprehending the nature of force1 matter1 or motion4 ,he feels justified in accepting the hypothesis that all known elements have been evolved from one primordial undifferentiated substance1--the chemical evidence for this hypothesis being very strong4 ,but he certainly would not call that primordial substance a substance of mind1 nor attempt to explain the character of the forces that effected its integration4 ,again1 though ,mr4 ,spencer would probably acknowledge that we know of matter only as an aggregate of forces1 and of atoms only as force-centres1 or knots of force1 he would not declare that an atom is a force-centre1 and nothing else4444 ,but we find evolutionists #bbj of the ,german school taking a position very similar to the ,buddhist position1--which implies a universal sentiency1 or1 more strictly speaking1 a universal potential-sentiency4 ,haeckel and other ,german monists assume such a condition for all substance4 ,they are not agnostics1 therefore1 but gnostics2 and their gnosticism very much resembles that of the higher ,buddhism4 ,according to ,buddhism there is no reality save ,buddha3 all things else are but ,karma4 ,there is but one ,life1 one ,self3 human individuality and personality are but phenomenal conditions of that ,self1 ,matter is ,karma2 ,mind is ,karma--that is to say1 mind as we know it3 ,karma1 as visibility1 represents to us mass and quality2 ,karma1 as mentality1 signifies character and tendency4 ,the primordial substance--corresponding to the protyle of our ,monists--is composed of ,five ,elements1 which are mystically identified with ,five ,buddhas1 all of whom are really but different modes of the ,one4 ,with this idea of a primordial substance there is necessarily associated the idea of a universal sentiency4 ,matter is alive4 ,now to the ,german monists also matter is alive4 ,on the phenomena of cell-physiology1 ,haeckel claims to base his conviction that even the atom is not without rudimentary form of sensation and will1--or1 as it is better expressed1 of feeling 7aesthesis71 and of inclination 7tropesis71--that is to #bba say1 a universal soul of the simplest kind4 ,i may quote also from ,haeckel's ,riddle of the ,universe the following paragraph expressing the monistic notion of substance as held by ,vogt and others3-- ,the two fundamental forms of substance1 ponderable matter and ether1 are not dead and only moved by extrinsic force2 but they are endowed with sensation and will 7though1 naturally1 of the lowest grade72 they experience an inclination for condensation1 a dislike of strain2 they strive after the one1 and struggle against the other4 ,less like a revival of the dreams of the ,alchemists is the very probable hypothesis of ,schneider1 that sentiency begins with the formation of certain combinations1--that feeling is evolved from the non-feeling just as organic being has been evolved from inorganic substance4 ,but all these monist ideas enter into surprising combination with the ,buddhist teaching about matter as integrated ,karma2 and for that reason they are well worth citing in this relation4 ,to ,buddhist conception all matter is sentient1--the sentiency varying according to condition3 even rocks and stones1 a ,japanese ,buddhist text declares1 can worship ,buddha4 ,in the ,german monism of ,professor ,haeckel's school1 the particular qualities and affinities of the atom represent feeling and inclination1 a soul of the simplest kind2 in ,buddhism these qualities are made by #bbb ,karma1--that is to say1 they represent tendencies formed in previous states of existence4 ,the hypotheses appear to be very similar4 ,but there is only immense1 all-important difference1 between the ,occidental and the ,oriental monism4 ,the former would attribute the qualities of the atom merely to a sort of heredity1--to the persistency of tendencies developed under chance--influences operating throughout an incalculable past4 ,the latter declares the history of the atom to be purely moral6 ,all matter1 according to ,buddhism1 represents aggregated sentiency1 making1 by its inherent tendencies1 toward conditions of pain or pleasure1 evil or good4 ,pure actions1 writes the author of ,outlines of the ,maheyena ,philosophy1 bring forth the ,pure ,lands of all the quarters of the universe2 while impure deeds produce the ,impure ,lands4 ,that is to say1 the matter integrated by the force of moral acts goes to the making of blissful worlds2 and the matter formed by the force of immoral acts goes to the making of miserable worlds4 ,all substance1 like all mind1 has its ,karma2 planets1 like men1 are shaped by the creative power of acts and thoughts2 and every atom goes to its appointed place1 sooner or later1 according to the moral or immoral quality of the tendencies that inform it4 ,your good or bad thought or deed will not only affect your next rebirth1 but will likewise affect in some sort the nature of worlds yet unevolved1 wherein1 after innumerable cycles1 #bbc you may have to live again4 ,of course1 this tremendous idea has no counterpart in modern evolutional philosophy4 ,mr4 ,spencer's position is well known2 but ,i must quote him for the purpose of emphasizing the contrast between ,buddhist and scientific thought3-- 444,we have no ethics of nebular condensation1 or of sidereal movement1 or of planetary evolution2 the conception is not relevant to inorganic matter4 ,nor1 when we turn to organized things1 do we find that it has any relation to the phenomena of plant-life2 though we ascribe to plants superiorities and inferiorities1 leading to successes and failures in the struggle for existence1 we do not associate with them praise or blame4 ,it is only with the rise of sentiency in the animal world that the subject-matter of ethics originates4--,principles of ,ethics1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 ,section #cbf4 ,on the contrary1 it will be seen1 ,buddhism actually teaches what we may call1 to borrow ,mr4 ,spencer's phrase1 the ethics of nebular condensation1--though to ,buddhist astronomy1 the scientific meaning of the term nebular condensation was never known4 ,of course the hypothesis is beyond the power of human intelligence to prove or to disprove4 ,but it is interesting1 for it proclaims a purely moral order of the cosmos1 and attaches almost infinite consequence to the least of human acts4 ,had the old ,buddhist metaphysicians been acquainted with the facts of modern chemistry1 they #bbd might have applied their doctrine1 with appalling success1 to the interpretation of those facts4 ,they might have explained the dance of atoms1 the affinities of molecules1 the vibrations of ether1 in the most fascinating and terrifying way by their theory of ,karma4444 ,here is a universe of suggestion1--most weird suggestion--for anybody able and willing to dare the experiment of making a new religion1 or at least a new and tremendous system of ,alchemy1 based upon the notion of a moral order in the inorganic world6 ,but the metaphysics of ,karma in the higher ,buddhism include much that is harder to understand than any alchemical hypothesis of atom-combinations4 ,as taught by popular ,buddhism1 the doctrine of rebirth is simple enough1--signifying no more than transmigration3 you have lived millions of times in the past1 and you are likely to live again millions of times in the future1--all the conditions of each rebirth depending upon past conduct4 ,the common notion is that after a certain period of bodiless sojourn in this world1 the spirit is guided somehow to the place of its next incarnation4 ,the people1 of course1 believe in souls4 ,but there is nothing of all this in the higher doctrine1 which denies transmigration1 denies the existence of the soul1 denies personality4 ,there is no ,self to be reborn2 there is no transmigration--and yet there #bbe is rebirth6 ,there is no real ,i that suffers or is glad--and yet there is new suffering to be borne or new happiness to be gained6 ,what we call the ,self1--the personal consciousness1--dissolves at the death of the body2 but the ,karma1 formed during life1 then brings about the integration of a new body and a new consciousness4 ,you suffer in this existence because of acts done in a previous existence---yet the author of those acts was not identical with your present self6 ,are you1 then1 responsible for the faults of another person8 ,the ,buddhist metaphysician would answer thus3 ,the form of your question is wrong1 because it assumes the existence of personality1--and there is no personality4 ,there is really no such individual as the 'you' of the inquiry4 ,the suffering is indeed the result of errors committed in some anterior existence or existences2 but there is no responsibility for the acts of another person1 since there is no personality4 ,the ',i' that was and the ',i' that is represent in the chain of transitory being aggregations momentarily created by acts and thoughts2 and the pain belongs to the aggregates as condition resulting from quality4 ,all this sounds extremely obscure3 to understand the real theory we must put away the notion of personality1 which is a very difficult thing to do4 ,successive births do not mean transmigration in the common sense of that word1 but only the self-propagation of #bbf ,karma3 the perpetual multiplying of certain conditions by a kind of ghostly gemmation1--if ,i may borrow a biological term4 ,the ,buddhist illustration1 however1 is that of flame communicated from one lamp-wick to another3 a hundred lamps may thus be lighted from one flame1 and the hundred flames will all be different1 though the origin of all was the same4 ,within the hollow flame of each transitory life is enclosed a part of the only ,reality2 but this is not a soul that transmigrates4 ,nothing passes from birth to birth but ,karma1--character or condition4 ,one will naturally ask how can such a doctrine exert any moral influence whatever8 ,if the future being shaped by my ,karma is to be in nowise identical with my present self1--if the future consciousness evolved by my ,karma is to be essentially another consciousness1--how can ,i force myself to feel anxious about the sufferings of that unborn person8 ,again your question is wrong1 a ,buddhist would answer3 to understand the doctrine you must get rid of the notion of individuality1 and think1 not of persons1 but of successive states of feeling and consciousness1 each of which buds out of the other1--a chain of existences interdependently united4 444 ,i may attempt another illustration4 ,every individual1 as we understand the term1 is continually changing4 ,all the structures of the body are constantly undergoing waste and repair2 and the #bbg body that you have at this hour is not1 as to substance1 the same body that you had ten years ago4 ,physically you are not the same person3 yet you suffer the same pains1 and feel the same pleasures1 and find your powers limited by the same conditions4 ,whatever disintegrations and reconstructions of tissue have taken place within you1 you have the same physical and mental peculiarities that you had ten years ago4 ,doubtless the cells of your brain have been decomposed and recomposed3 yet you experience the same emotions1 recall the same memories1 and think the same thoughts4 ,everywhere the fresh substance has assumed the qualities and tendencies of the substance replaced4 ,this persistence of condition is like ,karma4 ,the transmission of tendency remains1 though the aggregate is changed4444 ,these few glimpses into the fantastic world1 of ,buddhist metaphysics will suffice1 ,i trust1 to convince any intelligent reader that the higher ,buddhism 7to which belongs the much-discussed and little-comprehended doctrine of ,nirvana7 could never have been the religion of millions almost incapable of forming abstract ideas1--the religion of a population even yet in a comparatively early stage of religious evolution4 ,it was never understood by the people at all1 nor is it ever taught to them to-day4 ,it is a religion of metaphysicians1 a #bbh religion of scholars1 a religion so difficult to be understood1 even by persons of some philosophical training1 that it might well be mistaken for a system of universal negation4 ,yet the reader should now be able to perceive that1 because a man disbelieves in a personal ,god1 in an immortal soul1 and in any continuation of personality after death1 it does not follow that we are justified in declaring him an irreligious ,person1--especially if he happen to be an ,oriental4 ,the ,japanese scholar who believes in the moral order of the universe1 the ethical responsibility of the present to all the future1 the immeasurable consequence of every thought and deed1 the ultimate disparition of evil1 and the power of attainment to conditions of infinite memory and infinite vision1--cannot be termed either an atheist or a materialist1 except by bigotry and ignorance4 ,profound as may be the difference between his religion and our own1 in respect of symbols and modes of thought1 the moral conclusions reached in either case are very much the same4 #bbi ,,the ,,social ,,organization ,the late ,professor ,fiske1 in his ,outline of ,cosmic ,philosophy1 made a very interesting remark about societies like those of ,china1 ancient ,egypt1 and ancient ,assyria4 ,i am expressing1 he said1 something more than an analogy1 ,i am describing a real homology so far as concerns the process of development1--when ,i say that these communities simulated modern ,european nations1 much in the same way that a tree-fern of the carboniferous period simulated the exogenous trees of the present time4 ,so far as this is true of ,china1 it is likewise true of ,japan4 ,the constitution of the old ,japanese society was no more than an amplification of the constitution of the family1--the patriarchal family of primitive times4 ,all modern ,western societies have been developed out of a like patriarchal condition3 the early civilizations of ,greece and ,rome were similarly constructed1 upon a lesser scale4 ,but the patriarchal family in ,europe was disintegrated thousands of years ago2 the gens and the curia dissolved and disappeared2 the originally distinct classes became fused together2 and a total reorganization of society was gradually #bcj effected1 everywhere resulting in the substitution of voluntary for compulsory cooperation4 ,industrial types of society developed2 and a state-religion overshadowed the ancient and exclusive local cults4 ,but society in ,japan never1 till within the present era1 became one coherent body1 never developed beyond the clan-stage4 ,it remained a loose agglomerate of clan-groups1 or tribes1 each religiously and administratively independent of the rest2 and this huge agglomerate was kept together1 not by voluntary cooperation1 but by strong compulsion4 ,down to the period of ,meiji1 and even for some time afterward1 it was liable to split and fall asunder at any moment that the central coercive power showed signs of weakness4 ,we may call it a feudalism2 but it resembled ,european feudalism only as a tree-fern resembles a tree4 ,let us first briefly consider the nature of the ancient ,japanese society4 ,its original unit was not the household1 but the patriarchal family1--that is to say1 the gens or clan1 a body of hundreds or thousands of persons claiming descent from a common ancestor1 and so religiously united by a common ancestor-worship1--the cult of the ,ujigami4 ,as ,i have said before1 there were two classes of these patriarchal families3 the ,o-uji1 or ,great ,clans2 and the ,ko-uji1 or ,little ,clans4 ,the lesser were branches of the greater1 and subordinate to #bca them1--so that the group formed by an ,o-uji with its ,ko-uji might be loosely compared with the ,roman curia or ,greek phratry4 ,large bodies of serfs or slaves appear to have been attached to the various great ,uji2 and the number of these1 even at a very early period1 seems to have exceeded that of the members of the clans proper4 ,the different names given to these subject-classes indicate different grades and kinds of servitude4 ,one name was tomobe1 signifying bound to a place1 or district2 another was yakabe1 signifying bound to a family2 a third was kakibe1 signifying bound to a close1 or estate2 yet another and more general term was tami1 which anciently signified dependants1 but is now used in the meaning of the ,english word folk4 444 ,there is little doubt that the bulk of the people were in a condition of servitude1 and that there were many forms of servitude4 ,mr4 ,spencer has pointed out that a general distinction between slavery and serfdom1 in the sense commonly attached to each of those terms1 is by no means easy to establish2 the real state of a subject-class1 especially in early forms of society1 depending much more upon the character of the master1 and the actual conditions of social development1 than upon matters of privilege and legislation4 ,in speaking of early ,japanese institutions1 the distinction is particularly hard to draw3 we are still but little informed as to the condition of the subject #bcb classes in ancient times4 ,it is safe to assert1 however1 that there were then really but two great classes1--a ruling oligarchy1 divided into many grades2 and a subject population1 also divided into many grades4 ,slaves were tattooed1 either on the face or some part of the body1 with a mark indicating their ownership4 ,until within recent years this system of tattooing appears to have been maintained in the province of ,satsuma1--where the marks were put especially upon the hands2 and in many other provinces the lower classes were generally marked by a tattoo on the face4 ,slaves were bought and sold like cattle in early times1 or presented as tribute by their owners1--a practice constantly referred to in the ancient records4 ,their unions were not recognized3 a fact which reminds us of the distinction among the ,romans between connubium and contubernium2 and the children of a slave-mother by a free father remained slaves499 ,in the seventh century1 however1 private slaves were declared state-property1 and great numbers were #bcc then emancipated1--including nearly all--probably all--who were artizans or followed useful callings4 ,gradually a large class of freedmen came into existence2 but until modern times the great mass of the common people appear to have remained in a condition analogous to serfdom4 ,the greater number certainly had no family names1--which is considered evidence of a former slave-condition4 ,slaves proper were registered in the names of their owners3 they do not seem to have had a cult of their own1--in early times1 at least4 ,but1 prior to ,meiji1 only the aristocracy1 samurai1 doctors1 and teachers--with perhaps a few other exceptions--could use a family name4 ,another queer bit of evidence or1 the subject1 furnished by the late ,dr4 ,simmons1 relates to the mode of wearing the hair among the subject-classes4 ,up to the time of the ,ashikaga shogunate 7#accd ,a4,d471 all classes excepting the nobility1 samurai1 ,shinto priests1 and doctors1 shaved the greater part of the head1 and wore queues2 and this fashion of wearing the hair was called yakko-atama or dorei-atama--terms signifying slave-head1 and indicating that the fashion originated in a period of servitude4 99,in the year #fde1 the ,emperor ,kotoku issued the following edict on the subject3-- ,the law of men and women shall be that the children born of a free man and a free woman shall belong to the father2 if a free man takes to wife a slave-woman1 her children shall belong to the mother2 if a free woman marries a slave-man1 the children shall belong to the father2 if they are slaves of two houses1 the children shall belong to the mother4 ,the children of temple-serfs shall follow the rule for freemen4 ,but in regard to others who become slaves1 they shall be treated according to the rule for slaves4--,aston's translation of the ,nihongi1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #bjb4 ,about the origin of ,japanese slavery1 much remains to be learned4 ,there are evidences of successive immigrations2 and it is possible that some1 at least1 of the earlier ,japanese settlers were reduced by later invaders to the status of servitude4 ,again1 #bcd there was a considerable immigration of ,koreans and ,chinese1 some of whom might have voluntarily sought servitude as a refuge from worse evils4 ,but the subject remains obscure4 ,we know1 however1 that degradation to slavery was a common punishment in early times2 also1 that debtors unable to pay became the slaves of their creditors2 also1 that thieves were sentenced to become the slaves of those whom they had robbed499 ,evidently there were great differences in the conditions of servitude4 ,the more unfortunate class of slaves were scarcely better off than domestic animals2 but there were serfs who could not be bought or sold1 nor employed at other than special work2 these were of kin to their lords1 and may have entered voluntarily into servitude for the sake of sustenance and protection4 ,their relation to their masters reminds us of that of the ,roman client to the ,roman patron4 99,an edict issued by the ,empress ,jito1 in #fij1 enacted that a father could sell his son into real slavery2 but that debtors could be sold only into a kind of serfdom4 ,the edict ran thus3 ,if a younger brother of the common people is sold by his elder brother1 he should be classed with freemen2 if a child is sold by his parents1 he should be classed with slaves2 persons confiscated into slavery1 by way of payment of interest on debts1 are to be classed with freemen2 and their children1 though born of a union with a slave1 are to be all classed with freemen4--,aston's ,nihongi1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p1 #djb4 ,as yet it is difficult to establish any clear distinction between the freedmen and the freemen of ancient ,japanese society2 but we know that the free population1 ranking below the ruling class1 #bce consisted of two great divisions3 the kunitsuko and the tomonotsuko4 ,the first were farmers1 descendants perhaps of the earliest ,mongol invaders1 and were permitted to hold their own lands independently of the central government3 they were lords of their own soil1 but not nobles4 ,the tomonotsuko were artizans1--probably of ,korean or ,chinese descent1 for the most part1--and numbered no less than #ahj clans4 ,they followed hereditary occupations2 and their clans were attached to the imperial clans1 for which they were required to furnish skilled labour4 ,originally each of the ,o-uji and ,ko-uji had its own territory1 chiefs1 dependants1 serfs1 and slaves4 ,the chieftainships were hereditary1--descending from father to son in direct succession from the original patriarch4 ,the chief of a great clan was lord over the chiefs of the subclans attached to it3 his authority was both religious and military4 ,it must not be forgotten that religion and government were considered identical4 ,all ,japanese clan-families were classed under three heads1--,kobetsu1 ,shinbetsu1 and ,bambetsu4 ,the ,kobetsu 7,imperial ,branch7 represented the so-called imperial families1 claiming descent from the ,sun-goddess2 the ,shinbetsu 7,divine ,branch7 were clans claiming descent from other deities1 terrestrial or celestial2 the ,bambetsu 7,foreign ,branch7 represented the mass of the people4 #bcf ,thus it would seem that1 by the ruling classes1 the common people were originally considered strangers1--,japanese only by adoption4 ,some scholars think that the term ,bambetsu was at first given to serfs or freedmen of ,chinese or ,korean descent4 ,but this has not been proved4 ,it is only certain that all society was divided into three classes1 according to ancestry2 that two of these classes constituted a ruling oligarchy299 and that the third1 or foreign class represented the bulk of the nation1--the plebs4 99,dr4 ,florenz accounts for the distinction between ,kobetsu and ,shinbetsu as due to the existence of two military ruling classes1--resulting from two successive waves of invasion or immigration4 ,the ,kobetsu were the followers of ,jimmu ,tenno2 the ,shinbetsu were earlier conquerors who had settled in ,yamato prior to the advent of ,jimmu4 ,these first conquerors1 he thinks1 were not dispossessed4 ,there was a division also into castes--kabane or sei4 7,i use the term castes1 following ,dr4 ,florenz1 a leading authority on ancient ,japanese civilization1 who gives the meaning of sei as equivalent to that of the ,sanscrit varna1 signifying caste or colour47 ,every family in the three great divisions of ,japanese society belonged to some caste2 and each caste represented at first some occupation or calling4 ,caste would not seem to have developed any very rigid structure in ,japan2 and there were early tendencies to a confusion of the kabane4 ,in the seventh century the confusion became so great that the ,emperor ,temmu thought it necessary to reorganize the sei2 and by him all the clan-families were regrouped into eight new castes4 #bcg ,such was the primal constitution of ,japanese society2 and that society was1 therefore1 in no true sense of the term1 a fully formed nation4 ,nor can the title of ,emperor be correctly applied to its early rulers4 ,the ,german scholar1 ,dr4 ,florenz1 was the first to establish these facts1 contrary to the assumption of ,japanese historians4 ,he has shown that the heavenly sovereign of the early ages was the hereditary chief of one ,uji only1--which ,uji1 being the most powerful of all1 exercised influence over many of the others4 ,the authority of the heavenly sovereign did not extend over the country4 ,but though not even a king1--outside of his own large group of patriarchal families1--he enjoyed three immense prerogatives4 ,the first was the right of representing the different ,uji before the common ancestral deity1--which implies the privileges and powers of a high priest4 ,the second was the right of representing the different ,uji in foreign relations3 that is to say1 he could make peace or declare war in the name of all the clans1 and therefore exercised the supreme military authority4 ,his third prerogative included the right to settle disputes between clans2 the right to nominate a clan-patriarch1 in case that the line of direct succession to the chieftainship of any ,uji came to an end2 the right to establish new ,uji2 and the right to abolish an ,uji guilty of so acting as to endanger the welfare of the rest4 ,he was1 therefore1 ,supreme ,pontiff1 ,supreme ,military ,commander1 #bch ,supreme ,arbitrator1 and ,supreme ,magistrate4 ,but he was not yet supreme king3 his powers were exercised only by consent of the clans4 ,later he was to become the ,great ,khan in very fact1 and even much more1--the ,priest-,ruler1 the ,god-,king1 the ,deity-,incarnate4 ,but with the growth of his dominion1 it became more and more difficult for him to exercise all the functions originally combined in his authority2 and1 as a consequence of deputing those functions1 his temporal sway was doomed to decline1 even while his religious power continued to augment4 ,the earliest ,japanese society was not1 therefore1 even a feudalism in the meaning which we commonly attach to that word3 it was a union of clans at first combined for defence and offence1--each clan having a religion of its own4 ,gradually one clan-group1 by power of wealth and numbers1 obtained such domination that it was able to impose its cult upon all the rest1 and to make its hereditary chief ,supreme ,high ,pontiff4 ,the worship of the ,sun-goddess so became a race-cult2 but this worship did not diminish the relative importance of the other clan-cults1--it only furnished them with a common tradition4 ,eventually a nation formed2 but the clan remained the real unit of society2 and not until the present era of ,meiji was its disintegration effected--at least in so far as legislation could accomplish4 #bci ,we may call that period during which the clans became really united under one head1 and the national cult was established1 the ,first ,period of ,japanese ,social ,evolution4 ,however1 the social organism did not develop to the limit of its type until the era of the ,tokugawa shoguns1--so that1 in order to study it as a completed structure1 we must turn to modern times4 ,yet it had taken on the vague outline of its destined form as early as the reign of the ,emperor ,temmu1 whose accession is generally dated #fgc ,a4,d4 ,during that reign ,buddhism appears to have become a powerful influence at court2 for the ,emperor practically imposed a vegetarian diet upon the people--proof positive of supreme power in fact as well as in theory4 ,even before this time society had been arranged into ranks and grades1--each of the upper grades being distinguished by the form and quality of the official head-dresses worn2 but the ,emperor ,temmu established many new grades1 and reorganized the whole administration1 after the ,chinese manner1 in one hundred and eight departments4 ,japanese society then assumed1 as to its upper ranks1 nearly all the hierarchical forms which it presented down to the era of the ,tokugawa shoguns1 who consolidated the system without seriously changing its fundamental structure4 ,we may say that from the close of the ,first ,period of its social evolution1 the nation remained practically separated into two classes3 the #bdj governing class1 including all orders of the nobility and military2 and the producing class1 comprising all the rest4 ,the chief event of the ,second ,period of the social evolution was the rise of the military power1 which left the imperial religious authority intact1 but usurped all the administrative functions 7this subject will be considered in a later chapter74 ,the society eventually crystallized by this military power was a very complex structure--outwardly resembling a huge feudalism1 as we understand the term1 but intrinsically different from any ,european feudalism that ever existed4 ,the difference lay especially in the religious organization of the ,japanese communities1 each of which1 retaining its particular cult and patriarchal administration1 remained essentially separate from every other4 ,the national cult was a bond of tradition1 not of cohesion3 there was no religious unity4 ,buddhism1 though widely accepted1 brought no real change into this order of things2 for1 whatever ,buddhist creed a commune might profess1 the real social bond remained the bond of the ,ujigami4 ,so that1 even as fully developed under the ,tokugawa rule1 ,japanese society was still but a great aggregate of clans and subclans1 kept together by military coercion4 ,at the head of this vast aggregate was the ,heavenly ,sovereign1 the ,living ,god of the race1--,priest-,emperor and ,pontiff ,supreme1 --representing the oldest dynasty in the world4 #bda ,next to him stood the ,kuge1 or ancient nobility1--descendants of emperors and of gods4 ,there were1 in the time of the ,tokugawa1 #aee families of this high nobility4 ,one of these1 the ,nakatomi1 held1 and still holds1 the highest hereditary priesthood3 the ,nakatomi were1 under the ,emperor1 the chiefs of the ancestral cult4 ,all the great clans of early ,japanese history--such as the ,fujiwara1 the ,taira1 the ,minamoto--were ,kuge2 and most of the great regents and shoguns of later history were either ,kuge or descendants of ,kuge4 ,next to the ,kuge ranked the ,buke1 or military class1--also called ,monofufu1 ,wasarau1 or ,samurahi 7according to the ancient writing of these names71--with an extensive hierarchy of its own4 ,but the difference1 in most cases1 between the lords and the warriors of the ,buke was a difference of rank based upon income and title3 all alike were samurai1 and nearly all were of ,kobetsu or ,shinbetsu descent4 ,in early times the head of the military class was appointed by the ,emperor1 only as a temporary commander-in-chief3 afterwards1 these commanders-in-chief1 by usurpation of power1 made their office hereditary1 and became veritable imperatores1 in the ,roman sense4 ,their title of shogun is well known to ,western readers4 ,the shogun ruled over between two and three hundred lords of provinces or districts1 whose powers and privileges varied according to income and grade4 ,under the ,tokugawa #bdb shogunate there were #bib of these lords1 or daimyo4 ,before that time each lord exercised supreme rule over his own domain2 and it is not surprising that the ,jesuit missionaries1 as well as the early ,dutch and ,english traders should have called the daimyo kings4 ,the despotism of the daimyo was first checked by the founders of the ,tokugawa dynasty1 ,iyeyasu1 who so restricted their powers that they became1 with some exceptions1 liable to lose their estates if proved guilty of oppression and cruelty4 ,he ranked them all in four great classes3 7#a7 ,sanke1 or ,go-,sanke1 the ,three ,exalted ,families 7those from whom a successor to the shogunate might be chosen1 in case of need72 7#b7 ,kokushu1 ,lords of ,provinces2 7#c7 ,tozama1 ,outside-,lords2 7#d7 ,fudai1 ,successful ,families3 a name given to those families promoted to lordship or otherwise rewarded for fealty to ,iyeyasu4 ,of the ,sanke1 there were three clans1 or families3 of the ,kokushu1 eighteen2 of the ,tozama1 eighty-six2 and of the ,fudai1 one hundred and seventy-six4 ,the income of the least of these daimyo was #aj1jjj koku of rice 7we may say about #aj1jjj pounds1 though the value of the koku differed greatly at different periods72 and the income of the greatest1 the ,lord of ,kaga1 was estimated at #a1jbg1jjj koku4 ,the great daimyo had their greater and lesser vassals2 and each of these1 again1 had his force of trained samurai1 or fighting gentry4 ,there was #bdc also a particular class of soldier-farmers1 called goshi1 some of whom possessed privileges and powers exceeding those of the lesser daimyo4 ,these goshi1 who were independent landowners1 for the most part1 formed a kind of yeomanry2 but there were many points of difference between the social position of the goshi and that of the ,english yeomen4 ,besides reorganizing the military class1 ,iyeyasu created several new subclasses4 ,the more important of these were the hatamoto and the gokenin4 ,the hatamoto1 whose appellation signifies banner-supporters1 numbered about #bjjj1 and the gokenin about #ejjj4 ,these two bodies of samurai formed the special military force of the shogun2 the hatamoto being greater vassals1 with large incomes2 and the gokenin lesser vassals1 with small incomes1 who ranked above other common samurai only because of being directly attached to the shogun's service4444 ,the total number of samurai of all grades was about #b1jjj1jjj4 ,they were exempted from taxation1 and privileged to wear two swords4 ,such1 in brief outline1 was the general ordination of those noble and military classes by whom the nation was ruled with great severity4 ,the bulk of the common people were divided into three classes 7we might even say castes1 but for ,indian ideas long associated with the term73 ,farmers1 ,artizans1 and ,merchants4 #bdd ,of these three classes1 the farmers 7hyakusho7 were the highest2 ranking immediately after the samurai4 ,indeed1 it is hard to draw a line between the samurai class and the farming-class1--because many samurai were farmers also1 and because some farmers held a rank considerably above that of ordinary samurai4 ,perhaps we should limit the term hyakusho 7farmers1 or peasantry7 to those tillers of the soil who lived only by agriculture1 and were neither of ,kobetsu nor ,shinbetsu descent4444 ,at all events1 the occupation of the peasant was considered honourable3 a farmer's daughter might become a servant in the imperial household itself--though she could occupy only an humble position in the service4 ,certain farmers were privileged to wear swords4 ,it appears that in the early ages of ,japanese society there was no distinction between farmers and warriors3 all able-bodied farmers were then trained fighting-men1 ready for war at any moment1--a condition paralleled in old ,scandinavian society4 ,after a special military class had been evolved1 the distinction between farmer and samurai still remained vague in certain parts of the country4 ,in ,satsuma and in ,tosa1 for example1 the samurai continued to farm down to the present era3 the best of the ,kyushu samurai were nearly all farmers2 and their superior stature and strength were commonly attributed to their rustic occupations4 ,in other parts of the country1 as in ,izumo1 farming was forbidden to samurai3 #bde they were not even allowed to hold rice-land1 though they might own forest-land4 ,but in various provinces they were permitted to farm1 even while strictly forbidden to follow any other occupation1--any trade or craft4444 ,at no time did any degradation attach to the pursuit of agriculture4 ,some of the early emperors took a personal interest in farming2 and in the grounds of the ,imperial ,palace at ,akasaka may even now be seen a little rice-field4 ,by religious tradition1 immemorially old1 the first sheaf of rice grown within the imperial grounds should be reaped and offered by the imperial hand to the divine ancestors as a harvest offering1 on the occasion of the ,ninth ,festival1--,shin-,sho-,sai499 99,at this festival the first new silk of the year1 as well as the first of the new rice-crop1 is still offered to the ,sun-goddess by the ,emperor in person4 ,below the peasantry ranked the artizan-class 7,shokunin71 including smiths1 carpenters1 weavers1 potters1--all crafts1 in short4 ,highest among these were reckoned1 as we might expect1 the sword-smiths4 ,sword-smiths not infrequently rose to dignities far beyond their class3 some had conferred upon them the high title of ,kami1 written with the same character used in the title of a daimyo1 who was usually termed the ,kami of his province or district4 ,naturally they enjoyed the patronage of the highest1--emperors and ,kuge4 ,the ,emperor ,go-,toba is known to have worked at sword-making in a smithy #bdf of his own4 ,religious rites were practised during the forging of a blade down to modern times4444 ,all the principal crafts had guilds2 and1 as a general rule1 trades were hereditary4 ,there are good historical grounds for supposing that the ancestors of the ,shokunin were mostly ,koreans and ,chinese4 ,the commercial class 7,akindo71 including bankers1 merchants1 shopkeepers1 and traders of all kinds1 was the lowest officially recognized4 ,the business of money-making was held in contempt by the superior classes2 and all methods of profiting by the purchase and re-sale of the produce of labour were regarded as dishonourable4 ,a military aristocracy would naturally look down upon the trading-classes2 and there is generally1 in militant societies1 small respect for the common forms of labour4 ,but in ,old ,japan the occupations of the farmer and the artizan were not despised3 trade alone appears to have been considered degrading1--and the discrimination may have been partly a moral one4 ,the relegation of the mercantile class to the lowest place in the social scale must have produced some curious results4 ,however rich1 for example1 a rice-dealer might be1 he ranked below the carpenters or potters or boat-builders whom he might employ1--unless it happened that his family originally belonged to another class4 ,in later times #bdg the ,akindo included many persons of other than ,akindo descent2 and the class thus virtually retrieved itself4 ,of the four great classes of the nation--,samurai1 ,farmers1 ,artizans1 and ,merchants 7the ,shi-,no-,ko-,sho1 as they were briefly called1 after the initial characters of the ,chinese terms used to designate them7--the last three were counted together under the general appellation of ,heimin1 common folk4 ll heimin were subject to the samurai2 any samurai being privileged to kill the heimin showing him disrespect4 ,but the heimin were actually the nation3 they alone created the wealth of the country1 produced the revenues1 paid the taxes1 supported the nobility and military and clergy4 ,as for the clergy1 the ,buddhist 7like the ,shinto7 priests1 though forming a class apart1 ranked with the samurai1 not with the heimin4 ,outside of the three classes of commoners1 and hopelessly below the lowest of them1 large classes of persons existed who were not reckoned as ,japanese1 and scarcely accounted human beings4 ,officially they were mentioned generically as chori1 and were counted with the peculiar numerals used in counting animals3 ippiki1 nihiki1 sambiki1 etc4 ,even to-day they are commonly referred to1 not as persons 7hito71 but as things 7mono74 ,to ,english readers 7chiefly through ,mr4 ,mitford's yet unrivalled ,tales of ,old #bdh ,japan7 they are known as ,eta2 but their appellations varied according to their callings4 ,they were pariah-people3 ,japanese writers have denied1 upon apparently good grounds1 that the chori belong to the ,japanese race4 ,various tribes of these outcasts followed occupations in the monopoly of which they were legally confirmed3 they were well-diggers1 garden-sweepers1 straw-workers1 sandal-makers1 according to local privileges4 ,one class was employed officially in the capacity of torturers and executioners2 another was employed as night-watchmen2 a third as grave-makers4 ,but most of the ,eta followed the business of tanners and leather-dressers4 ,they alone had the right to slaughter and flay animals1 to prepare various kinds of leather1 and to manufacture leather sandals1 stirrup-straps1 and drumheads1--the making of drumheads being a lucrative occupation in a country where drums were used in a hundred thousand temples4 ,the ,eta had their own laws1 and their own chiefs1 who exercised powers of life and death4 ,they lived always in the suburbs or immediate neighbourhood of towns1 but only in separate settlements of their own4 ,they could enter the town to sell their wares1 or to make purchases2 but they could not enter any shop1 except the shop of a dealer in footgear499 99,this is still the rule in certain parts of the country4 ,as professional singers they were tolerated2 but they were forbidden to enter any house--so they could perform their music or sing #bdi their songs only in the street1 or in a garden4 ,any occupations other than their hereditary callings were strictly forbidden to them4 ,between the lowest of the commercial classes and the ,eta1 the barrier was impassable as any created by caste-tradition in ,india2 and never was ,ghetto more separated from the rest of a ,european city by walls and gates1 than an ,eta settlement from the rest of a ,japanese town by social prejudice4 ,no ,japanese would dream of entering an ,eta settlement unless obliged to do so in some official capacity4444 ,at the pretty little seaport of ,mionoseki1 ,i saw an ,eta settlement1 forming one termination of the crescent of streets extending round the bay4 ,mionoseki is certainly one of the most ancient towns in ,japan2 and the ,eta village attached to it must be very old4 ,even to-day1 no ,japanese habitant of ,mionoseki would think of walking through that settlement1 though its streets are continuations of the other streets3 children never pass the unmarked boundary2 and the very dogs will not cross the prejudice-line4 ,for all that the settlement is clean1 well built1--with gardens1 baths1 and temples of its own4 ,it looks like any well-kept ,japanese village4 ,but for perhaps a thousand years there has been no fellowship between the people of those contiguous communities4444 ,nobody can now tell the history of these outcast folk3 the cause of their social excommunication has long been forgotten4 #bej ,besides the ,eta proper1 there were pariahs called hinin1--a name signifying not-human-beings4 ,under this appellation were included professional mendicants1 wandering minstrels1 actors1 certain classes of prostitutes1 and persons outlawed by society4 ,the hinin had their own chiefs1 and their own laws4 ,any person expelled from a ,japanese community might join the hinin2 but that signified good-by to the rest of humanity4 ,the ,government was too shrewd to persecute the hinin4 ,their gipsy-existence saved a world of trouble4 ,it was unnecessary to keep petty offenders in jail1 or to provide for people incapable of earning an honest living1 so long as these could be driven into the hinin class4 ,there the incorrigible1 the vagrant1 the beggar1 would be kept under discipline of a sort1 and would practically disappear from official cognizance4 ,the killing of a hinin was not considered murder1 and was punished only by a fine4 ,the reader should now be able to form an approximately correct idea of the character of the old ,japanese society4 ,but the ordination of that society was much more complex than ,i have been able to indicate1--so complex that volumes would be required to treat the subject in detail4 ,once fully evolved1 what we may still call ,feudal ,japan1 for want of a better name1 presented most of the features of a doubly-compound society of the militant type1 with #bea certain marked approaches toward the trebly-compound type4 ,a striking peculiarity1 of course1 is the absence of a true ecclesiastical hierarchy1--due to the fact that ,government never became dissociated from religion4 ,there was at one time a tendency on the part of ,buddhism to establish a religious hierarchy independent of central authority2 but there were two fatal obstacles in the way of such a development4 ,the first was the condition of ,buddhism itself1--divided into a number of sects1 some bitterly opposed to others4 ,the second obstacle was the implacable hostility of the military clans1 jealous of any religious power capable of interfering1 either directly or indirectly1 with their policy4 ,so soon as the foreign religion began to prove itself formidable in the world of action1 ruthless measures were decided2 and the frightful massacres of priests by ,nobunaga1 in the sixteenth century1 ended the political aspirations of ,buddhism in ,japan4 ,otherwise the regimentation of society resembled that of all antique civilizations of the militant type1--all action being both positively and negatively regulated4 ,the household ruled the person2 the five-family group2 the household2 the community1 the group2 the lord of the soil1 the community2 the ,shogun1 the lord4 ,over the whole body of the producing classes1 two million samurai had power of life and death2 over these samurai the daimyo held a like power2 and the daimyo were subject to the ,shogun4 #beb ,nominally the ,shogun was subject to the ,emperor1 but not in fact3 military usurpation disturbed and shifted the natural order of the higher responsibility4 ,however1 from the nobility downwards1 the regulative discipline was much reinforced by this change in government4 ,among the producing classes there were countless combinations--guilds of all sorts2 but these were only despotisms within despotisms--despotisms of the communistic order2 each member being governed by the will of the rest2 and enterprise1 whether commercial or industrial1 being impossible outside of some corporation4444 ,we have already seen that the individual was bound to the commune--could not leave it without a permit1 could not marry out of it4 ,we have seen also that the stranger was a stranger in the old ,greek and ,roman sense1--that is to say an enemy1 a hostis1--and could enter another community only by being religiously adopted into it4 ,as regards exclusiveness1 therefore1 the social conditions were like those of the early ,european communities2 but the militant conditions resembled rather those of the great ,asiatic empires4 ,of course such a society had nothing in common with any modern form of ,occidental civilization4 ,it was a huge mass of clan-groups1 loosely united under a duarchy1 in which the military head was omnipotent1 and the religious head only an object of #bec worship1--the living symbol of a cult4 ,however this organization might outwardly resemble what we are accustomed to call feudalism1 its structure was rather like that of ancient ,egyptian or ,peruvian society1--minus the priestly hierarchy4 ,the supreme figure is not an ,emperor in our meaning of the word1--not a king of kings and viceregent of heaven1--but a ,god incarnate1 a race-divinity1 an ,inca descended from the ,sun4 ,about his sacred person1 we see the tribes ranged in obeisance1--each tribe1 nevertheless1 maintaining its own ancestral cult2 and the clans forming these tribes1 and the communities forming these clans1 and the households forming these communities1 have all their separate cults2 and out of the mass of these cults have been derived the customs and the laws4 ,yet everywhere the customs and the laws differ more or less1 because of the variety of their origins3 they have this only in common1--that they exact the most humble and implicit obedience1 and regulate every detail of private and public life4 ,personality is wholly suppressed by coercion2 and the coercion is chiefly from within1 not from without1--the life of every individual being so ordered by the will of the rest as to render free action1 free speaking1 or free thinking1 out of the question4 ,this means something incomparably harsher than the socialistic tyranny of early ,greek society3 it means religious communism doubled with a military despotism of #bed the most terrible kind4 ,the individual did not legally exist1--except for punishment2 and from the whole of the producing-classes1 whether serfs or freemen1 the most servile submission was ruthlessly exacted4 ,it is difficult to believe that any intelligent man of modern times could endure such conditions and live 7except under the protection of some powerful ruler1 as in the case of the ,english pilot ,will ,adams1 created a samurai by ,iyeyasu73 the incessant and multiform constraint upon mental and moral life would of itself be enough to kill4444 ,those who write to-day about the extraordinary capacity of the ,japanese for organization1 and about the democratic spirit of the people as natural proof of their fitness for representative government in the ,western sense1 mistake appearances for realities4 ,the truth is that the extraordinary capacity of the ,japanese for communal organization1 is the strongest possible evidence of their unfitness for any modern democratic form of government4 ,superficially the difference between ,japanese social organization1 and local self-government in the modern ,american1 or the ,english colonial meaning of the term1 appears slight2 and we may justly admire the perfect self-discipline of a ,japanese community4 ,but the real difference between the two is fundamental1 prodigious1--measurable only by thousands of years4 ,it is the difference between compulsory and free #bee cooperation1--the difference between the most despotic form of communism1 founded upon the most ancient form of religion1 and the most highly evolved form of industrial union1 with unlimited individual right of competition4 ,there exists a popular error to the effect that what we call communism and socialism in ,western civilization are modern growths1 representing aspiration toward some perfect form of democracy4 ,as a matter of fact these movements represent reversion1--reversion toward the primitive conditions of human society4 ,under every form of ancient despotism we find exactly the same capacity of self-government among the people3 it was manifested by the old ,egyptians and ,peruvians as well as by the early ,greeks and ,romans2 it is exhibited to-day by ,hindoo and ,chinese communities2 it may be studied in ,siamese or ,annamese villages quite as well as in ,japan4 ,it means a religious communistic despotism1--a supreme social tyranny suppressing personality1 forbidding enterprise1 and making competition a public offence4 ,such self-government also has its advantages3 it was perfectly adapted to the requirements of ,japanese life so long as the nation could remain isolated from the rest of the world4 ,yet it must be obvious that any society whose ethical traditions forbid the individual to profit at the cost of his fellow-men will be placed at an enormous disadvantage when forced into the #bef industrial struggle for existence against communities whose self-government permits of the greatest possible personal freedom1 and the widest range of competitive enterprise4 ,we might suppose that perpetual and universal coercion1 moral and physical1 would have brought about a state of universal sameness1--a dismal uniformity and monotony in all life's manifestations4 ,but such monotony existed only as to the life of the commune1 not as to that of the race4 ,the most wonderful variety characterized this quaint civilization1 as it also characterized the old ,greek civilization1 and for precisely the same reasons4 ,in every patriarchal civilization ruled by ancestor-worship1 all tendency to absolute sameness1 to general uniformity1 is prevented by the character of the aggregate itself1 which never becomes homogeneous and plastic4 ,every unit of that aggregate1 each one of the multitude of petty despotisms composing it1 most jealously guards its own particular traditions and customs1 and remains self-sufficing4 ,hence results1 sooner or later1 incomparable variety of detail1 small detail1 artistic1 industrial1 architectural1 mechanical4 ,in ,japan such differentiation and specialization was thus maintained1 that you will hardly find in the whole country even two villages where the customs1 industries1 and methods of production are exactly the same4444 ,the customs #beg of the fishing-villages will1 perhaps1 best illustrate what ,i mean4 ,in every coast district the various fishing-settlements have their own traditional ways of constructing nets and boats1 and their own particular methods of handling them4 ,now1 in the time of the great tidal-wave of #ahif1 when thirty thousand people perished1 and scores of coast-villages were wrecked1 large sums of money were collected in ,kobe and elsewhere for the benefit of the survivors2 and well-meaning foreigners attempted to supply the want of boats and fishing implements by purchasing quantities of locally made nets and boats1 and sending them to the afflicted districts4 ,but it was found that these presents were of no use to the men of the northern provinces1 who had been accustomed to boats and nets of a totally different kind2 and it was further discovered that every fishing-hamlet had special requirements of its own in this regard4444 ,now the differentiations of habit and custom1 thus exhibited in the life of the fishing-communities1 is paralleled in many crafts and callings4 ,the way of building houses1 and of roofing them1 differs in almost every province1 also the methods of agriculture and of horticulture1 the manner of making wells1 the methods of weaving and lacquering and pottery-making and tile-baking4 ,nearly every town and village of importance boasts of some special production1 bearing the name of the place1 and unlike anything made elsewhere4444 #beh ,no doubt the ancestral cults helped to conserve and to develop such local specialization of industries3 the craft-ancestors1 the patron-gods of the guild1 were supposed to desire that the work of their descendants and worshippers should maintain a particular character of its own4 ,though individual enterprise was checked by communal regulation1 the specialization of local production was encouraged by difference of cults4 ,family-conservatism or guild-conservatism would tolerate small improvements or modifications suggested by local experience1 but would be wary1 perhaps superstitious likewise1 about accepting the results of strange experience4 ,still1 for the ,japanese themselves1 not the least pleasure of travel in ,japan is the pleasure of studying the curious variety in local production1--the pleasure of finding the novel1 the unexpected1 the unimagined4 ,even those arts or industries of ,old ,japan1 primarily borrowed from ,korea or from ,china1 appear to have developed and conserved innumerable queer forms under the influence of the numberless local cults4 #bei ,,the ,,rise ,,of ,,the ,,military ,,power ,almost the whole of authentic ,japanese history is comprised in one vast episode3 the rise and fall of the military power4444 ,it has been customary to speak of ,japanese history as beginning with the accession of ,jimmu ,tenno1 alleged to have reigned from #ffj to #ehe ,b4,c41 and to have lived for one hundred and twenty-seven years4 ,before the time of the ,emperor ,jimmu was the ,age of the ,gods1--the period of mythology4 ,but trustworthy history does not begin for a thousand years after the accession of ,jimmu ,tenno2 and the chronicles of those thousand years must be regarded as little better than fairy-tales4 ,they contain records of fact2 but fact and myth are so interwoven that it is difficult to distinguish the one from the other4 ,we have legends1 for example1 of an alleged conquest of ,korea in the year #bjb ,a4,d41 by the ,empress ,jingo2 and it has been tolerably well proved that no such conquest took place499 99,see ,aston's paper1 ,early ,japanese ,history1 in the translations of the ,asiatic ,society of ,japan4 ,the later records are somewhat less mythical than the earlier4 ,we have traditions apparently founded on #bfj fact1 of ,korean immigration in the time of the fifteenth ruler1 the ,emperor ,ojin2 then later traditions1 also founded on fact1 of early ,chinese studies in ,japan2 then some vague accounts of a disturbed state of society1 which appears to have continued through the whole of the fifth century4 ,buddhism was introduced in the middle of the century following2 and we have record of the fierce opposition offered to the new creed by a ,shinto faction1 and of a miraculous victory won by the help of the ,four ,deva ,kings1 at the prayer of ,shotoku ,taishi1--the great founder of ,buddhism1 and regent of the ,empress ,suiko4 ,with the firm establishment of ,buddhism in the reign of that ,empress 7#eic-fbh ,a4,d471 we reach the period of authentic history1 and of the thirty-third ,japanese sovereign counting from ,jimmu ,tenno4 ,but although everything prior to the seventh century remains obscured for us by the mists of fable1 much can be inferred1 even from the half-mythical records1 concerning social conditions during the reigns of the first thirty-three ,emperors and ,empresses4 ,it appears that the early ,mikado lived very simply--scarcely better1 indeed1 than their subjects4 ,the ,shinto scholar ,mabuchi tells us that they dwelt in huts with mud walls and roofs of shingle2 that they wore hempen clothes2 that they carried their swords in simple wooden scabbards1 bound round with the tendrils of a wild #bfa vine2 that they walked about freely among the people2 that they carried their own bows and arrows when they went to hunt4 ,but as society developed wealth and power1 this early simplicity disappeared1 and the gradual introduction of ,chinese customs and etiquette effected great changes4 ,the ,empress ,suiko introduced ,chinese court-ceremonies1 and first established among the nobility the ,chinese grades of rank4 ,chinese luxury1 as well as ,chinese learning1 soon made its appearance at court2 and thereafter the imperial authority appears to have been less and less directly exerted4 ,the new ceremonialism must have rendered the personal exercise of the multiform imperial functions more difficult than before2 and it is probable that the temptation to act more or less by deputy would have been strong even in the case of an energetic ruler4 ,at all events we find that the real administration of government began about this time to pass into the hands of deputies1--all of whom were members of the great ,kuge clan of the ,fujiwara4 ,this clan1 which included the highest hereditary priesthood1 represented a majority of the ancient nobility1 claiming divine descent4 ,ninety-five out of the total one hundred and fifty-five families of ,kuge belonged to it1--including the five families1 ,go-,sekke1 from which alone the ,emperor was by tradition allowed to choose his ,empress4 ,its historic name dates only from the reign of the ,emperor #bfb ,kwammu 7#ghb-hjf ,a4,d471 who bestowed it as an honour upon ,nakatomi no ,kamatari2 but the clan had long previously held the highest positions at ,court4 ,by the close of the seventh century most of the executive power had passed into its hands4 ,later the office of ,kwambaku1 or ,regent1 was established1 and remained hereditary in the house down to modern times--ages after all real power had been taken from the descendants of ,nakatomi no ,kamatari4 ,but during almost five centuries the ,fujiwara remained the veritable regents of the country1 and took every possible advantage of their position4 ,all the civil offices were in the hands of ,fujiwara men2 all the wives and favourites of the ,emperors were ,fujiwara women4 ,the whole power of government was thus kept in the hands of the clan2 and the political authority of the ,emperor ceased to exist4 ,moreover the succession was regulated entirely by the ,fujiwara2 and even the duration of each reign was made to depend upon their policy4 ,it was deemed advisable to compel ,emperors to abdicate at an early age1 and after abdicating to become ,buddhist monks1--the successor chosen being often a mere child4 ,there is record of an ,emperor ascending the throne at the age of two1 and abdicating at the age of four2 another ,mikado was appointed at the age of five2 several at the age of ten4 ,yet the religious dignity of the throne remained undiminished1 or1 rather1 continued #bfc to grow4 ,the more the ,mikado was withdrawn from public view by policy and by ceremonial1 the more did his seclusion and inaccessibility serve to deepen the awe of the divine legend4 ,like the ,lama of ,thibet the living deity was made invisible to the multitude2 and gradually the belief arose that to look upon his face was death4444 ,it is said that the ,fujiwara were not satisfied even with these despotic means of assuring their own domination1 and that luxurious forms of corruption were maintained within the palace for the purpose of weakening the character of young emperors who might otherwise have found the energy to assert the ancient rights of the throne4 ,perhaps this usurpation--which prepared the way for the rise of the military power--has never been rightly interpreted4 ,the history of all the patriarchal societies of ancient ,europe will be found to illustrate the same phase of social evolution4 ,at a certain period in the development of each we find the same thing happening1--the withdrawal of all political authority from the ,priest-,king1 who is suffered1 nevertheless1 to retain the religious dignity4 ,it may be a mistake to judge the policy of the ,fujiwara as a policy of mere ambition and usurpation4 ,the ,fujiwara were a religious aristocracy1 claiming divine origin1--clan-chiefs of a society in which religion and government were identical1 and holding to that society much the same relation as that of the #bfd ,eupatridae to the ancient ,attic society4 ,the ,mikado had originally become supreme magistrate1 military commander1 and religious head by consent of a majority of the clan-chiefs1--each of whom represented to his own following what the ,heavenly ,sovereign represented to the social aggregate4 ,but as the power of the ruler extended with the growth of the nation1 those who had formerly united to maintain that power began to find it dangerous4 ,they decided to deprive the ,heavenly ,sovereign of all political and legal authority1 without disturbing in any way his religious supremacy4 ,at ,athens1 at ,sparta1 at ,rome1 and elsewhere in ancient ,europe1 the same policy was carried out1 for the same reasons1 by religious senates4 ,the history of the early kings of ,rome1 as interpreted by ,m4 de ,coulanges1 best illustrates the nature of the antagonism developed between the priest-ruler and the religious aristocracy2 but the same thing took place in all the ,greek communities1 with about the same result4 ,everywhere political power was taken away from the early kings2 but they were mostly left in possession of their religious dignities and privileges3 they remained supreme priests after having ceased to be rulers4 ,this was the case also in ,japan2 and ,i imagine that future ,japanese historians will be able to give us an entirely new interpretation of the ,fujiwara episode1 as reviewed in the light of modern sociology4 ,at all events1 there can be little doubt #bfe that1 in curtailing the powers of the ,heavenly ,sovereign1 the religious aristocracy must have been actuated by conservative precaution as well as by ambition4 ,there had been various ,emperors who made changes in the laws and customs--changes which could scarcely have been viewed with favour by many of the ancient nobility2 there had been an ,emperor whose diversions can to-day be written of only in ,latin2 there had even been an ,emperor--,kotoku--who1 though ,god ,incarnate1 and chief of the ancient faith1 despised the ,way of the ,gods1 and cut down the holy grove of the shrine of ,iku-kuni-dama4 ,kotoku1 for all his ,buddhist piety 7perhaps1 indeed1 because of it71 was one of the wisest and best of rulers2 but the example of a heavenly sovereign despising the ,way of the ,gods1 must have given the priestly clan matter for serious reflection4444 ,besides1 there is another important fact to be noticed4 ,the ,imperial household proper had become1 in the course of centuries1 entirely detached from the ,uji2 and the omnipotence of this unit1 independent of all other units1 constituted in itself a grave danger to aristocratic privileges and established institutions4 ,too much might depend upon the personal character and will of an omnipotent ,god-,king1 capable of breaking with all clan-custom1 and of abrogating clan-privileges4 ,on the other hand1 there was safety for all alike under the patriarchal rule of the clan1 which #bff could cheek every tendency on the part of any of its members to exert predominant influence at the expense of the rest4 ,but for obvious reasons the ,imperial cult--traditional source of all authority and privilege--could not be touched3 it was only by maintaining and reinforcing it that the religious nobility could expect to keep the real power in their hands4 ,they actually kept it for nearly five centuries4 ,the history of all the ,japanese regencies1 however1 amply illustrates the general rule that inherited authority is ever and everywhere liable to find itself supplanted by deputed authority4 ,the ,fujiwara appear to have eventually become the victims of that luxury which they had themselves1 for reasons of policy1 introduced and maintained4 ,degenerating into a mere court-nobility1 they made little effort to exert any direct authority in other than civil directions1 entrusting military matters almost wholly to the ,buke4 ,in the eighth century the distinction between military and civil organization had been made upon the ,chinese plan2 the great military class then came into existence1 and began to extend its power rapidly4 ,of the military clans proper1 the most powerful were the ,minamoto and the ,taira4 ,by deputing to these clans the conduct of all important matters relating to war1 the ,fujiwara eventually lost their high position and influence4 ,as soon #bfg as the ,buke found themselves strong enough to lay hands upon the reins of government1--which happened about the middle of the eleventh century1--the ,fujiwara supremacy became a thing of the past1 although members of the clan continued for centuries to occupy positions of importance under various regents4 ,but the ,buke could not realize their ambition without a bitter struggle among themselves1--the longest and the fiercest war in ,japanese history4 ,the ,minamoto and the ,taira were both ,kuge2 both claimed imperial descent4 ,in the early part of the contest the ,taira carried all before them2 and it seemed that no power could hinder them from exterminating the rival clan4 ,but fortune turned at last in favour of the ,minamoto2 and at the famous sea-fight of ,dan-no-ura1 in #aahe1 the ,taira were themselves exterminated4 ,then began the reign of the ,minamoto regents1 or rather shogun4 ,i have elsewhere said that the title shogun originally signified1 as did the ,roman military term ,imperator1 only a commander-in-chief3 it now became the title of the supreme ruler de facto1 in his double capacity of civil and military sovereign1--the ,king of kings4 ,from the accession of the ,minamoto to power the history of the shogunate--the long history of the military supremacy--really begins2 ,japan thereafter1 down to the present era of ,meiji1 having really two ,emperors3 #bfh the ,heavenly ,sovereign1 or ,deity ,incarnate1 representing the religion of the race2 and the veritable ,imperator1 who wielded all the powers of the administration4 ,no one sought to occupy by force the throne of the ,sun's ,succession1 whence all authority was at least supposed to be derived4 ,regent or shogun bowed down before it3 divinity could not be usurped4 ,yet peace did not follow upon the battle of ,dan-no-ura3 the clan-wars initiated by the great struggle of the ,minamoto and the ,taira1 continued1 at irregular intervals1 for five centuries more2 and the nation remained disintegrated4 ,nor did the ,minamoto long keep the supremacy which they had so dearly won4 ,deputing their powers to the ,hojo family1 they were supplanted by the ,hojo1 just as the ,fujiwara had been supplanted by the ,taira4 ,three only of the ,minamoto shogun really exercised rule4 ,during the whole of the thirteenth century1 and for some time afterwards1 the ,hojo continued to govern the country2 and it is noteworthy that these regents never assumed the title of shogun1 but professed to be merely shogunal deputies4 ,thus a triple-headed government appeared to exist2 for the ,minamoto kept up a kind of court at ,kamakura4 ,but they faded into mere shadows1 and are yet remembered by the significant appellation of ,shadow-,shogun1 or ,puppet ,shogun4 ,there was nothing shadowy1 however1 about the administration of the ,hojo1 #bfi--men of immense energy and ability4 ,by them ,emperor or shogun could be deposed and banished without scruple2 and the helplessness of the shogunate can be inferred from the fact1 that the seventh ,hojo regent1 before deposing the seventh shogun1 sent him home in a palanquin1 head downwards and heels upwards4 ,nevertheless the ,hojo suffered the phantom-shogunate to linger on1 until #accc4 ,though unscrupulous in their methods1 these regents were capable rulers2 and proved themselves able to save the country in a great emergency1--the famous invasion attempted by ,kublai ,khan in #abha4 ,aided by a fortunate typhoon1 which is said to have destroyed the hostile fleet in answer to prayer offered up at the national shrines1 the ,hojo could repel this invasion4 ,they were less successful in dealing with certain domestic disorders1--especially those fomented by the turbulent ,buddhist priesthood4 ,during the thirteenth century1 ,buddhism had developed into a great military power1--strangely like that church-militant of the ,european middle ages3 the period of soldier-priests and fighting-bishops4 ,the ,buddhist monasteries had been converted into fortresses filled with men-at arms2 ,buddhist menace had more than once carried terror into the sacred seclusion of the imperial court4 ,at an early day1 ,yoritomo1 the far-seeing founder of the ,minamoto dynasty1 had observed a militant tendency in ,buddhism1 and had attempted to check #bgj it by forbidding all priests and monks either to bear arms1 or to maintain armed retainers4 ,but his successors had been careless about enforcing these prohibitions2 and the ,buddhist military power developed in consequence so rapidly that the shrewdest ,hojo were doubtful of their ability to cope with it4 ,eventually this power proved capable of giving them serious trouble4 ,the ninety-sixth ,mikado1 ,go-,daigo1 found courage to revolt against the tyranny of the ,hojo2 and the ,buddhist soldiery took part with him4 ,he was promptly defeated1 and banished to the islands of ,oki2 but his cause was soon espoused by powerful lords1 who had long chafed under the despotism of the regency4 ,these assembled their forces1 restored the banished ,emperor1 and combined in a desperate attack upon the regent's capital1 ,kamakura4 ,the city was stormed and burned2 and the last of the ,hojo rulers1 after a brave but vain defence1 performed harakiri4 ,thus shogunate and regency vanished together1 in #accc4 ,for the moment the whole power of administration had been restored to the ,mikado4 ,unfortunately for himself and for the country1 ,go-,daigo was too feeble of character to avail himself of this great opportunity4 ,he revived the dead shogunate by appointing his own son shogun2 he weakly ignored the services of those whose loyalty and courage had restored him2 and he foolishly strengthened #bga the hands of those whom he had every reason to fear4 ,as a consequence there happened the most serious political catastrophe in the history of ,japan1 a division of the imperial house against itself4 ,the unscrupulous despotism of the ,hojo regents had prepared the possibility of such an event4 ,during the last years of the thirteenth century1 there were living at the same time in ,kyoto1 besides the reigning ,mikado1 no less than three deposed emperors4 ,to bring about a contest for the succession was1 therefore1 an easy matter2 and this was soon accomplished by the treacherous general ,ashikaga ,takeuji1 to whom ,go-,daigo had unwisely shown especial favour4 ,ashikaga had betrayed the ,hojo in order to help the restoration of ,go-,daigo3 he subsequently would have betrayed the trust of ,go-,daigo1 in order to seize the administrative power4 ,the ,emperor discovered this treasonable purpose when too late1 and sent against ,ashikaga an army which was defeated4 ,after some further contest ,ashikaga mastered the capital1 drove ,go-,daigo a second time into exile1 set up a rival ,emperor1 and established a new shogunate4 ,now for the first time1 two branches of the ,imperial family1 each supported by powerful lords1 contended for the right of succession4 ,that of which ,go-,daigo remained the acting representative1 is known in history as the ,southern ,branch 7,nancho71 and by ,japanese historians is held to be the only legitimate branch4 #bgb ,the other was called the ,northern ,branch 7,hokucho71 and was maintained at ,kyoto by the power of the ,ashikaga clan2 while ,go-,daigo1 finding refuge in a ,buddhist monastery1 retained the insignia of empire4 ,thereafter1 for a period of fifty-six years ,japan continued to have two ,mikado2 and the resulting disorder was such as to imperil the national integrity4 ,it would have been no easy matter for the people to decide which ,emperor possessed the better claim4 ,hitherto the imperial presence had represented the national divinity2 and the imperial palace had been regarded as the temple of the national religion3 the division maintained by the ,ashikaga usurpers therefore signified nothing less than the breaking up of the whole tradition upon which existing society had been built4 ,the confusion became greater and greater1 the danger increased more and more1 until the ,ashikaga themselves took alarm4 ,they managed then to end the trouble by persuading the fifth ,mikado of the ,southern ,dynasty1 ,go ,kameyama1 to surrender his insignia to the reigning ,mikado of the ,northern ,dynasty1 ,go-,komatsu4 ,this having been done1 in #acib1 ,go-,kameyama was honoured with the title of retired ,emperor1 and ,go-,komatsu was nationally acknowledged as legitimate ,emperor4 ,but the names of the other four ,emperors of the ,northern ,dynasty are still excluded from the official list4 ,the ,ashikaga shogunate thus averted the supreme #bgc peril2 but the period of this military domination1 which endured until #aegc1 was destined to remain the darkest in ,japanese history4 ,the ,ashikaga gave the country fifteen rulers1 several of whom were men of great ability3 they tried to encourage industry2 they cultivated literature and the arts2 but they could not give peace4 ,fresh disputes arose2 and lords whom the shogunate could not subdue made war upon each other4 ,to such a condition of terror was the capital reduced that the court nobility fled from it to take refuge with daimyo powerful enough to afford them protection4 ,robbery became rife throughout the land2 and piracy terrorized the seas4 ,the shogunate itself was reduced to the humiliation of paying tribute to ,china4 ,agriculture and industry at last ceased to exist outside of the domains of certain powerful lords4 ,provinces became waste2 and famine1 earthquake1 and pestilence added their horror to the misery of ceaseless war4 ,the poverty prevailing may be best imagined from the fact that when the ,emperor known to history as ,go-,tsuchi-mikado--one hundred and second of the ,sun's ,succession --died in the year #aejj1 his corpse had to be kept at the gates of the palace forty days1 because the expenses of the funeral could not be defrayed4 ,until #aegc the misery continued2 and the shogunate meanwhile degenerated into insignificance4 ,then a strong captain arose and ended the house of ,ashikaga1 and seized the reins of power4 #bgd ,this usurper was ,oda ,nobunaga2 and the usurpation was amply provoked4 ,had it not occurred1 ,japan might never have entered upon an era of peace4 ,for there had been no peace since the fifth century4 ,no emperor or regent or shogun had ever been able to impose his rule firmly upon the whole country4 ,somewhere or other1 there were always wars of clan with clan4 ,by the time of the sixteenth century personal safety could be found only under the protection of some military leader1 able to exact his own terms for the favour of such protection4 ,the question of the imperial succession1--which had almost wrecked the empire during the fourteenth century1--might be raised again at any time by some reckless faction1 with the probable result of ruining civilization1 and forcing the nation back to its primitive state of barbarism4 ,never did the future of ,japan appear so dark as at the moment when ,oda ,nobunaga suddenly found himself the strongest man in the empire1 and leader of the most formidable ,japanese army that had ever obeyed a single head4 ,this man1 a descendant of ,shinto priests1 was above all things a patriot4 ,he did not seek the title of shogun1 and never received it4 ,his hope was to save the country2 and he saw that this could be done only by centralizing all feudal power under one control1 and strenuously enforcing law4 ,looking about him for the ways and means of effecting #bge this centralization1 he perceived that one of the very first obstacles to be removed was that created by the power of ,buddhism militant1--the feudal ,buddhism developed under the ,hojo regency1 and especially represented by the great ,shin and ,tendai sects4 ,as both had already given aid to his enemies1 it was easy to find a cause for quarrel2 and he first proceeded against the ,tendai4 ,the campaign was conducted with ferocious vigour2 the monastery-fortresses of ,hiyei-san were stormed and razed1 and all the priests1 with all their adherents1 put to the sword--no mercy being shown even to women and children4 ,by nature ,nobunaga was not cruel2 but his policy was ruthless1 and he knew when and why to strike hard4 ,the power of the ,tendai sect before this massacre may be imagined from the fact that three thousand monastery buildings were burnt at ,hiyei-san4 ,the ,shin sect of the ,hongwanji1 with headquarters at ,osaka1 was scarcely less powerful2 and its monastery1 occupying the site of the present ,osaka castle1 was one of the strongest fortresses in the country4 ,nobunaga waited several years1 merely to prepare for the attack4 ,the soldier-priests defended themselves well2 upwards of fifty thousand lives are said to have been lost in the siege2 yet only the personal intervention of the ,emperor prevented the storming of the stronghold1 and the slaughter of every being within its walls4 ,through respect for the ,emperor1 ,nobunaga agreed #bgf to spare the lives of the ,shin priests3 they were only dispossessed and scattered1 and their power forever broken4 ,buddhism having been thus effectually crippled1 ,nobunaga was able to turn his attention to the warring clans4 ,supported by the greatest generals that the nation ever produced1--,hideyoshi and ,iyeyasu1--he proceeded to enforce pacification and order2 and his grand purpose would probably have been soon accomplished1 but for the revengeful treachery of a subordinate1 who brought about his death in #aehc4 ,nobunaga1 with ,taira blood in his veins1 had been essentially an aristocrat1 inheriting all the aptitudes of his great race for administration1 and versed in all the traditions of diplomacy4 ,his avenger and successor1 ,hideyoshi1 was a totally different type of soldier3 a son of peasants1 an untrained genius who had won his way to high command by shrewdness and courage1 natural skill of arms1 and immense inborn capacity for all the chess-play of war4 ,with the great purpose of ,nobunaga he had always been in sympathy2 and he actually carried it out1--subduing the entire country1 from north to south1 in the name of the ,emperor1 by whom he was appointed ,regent 7,kwambaku74 ,thus universal peace was temporarily established4 ,but the vast military powers which ,hideyoshi had collected and disciplined1 threatened to become refractory4 ,he found employment for them by declaring unprovoked #bgg war against ,korea1 whence he hoped to effect the conquest of ,china4 ,the war with ,korea opened in #aeib1 and dragged on unsatisfactorily until #aeih1 when ,hideyoshi died4 ,he had proved himself one of the greatest soldiers ever born1 but not one of the best among rulers4 ,perhaps the issue of the war in ,korea would have been more fortunate1 if he could have ventured to conduct it himself4 ,as a matter of fact1 it merely exhausted the force of both countries2 and ,japan had little to show for her dearly bought victories abroad except the ,mimidzuka or ,ear-,monument at ,nara1--marking the spot where thirty thousand pairs of foreign ears1 cut from the pickled heads of slain1 were buried in the grounds of the temple of ,daibutsu4444 ,into the vacant place of power then stepped the most remarkable man that ,japan ever produced1--,tokugawa ,iyeyasu4 ,iyeyasu was of ,minamoto descent1 and an aristocrat to the marrow of his bones4 ,as a soldier he was scarcely inferior to ,hideyoshi1 whom he once defeated1--but he was much more than a soldier1 a far-sighted statesman1 an incomparable diplomat1 and something of a scholar4 ,cool1 cautious1 secretive1--distrustful1 yet generous1--stern1 yet humane1--by the range and the versatility of his genius he might be not unfavourably contrasted with ,julius ,caesar4 ,all that ,nobunaga and ,hideyoshi had wished to do1 and failed to #bgh do1 ,iyeyasu speedily accomplished4 ,after fulfilling ,hideyoshi's dying injunction1 not to leave the troops in ,korea to become ghosts haunting a foreign land1--that is to say1 in the condition of spirits without a cult1--,iyeyasu had to face a formidable league of lords resolved to dispute his claim to rule4 ,the terrific battle of ,sekigahara left him master of the country2 and he at once took measures to consolidate his power1 and to perfect1 even to the least detail1 all the machinery of military government4 ,as shogun1 he reorganized the daimiates1 redistributed a majority of fiefs2 among those whom he could trust1 created new military grades1 and ordered and so balanced the powers of the greater daimyo as to make it next to impossible for them to dare a revolt4 ,later on the daimyo were even required to furnish security for their good behaviour3 they were obliged to pass a certain time of the year99 in the shogun's capital1 leaving their families as hostages during the rest of the year4 ,the entire administration was readjusted upon a simple and sagacious plan2 and the ,laws of ,iyeyasu prove him to have been an excellent legislator4 ,for the first time in ,japanese history the nation was integrated1--integrated1 at least1 in so far as the peculiar nature of the social unit rendered possible4 ,the counsels #bgi of the founder of ,yedo were followed by his successors2 and the ,tokugawa shogunate1 which lasted until #ahfg1 gave the country fifteen military sovereigns4 ,under these1 ,japan enjoyed both peace and prosperity for the time of two hundred and fifty years2 and her society was thus enabled to evolve to the full limit of its peculiar type4 ,industries and arts developed in new and wonderful ways2 literature found august patronage4 ,the national cult was carefully maintained2 and all precautions were taken to prevent the occurrence of another such contest for the imperial succession as had nearly ruined the country in the fourteenth century4 99,the period of obligatory residence in ,yedo was not the same for all daimyo4 ,in some cases the obligation seems to have extended to six months2 in others1 the requirement was to pass every alternate year in the capital4 ,we have seen that the history of military rule in ,japan embraces nearly the whole period of authentic history1 down to modern times1 and closes with the second period of national integration4 ,the first period had been reached when the clans first accepted the leadership of the chief of the greatest clan1--thereafter revered as the ,heavenly ,sovereign1 ,supreme ,pontiff1 ,supreme ,arbiter1 ,supreme ,commander1 and ,supreme ,magistrate4 ,how long a time was required for this primal integration1 under a patriarchal monarchy1 we cannot know2 but we have learned that the later integration1 under a duarchy1 occupied considerably more than a thousand years4444 ,now the extraordinary fact to note is that1 during all those centuries1 the imperial #bhj cult was carefully maintained by even the enemies of the ,mikado2 the only legitimate ruler being1 in national belief1 the ,tenshi1 ,son of ,heaven1--the ,tenno1 ,heavenly ,king4 ,through every period of disorder the ,offspring of the ,sun was the object of national worship1 and his palace the temple of the national faith4 ,great captains might coerce the imperial will2 but they styled themselves1 none the less1 the worshippers and slaves of the incarnate deity2 and they would no more have thought of trying to occupy his throne1 than they would have thought of trying to abolish all religion by decree4 ,once only1 by the arbitrary folly of the ,ashikaga shogun1 the imperial cult had been seriously interfered with2 and the social earthquake consequent upon that division of the imperial house1 apprised the usurpers of the enormity of their blunder4444 ,only the integrity of the imperial succession1 the uninterrupted maintenance of the imperial worship1 made it possible even for ,iyeyasu to clamp together the indissoluble units of society4 ,herbert ,spencer has taught the student of sociology to recognize that religious dynasties have extraordinary powers of longevity1 because they possess extraordinary power to resist change2 whereas military dynasties1 depending for their perpetuity upon the individual character of their sovereigns1 are particularly liable to disintegration4 ,the immense duration of the ,japanese imperial dynasty1 as contrasted #bha with the history of the various shogunates and regencies representing a merely military domination1 illustrates this teaching in a most remarkable way4 ,back through twenty-five hundred years we can follow the line of the imperial succession1 till it vanishes out of sight into the mystery of the past4 ,here we have evidence of that extreme power of resisting all changes which is inherently characteristic of religious conservatism2 on the other hand1 the history of shogunates and regencies proves the tendency to disintegration of institutions having no religious foundation1 and therefore no religious power of cohesion4 ,the remarkable duration of the ,fujiwara rule1 as compared with others1 may perhaps be accounted for by the fact that the ,fujiwara represented a religious1 rather than a military1 aristocracy4 ,even the marvellous military structure devised by ,iyeyasu had begun to decay before alien aggression precipitated its inevitable collapse4 #bhc ,,the ,,religion ,,of ,,loyalty ,militant societies1 says the author of the ,principles of ,sociology1 must have a patriotism which regards the triumph of their society as the supreme end of action2 they must possess the loyalty whence flows obedience to authority1--and1 that they may be obedient1 they must have abundant faith4 ,the history of the ,japanese people strongly exemplifies these truths4 ,among no other people has loyalty ever assumed more impressive and extraordinary forms2 and among no other people has obedience ever been nourished by a more abundant faith1--that faith derived from the cult of the ancestors4 ,the reader will understand how filial piety--the domestic religion of obedience--widens in range with social evolution1 and eventually differentiates both into that political obedience required by the community1 and that military obedience exacted by the war-lord1--obedience implying not only submission1 but affectionate submission1--not merely the sense of obligation1 but the sentiment of duty4 ,in its origin such dutiful obedience is essentially religious2 and1 as expressed in loyalty1 it retains the #bhd religious character1--becomes the constant manifestation of a religion of self-sacrifice4 ,loyalty is developed early in the history of a militant people2 and we find touching examples of it in the earliest ,japanese chronicles4 ,we find also terrible ones1--stories of self-immolation4 ,to his divinely descended lord1 the retainer owed everything--in fact1 not less than in theory3 goods1 household1 liberty1 and life4 ,any or all of these he was expected to yield up without a murmur1 on demand1 for the sake of the lord4 ,and duty to the lord1 like the duty to the family ancestor1 did not cease with death4 ,as the ghosts of parents were to be supplied with food by their living children1 so the spirit of the lord was to be worshipfully served by those who1 during his lifetime1 owed him direct obedience4 ,it could not be permitted that the spirit of--the ruler should enter unattended into the world of shadows3 some1 at least1 of those who served him living were bound to follow him in death4 ,thus in early societies arose the custom of human sacrifices1--sacrifices at first obligatory1 afterwards voluntary4 ,in ,japan1 as stated in a former chapter1 they remained an indispensable feature of great funerals1 up to the first century1 when images of baked clay were first substituted for the official victims4 ,i have already mentioned how1 after this abolition of obligatory #bhe junshi1 or following of one's lord in death1 the practice of voluntary junshi continued up to the sixteenth century1 when it actually became a military fashion4 ,at the death of a daimyo it was then common for fifteen or twenty of his retainers to disembowel themselves4 ,iyeyasu determined to put an end to this custom of suicide1 which is thus considered in the #gfth article of his celebrated ,legacy3-- ,although it is undoubtedly the ancient custom for a vassal to follow his ,lord in death1 there is not the slightest reason in the practice4 ,confucius has ridiculed the making of ,yo effigies buried with the dead4 ,these practices are strictly forbidden1 more especially to primary retainers1 but to secondary retainers likewise1 even of the lowest rank4 ,he is the reverse of a faithful servant who disregards this prohibition4 ,his posterity shall be impoverished by the confiscation of his property1 as a warning for those who disobey the laws4 ,iyeyasu's command ended the practice of junshi among his own vassals2 but it continued1 or revived again1 after his death4 ,in #affd the shogunate issued an edict proclaiming that the family of any person performing junshi should be punished2 and the shogunate was in earnest4 ,when this edict was disobeyed by one ,uyemon no ,hyoge1 who disembowelled himself at the death of his lord1 ,okudaira ,tadamasa1 the government promptly confiscated the lands of the family of the suicide1 executed two of #bhf his sons1 and sent the rest of the household into exile4 ,though cases of junshi have occurred even within this present era of ,meiji1 the determined attitude of the ,tokugawa government so far checked the practice that even the most fervid loyalty latterly made its sacrifices through religion1 as a rule4 ,instead of performing harakiri1 the retainer shaved his head at the death of his lord1 and became a ,buddhist monk4 ,the custom of junshi represents but one aspect of ,japanese loyalty3 there were other customs equally1 if not even more1 significant1--for example1 the custom of military suicide1 not as junshi1 but as a self-inflicted penalty exacted by the traditions of samurai discipline4 ,against harakiri1 as punitive suicide1 there was no legislative enactment1 for obvious reasons4 ,it would seem that this form of self-destruction was not known to the ,japanese in early ages2 it may have been introduced from ,china1 with other military customs4 ,the ancient ,japanese usually performed suicide by strangulation1 as the ,nihongi bears witness4 ,it was the military class that established the harakiri as a custom and privilege4 ,previously1 the chiefs of a routed army1 or the defenders of a castle taken by storm1 would thus end themselves to avoid falling into the enemy's hands1--a custom which continued into the present era4 ,about the close of the fifteenth century1 the #bhg military custom of permitting any samurai to perform harakiri1 instead of subjecting him to the shame of execution1 appears to have been generally established4 ,afterwards it became the recognized duty of a samurai to kill himself at the word of command4 ,all samurai were subject to this disciplinary law1 even lords of provinces2 and in samurai families1 children of both sexes were trained how to perform suicide whenever personal honour or the will of a liege-lord1 might require it4444 ,women1 ,i should observe1 did not perform harakiri1 but jigai1--that is to say1 piercing the throat with a dagger so as to sever the arteries by a single thrust-and-cut movement4444 ,the particulars of the harakiri ceremony have become so well known through ,mitford's translation of ,japanese texts on the subject1 that ,i need not touch upon them4 ,the important fact to remember is that honour and loyalty required the samurai man or woman to be ready at any moment to perform self-destruction by the sword4 ,as for the warrior1 any breach of trust 7voluntary or involuntary71 failure to execute a difficult mission1 a clumsy mistake1 and even a look of displeasure from one's liege1 were sufficient reasons for harakiri1 or1 as the aristocrats preferred to call it1 by the ,chinese term1 seppuku4 ,among the highest class of retainers1 it was also a duty to make protest against misconduct on the part of their lord by performing seppuku1 when all other means of bringing him to reason had #bhh failed1--which heroic custom has been made the subject of several popular dramas founded upon fact4 ,in the case of married women of the samurai class1--directly responsible to their husbands1 not to the lord1--jigai was resorted to most often as a means of preserving honour in time of war1 though it was sometimes performed merely as a sacrifice of loyalty to the spirit of the husband1 after his untimely death499 99,the ,japanese moralist ,yekken wrote ',a woman has no feudal lord3 she must reverence and obey her husband4' ,in the case of girls it was not uncommon for other reasons1--samurai maidens often entering into the service of noble households1 where the cruelty of intrigue might easily bring about a suicide1 or where loyalty to the wife of the lord might exact it4 ,for the samurai maiden in service was bound by loyalty to her mistress not less closely than the warrior to the lord2 and the heroines of ,japanese feudalism were many4 ,in the early ages it appears to have been the custom for the wives of officials condemned to death to kill themselves the ancient chronicles are full of examples4 ,but this custom is perhaps to be partly accounted for by the ancient law1 which held the household of the offender equally responsible with him for the offence1 independently of the facts in the case4 ,however1 it was certainly also common enough for a bereaved wife to perform suicide1 not through despair1 but through the wish to follow her #bhi husband into the other world1 and there to wait upon him as in life4 ,instances of female suicide1 representing the old ideal of duty to a dead husband1 have occurred in recent times4 ,such suicides are usually performed according to the feudal rules1--the woman robing herself in white for the occasion4 ,at the time of the late war with ,china there occurred in ,tokyo one remarkable suicide of this kind2 the victim being the wife of ,lieutenant ,asada1 who had fallen in battle4 ,she was only twenty-one4 ,on hearing of her husband's death1 she at once began to make preparations for her own1--writing letters of farewell to her relatives1 putting her affairs in order1 and carefully cleaning the house1 according to old-time rule4 ,thereafter she donned her death-robe2 laid mattings down opposite to the alcove in the guest-room2 placed her husband's portrait in the alcove1 and set offerings before it4 ,when everything had been arranged1 she seated herself before the portrait1 took up her dagger1 and with a single skilful thrust divided the arteries of her throat4 ,besides the duty of suicide for the sake of preserving honour1 there was also1 for the samurai woman1 the duty of suicide as a moral protest4 ,i have already said that among the highest class of retainers it was thought a moral duty to perform harakiri as a remonstrance against shameless conduct on the part of one's lord1 when all other means of persuasion #bij had been tried in vain4 ,among samurai women--taught to consider their husbands as their lords1 in the feudal meaning of the term--it was held a moral obligation to perform jigai1 by way of protest1 against disgraceful behaviour upon the part of a husband who would not listen to advice or reproof4 ,the ideal of wifely duty which impelled such sacrifice still survives2 and more than one recent example might be cited of a generous life thus laid down in rebuke of some moral wrong4 ,perhaps the most touching instance occurred in #ahib1 at the time of the district elections in ,nagano prefecture4 ,a rich voter named ,ishijima1 after having publicly pledged himself to aid in the election of a certain candidate1 transferred his support to the rival candidate4 ,on learning of this breach of promise1 the wife of ,ishijima1 robed herself in white1 and performed jigai after the old samurai manner4 ,the grave of this brave woman is still decorated with flowers by the people of the district2 and incense is burned before her tomb4 ,to kill oneself at command--a duty which no loyal samurai would have dreamed of calling in question--appears to us much less difficult than another duty1 also fully accepted3 the sacrifice of children1 wife1 and household for the sake of the lord4 ,much of ,japanese popular tragedy is devoted to incidents of such sacrifice made by retainers or #bia dependents of daimyo1--men or women who gave their children to death in order to save the children of their masters499 99,see1 for a good example1 the translation of the drama ,terakoya1 published1 with admirable illustrations1 by ,t4 ,hasegawa 7,tokyo74 ,nor have we any reason to suppose that the facts have been exaggerated in these dramatic compositions1 most of which are based upon feudal history4 ,the incidents1 of course1 have been rearranged and expanded to meet theatrical requirements2 but the general pictures thus given of the ancient society are probably even less grim than the vanished reality4 ,the people still love these tragedies2 and the foreign critic of their dramatic literature is wont to point out only the blood-spots1 and to comment upon them as evidence of a public taste for gory spectacles1--as proof of some innate ferocity in the race4 ,rather1 ,i think1 is this love of the old tragedy proof of what foreign critics try always to ignore as--much as possible1--the deeply religious character of the people4 ,these plays continue to give delight1--not because of their horror1 but because of their moral teaching1--because of their exposition of the duty of sacrifice and courage1 the religion of loyalty4 ,they represent the martyrdoms of feudal society for its noblest ideals4 ,all down through that society1 in varying forms1 the same spirit--of loyalty had its manifestations4 ,as the samurai to his liege-lord1 so the apprentice was bound to the patron1 and the clerk to the #bib merchant4 ,everywhere there was trust1 because everywhere there existed the like sentiment of mutual duty between servant and master4 ,each industry and occupation had its religion of loyalty1--requiring1 on the one side1 absolute obedience and sacrifice at need2 and on the other1 kindliness and aid4 ,and the rule of the dead was over all4 ,not less ancient than the duty of dying for parent or lord was the social obligation to avenge the killing of either4 ,even before the beginnings of settled society1 this duty is recognized4 ,the oldest chronicles of ,japan teem with instances of obligatory vengeance4 ,confucian ethics more than affirmed the obligation1--forbidding a man to live under the same heaven with the slayer of his lord1 or parent1 or brother2 and fixing all the degrees of kinship1 or other relationship1 within which the duty of vengeance was to be considered imperative4 ,confucian ethics1 it will be remembered1 became at an early date the ethics of the ,japanese ruling-classes1 and so remained down to recent times4 ,the whole ,confucian system1 as ,i have remarked elsewhere1 was founded upon ancestor-worship1 and represented scarcely more than an amplification and elaboration of filial piety3 it was therefore in complete accord with ,japanese moral experience4 ,as the military power developed in ,japan1 the ,chinese code of vengeance became universally accepted2 and it was sustained #bic by law as well as by custom in later ages4 ,iyeyasu himself maintained it--exacting only that preliminary notice of an intended vendetta should be given in writing to the district criminal court4 ,the text of his article on the subject is interesting3-- ,in respect to avenging injury done to master or father1 it is acknowledged by the ,wise and ,virtuous ,confucius that you and the injurer cannot live together under the canopy of heaven4 ,a person harbouring such vengeance shall give notice in writing to the criminal court2 and although no check or hindrance may be offered to the carrying out of his design within the period allowed for that purpose1 it is forbidden that the chastisement of an enemy be attended with riot4 ,fellows who neglect to give notice of their intended revenge are like wolves of pretext399 their punishment or pardon should depend upon the circumstances of the case4 99,or hypocritical wolves4--that is to say brutal murderers seeking to excuse their crime on the pretext justifiable vengeance4 7,the translation is by ,lowder47 ,kindred1 as well as parents2 teachers1 as well as lords1 were to be revenged4 ,a considerable proportion of popular romance and drama is devoted to the subject of vengeance taken by women2 and1 as a matter of fact1 women1 and even children1 sometimes became avengers when there were no men of a wronged family left to perform the duty4 ,apprentices avenged their masters2 and even sworn friends were bound to avenge each other4 #bid ,why the duty of vengeance was not confined to the circle of natural kinship is explicable1 of course1 by the peculiar organization of society4 ,we have seen that the patriarchal family was a religious corporation2 and that the family-bond was not the bond of natural affection1 but the bond of the cult4 ,we have also seen that the relation of the household to the community1 and of the community to the clan1 and of the clan to the tribe1 was equally a religious relation4 ,as a necessary consequence1 the earlier customs of vengeance were regulated by the bond of the family1 communal1 or tribal cult1 as well as by the bond of blood2 and with the introduction of ,chinese ethics1 and the development of militant conditions1 the idea of revenge as duty took a wider range4 ,the son or the brother by adoption was in respect of obligation the same as the son or brother by blood2 and the teacher stood to his pupil in the relation of father to child4 ,to strike one's natural parent was a crime punishable by death3 to strike one's teacher was1 before the law1 an equal offence4 ,this notion of the teacher's claim to filial reverence was of ,chinese importation3 an extension of the duty of filial piety to the father of the mind4 ,there were other such extensions2 and the origin of all1 ,chinese or ,japanese1 may be traced alike to ancestor-worship4 ,now1 what has never been properly insisted upon1 in any of the books treating of ancient #bie ,japanese customs1 is the originally religious significance of the kataki-uchi4 ,that a religious origin can be found for all customs of vendetta established in early societies is1 of course1 well known2 but a peculiar interest attaches to the ,japanese vendetta in view of the fact that it conserved its religious character unchanged down to the present era4 ,the kataki-uchi was essentially an act of propitiation1 as is proved by the rite with which it terminated1--the placing of the enemy's head upon the tomb of the person avenged1 as an offering of atonement4 ,and one of the most impressive features of this rite1 as formerly practised1 was the delivery of an address to the ghost of the person avenged4 ,sometimes the address was only spoken2 sometimes it was also written1 and the manuscript left upon the tomb4 ,there is probably none of my readers unacquainted with ,mitford's ever-delightful ,tales of ,old ,japan1 and his translation of the true story of the ,forty-,seven ,ronins4 ,but ,i doubt whether many persons have noticed the significance of the washing of ,kira ,kotsuke-no-,suke's severed head1 or the significance of the address inscribed to their dead lord by the brave men who had so long waited and watched for the chance to avenge him4 ,this address1 of which ,i quote ,mitford's translation1 was laid upon the tomb of the ,lord ,asano4 ,it is still preserved at the temple called ,sengakuji3-- #bif ,the fifteenth year of ,genroku #agjca1 the twelfth month1 the fifteenth day4--,we have come this day to do homage here3 forty-seven men in all1 from ,oishi ,kuranosuke down to the foot-soldier ,terasaka ,kichiyemon1--all cheerfully about to lay down our lives on your behalf4 ,we reverently announce this to the honoured spirit of our dead master4 ,on the fourteenth day of the third month of last year1 our honoured master was pleased to attack ,kira ,kotsuke-no-,suke1 for what reason we know not4 ,our honoured master put an end to his own life2 but ,kira ,kotsuke-no-,suke lived4 ,although we fear that after the decree issued by the ,government1 this plot of ours will be displeasing to our honoured master1 still we1 who have eaten of your food1 could not without blushing repeat the verse1 ,thou shalt not live under the same heaven1 nor tread the same earth with the enemy of thy father or lord1 nor could we have dared to leave hell ,hades and present ourselves before you in ,paradise1 unless we had carried out the vengeance which you began4 ,every day that we waited seemed as three autumns to us4 ,verily we have trodden the snow for one day1 nay1 for two days1 and have tasted food but once4 ,the old and decrepit1 the sick and the ailing1 have come forth gladly to lay down their lives4 ,men might laugh at us1 as at grasshoppers trusting in the strength of their arms1 and thus shame our honoured lord2 but we could not halt in our deed of vengeance4 ,having taken counsel together last night1 we have escorted my ,lord ,kotsuke-no-,suke hither to your tomb4 ,this dirk1 by which our honoured lord set great store last year1 and entrusted to our care1 we now bring back4 ,if your noble spirit be now present before this tomb1 we pray you1 as a #big sign1 to take the dirk1 and1 striking the head of your enemy with it a second time1 to dispel your hatred forever4 ,this is the respectful statement of forty-seven men4 ,it will be observed that the ,lord ,asano is addressed as if he were present and visible4 ,the head of the enemy has been carefully washed1 according to the rule concerning the presentation of heads to a living superior4 ,it is laid upon the tomb together with the nine-inch sword1 or dagger1 originally used by the ,lord ,asano in performing harakiri at ,government command1 and afterwards used by ,oishi ,kuranosuke in cutting off the head of ,kira ,kotsuke-no-,suke2--and the spirit of the ,lord ,asano is requested to take up the weapon and to strike the head1 so that the pain of ghostly anger may be dissipated forever4 ,then1 having been themselves all sentenced to perform harakiri1 the forty-seven retainers join their lord in death1 and are buried in front of his tomb4 ,before their graves the smoke of incense1 offered by admiring visitors1 has been ascending daily for two hundred years499 99,it has been long the custom also for visitors to leave their cards upon the tombs of the ,forty-seven ,ronin4 ,when ,i last visited ,sengakuji1 the ground about the tombs was white with visiting-cards4 ,one must have lived in ,japan1 and have been able to feel the true spirit of the old ,japanese life1 in order to comprehend the whole of this romance of loyalty2 but ,i think that whoever carefully reads ,mr4 ,mitford's version of it1 and his translation of the #bih authentic documents relating to it1 will confess himself moved4 ,that address especially touches1--because of the affection and the faith to which it testifies1 and the sense of duty beyond this life4 ,however much revenge must be condemned by our modern ethics1 there is a noble side to many of the old ,japanese stories of loyal vengeance2 and these stories affect us by the expression of what has nothing to do with vulgar revenge1--by their exposition of gratitude1 self-denial1 courage in facing death1 and faith in the unseen4 ,and this means1 of course1 that we are1 consciously or unconsciously1 impressed by their religious quality4 ,mere individual revenge--the postponed retaliation for some personal injury--repels our moral feeling3 we have learned to regard the emotion inspiring such revenge as simply brutal --something shared by man with lower forms of animal life4 ,but in the story of a homicide exacted by the sentiment of duty or gratitude to a dead master1 there may be circumstances which can make appeal to our higher moral sympathies1--to our sense of the force and beauty of unselfishness1 unswerving fidelity1 unchanging affection4 ,and the story of the ,forty-,seven ,ronin is one of this class4444 ,yet it must be borne in mind that the old ,japanese religion of loyalty1 which found its supreme manifestation in those three terrible customs of #bii junshi1 harakiri1 and kataki-uchi1 was narrow in its range4 ,it was limited by the very constitution of society4 ,though the nation was ruled1 through all its groups1 by notions of duty everywhere similar in character1 the circle of that duty1 for each individual1 did not extend beyond the clan-group to which he belonged4 ,for his own lord the retainer was always ready to die2 but he did not feel equally bound to sacrifice himself for the military government1 unless he happened to belong to the special military following of the ,shogun4 ,his fatherland1 his country1 his world1 extended only to the boundary of his chief's domain4 ,outside of that domain he could be only a wanderer1--a ronin1 or wave-man1 as the masterless samurai was termed4 ,under such conditions that larger loyalty which identifies itself with love of king and country1--which is patriotism in the modern1 not in the narrower antique sense1--could not fully evolve4 ,some common peril1 some danger to the whole race--such as the attempted ,tartar conquest of ,japan--might temporarily arouse the true sentiment of patriotism2 but otherwise that sentiment had little opportunity for development4 ,the ,ise cult represented1 indeed1 the religion of the nation1 as distinguished from the clan or tribal worship2 but each man had been taught to believe that his first duty was to his lord4 ,one cannot efficiently serve two masters2 and feudal government practically #cjj suppressed any tendencies in that direction4 ,the lordship so completely owned the individual1 body and soul1 that the idea of any duty to the nation1 outside of the duty to the chief1 had neither time nor chance to define itself in the mind of the vassal4 ,to the ordinary samurai1 for example1 an imperial order would not have been law3 he recognized no law above the law of his daimyo4 ,as for the daimyo1 he might either disobey or obey an imperial command according to circumstances3 his direct superior was the shogun2 and he was obliged to make for himself a politic distinction between the ,heavenly ,sovereign as deity1 and the ,heavenly ,sovereign as a human personality4 ,before the ultimate centralization of the military power1 there were many instances of lords sacrificing themselves for their emperor2 but there were even more cases of open rebellion by lords against the imperial will4 ,under the ,tokugawa rule1 the question of obeying or resisting an imperial command would have depended upon the attitude of the shogun2 and no daimyo would have risked such obedience to the court at ,kyoto as might have signified disobedience to the court at ,yedo4 ,not at least until the shogunate had fallen into decay4 ,in ,iyemitsu's time the daimyo were strictly forbidden to approach the imperial palace on their way to ,yedo1--even in response to an imperial command2 and they were also forbidden to make any direct appeal to the #cja ,mikado4 ,the policy of the shogunate was to prevent all direct communication between the ,kyoto court and the daimyo4 ,this policy paralyzed intrigue for two hundred years2 but it prevented the development of patriotism4 ,and for that very reason1 when ,japan at last found herself face to face with the unexpected peril of ,western aggression1 the abolition of the dairmates was felt to be a matter of paramount importance4 ,the supreme danger required that the social units should be fused into one coherent mass1 capable of uniform action1--that the clan and tribal groupings should be permanently dissolved1--that all authority should immediately be centred in the representative of the national religion1--that the duty of obedience to the ,heavenly ,sovereign should replace1 at once and forever1 the feudal duty of obedience to the territorial lord4 ,the religion of loyalty1 evolved by a thousand years of war1 could not be cast away--properly utilized1 it would prove a national heritage of incalculable worth1--a moral power capable of miracles if directed by one wise will to a single wise end4 ,destroyed by reconstruction it could not be2 but it could be diverted and transformed4 ,diverted1 therefore1 to nobler ends --expanded to larger needs1--it became the new national sentiment of trust and duty3 the modern sense of patriotism4 ,what wonders it has wrought1 within the space of thirty years1 the world is now obliged to confess3 what #cjb more it may be able to accomplish remains to be seen4 ,one thing at least is certain1---that the future of ,japan must depend upon the maintenance of this new religion of loyalty1 evolved1 through the old1 from the ancient religion of the dead4 #cjc ,,the ,,jesuit ,,peril ,the second half of the sixteenth century is the most interesting period in ,japanese history--for three reasons4 ,first1 because it witnessed the apparition of those mighty captains1 ,nobunaga1 ,hideyoshi1 and ,iyeyasu1--types of men that a race seems to evolve for supreme emergencies only1--types requiring for their production not merely the highest aptitudes of numberless generations1 but likewise an extraordinary combination of circumstances4 ,secondly1 this period is all-important because it saw the first complete integration of the ancient social system1--the definitive union of all the clan-lordships under a central military government4 ,and lastly1 the period is of special interest because the incident of the first attempt to christianize ,japan--the story of the rise and fall of the ,jesuit power--properly belongs to it4 ,the sociological significance of this episode is instructive4 ,excepting1 perhaps1 the division of the imperial house against itself in the twelfth century1 the greatest danger that ever threatened ,japanese national integrity was the introduction of ,christianity #cjd by the ,portuguese ,jesuits4 ,the nation saved itself only by ruthless measures1 at the cost of incalculable suffering and of myriads of lives4 ,it was during the period of great disorder preceding ,nobunaga's effort to centralize authority1 that this unfamiliar disturbing factor was introduced by ,xavier and his followers4 ,xavier landed at ,kagoshima in #aedi2 and by #aeha the ,jesuits had upwards of two hundred churches in the country4 ,this fact alone sufficiently indicates the rapidity with which the new religion spread2 and it seemed destined to extend over the entire empire4 ,in #aehe a ,japanese religious embassy was received at ,rome2 and by that date no less than eleven daimyo1--or kings1 as the ,jesuits not inaptly termed them--had become converted4 ,among these were several very powerful lords4 ,the new creed had made rapid way among the common people also3 it was becoming popular1 in the strict meaning of the word4 ,when ,nobunaga rose to power1 he favoured the ,jesuits in many ways--not because of any sympathy with their creed1 for he never dreamed of becoming a ,christian1 but because he thought that their influence would be of service to him in his campaign against ,buddhism4 ,like the ,jesuits themselves1 ,nobunaga had no scruple about means in his pursuit of ends4 ,more ruthless than ,william the ,conqueror1 he did not hesitate to put to death #cje his own brother and his own father-in-law1 when they dared to oppose his will4 ,the aid and protection which he extended to the foreign priests1 for merely political reasons1 enabled them to develop their power to a degree which soon gave him cause for repentance4 ,mr4 ,gubbins1 in his ,review of the ,introduction of ,christianity into ,china and ,japan1 quotes from a ,japanese work1 called ,ibuki ,mogusa1 an interesting extract on the subject3-- ,nobunaga now began to regret his previous policy in permitting the introduction of ,christianity4 ,he accordingly assembled his retainers1 and said to them3--',the conduct of these missionaries in persuading people to join them by giving money1 does not please me4 ,how would it be1 think you1 if we were to demolish ,nambanji ,the ,temple of the ,southern ,savages--so the ,portuguese church was called8' ,to this ,mayeda ,tokuzenin replied4 ',it is now too late to demolish the ,temple of the ,namban4 ,to endeavour to arrest the power of this religion now is like trying to arrest the current of the ocean4 ,nobles1 both great and small1 have become adherents of it4 ,if you would exterminate this religion now1 there is fear that disturbance should be created among your own retainers4 ,i am therefore of opinion that you should abandon your intention of destroying ,nambanji4' ,nobunaga in consequence regretted exceedingly his previous action in regard to the ,christian religion1 and set about thinking how he could root it out4 ,the assassination of ,nobunaga in #aehf may have prolonged the period of toleration4 ,his successor #cjf ,hideyoshi1 who judged the influence of the foreign priests dangerous1 was for the moment occupied with the great problem of centralizing the military power1 so as to give peace to the country4 ,but the furious intolerance of the ,jesuits in the southern provinces had already made them many enemies1 eager to avenge the cruelties of the new creed4 ,we read in the histories of the missions about converted daimyo burning thousands of ,buddhist temples1 destroying countless works of art1 and slaughtering ,buddhist priests2--and we find the ,jesuit writers praising these crusades as evidence of holy zeal4 ,at first the foreign faith had been only persuasive2 afterwards1 gathering power under ,nobunaga's encouragement1 it became coercive and ferocious4 ,a reaction against it set in about a year after ,nobunaga's death4 ,in #aehg ,hideyoshi destroyed the mission churches in ,kyoto1 ,osaka1 and ,sakai1 and drove the ,jesuits from the capital2 and in the following year he ordered them to assemble at the port of ,hirado1 and prepare to leave the country4 ,they felt themselves strong enough to disobey3 instead of leaving ,japan1 they scattered through the country1 placing themselves under the protection of various ,christian daimyo4 ,hideyoshi probably thought it impolitic to push matters further3 the priests kept quiet1 and ceased to preach publicly2 and their self-effacement served them well until #aeia4 ,in that year the advent of #cjg certain ,spanish ,franciscans changed the state of affairs4 ,these ,franciscans arrived in the train of an embassy from the ,philippines1 and obtained leave to stay in the country on condition that they were not to preach ,christianity4 ,they broke their pledge1 abandoned all prudence1 and aroused the wrath of ,hideyoshi4 ,he resolved to make an example2 and in #aeig he had six ,franciscans1 three ,jesuits1 and several other ,christians taken to ,nagasaki and there crucified4 ,the attitude of the great ,taiko toward the foreign creed had the effect of quickening the reaction against it1--a reaction which had already begun to show itself in various provinces4 ,but ,hideyoshi's death in #aeih enabled the ,jesuits to hope for better fortune4 ,his successor1 the cold and cautious ,iyeyasu1 allowed them to hope1 and even to reestablish themselves in ,kyoto1 ,osaka1 and elsewhere4 ,he was preparing for the great contest which was to be decided by the battle of ,sekigahara2--he knew that the ,christian element was divided1--some of its leaders being on his own side1 and some on the side of his enemies2--and the time would have been ill chosen for any repressive policy4 ,but in #afjf1 after having solidly established his power1 ,iyeyasu for the first time showed himself decidedly opposed to ,christianity by issuing an edict forbidding further mission work1 and proclaiming that those who had adopted the foreign religion must abandon it4 ,nevertheless the propaganda #cjh went on--conducted no longer by ,jesuits only1 but also by ,dominicans and ,franciscans4 ,the number of ,christians then in the empire is said1 with gross exaggeration1 to have been nearly two millions4 ,but ,iyeyasu neither took1 nor caused to be taken1 any severe measures of repression until #afad1--;from which date the great persecution may be said to have begun4 ,previously there had been local persecutions only1 conducted by independent daimyo1--not by the central government4 ,the local persecutions in ,kyushu1 for example1 would seem to have been natural consequences of the intolerance of the ,jesuits in the days of their power1 when converted daimyo burned ,buddhist temples and massacred ,buddhist priests2 and these persecutions were most pitiless in those very districts such as ,bungo1 ,omura1 and ,higo --where the native religion had been most fiercely persecuted at ,jesuit instigation4 ,but from #afad--;at which date there remained only eight1 out of the total sixty-four provinces of ,japan1 into which ,christianity had not been introduced--the suppression of the foreign creed became a government matter2 and the persecution was conducted systematically and uninterruptedly until every outward trace of ,christianity had disappeared4 ,the fate of the missions1 therefore1 was really settled by ,iyeyasu and his immediate successors2 #cji and it is the part taken by ,iyeyasu that especially demands attention4 ,of the three great captains1 all had1 sooner or later1 become suspicious of the foreign propaganda2 but only ,iyeyasu could find both the time and the ability to deal with the social problem which it had aroused4 ,even ,hideyoshi had been afraid to complicate existing political troubles by any rigorous measures of an extensive character4 ,iyeyasu long hesitated4 ,the reasons for his hesitation were doubtless complex1 and chiefly diplomatic4 ,he was the last of men to act hastily1 or suffer himself to be influenced by prejudice of any sort2 and to suppose him timid would be contrary to all that we know of his character4 ,he must have recognized1 of course1 that to extirpate a religion which could claim1 even in exaggeration1 more than a million of adherents1 was no light undertaking1 and would involve an immense amount of suffering4 ,to cause needless misery was not in his nature3 he had always proved himself humane1 and a friend of the common people4 ,but he was first of all a statesman and patriot2 and the main question for him must have been the probable relation of the foreign creed to political and social conditions in ,japan4 ,this question required long and patient investigation2 and he appears to have given it all possible attention4 ,at last he decided that ,roman ,christianity constituted a grave political danger and that its extirpation would be an unavoidable necessity4 #caj ,the fact that the severe measures which he and his successors enforced against ,christianity--measures steadily maintained for upwards of two hundred years--failed to completely eradicate the creed1 proves how deeply the roots had struck4 ,superficially1 all trace of ,christianity vanished to ,japanese eyes2 but in #ahfe there were discovered near ,nagasaki some communities which had secretly preserved among themselves traditions of the ,roman forms of worship1 and still made use of ,portuguese and ,latin words relating to religious matters4 ,to rightly estimate the decision of ,iyeyasu--one of the shrewdest1 and also one of the most humane statesmen that ever lived1--it is necessary to consider1 from a ,japanese point of view1 the nature of the evidence upon which he was impelled to act4 ,of ,jesuit intrigues in ,japan he must have had ample knowledge--several of them having been directed against himself2--but he would have been more likely to consider the ultimate object and probable result of such intrigues1 than the mere fact of their occurrence4 ,religious intrigues were common among the ,buddhists1 and would scarcely attract the notice of the military government except when they interfered with state policy or public order4 ,but religious intrigues having for their object the overthrow of government1 and a sectarian domination of the country1 would be gravely considered4 #caa ,nobunaga had taught ,buddhism a severe lesson about the danger of such intriguing4 ,iyeyasu decided that the ,jesuit intrigues had a political object of the most ambitious kind2 but he was more patient than ,nobunaga4 ,by #afjc he1 had every district of ,japan under his yoke2 but he did not issue his final edict until eleven years later4 ,it plainly declared that the foreign priests were plotting to get control of the government1 and to obtain possession of the country3-- ,the ,kirishitan band have come to ,japan1 not only sending their merchant-vessels to exchange commodities1 but also longing to disseminate an evil law1 to overthrow right doctrine1 so that they may change the government of the country1 and obtain possession of the land4 ,this is the germ of great disaster1 and must be crushed44444 ,japan is the country of the gods and of the ,buddha3 it honours the gods1 and reveres the ,buddha4444 ,the faction of the ,bateren99 disbelieve in the ,way of the ,gods1 and blaspheme the true ,law1 --violate right-doing1 and injure the good4444 ,they truly are the enemies of the gods and of the ,buddha4444 ,if this be not speedily prohibited1 the safety of the state will1 assuredly hereafter be imperilled2 and if those who are charged with ordering its affairs do not put a stop to the evil1 they will expose themselves to ,heaven's rebuke4 99,bateren1 a corruption of the ,portuguese padre1 is still the term used for ,roman ,catholic priests1 of any denomination4 ,these missionaries must be instantly swept out1 so that not an inch of soil remains to them in ,japan on which #cab to plant their feet2 and if they refuse to obey this command1 they shall suffer the penalty4444 ,let ,heaven and the ,four ,seas hear this4 ,obey699 99,the entire proclamation1 which is of considerable length1 has been translated by ,satow1 and may be found in ,vol4 ,,vi1 part ,i1 of the ,transactions of the ,asiatic ,society of ,japan4 ,it will be observed that there are two distinct charges made against the ,bateren in this document1--that of political conspiracy under the guise of religion1 with a view to getting possession of the government2 and that of intolerance1 towards both the ,shinto and the ,buddhist forms of native worship4 ,the intolerance is sufficiently proved by the writings of the ,jesuits themselves4 ,the charge of conspiracy was less easy to prove2 but who could reasonably have doubted that1 were opportunity offered1 the ,roman ,catholic orders would attempt to control the general government precisely as they had been able to control local government already in the lordships of converted daimyo4 ,besides1 we may be sure that by the time at which the edict was issued1 ,iyeyasu must have heard of many matters likely to give him a most evil opinion of ,roman ,catholicism3--the story of the ,spanish conquests in ,america1 and the extermination of the ,west ,indian races2 the story of the persecutions in the ,netherlands1 and of the work of the ,inquisition elsewhere2 the story of the attempt of ,philip ,,ii to conquer ,england1 and of the loss of the two great #cac ,armadas4 ,the edict was issued in #afad1 and ,iyeyasu had found opportunity to inform himself about some of these matters as early as #afjj4 ,in that year the ,english pilot ,will ,adams had arrived at ,japan in charge of a ,dutch ship1 ,adams had started on this eventful voyage in the year #aeih1--that is to say1 just ten years after the defeat of the first ,spanish ,armada1 and one year after the ruin of the second4 ,he had seen the spacious times of great ,elizabeth--who was yet alive2--he had very probably seen ,howard and ,seymour and ,drake and ,hawkins and ,frobisher and ,sir ,richard ,grenville1 the hero of #aeia4 ,for this ,will ,adams was a ,kentish man1 who had serued for ,master and ,pilott in her ,majesties ships 444 ,the ,dutch vessel was seized immediately upon her arrival at ,kyushu2 and ,adams and his shipmates were taken into custody by the daimyo of ,bungo1 who reported the fact to ,iyeyasu4 ,the advent of these ,protestant sailors was considered an important event by the ,portuguese ,jesuits1 who had their own reasons for dreading the results of an interview between such heretics and the ruler of ,japan4 ,but ,iyeyasu also happened to think the event an important one2 and he ordered that ,adams should be sent to him at ,osaka4 ,the malevolent anxiety of the ,jesuits about the matter had not escaped ,iyeyasu's penetrating observation4 ,they endeavoured again and again to have the sailors killed1 according to the #cad written statement of ,adams himself1 who was certainly no liar2 and they had been able--in ,bungo to frighten two scoundrels of the ship's company into giving false testimony499 ,the ,iesuites and the ,portingalls1 wrote ,adams1 gaue many euidences against me and the rest to the ,emperour ,iyeyasu1 that we were theeues and robbers of all nations1--and that were we suffered to liue1--it should be against the profit of his ,highnes1 and the land4 ,but ,iyeyasu was perhaps all the more favourably inclined towards ,adams by the eagerness of the ,jesuits to have him killed--crossed crucified1 as ,adams called it1--the custome of iustice in ,japan1 as hanging is in our land4 ,he gave them answer1 says ,adams1 that we had as yet not doen to him nor to none of his lande any harme or dammage3 therefore against ,reason and ,iustice to put vs to death4 444 ,and there came to pass precisely what the ,jesuits had most feared1--what they had vainly endeavoured by intimidation1 by slander1 by all possible intrigue to prevent1--an interview between ,iyeyasu and the heretic ,adams4 #cae ,soe that as soon as ,i came before him1 wrote ,adams1 he demanded of me of what countrey we were3 so ,i answered him in all points2 for there was nothing that he demanded not1 both concerning warre and peace between countrey and countrey3 so that the particulars here to wryte would be too tedious4 ,and for that time ,i was commanded to prison1 being well vsed1 with one of our mariners that cam with me to serue me4 ,from another letter of ,adams it would seem that this interview lasted far into the night1 and that ,iyeyasu's questions referred especially to politics and religion4 ,he asked1 says ,adams1 whether our countrey had warres8 ,i answered him yea1 with the ,spaniards and ,portugals--beeing in peace with all other nations4 ,further he asked me in what ,i did beleeue8 ,i said1 in ,god1 that made heauen and earth4 ,he asked me diverse other questions of things of religion1 and many other things3 ,as1 what way we came to the country8 ,having a chart of the whole world1 ,i shewed him through the ,straight of ,magellan4 ,at which he wondred1 and thought me to lie4 ,thus1 from one thing to another1 ,i abode with him till midnight4 444 ,the two men liked each other at sight1 it appears4 ,of ,iyeyasu1 ,adams significantly observes3 ,he viewed me well1 and seemed to be wonderful favourable4 ,two days later ,iyeyasu again sent for ,adams1 and cross-questioned him just about those matters which the #caf ,jesuits wanted to remain in the dark4 ,he demaunded also as conserning the warres between the ,spaniard or ,portingall and our countrey1 and the reasons3 the which ,i gaue him to vnderstand of all things1 which he was glad to heare1 as it seemed to me4 ,in the end ,i was commaunded to prisson agein1 but my lodging was bettered4 ,adams did not see ,iyeyasu again for nearly six weeks3 then he was sent for1 and cross-questioned a third time4 ,the result was liberty and favour4 ,thereafter1 at intervals1 ,iyeyasu used to send for him2 and presently we hear of him teaching the great statesman some points of jeometry1 and understanding of the art of mathematickes1 with other things4 444 ,iyeyasu gave him many presents1 as well as a good living1 and commissioned him to build some ships for deep-sea sailing4 ,eventually1 the poor pilot was created a samurai1 and given an estate4 ,being employed in the ,emperour's seruice1 he wrote1 he hath given me a liuing1 like vnto a lordship in ,england1 with eightie or ninetie husbandmen that be as my slaues or seruents3 the which1 or the like president precedent1 was neuer here before geven to any stranger4 444 ,witness to the influence of ,adams with ,iyeyasu is furnished by the correspondence of ,captain ,cock1 of the ,english factory1 who thus wrote home about him in #afad3 ,the truth is the ,emperour esteemeth hym much1 and he may goe in and speake with hym at all times1 when #cag kynges and princes are kept ovt49999 ,it was through this influence that the ,english were allowed to establish their factory at ,hirado4 ,there is no stranger seventeenth-century romance than that of this plain ,english pilot1--with only his simple honesty and common-sense to help him1--rising to such extraordinary favour with the greatest and shrewdest of all ,japanese rulers4 ,adams was never allowed1 however1 to return to ,england1--perhaps because his services were deemed too precious to lose4 ,he says himself in his letters that ,iyeyasu never refused him anything that he asked for1999999 except the privilege of revisiting ,england3 when he asked that1 once too often1 the ould ,emperour remained silent4 99,daily more and more the ,portugalls incensed the justices and the people against vs4 ,and two of our men1 as traytors1 gaue themselves in seruice to the king daimyo1 beeing all in all with the ,portugals1 hauing by them their liues warranted4 ,the one was called ,gilbert de ,conning1 whose mother dwelleth at ,middleborough1 who gaue himself out to be marchant of all the goods in the shippe4 ,the other was called ,iobn ,abelson ,van ,owater4 ,these traitours sought all manner of wayes to get the goods into their hands1 and made known vnto them all things that had passed in our voyage4 ,nine dayes after our arriuall1 the great king of the land ,iyeyasu sent for me to come vnto him4 --,letter of ,will ,adams to his wife4 9999,it has plessed ,god to bring things to pass1 so as in ye eyes of ye world must seem strange2 for the ,spaynnard and ,portingall hath bin my bitter enemies to death2 and now theay must seek to me1 an unworthy wretch2 for the ,spaynard as well as the ,portingall must haue all their negosshes negotiations go thorough my hand4-- ,letter of ,adams dated ,january #ab1 #afac4 999999,even favours for the people who had sought to bring about his death4 ,i pleased him so1 wrote ,adams1 that what ,i said he would not contrarie4 ,at which my former enemies did wonder2 and at this time must entreat me to do them a friendship1 which to both ,spaniards and ,portingals have ,i doen3 recompencing them good for euill4 ,so1 to passe my time to get my liuing1 it hath cost mee great labour and trouble at the first1 but ,god hath blessed my labour4 ,the correspondence of ,adams proves that ,iyeyasu disdained no means of obtaining direct information about foreign affairs in regard to religion and politics4 ,as for affairs in ,japan1 he had at his disposal the most perfect system of espionage ever #cah established2 and he knew all that was going on4 ,yet he waited1 as we have seen1 fourteen years before he issued his edict4 ,hideyoshi's edict was1 indeed1 renewed by him in #afjf2 but that referred particularly to the public preaching of ,christianity2 and while the missionaries outwardly conformed to the law1 he continued to suffer them within his own dominions4 ,persecutions were being carried on elsewhere2 but the secret propaganda was also being carried on1 and the missionaries could still hope4 ,yet there was menace in the air1 like the heaviness preceding storms4 ,captain ,saris1 writing from ,japan in #afac1 records a pathetic incident which is very suggestive4 ,i gaue leaue1 he says1 to divers women of the better sort to come into my ,cabbin1 where the picture of ,venus1 with her sonne ,cupid1 did hang somewhat wantonly set out in a large frame4 ,they1 thinking it to bee ,our ,ladie and her sonne1 fell downe and worshipped it1 with shewes of great deuotion1 telling me in a whispering manner 7that some of their own companions1 which were not so1 might not heare71 that they were ,christianos3 whereby we perceived them to be ,christians1 conuerted by the ,portugall ,iesuits4 444 ,when ,iyeyasu first took strong measures1 they were directed1 not against the ,jesuits1 but against a more imprudent order1--as we know from ,adams's correspondence4 ,in the yeer #afab1 he says1 is put downe all the sects of the ,franciscannes4 ,the ,jesouets hau #cai what priuiledge 444 theare beinge in ,nangasaki1 in which place only may be so manny as will of all sectes3 in other places not so many permitted4444 ,roman ,catholicism was given two more years' grace after the ,franciscan episode4 ,why ,iyeyasu should have termed it a false and corrupt religion1 both in his ,legacy and elsewhere1 remains to be considered4 ,from the ,far-,eastern point of view he could scarcely have judged it otherwise1 after an impartial investigation4 ,it was essentially opposed to all the beliefs and traditions upon which ,japanese society had been founded4 ,the ,japanese ,state was an aggregate of religious communities1 with a ,god-,king at its head2--the customs of all these communities had the force of religious laws1 and ethics were identified with obedience to custom2 filial piety was the basis of social order1 and loyalty itself was derived from filial piety4 ,but this ,western creed1 which taught that a husband should leave his parents and cleave to his wife1 held filial piety to be at best an inferior virtue4 ,it proclaimed that duty to parents1 lords1 and rulers remained duty only when obedience involved no action opposed to ,roman teaching1 and that the supreme duty of obedience was not to the ,heavenly ,sovereign at ,kyoto1 but to the ,pope at ,rome4 ,had not the ,gods and the ,buddhas been called devils by these missionaries from ,portugal and ,spain8 ,assuredly such doctrines were subversive1 #cbj no matter how astutely they might be interpreted by their apologists4 ,besides1 the worth of a creed as a social force might be judged from its fruits4 ,this creed in ,europe had been a ceaseless cause of disorders1 wars1 persecutions1 atrocious cruelties4 ,this creed1 in ,japan1 had fomented great disturbances1 had instigated political intrigues1 had wrought almost immeasurable mischief4 ,in the event of future political trouble1 it would justify the disobedience of children to parents1 of wives to husbands1 of subjects to lords1 of lords to shogun4 ,the paramount duty of government was now to compel social order1 and to maintain those conditions of peace and security without which the nation could never recover from the exhaustion of a thousand years of strife4 ,but so long as this foreign religion was suffered to attack and to sap the foundations of order1 there never could be peace4444 ,convictions like these must have been well established in the mind of ,iyeyasu when he issued his famous edict4 ,the only wonder is that he should have waited so long4 ,very possibly ,iyeyasu1 who never did anything by halves1 was waiting until ,christianity should find itself without one ,japanese leader of ability4 ,in #afaa he had information of a ,christian conspiracy in the island of ,sado 7a convict mining-district7 whose governor1 ,okubo1 had been induced to adopt ,christianity1 and was to be made ruler of the country if #cba the plot proved successful4 ,but still ,iyeyasu waited4 ,by #afad ,christianity had scarcely even an ,okubo to lead the forlorn hope4 ,the daimyo converted in the sixteenth century were dead or dispossessed or in banishment2 the great ,christian generals had been executed2 the few remaining converts of importance had been placed under surveillance1 and were practically helpless4 ,the foreign priests and native catechists were not cruelly treated immediately after the proclamation of #afad4 ,some three hundred of them were put into ships and sent out of the country1--together with various ,japanese suspected of religious political intrigues1 such as ,takayama1 former daimyo of ,akashi1 who was called ,justo ,ucondono by the ,jesuit writers1 and who had been dispossessed and degraded by ,hideyoshi for the same reasons4 ,iyeyasu set no example of unnecessary severity4 ,but harsher measures followed upon an event which took place in #afae1--the very year after the issuing of the edict4 ,hideyori1 the son of ,hideyoshi1 had been supplanted--fortunately for ,japan--by ,iyeyasu1 to whose tutelage the young man had been confided4 ,iyeyasu took all care of him1 but had no intention of suffering him to direct the government of the country1--a task scarcely within the capacity of a lad of twenty-three4 ,in spite of various political intrigues in which ,hideyori was known to have taken part1 ,iyeyasu had left him in possession #cbb of large revenues1 and of the strongest fortress in ,japan1--that mighty castle of ,osaka1 which ,hideyoshi's genius had rendered almost impregnable4 ,hideyori1 unlike his father1 favoured the ,jesuits3 and he made the castle a refuge for adherents of the false and corrupt sect4 ,informed by government spies of a dangerous intrigue there preparing1 ,iyeyasu resolved to strike2 and he struck hard4 ,in spite of a desperate defence1 the great fortress was stormed and burnt--,hideyori perishing in the conflagration4 ,one hundred thousand lives are said to have been lost in this siege4 ,adams wrote thus quaintly of ,hideyori's fate1 and the results of his conspiracy3-- ,hee mad warres with the ,emperour 444 allso by the ,jessvits and ,ffriers1 which mad belleeue he should be fauord with mirrackles and wounders2 but in fyne it proued the contrari4 ,for the ould ,emperour against him pressentlly maketh his forces reddy by sea and land1 and compasseth his castell that he was in2 although with loss of multitudes on both sides1 yet in the end rasseth the castell walles1 setteth it on fyre1 and burneth hym in it4 ,thus ended the warres4 ,now the ,emperour heering of thees ,jessvets and friers being in the castell with his ennemis1 and still from tym to tym agaynst hym1 coumandeth all romische sorte of men to depart ovt of his countri--thear churches pulld dooun1 and burned4 ,this folowed in the ould ,emperour's #cbc daies4 ,now this yeear1 #afaf1 the old ,emperour he died4 ,his son raigneth in his place1 and hee is more hot agaynste the romish relligion then his ffather wass3 for he hath forbidden thorough all his domynions1 on paine of deth1 none of his subjects to be romish christiane2 which romish seckt to prevent eueri wayes that he maye1 he hath forbidden that no stranger merchant shall abid in any of the great citties4 444 ,the son here referred to was ,hidetada1 who1 in #afag1 issued an ordinance sentencing to death every ,roman priest or friar discovered in ,japan1--an ordinance provoked by the fact that many priests expelled from the country had secretly returned1 and that others had remained to carry on their propaganda under various disguises4 ,meanwhile1 in every city1 town1 village1 and hamlet throughout the empire1 measures had been taken for the extirpation of ,roman ,christianity4 ,every community was made responsible for the existence in it of any person belonging to the foreign creed2 and special magistrates1 or inquisitors1 were appointed1 called ,kirishitan-bugyo1 to seek out and punish members of the prohibited religion499 ,christians #cbd who freely recanted were not punished1 but only kept under surveillance3 those who refused to recant1 even after torture1 were degraded to the condition of slaves1 or else put to death4 ,in some parts of the country1 extraordinary cruelty was practised1 and every form of torture used to compel recantation4 ,but it is tolerably certain that the more atrocious episodes of the persecution were due to the individual ferocity of local governors or magistrates--as in the case of ,takenaka ,uneme-no-,kami1 who was compelled by the government to perform harakiri for abusing his powers at ,nagasaki1 and making persecution a means of extorting money4 ,be that as it may1 the persecution at last either provoked1 or helped to bring about a ,christian rebellion in the daimiate of ,arima1--historically remembered as the ,shimabara ,revolt4 ,in #afcf a host of peasants1 driven to desperation by the tyranny of their lords--the daimyo of ,arima and the daimyo of ,karatsu 7convert-districts7--rose in arms1 burnt all the ,japanese temples in their vicinity1 and proclaimed religious war4 ,their banner bore a cross2 their leaders were converted samurai4 ,they were soon #cbe joined by ,christian refugees from every part of the country1 until their numbers swelled to thirty or forty thousand4 ,on the coast of the ,shimabara peninsula they seized an abandoned castle1 at a place called ,hara1 and there fortified themselves4 ,the local authorities could not cope with the uprising2 and the rebels more than held their own until government forces1 aggregating over #afj1jjj men1 were despatched against them4 ,after a brave defence of one hundred and two days1 the castle was stormed in #afch1 and its defenders1 together with their women and children1 put to the sword4 ,officially the occurrence was treated as a peasant revolt2 and the persons considered responsible for it were severely punished2--the lord of ,shimabara 7,arima7 was further sentenced to perform harakiri4 ,japanese historians state that the rising was first planned and led by ,christians1 who designed to seize ,nagasaki1 subdue ,kyushu1 invite foreign military help1 and compel a change of government2--the ,jesuit writers would have us believe there was no plot4 ,one thing certain is that a revolutionary appeal was made to the ,christian element1 and was largely responded to with alarming consequences4 ,a strong castle on the ,kyushu coast1 held by thirty or forty thousand ,christians1 constituted a serious danger1--a point of vantage from which a ,spanish invasion of the country might have been attempted with some #cbf chance of success4 ,the government seems to have recognized this danger1 and to have despatched in consequence an overwhelming force to ,shimabara4 ,if foreign help could have been sent to the rebels1 the result might have been a prolonged civil war4 ,as for the wholesale slaughter1 it represented no more than the enforcement of ,japanese law3 the punishment of the peasant revolting against his lord1 under any circumstances whatever1 being death4 ,so far as concerns the policy of such massacre1 it may be remembered that1 with less provocation1 ,nobunaga exterminated the ,tendai ,buddhists at ,hiyei-san4 ,we have every reason to pity the brave men who perished at ,shimabara1 and to sympathize with their revolt against the atrocious cruelty of their rulers4 ,but it is necessary1 as a simple matter of justice1 to consider the whole event from the ,japanese political point of view4 99,it should be borne in mind that none of these edicts were directed against ,protestant ,christianity3 the ,dutch were not considered ,christians in the sense of the ordinances1 nor were the ,english4 ,the following extract from a typical village1 ,kumicho1 or code of communal regulations1 shows the responsibility imposed upon all communities regarding the presence in their midst of ,roman ,catholic converts or believers3-- ,every year1 between the first and the third month1 we will renew our ,shumon-cho ,if we know of any person who belongs to a prohibited sect1 we will immediately inform the ,daikwan4444 ,servants and labourers shall give to their masters a certificate declaring that they are not ,christians4 ,in regard to persons who have been ,christians1 but have recanted1--if such persons come to or leave the village1 we promise to report it4--,see ,professor ,wigmore's ,notes on ,land-,tenure and ,local ,institutions in ,old ,japan4 ,the ,dutch have been denounced for helping to crush the rebellion with ships and cannon3 they fired1 by their own acknowledgment1 #dbf shot into the castle4 ,however1 the extant correspondence of the ,dutch factory at ,hirado proves beyond question that they were forced1 under menace1 to thus act4 ,in any event1 it would be difficult to discover a good reason for the merely religious denunciations of their conduct1--although that conduct would be open to criticism from the humane #cbg point of view4 ,dutchmen could not reasonably have refused to assist the ,japanese authorities in suppressing a revolt1 merely because a large proportion of the rebels happened to profess the religion which had been burning alive as heretics the men and women of the ,netherlands4 ,very possibly1 not a few persons of kin to those very ,dutch had suffered in the days of ,alva4 ,what would have happened to all the ,english and ,dutch in ,japan1 if the ,portuguese and ,spanish clergy could have got full control of government1 ought to be obvious4 ,with the massacre of ,shimabara ends the real history of the ,portuguese and ,spanish missions4 ,after that event1 ,christianity was slowly1 steadily1 implacably stamped out of visible existence4 ,it had been tolerated1 or half-tolerated1 for only sixty-five years3 the entire history of its propagation and destruction occupies a period of scarcely ninety years4 ,people of nearly every rank1 from prince to pauper1 suffered for it2 thousands endured tortures for its sake--tortures so frightful that even three of those ,jesuits who sent multitudes to useless martyrdom were forced to deny their faith under the infliction299 and tender women1 sentenced to1 the stake1 carried #cbh their little ones with them into the fire1 rather than utter the words that would have saved both mother and child4 ,yet this religion1 for which thousands vainly died1 had brought to ,japan nothing but evil disorders1 persecutions1 revolts1 political troubles1 and war4 ,even those virtues of the people which had been evolved at unutterable cost for the protection and conservation of society1--their self-denial1 their faith1 their loyalty1 their constancy and courage1--were by this black creed distorted1 diverted1 and transformed into forces directed to the destruction of that society4 ,could that destruction have been accomplished1 and a new ,roman ,catholic empire have been founded upon the ruins1 the forces of that empire would have been used for the further extension of priestly tyranny1 the spread of the ,inquisition1 the perpetual ,jesuit warfare against freedom of conscience and human progress4 ,well may we pity the victims of this pitiless faith1 and justly admire their useless courage3 yet who can regret that their cause was lost8 444 ,viewed from another standpoint than that of religious bias1 and simply judged by its results1 the ,jesuit effort to ,christianize ,japan must be regarded as a crime against humanity1 a labour of devastation1 a calamity comparable only1--by reason of the misery and destruction which it wrought1--to an earthquake1 a tidal-wave1 a volcanic eruption4 99,francisco ,cassola1 ,pedro ,marquez1 and ,giuseppe ,chiara4 ,two of these--probably under compulsion--married ,japanese women4 ,for their after-history1 see a paper by ,satow in the ,transactions of the ,asiatic ,society of ,japan1 ,vol4 ,,vi1 ,part ,i4 #cbi ,the policy of isolation1--of shutting off ,japan from the rest of the world1--as adopted by ,hidetada and maintained by his successors1 sufficiently indicates the fear that religious intrigues had inspired4 ,not only were all foreigners1 excepting the ,dutch traders1 expelled from the country2 all half-breed children of ,portuguese or ,spanish blood were also expatriated1 ,japanese families being forbidden to adopt or conceal any of them1 under penalties to be visited upon all the members of the household disobeying4 ,in #afcf two hundred and eighty-seven half-breed children were shipped to ,macao4 ,it is possible that the capacity of half-breed children to act as interpreters was particularly dreaded2 but there can be little doubt that1 at the time when this ordinance was issued1 race-hatred had been fully aroused by religious antagonism4 ,after the ,shimabara episode all ,western foreigners1 without exception1 were regarded with unconcealed distrust499 99,the ,chinese traders1 however1 were allowed much more liberty than the ,dutch4 ,the ,portuguese and ,spanish traders were replaced by the ,dutch 7the ,english factory having been closed some years previously72 but even in the case of these1 extraordinary precautions were taken4 ,they were compelled to abandon their good quarters at ,hirado1 and transfer their factory to ,deshima1--a tiny island only six hundred feet long1 by two hundred and forty feet wide4 ,there they were kept under constant guard1 like prisoners2 they were not #ccj permitted to go among the people2 no man could visit them without permission1 and no woman1 except a prostitute1 was allowed to enter their reservation under any circumstances4 ,but they had a monopoly of the trade of the country2 and ,dutch patience endured these conditions1 for the profit's sake1 during more than two hundred years4 ,other commerce with foreign countries than that maintained by the ,dutch factory1 and by the ,chinese1 was entirely suppressed4 ,for any ,japanese to leave ,japan was a capital offence2 and any one who might succeed in leaving the country by stealth1 was to be put to death upon his return4 ,the purpose of this law was to prevent ,japanese1 sent abroad by the ,jesuits for missionary training1 from returning to ,japan in the disguise of laymen4 ,it was forbidden also to construct ships capable of long voyages2 and all ships exceeding a dimension fixed by the government were broken up1 ,lookouts were established along the coast to watch for strange vessels2 and any ,european ships entering a ,japanese port1 excepting the ships of the ,dutch company1 were to be attacked and destroyed4 ,the great success at first achieved by the ,portuguese missions remains to be considered4 ,in our present comparative ignorance of ,japanese social history1 it is not easy to understand the whole of the ,christian episode4 ,there are plenty of ,jesuit-missionary #cca records2 but the ,japanese contemporary chronicles yield us scanty information about the missions--probably for the reason that an edict was issued in the seventeenth century interdicting1 not only all books on the subject of ,christianity1 but any book containing the words ,christian or ,foreign4 ,what the ,jesuit books do not explain1 and what we should rather have expected ,japanese historians to explain1 had they been allowed1 is how a society founded on ancestor-worship1 and apparently possessing immense capacity for resistance to outward assault1 could have been so quickly penetrated and partly dissolved by ,jesuit energy4 ,the question of all questions that ,i should like to see answered1 by ,japanese evidence1 is this3 ,to what extent did the missionaries interfere with the ancestor-cult8 ,it is an important question4 ,in ,china1 the ,jesuits were quick to perceive that the power of resistance to proselytism lay in ancestor-worship2 and they shrewdly endeavoured to tolerate it1 somewhat as ,buddhism before them had been obliged to do4 ,had the ,papacy supported their policy1 the ,jesuits might have changed the history of ,china2 but other religious orders fiercely opposed the compromise1 and the chance was lost4 ,how far the ancestor-cult was tolerated by the ,portuguese missionaries in ,japan is a matter of much sociological interest for investigation4 ,the supreme cult was1 of course1 left alone1 for obvious reasons4 ,it is difficult to suppose that the #ccb domestic cult was attacked then as implacably as it is attacked now by ,protestant and ,roman ,catholic missionaries alike2--is difficult to suppose1 for example1 that ,converts were compelled to cast away or to destroy their ancestral tablets4 ,on the other hand1 we are yet in doubt as to whether many of the poorer converts--servants and other common folk--possessed a domestic ancestor-cult4 ,the outcast classes1 among whom many converts were made1 need not be considered1 of course1 in this relation4 ,before the matter can be fairly judged1 much remains to be learned about the religious condition of the heimin during the sixteenth century4 ,anyhow1 whatever methods were followed1 the early success of the missions was astonishing4 ,their work1 owing to the particular character of the social organization1 necessarily began from the top3 the subject could change his creed only by permission of his lord4 ,from the outset this permission was freely granted4 ,in some cases the people were officially notified that they were at liberty to adopt the new religion2 in other cases1 converted lords ordered them to do so4 ,it would seem that the foreign faith was at first mistaken for a new kind of ,buddhism2 and in the extant official grant of land at ,yamaguchi to the ,portuguese mission1 in #aeeb1 the ,japanese text plainly states that the grant 7which appears to have included a temple called ,daidoji7 was made to the strangers that they might preach #ccc the ,law of ,buddha --,buppo shoryo no tame4 ,the original document is thus translated by ,sir ,ernest ,satow1 who reproduced it in facsimile3-- ,with respect to ,daidoji in ,yamaguchi ,agata1 ,yoshiki department1 province of ,suwo4 ,this deed witnesses that ,i have given permission to the priests who have come to this country from the ,western regions1 in accordance with their request and desire1 that they may found and erect a monastery and house in order to develope the ,law of ,buddha4 ,the #bhth day of the #hth month of the #bast year of ,tembun4 ,,suwo ,,no ,,suke4 ,august ,seal99 99,in the ,latin and ,portuguese translations1 or rather pretended translations of this document1 there is nothing about preaching the ,law of ,buddha2 and there are many things added which do not exist in the ,japanese text at all4 ,see ,transactions of the ,asiatic ,society of ,japan 7,vol4 ,,viii1 ,part ,,ii7 for ,satow's comment on this document and the false translation made of it4 ,if this error or deception8 could have occurred at ,yamaguchi1 it is reasonable to suppose that it also occurred in other places4 ,exteriorly the ,roman rites resembled those of popular ,buddhism3 the people would have observed but little that was unfamiliar to them in the forms of the service1 the vestments1 the beads1 the prostrations1 the images1 the bells1 and the incense4 ,the virgins and the saints would have been found to resemble the aureoled ,boddhisattvas and ,buddhas2 the angels and the demons would have been at once identified with the ,tennin #ccd and the ,oni4 ,all that pleased popular imagination in the ,buddhist ceremonial could be witnessed1 under slightly different form1 in those temples which had been handed over to the ,jesuits1 and consecrated by them as churches or chapels4 ,the fathomless abyss really separating the two faiths could not have been perceived by the common mind2 but the outward resemblances were immediately observable4 ,there were furthermore some attractive novelties4 ,it appears1 for example1 that the ,jesuits used to have miracle-plays performed in their churches for the purpose of attracting popular attention4444 ,but outward attractions of whatever sort1 or outward resemblances to ,buddhism1 could only assist the spread of the new religion2 they could not explain the rapid progress of the propaganda4 ,coercion might partly explain it1--coercion exercised by converted daimyo upon their subjects4 ,populations of provinces are known to have followed1 under strong compulsion1 the religion of their converted lords2 and hundreds--perhaps thousands--of persons must have done the same thing through mere habit of loyalty4 ,in these cases it is worth while to consider what sort of persuasion was used upon the daimyo4 ,we know that one great help to the missionary work was found in ,portuguese commerce1--especially the trade in firearms and ammunition4 ,in the disturbed state of the country #cce preceding the advent to power of ,hideyoshi1 this trade was a powerful bribe in religious negotiation with provincial lords4 ,the daimyo able to use firearms would necessarily possess some advantage over a rival lord having no such weapons2 and those lords able to monopolize the trade could increase their power at the expense of their neighbours4 ,now this trade was actually offered for the privilege of preaching2 and sometimes much more than that privilege was demanded and obtained4 ,in #aegb the ,portuguese presumed to ask for the whole town of ,nagasaki1 as a gift to their church1--with power of jurisdiction over the same2 threatening1 in case of refusal1 to establish themselves elsewhere4 ,the daimyo1 ,omura1 at first demurred1 but eventually yielded2 and ,nagasaki then became ,christian territory1 directly governed by the ,church4 ,very soon the fathers began to prove the character of their creed by furious attacks upon the local religion4 ,they set fire to the great ,buddhist temple1 ,jinguji1 and attributed the fire to the wrath of ,god1--after which act1 by the zeal of their converts1 some eighty other temples1 in or about ,nagasaki1 were burnt4 ,within ,nagasaki territory ,buddhism was totally suppressed1--its priests being persecuted and driven away4 ,in the province of ,bungo the ,jesuit persecution of ,buddhism was far more violent1 and conducted upon an extensive scale4 ,otomo ,sorin ,munechika1 the reigning daimyo1 not #ccf only destroyed all the ,buddhist temples in his dominion 7to the number1 it is said1 of three thousand71 but had many of the ,buddhist priests put to death4 ,for the destruction of the great temple of ,hikozan1 whose priests were reported to have prayed for the tyrant's death1 he is said to have maliciously chosen the sixth day of the fifth month 7#aegf71--the festival of the ,birthday of the ,buddha6 ,coercion1 exercised by their lords upon a docile people trained to implicit obedience1 would explain something of the initial success of the missions2 but it would leave many other matters unexplained3 the later success of the secret propaganda1 the fervour and courage of the converts under persecution1 the long-continued indifference of the chiefs of the ancestor-cult to the progress of the hostile faith4444 ,when ,christianity first began to spread through the ,roman empire1 the ancestral religion had fallen into decay1 the structure of society had lost its original form1 and there was no religious conservatism really capable of successful resistance4 ,but in the ,japan of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries1 the religion of the ancestors was very much alive2 and society was only entering upon the second period of its yet imperfect integration4 ,the ,jesuit conversions were not made among a people already losing their ancient faith1 but in one of the most intensely religious and conservative societies that ever existed4 ,christianity of any sort could not #ccg have been introduced into such a society without effecting structural disintegrations1--disintegrations1 at least1 of a local character4 ,how far these disintegrations extended and penetrated we do not know2 and we have yet no adequate explanation of the long inertia of the native religious instinct in the face of danger4 ,but there are certain historical facts which appear to throw at least a side-light upon the subject4 ,the early ,jesuit policy in ,china1 as established by ,ricci1 had been to leave converts free to practise the ancestral rites4 ,so long as this policy was followed1 the missions prospered4 ,when1 in consequence of this compromise1 dissensions arose1 the matter was referred to ,rome4 ,pope ,innocent ,x decided for intolerance by a bull issued in #afde2 and the ,jesuit missions were thereby practically ruined in ,china4 ,pope ,innocent's decision was indeed reversed the very next year by a bull of ,pope ,alexander ,,viii2 but again and again contests were raised by the religious bodies over this question of ancestor-worship1 until in #afic ,pope ,clement ,,xi definitively prohibited converts from practising the ancestral rites under any form whatsoever4444 ,all the efforts of all the missions in the ,far ,east have ever since then failed to advance the cause of ,christianity4 ,the sociological reason is plain4 ,we have seen1 then1 that up to the year #afde the ancestor-cult had been tolerated by the ,jesuits #cch in ,china1 with promising results2 and it is probable that an identical policy of tolerance was maintained in ,japan during the second half of the sixteenth century4 ,the ,japanese missions began in #aedi1 and their history ends with the ,shimabara slaughter in #afch1--;about seven years before the first ,papal decision against the tolerance of ancestor-worship4 ,the ,jesuit mission-work seems to have prospered steadily1 in spite of all opposition1 until it was interfered with by less cautious and more uncompromising zealots4 ,by a bull issued in #aehe by ,gregory ,,xiii1 and confirmed in #afjj by ,clement ,,iii1 the ,jesuits alone were authorized to do missionary-work in ,japan2 and it was not until after their privileges had been ignored by ,franciscan zeal that trouble with the government began4 ,we have seen that in #aeic ,hideyoshi had six ,franciscans executed4 ,then the issue of a new ,papal bull in #afjh1 by ,paul ,v1 allowing ,roman ,catholic missionaries of all orders to work in ,japan1 probably ruined the ,jesuit interests4 ,it will be remembered that ,iyeyasu suppressed the ,franciscans in #afab1--;a proof that their experience with ,hideyoshi had profited them little4 ,on the whole1 it appears more than likely that both ,dominicans and ,franciscans recklessly meddled with matters which the ,jesuits 7whom they accused of timidity7 had been wise enough to leave alone1 and that this interference hastened the inevitable ruin of the missions4 #cci ,we may reasonably doubt whether there were a million ,christians in ,japan at the beginning of the seventeenth century3 the more probable claim of six hundred thousand can be accepted4 ,in this era of toleration the efforts of all the foreign missionary bodies combined1 and the yearly expenditure of immense sums in support of their work1 have enabled them to achieve barely one-fifth f the success attributed to their ,portuguese predecessors1 upon a not incredible estimate4 ,the sixteenth-century ,jesuits were indeed able to exercise1 through various lords1 the most forcible sort of coercion upon whole populations of provinces2 but the modern missions certainly enjoy advantages educational1 financial1 and legislative1 much outweighing the doubtful value of the power to coerce2 and the smallness of the results which they have achieved seems to require explanation4 ,the explanation is not difficult4 ,needless attacks upon the ancestor-cult are necessarily attacks upon the constitution of society2 and ,japanese society instinctively resists these assaults upon its ethical basis4 ,for it is an error to suppose that this ,japanese society has yet arrived even at such a condition as ,roman society presented in the second or third century of our era4 ,rather it remains at a stage resembling that of a ,greek or ,latin society many centuries before ,christ4 ,the introduction of railroads1 telegraphs1 modern arms of precision1 modern applied science of all kinds1 has not yet #cdj sufficed to change the fundamental order of things1 ,superficial disintegrations are rapidly proceeding2 new structures are forming2 but the social condition still remains much like that which1 in southern ,europe1 long preceded the introduction of ,christianity4 ,though every form of religion holds something of undying truth1 the evolutionist must classify religions4 ,he must regard a monotheistic faith as representing1 in the progress of human thought1 a very considerable advance upon any polytheistic creed2 monotheism signifying the fusion and expansion of countless ghostly beliefs into one vast concept of unseen omnipotent power4 ,and1 from the standpoint of psychological evolution1 he must of course consider pantheism as an advance upon monotheism1 and must further regard agnosticism as an advance upon both4 ,but the value of a creed is necessarily relative1 and the question of its worth is to be decided1 not by its adaptability to the intellectual developments of a single cultured class1 but by its larger emotional relation to the whole society of which it embodies the moral experience4 ,its value to any other society must depend upon its power of self-adaptation to the ethical experience of that society4 ,we may grant that ,roman ,catholicism was1 by sole virtue of its monotheistic conception1 a stage in advance of the primitive ancestor-worship4 ,but it was adapted only to a form of society at #cda which neither ,chinese nor ,japanese civilization had arrived1--a form of society in which the ancient family had been dissolved1 and the religion of filial piety forgotten4 ,unlike that subtler and incomparably more humane creed of ,india1 which had learned the secret of missionary-success a thousand years before ,loyola1 the religion of the ,jesuits could never have adapted itself to the social conditions of ,japan2 and by the fact of this incapacity the fate of the missions was really decided in advance4 ,the intolerance1 the intrigues1 the savage persecutions carried on1--all the treacheries and cruelties of the ,jesuits1--may simply be considered as the manifestations of such incapacity2 while the repressive measures taken by ,iyeyasu and his successors signify sociologically no more than the national perception of supreme danger4 ,it was recognized that the triumph of the foreign religion would involve the total disintegration of society1 and the subjection of the empire to foreign domination4 ,neither the artist nor the sociologist1 at least1 can regret the failure of the missions4 ,their extirpation1 which enabled ,japanese society to evolve to its type-limit1 preserved for modern eyes the marvellous world of ,japanese art1 and the yet more marvellous world of its traditions1 beliefs1 and customs4 ,roman ,catholicism1 triumphant1 would have swept all this out of existence4 ,the natural antagonism #cdb of the artist to the missionary may be found in the fact that the latter is always1 and must be1 an unsparing destroyer4 ,everywhere the developments of art are associated in some sort with religion2 and by so much as the art of a people reflects their beliefs1 that art will be hateful to the enemies of those beliefs4 ,japanese art1 of ,buddhist origin1 is especially an art of religious suggestion1--not merely as regards painting and sculpture1 but likewise as regards decoration1 and almost every product of aesthetic taste4 ,there is something of religious feeling associated even with the ,japanese delight in trees and flowers1 the charm of gardens1 the love of nature and of nature's voices1--with all the poetry of existence1 in short4 ,most assuredly the ,jesuits and their allies would have ended all this1 every detail of it1 without the slightest qualm4 ,even could they have understood and felt the meaning of that world of strange beauty1--result of a race-experience never to be repeated or replaced1--they would not have hesitated a moment in the work of obliteration and effacement4 ,to-day1 indeed1 that wonderful art-world is being surely and irretrievably destroyed by ,western industrialism4 ,but industrial influence1 though pitiless1 is not fanatic2 and the destruction is not being carried on with such ferocious rapidity but that the fading story of beauty can be recorded for the future benefit of human civilization4 #cdc ,,feudal ,,integration ,it was under the later ,tokugawa ,shogun--during the period immediately preceding the modern regime--that ,japanese civilization reached the limit of its development4 ,no further evolution was possible1 except through social reconstruction4 ,the conditions of this integration chiefly represented the reinforcement and definition of conditions preexisting1--scarcely anything in the way of fundamental change4 ,more than ever before the old compulsory systems of cooperation were strengthened2 more than ever before all details of ceremonial convention were insisted upon with merciless exactitude4 ,in preceding ages there had been more harshness2 but at no previous period had there been less liberty4 ,nevertheless1 the results of this increased restriction were not without ethical value3 the time was yet far off at which personal liberty could prove a personal advantage2 and the paternal coercion of the ,tokugawa rule helped to develop and to accentuate much of what is most attractive in the national character4 ,centuries of warfare had previously allowed small opportunity for the cultivation of the more delicate qualities of that character3 the refinements1 the #cdd ingenuous kindliness1 the joy in life that afterward lent so rare a charm to ,japanese existence4 ,but during two hundred years of peace1 prosperity1 and national isolation1 the graceful and winning side of this human nature found chance to bloom2 and the multiform restraints of law and custom then quickened and curiously shaped the blossoming1--as the gardener's untiring art evolves the flowers of the chrysanthemum into a hundred forms of fantastic beauty4444 ,though the general social tendency under pressure was toward rigidity1 constraint left room1 in special directions1 for moral and aesthetic cultivation4 ,in order to understand the social condition1 it will be necessary to consider the nature of the paternal rule in its legal aspects4 ,to modern imagination the old ,japanese laws may well seem intolerable2 but their administration was really less uncompromising than that of our ,western laws4 ,besides1 although weighing heavily upon all classes1 from the highest to the lowest1 the legal burden was proportioned to the respective strength of the bearers2 the application of law being made less and less rigid as the social scale descended4 ,in theory at least1 from the earliest times1 the poor and unfortunate had been considered as entitled to pity2 and the duty of showing them all possible mercy was insisted upon in the oldest extant moral code of ,japan1--the ,laws of ,shotoku ,taishi4 #cde ,but the most striking example of such discrimination appears in the ,legacy of ,iyeyasu1 which represents the conception of justice in a time when society had become much more developed1 its institutions more firmly fixed1 and all its bonds tightened4 ,this stern and wise ruler1 who declared that the people are the foundation of the ,empire1 commanded leniency in dealing with the humble4 ,he ordained that any lord1 no matter what his rank1 convicted of breaking laws to the injury of the people1 should be punished by the confiscation of his estates4 ,perhaps the humane spirit of the legislator is most strongly shown in his enactments regarding crime1 as1 for example1 where he deals with the question of adultery--necessarily a crime of the first magnitude in any society based on ancestor-worship4 ,by the #ejth article of the ,legacy1 the injured husband is confirmed in his ancient right to kill1--but with this important provision1 that should he kill but one of the guilty parties1 he must himself be held as guilty as either of them4 ,should the offenders be brought up for trial1 ,iyeyasu advises that1 in the case of common people1 particular deliberation be given to the matter3 he remarks upon the weakness of human nature1 and suggests that1 among the young and simple-minded1 some momentary impulse of passion may lead to folly even when the parties are not naturally depraved4 ,but in the next article1 #cdf ,no4 #ea1 he orders that no mercy whatever be shown to men and women of the upper classes when convicted of the same crime4 ,these1 he declares1 are expected to know better than to occasion disturbance by violating existing regulations2 and such persons1 breaking the laws by lewd trifling or illicit intercourse1 shall at once be punished without deliberation or consultation499 99,that is to say1 immediately put to death4 ,it is not the same in this case as in the case of farmers1 artizans1 and traders4 444 ,throughout the entire code1 this tendency to tighten the bonds of law in the case of the military classes1 and to loosen them mercifully for the lower classes1 is equally visible4 ,iyeyasu strongly disapproved of unnecessary punishments2 and held that the frequency of punishments was proof1 not of the ill-conduct of subjects1 but of the ill-conduct of officials4 ,the #iast article of his code puts the matter thus plainly1 even as regarded the ,shogunate3 ,when punishments and executions abound in the ,empire1 it is a proof that the military ruler is without virtue and degenerate4 ,he devised particular enactments to protect the peasantry and the poor from the cruelty or the rapacity of powerful lords4 ,the great daimyo were strictly forbidden1 when making their obligatory journeys to ,yedo1 to disturb or harass the people at the post-houses1 or suffer themselves to be puffed up with military pride4 #cdg ,the private1 not less than the public conduct of these great lords1 was under ,government surveillance2 and they were actually liable to punishment for immorality6 ,concerning debauchery among them1 the legislator remarked that even though this can hardly be pronounced insubordination1 it should be judged and punished according to the degree in which it constitutes a bad example for the lower classes 7,art4 #hh7499 ,as to veritable insubordination there was no pardon3 the severity of the law on this subject allowed of no exception or mitigation4 ,the #ecrd section of the ,legacy proves this to have been regarded as the supreme crime3 ,the guilt of a vassal murdering his suzerain is in principle the same as that of an arch-traitor to the ,emperor4 ,his immediate companions1 his relations1--all even to his most distant connexions1--shall be cut off1 hewn to atoms1 root and fibre4 ,the guilt of a vassal only lifting his hand against his master1 even though he does not assassinate him1 is the same4 ,in strong contrast to this grim ordinance is the spirit of all the regulations touching the administration of law among the lower classes4 ,forgery1 incendiarism1 and poisoning were indeed crimes justifying the penalty of burning or crucifixion2 but judges were instructed to act with as much leniency as circumstances permitted in the case of ordinary offences4 ,with regard to minute details affecting individuals of the inferior classes1 says the #gc;d article of the code1 learn the wide benevolence of ,koso of the ,han ,chinese dynasty4 ,it was further ordered that magistrates of the criminal and civil courts should be chosen only from a class of men who are upright and pure1 distinguished for charity and benevolence4 ,all magistrates were kept under close supervision1 and their conduct regularly reported by government spies4 99,though even daimyo were liable to suffer for debauchery1 ,iyeyasu did not believe in the expediency of attempting to suppress all vice by law4 ,there is a strangely modern ring in his remarks upon this subject1 in the #gc;d section of the ,legacy3 ,virtuous men have said1 both in poetry and in classic works1 that houses of debauch1 for women of pleasure and for street-walkers1 are the worm-eaten spots of cities and towns4 ,but these are necessary evils1 and if they be forcibly abolished1 men of unrighteous principles will become like ravelled thread1 and there will be no end to daily punishments and floggings4 ,in many castle-towns1 however1 such houses were never allowed--probably in view of the large military force1 assembled in such towns1 which had to be maintained under iron discipline4 #cdh ,another humane aspect of ,tokugawa legislation is furnished by its dictates in regard to the relations of the sexes4 ,although concubinage was tolerated in the ,samurai class1 for reasons relating to the continuance of the family-cult1 ,iyeyasu denounces the indulgence of the privilege for merely selfish reasons3 ,silly and ignorant men neglect their true wives for the sake of a loved mistress1 and thus disturb the most important relation4444 ,men so far sunk as this may always be known as ,samurai without fidelity or sincerity4 ,celibacy1 condemned by public #cdi opinion1--except in the case of ,buddhist priests1--was equally condemned by the code4 ,one should not live alone after sixteen years of age1 declares the legislator2 all mankind recognize marriage as the first law of nature4 ,the childless man was obliged to adopt a son2 and the #dgth article of the ,legacy ordained that the family estate of a person dying without male issue1 and without having adopted a son1 should be forfeited without any regard to his relatives or connexions4 ,this law1 of course1 was made in support of the ancestor-cult1 the continuance of which it was deemed the paramount duty of each man to provide for2 but the government regulations concerning adoption enabled everybody to fulfil the legal requirement1 without difficulty4 ,considering that this code which inculcated humanity1 repressed moral laxity1 prohibited celibacy1 and rigorously maintained the family-cult1 was drawn up in the time of the extirpation of the ,jesuit missions1 the position assumed in regard to religious freedom appears to us one of singular liberality4 ,high and low alike1 proclaims the #cast article1 may follow their own inclinations with respect to religious tenets which have obtained down to the present time1 except as regards the false and corrupt school ,roman ,catholicism4 ,religious disputes have ever proved the bane and misfortune of this ,empire1 and must be firmly1 suppressed4 444 ,but the seeming liberality of this article must not be misinterpreted3 #cej the legislator who made so rigid an enactment in regard to the religion of the family was not the man to proclaim that any ,japanese was free to abandon the faith of his race for an alien creed4 ,one must carefully read the entire ,legacy in order to understand ,iyeyasu's real position1--which was simply this3 that any man was free to adopt any religion tolerated by the ,state1 in addition to his ancestor-cult4 ,iyeyasu was himself a member of the ,jodo sect of ,buddhism1 and a friend of ,buddhism in general4 ,but he was first of all a ,shintoist2 and the third article of his code commands devotion to the ,kami as the first of duties3--,keep your heart pure2 and so long as your body shall exist1 be diligent in paying honour and veneration to the ,gods4 ,that he placed the ancient cult above ,buddhism should be evident from the text of the #eb;d article of the ,legacy1 in which he declares that no one should suffer himself to neglect the national faith because of a belief in any other form of religion4 ,this text is of particular interest3 ,my body1 and the bodies of others1 being born in the ,empire of the ,gods1 to accept unreservedly the teachings of other countries1--such as ,confucian1 ,buddhist1 or ,taoist doctrines1--and to apply one's whole and undivided attention to them1 would be1 in short1 to desert one's own master1 and transfer one's loyalty to another4 ,is not this to forget the origin of one's being8 #cea ,of course the ,shogun1 professing to derive his authority from the descendant of the elder gods1 could not with consistency have proclaimed the right of freedom to doubt those gods3 his official religious duty permitted of no compromise4 ,but the interest attaching to his opinions1 as expressed in the ,legacy1 rests upon the fact that the ,legacy was not a public1 but a strictly private document1 intended for the perusal and guidance of his successors only4 ,altogether his religious position was much like that of the liberal ,japanese statesman of to-day1--respect for whatever is good in ,buddhism1 qualified by the patriotic conviction that the first religious duty is to the cult of the ancestors1 the ancient creed of the race4444 ,iyeyasu had preferences regarding ,buddhism2 but even in this he showed no narrowness4 ,though he wrote in his ,legacy1 ,let my posterity ever be of the honoured sect of ,jodo1 he greatly reverenced the high-priest of the ,tendai temple1 ,yeizan1 who had been one of his instructors1 and obtained for him the highest court-office possible for a ,buddhist priest to obtain1 as well as the headship of the ,tendai sect4 ,moreover the ,shogun visited ,yeizan to make there official prayer for the prosperity of the country4 ,there is every reason to believe that within the territories of the ,shogunate proper1 comprising the greater part of the ,empire1 the administration of #ceb ordinary criminal law was humane1 and that the infliction of punishment was made1 in the case of the common people1 to depend largely upon circumstances4 ,needless severity was a crime before the higher military law1 which1 in such cases1 made no distinctions of rank4 ,although the ring-leaders of a peasant-revolt1 for example1 would be sentenced to death1 the lord through whose oppression the uprising was provoked1 would be deprived of a part or the whole of his estates1 or degraded in rank1 or perhaps even sentenced to perform harakiri4 ,professor ,wigmore1 whose studies of ,japanese law first shed light upon the subject1 has given us an excellent review of the spirit of the ancient legal methods4 ,he points out that the administration of law was never made impersonal in the modern sense2 that unbending law did not1 for the people at least1 exist in relation to minor offences4 ,the ,anglo-,saxon idea of inflexible law is the idea of a justice impartial and pitiless as fire3 whoever breaks the law must suffer the consequence1 just as surely as the person who puts his hand into fire must experience pain4 ,but in the administration of the old ,japanese law1 everything was taken into consideration3 the condition of the offender1 his intelligence1 his degree of education1 his previous conduct1 his motives1 suffering endured1 provocation received1 and so forth2 and final judgment was decided by moral common sense rather than by legal enactment #cec or precedent4 ,friends and relatives were allowed to make plea for the offender1 and to help him in whatever honest way they could4 ,if a man were falsely accused1 and proved innocent upon trial1 he would not only be consoled by kind words1 but1 would probably receive substantial compensation2 and it appears that judges were accustomed1 at the end of important trials1 to reward good conduct as well as to punish crime499 444 ,on the other hand1 litigation was officially discouraged4 ,everything possible was done to prevent any cases from being taken into court1 which could be settled or compromised by communal arbitration2 and the people were taught to consider the court only as the last possible resort4 99,the following extracts from a sentence said to have been passed by the famous judge1 ,ooka ,tadasuke1 at the close of a celebrated criminal trial1 are illustrative3 ,musashiya ,chobei and ,goto ,hanshiro1 these actions of yours are worthy of the highest praise3 as a remuneration ,i award ten silver ryo to each of you4444 ,tami1 you1 for maintaining your brother1 are to be commended3 for this you are to receive the amount of five kwammon4 ,ko1 daughter of ,chohachi1 you are obedient to your parents3 in consideration of this1 the sum of five silver ryo is awarded to you4--7,see ,dening's ,japan in ,days of ,yore47 ,the good old custom of rewarding notable cases of filial piety1 courage1 generosity1 etc41 though not now practised in the courts1 is still maintained by the local governments4 ,the rewards are small2 but the public honour which they confer upon the recipient is very great4 ,the general character of the ,tokugawa rule can be to some degree inferred from the foregoing facts4 ,it was in no sense a reign of terror that compelled peace and encouraged industry for two hundred and #ced fifty years4 ,though the national civilization was restrained1 pruned1 clipped in a thousand ways1 it was at the same time cultivated1 refined1 and strengthened4 ,the long peace established throughout the ,empire what had never before existed1--a universal feeling of security4 ,the individual was bound more than ever by law and custom2 but he was also protected3 he could move without anxiety to the length of his chains4 ,though coerced by his fellows1 they helped him to bear the coercion cheerfully3 everybody aided everybody else to fulfil the obligations and to support the burdens of communal life4 ,conditions tended1 therefore1 toward the general happiness as well as toward the general prosperity4 ,there was not1 in those years1 any struggle for existence1--not at least in our modern meaning of the phrase4 ,the requirements of life were easily satisfied2 every man had a master to provide for him or to protect him2 competition was repressed or discouraged2 there was no need for supreme effort of any sort1--no need for the straining of any faculty4 ,moreover1 there was little or nothing to strive after3 for the vast majority of the people1 there were no prizes to win4 ,ranks and incomes were fixed2 occupations were hereditary2 and the desire to accumulate wealth must have been checked or numbed by those regulations which limited the rich man's right to use his money as he might please4 ,even a great lord--even the ,shogun himself #cee --could not do what he pleased4 ,as for any common person1--farmer1 craftsman1 or shopkeeper1--he could not build a house as he liked1 or furnish it as he liked1 or procure for himself such articles of luxury as his taste might incline him to buy4 ,the richest heimin1 who attempted to indulge himself in any of these ways1 would at once have been forcibly reminded that he must not attempt to imitate the habits1 or to assume the privileges1 of his betters4 ,he could not even order certain kinds of things to be made for him4 ,the artizans or artists who created objects of luxury1 to gratify aesthetic taste1 were little disposed to accept commissions from people of low rank3 they worked for princes1 or great lords1 and could scarcely afford to take the risk of displeasing their patrons4 ,every man's pleasures were more or less regulated by his place in society1 and to pass from a lower into a higher rank was no easy matter4 ,extraordinary men were sometimes able to do this1 by attracting the favour of the great4 ,but many perils attended upon such distinction2 and the wisest policy for the heimin was to remain satisfied with his position1 and try to find as much happiness in life as the law allowed4 ,personal ambition being thus restrained1 and the cost of existence reduced to a minimum much below our ,western ideas of the necessary1 there were really established conditions highly favourable to certain forms of culture1 in despite of sumptuary #cef regulations4 ,the national mind was obliged to seek solace for the monotony of existence1 either in amusement or study4 ,tokugawa policy had left imagination partly free in the directions of literature and art--the cheaper art2 and within those two directions repressed personality found means to utter itself1 and fancy became creative4 ,there was a certain amount of danger attendant upon even such intellectual indulgences2 and much was dared4 ,aesthetic taste1 however1 mostly followed the line of least resistance4 ,observation concentrated itself upon the interest of everyday life1--upon incidents which might be watched from a window1 or studied in a garden1--upon familiar aspects of nature in various seasons1--upon trees1 flowers1 birds1 fishes1 or reptiles1--upon insects and the ways of them1 --upon all kinds of small details1 delicate trifles1 amusing curiosities4 ,then it was that the race-genius produced most of that queer bric-a-brac which still forms the delight of ,western collectors4 ,the painter1 the ivory-carver1 the decorator1 were left almost untroubled in their production of fairy-pictures1 exquisite grotesqueries1 miracles of liliputian art in metal and enamel and lacquer-of-gold4 ,in all such small matters they could feel free2 and the results of that freedom are now treasured in the museums of ,europe and ,america4 ,it is true that most of the arts 7nearly all of ,chinese origin7 were considerably developed before the ,tokugawa era2 but it was then that they #ceg began to assume those inexpensive forms which placed aesthetic gratification within reach of the common people4 ,sumptuary legislation or rule might yet apply to the use and possession of costly production1 but not to the enjoyment of form2 and the beautiful1 whether shaped in paper or in ivory1 in clay or gold1 is always a power for culture4 ,it has been said that in a ,greek city of the fourth century before ,christ1 every household utensil1 even the most trifling object1 was in respect of design an object of art2 and the same fact is true1 though in another and a stranger way1 of all things in a ,japanese home3 even such articles of common use as a bronze candlestick1 a brass lamp1 an iron kettle1 a paper lantern1 a bamboo curtain1 a wooden pillow1 a wooden tray1 will reveal to educated eyes a sense of beauty and fitness entirely unknown to ,western cheap production4 ,and it was especially during the ,tokugawa period that this sense of beauty began to inform everything in common life4 ,then also was developed the art of illustration2 then came into existence those wonderful colour-prints 7the most beautiful made in any age or country7 which are now so eagerly collected by wealthy dilettanti4 ,literature also ceased1 like art1 to be the enjoyment of the upper classes only3 it developed a multitude of popular forms4 ,this was the age of popular fiction1 of cheap books1 of popular drama1 of storytelling for young and old4444 ,we may certainly #ceh call the ,tokugawa period the happiest in the long life of the nation4 ,the mere increase of population and of wealth would prove the fact1 irrespective of the general interest awakened in matters literary and aesthetic4 ,it was an age of popular enjoyment1 also of general culture and social refinement4 ,customs spread downward from the top of society4 ,during the ,tokugawa period1 various diversions or accomplishments1 formerly fashionable in upper circles only1 became common property4 ,three of these were of a sort indicating a high degree of refinement3 poetical contests1 tea-ceremonies1 and the complex art of flower-arrangement4 ,all were introduced into ,japanese society long before the ,tokugawa regime2--the fashion of poetical competitions must be as old as ,japanese authentic history4 ,but it was under the ,tokugawa ,shogunate that such amusements and accomplishments became national4 ,then the tea-ceremonies were made a feature of female education throughout the country4 ,their elaborate character could be explained only by the help of many pictures2 and it requires years of training and practice to graduate in the art of them4 ,yet the whole of this art1 as to detail1 signifies no more than the making and serving of a cup of tea4 ,however1 it is a real art--a most exquisite art4 ,the actual making of the infusion is a matter of no consequence in itself3 the supremely important matter is that the act be performed in the most perfect1 #cei most polite1 most graceful1 most charming manner possible4 ,everything done--from the kindling of the charcoal fire to the presentation of the tea--must be done according to rules of supreme etiquette3 rules requiring natural grace as well as great patience to fully master4 ,therefore a training in the tea-ceremonies is still held to be a training in politeness1 in self-control1 in delicacy1--a discipline in deportment4444 ,quite as elaborate is the art of arranging flowers4 ,there are many different schools2 but the object of each system is simply to display sprays of leaves and flowers in the most beautiful manner possible1 and according to the irregular graces of ,nature herself4 ,this art also requires years to learn2 and the teaching of it has a moral as well as an aesthetic value4 ,it was in this period also that etiquette was cultivated to its uttermost1--that politeness became diffused throughout all ranks1 not merely as a fashion1 but as an art4 ,in all civilized societies of the militant type politeness becomes a national characteristic at an early period2 and it must have been a common obligation among the ,japanese1 as their archaic tongue bears witness1 before the historical epoch4 ,public enactments on the subject were made as early as the seventh century by the founder of ,japanese ,buddhism1 the prince-regent1 ,shotoku ,taishi4 ,ministers and functionaries1 he proclaimed1 #cfj should make decorous behaviour99 their leading principle2 for their leading principle of the government of the people consists in decorous behaviour4 ,if the superiors do not behave with decorum1 the inferiors are disorderly3 if inferiors are wanting in proper behaviour1 there must necessarily be offences4 ,therefore it is that when lord and vassal behave with propriety1 the distinctions of rank are not confused when the people behave with propriety1 the government of the ,commonwealth proceeds of itself4 ,something of the same old ,chinese teaching we find reechoed1 a thousand years later1 in the ,legacy of ,iyeyasu3 ,the art of governing a country consists in the manifestation of due deference on the part of a suzerain to his vassals4 ,know that if you turn your back upon this1 you will be assassinated2 and the ,empire will be lost4 ,we have already seen that etiquette was rigidly enforced upon all classes by the military rule3 for at least ten centuries before ,iyeyasu1 the nation had been disciplined in politeness1 under the edge of the sword4 ,but under the ,tokugawa ,shogunate politeness became particularly a popular characteristic1--a rule of conduct maintained by even the lowest classes in their daily relations4 ,among the higher classes it became the art of beauty in life4 ,all the taste1 the grace1 the #cfa nicety which then informed artistic production in precious material1 equally informed every detail of speech and action4 ,courtesy was a moral and aesthetic study1 carried to such incomparable perfection that every trace of the artificial disappeared4 ,grace and charm seemed to have become habit1--inherent qualities of the human fibre1--and doubtless1 in the case of one sex at least1 did so become4 99,or1 ceremony3 the ,chinese term used signifying everything relating to gentlemanly and upright conduct4 ,the translation is ,mr4 ,aston's 7see ,vol4 ,,ii1 p1 #acj1 of his translation of the ,nihongi74 ,for it has well been said that the most wonderful aesthetic products of ,japan are not its ivories1 nor its bronzes1 nor its porcelains1 nor its swords1 nor any of its marvels in metal or lacquer--but its women4 ,accepting as partly true the statement that woman everywhere is what man has made her1 we might say that this statement is more true of the ,japanese woman than of any other4 ,of course it required thousands and thousands of years to make her2 but the period of which ,i am speaking beheld the work completed and perfected4 ,before this ethical creation1 criticism should hold its breath2 for there is here no single fault save the fault of a moral charm unsuited to any world of selfishness and struggle4 ,it is the moral artist that now commands our praise1--the realizer of an ideal beyond ,occidental reach4 ,how frequently has it been asserted that1 as a moral being1 the ,japanese woman does not seem to belong to the same race as the ,japanese man6 ,considering that heredity is limited by sex1 there is reason in the assertion3 the ,japanese woman is an ethically different #cfb being from the ,japanese man4 ,perhaps no such type of woman will appear again in this world for a hundred thousand years3 the conditions of industrial civilization will not admit of her existence4 ,the type could not have been created in any society shaped on modern lines1 nor in any society where the competitive struggle takes those unmoral forms with which we have become too familiar4 ,only a society under extraordinary regulation and regimentation1--a society in which all self-assertion was repressed1 and self-sacrifice made a universal obligation1--a society in which personality was clipped like a hedge1 permitted to bud and bloom from within1 never from without1--in short1 only a society founded upon ancestor-worship1 could have produced it4 ,it has no more in common with the humanity of this twentieth century of ours--perhaps very much less--than has the life depicted upon old ,greek vases4 ,its charm is the charm of a vanished world--a charm strange1 alluring1 indescribable as the perfume of some flower of which the species became extinct in our ,occident before the modern languages were born4 ,transplanted successfully it cannot be3 under a foreign sun its forms revert to something altogether different1 its colours fade1 its perfume passes away4 ,the ,japanese woman can be known only in her own country1--the ,japanese woman as prepared and perfected by the old-time education for that strange society in which the charm #cfc of her moral being1--her delicacy1 her supreme unselfishness1 her child-like piety and trust1 her exquisite tactful perception of all ways and means to make happiness about her1--can be comprehended and valued4 ,i have spoken only of her moral charm3 it requires time for the unaccustomed foreign eye to discern the physical charm4 ,beauty1 according to our ,western standards1 can scarcely be said to exist in this race1--or1 shall we say that it has never yet been developed8 ,one seeks in vain for a facial angle satisfying ,western aesthetic canons4 ,it is seldom that one meets even with a fine example of that physical elegance1--that manifestation of the economy of force1--which we call grace1 in the ,greek meaning of the word4 ,yet there is charm--great charm--both of face and form3 the charm of childhood--childhood with its every feature yet softly and vaguely outlined 7efface1 as a ,french artist would call it71--childhood before the limbs have fully lengthened1--slight and1 dainty1 with admirable little hands and feet4 ,the eyes at first surprise us1 by the strangeness of their lids1 so unlike ,aryan eyelids1 and folding upon another plan4 ,yet they are often very charming2 and a ,western artist would not fail to appreciate the graceful terms1 invented by ,japanese or ,chinese art1 to designate particular beauties in the lines of the eyelids4 ,even if she cannot be called handsome1 according to ,western #cfd standards1 the ,japanese woman must be confessed pretty1--pretty like a comely child2 and if she be seldom graceful in the ,occidental sense1 she is at least in all her ways incomparably graceful3 her every motion1 gesture1 or expression being1 in its own ,oriental manner1 a perfect thing1--an act performed1 or a look conferred1 in the most easy1 the most graceful1 the most modest way possible4 ,by ancient custom1 she is not permitted to display her grace in the street3 she must walk in a particular shrinking manner1 turning her feet inward as she patters along upon her wooden sandals4 ,but to watch her at home1 where she is free to be comely1--merely to see her performing any household duty1 or waiting upon guests1 or arranging flowers1 or playing with her children1--is an education in ,far ,eastern aesthetics for whoever has the head and the heart to learn4444 ,but is she not1 then1 one may ask1 an artificial product1--a forced growth of ,oriental civilization8 ,i would answer both ,yes and ,no4 ,she is an artificial product in only the same evolutional sense that all character is an artificial product2 and it required tens of centuries to mould her4 ,she is not1 on the other hand1 an artificial type1 because she has been particularly trained to be her true self at all times when circumstances allow1--or1 in other words1 to be delightfully natural4 ,the old-fashioned education of her sex was directed to the development #cfe of every quality essentially feminine1 and to the suppression of the opposite quality4 ,kindliness1 docility1 sympathy1 tenderness1 daintiness--these and other attributes were cultivated into incomparable blossoming4 ,be good1 sweet maid1 and let who will be clever3 do noble things1 not dream them1 all day long--those words of ,kingsley really embody the central idea in her training4 ,of course the being1 formed by such training only1 must be protected by society2 and by the old ,japanese society she was protected4 ,exceptions did not affect the rule4 ,what ,i mean is that she was able to be purely herself1 within certain limits of emotional etiquette1 in all security4 ,her success in life was made to depend on her power to win affection by gentleness1 obedience1 kindliness2--not the affection merely of a husband1 but of the husband's parents and grandparents1 and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law1--in short of all the members of a strange household4 ,thus to succeed required angelic goodness and patience2 and the ,japanese woman realized at least the ideal of a ,buddhist angel4 ,a being working only for others1 thinking only for others1 happy only in making pleasure for others1--a being incapable of unkindness1 incapable of selfishness1 incapable of acting contrary to her own inherited sense of right1--and in spite of this softness and gentleness ready1 at any moment1 to lay down her life1 to #cff sacrifice everything at the call of duty3 such was the character of the ,japanese woman4 ,most strange may seem the combination1 in this child-soul1 of gentleness and force1 tenderness and courage1--yet the explanation is not far to seek4 ,stronger within her than wifely affection or parental affection or even maternal affection1--stronger than any womanly emotion1 was the moral conviction born of her great faith4 ,this religious quality of character can be found among ourselves only within the shadow of cloisters1 where it is cultivated at the expense of all else2 and the ,japanese woman has been therefore compared to a ,sister of ,charity4 ,but she had to be very much more than a ,sister of ,charity1--daughter-in-law and wife and mother1 and to fulfil without reproach the multiform duties of her triple part4 ,rather might she be compared to the ,greek type of noble woman1--to ,antigone1 to ,alcestis4 ,with the ,japanese woman1 as formed by the ancient training1 each act of life was an act of faith3 her existence was a religion1 her home a temple1 her every word and thought ordered by the law of the cult of the dead4444 ,this wonderful type is not extinct--though surely doomed to disappear4 ,a human creature so shaped for the service of gods and men that every beat of her heart is duty1 that every drop of her blood is moral feeling1 were not less out of place in the future world of competitive selfishness1 than an angel in hell4 #cfg ,,the ,,shinto ,,revival ,the slow weakening of the ,tokugawa ,shogunate was due to causes not unlike those which had brought about the decline of previous regencies3 the race degenerated during that long period of peace which its rule had inaugurated2 the strong builders were succeeded by feebler and feebler men4 ,nevertheless the machinery of administration1 astutely devised by ,iyeyasu1 and further perfected by ,iyemitsu1 worked so well that the enemies of the ,shogunate could find no opportunity for a successful attack until foreign aggression unexpectedly came to their aid4 ,the most dangerous enemies of the government were the great clans of ,satsuma and ,choshu4 ,iyeyasu had not ventured to weaken them beyond a certain point3 the risks of the undertaking would have been great2 and1 on the other hand1 the alliance of those clans was for the time being a matter of vast political importance4 ,he only took measures to preserve a safe balance of power1 placing between those formidable allies new lordships in whose rulers he could put trust1--a trust based first upon interest1 secondly upon kinship4 ,but he always felt that danger to the ,shogunate #cfh might come from ,satsuma and ,choshu2 and he left to his successors careful instructions about the policy to be followed in dealing with such possible enemies4 ,he felt that his work was not perfect1--that certain outlying blocks of the structure had not been properly clamped to the rest4 ,he could not do more in the direction of consolidation1 simply because the material of society had not yet sufficiently evolved1 had not yet become plastic enough1 to permit of perfect and permanent cohesion4 ,in order to effect that1 it would have been necessary to dissolve the clans4 ,but ,iyeyasu did all that human foresight could have safely attempted under the circumstances2 and no one was more keenly conscious than himself of the weak points in his wonderful organization4 ,for more than two hundred years the ,satsuma and ,choshu clans1 and several others ready to league with them1 submitted to the discipline of the ,tokugawa rule4 ,but they chafed under it1 and watched for a chance to break the yoke4 ,all the while this chance was being slowly created for them--not by any political changes1 but by the patient toil of ,japanese men of letters4 ,three among these--the greatest scholars that ,japan ever produced--especially prepared the way1 by their intellectual labours1 for the abolition of the ,shogunate4 ,they were ,shinto scholars2 and they represented the not unnatural reaction of native conservatism against the #cji long tyranny of alien ideas and alien beliefs1--against the literature and philosophy and bureaucracy of ,china1--against the preponderant influence upon education of the foreign religion of ,buddhism4 ,to all this they opposed the old native literature of ,japan1 the ancient poetry1 the ancient cult1 the early traditions and rites of ,shinto4 ,the names of these three remarkable men were ,mabuchi 7#afig-agfi71 ,motowori 7#agcj-ahja71 and ,hirata 7#aggf-ahdc74 ,their efforts actually resulted in the disestablishment of ,buddhism1 and in the great ,shinto revival of #ahga4 ,the intellectual revolution made by these scholars could have been prepared only during a long era of peace1 and by men enjoying the protection and patronage of members of the ruling class4 ,by a strange chance1 it was the house of ,tokugawa itself which first gave to literature such encouragement and aid as made possible the labours of the ,shinto scholars4 ,iyeyasu had been a lover of learning2 and had devoted the later years of his life--passed in retirement at ,shidzuoka--to the collection of ancient books and manuscripts4 ,he bequeathed his ,japanese books to his eighth son1 the ,prince of ,owari2 and his ,chinese books to another son1 the ,prince of ,kishu4 ,the ,prince of ,owari himself composed several works upon ,japanese early literature4 ,other descendants of ,iyeyasu1 inherited the great #cgj ,shogun's love of letters3 one of his grandsons1 ,mitsukuni1 the second ,prince of ,mito 7#afbb-agjj71 compiled1 with the aid of various scholars1 the first1 important history of ,japan1--the ,dai-,nihon-,shi1 in #bdj books4 ,also he compiled a work of #ejj volumes upon the ceremonies and the etiquette of the ,imperial ,court1 and set aside from his revenues a sum equal to about #cj1jjj pounds per annum1 to cover the cost of publishing the splendid productions4444 ,under the patronage of great lords like these--collectors of libraries--there gradually developed a new school of men-of-letters3 men who turned away from ,chinese literature to the study of the ,japanese classics4 ,they reedited the ancient poetry and chronicles2 they republished the sacred records1 with ample commentaries4 ,they produced whole libraries of works upon religious1 historical1 and philological subjects2 they made grammars and dictionaries2 they wrote treatises on the art of poetry1 on popular errors1 on the nature of the gods1 on government1 on the manners and customs of ancient days4444 ,the foundations of this new scholarship were laid by two ,shinto priests1--,kada and ,mabuchi4 ,the high patrons of learning never suspected the possible results of those researches which they had encouraged and aided4 ,the study of the ancient records1 the study of ,japanese literature1 the study of the early political and religious conditions1 #cga naturally led men to consider the history of those foreign literary influences which had well-nigh stifled native learning1 and to consider also the history of the foreign creed which had overwhelmed the religion of the ancestral gods4 ,chinese ethics1 ,chinese ceremonial1 and ,chinese ,buddhism had reduced the ancient faith to the state of a minor belief--almost to the state of a superstition4 ,the ,shinto gods1 exclaimed one of the scholars of the new school1 have become the servants of the ,buddhas6 ,but those ,shinto gods were the ancestors of the race1--the fathers of its emperors and princes1--and their degradation could not but involve the degradation of the imperial tradition4 ,already1 indeed1 the emperors had been deprived not only of their immemorial rights and privileges1 but of their revenues3 many had been deposed and banished and insulted4 ,just as the gods had been admitted only as inferior personages to the ,buddhist pantheon1 so their living descendants were now permitted to reign only as the dependants of military usurpers4 ,by sacred law the whole soil of the empire belonged to the ,heavenly ,sovereign3 yet there had been great poverty at times in the imperial palace2 and the revenues1 allotted for the maintenance of the ,mikado1 had often been insufficient to relieve his family from want4 ,assuredly all this was wrong4 ,the ,shogunate had indeed established peace and inaugurated prosperity2 but who could forget that #cgb it had originated in a military usurpation of imperial rights8 ,only by the restoration of the ,son of ,heaven to his ancient position of power1 and by the relegation of the military chiefs to their proper state of subordination1 could the best interests of the nation be really served4444 ,all this was thought and felt and strongly suggested2 but not all of it was openly proclaimed4 ,to have publicly preached against the military government as a usurpation would have been to invite destruction4 ,the ,shinto scholars dared only so much as the politics and the temper of their time seemed to permit1--though they closely approached the danger-line4 ,by the end of the eighteenth century1 however1 their teaching had created a strong party in favour of the official revival of the ancient religion1 the restoration of the ,mikado to supreme power1 and the repression1 if not suppression1 of the military power4 ,yet it was not until the year #ahda that the ,shogunate took alarm1 and proclaimed its disquiet by banishing from the capital the great scholar ,hirata1 and forbidding him to write anything more4 ,not long afterwards he died4 ,but he had been able to teach for forty years2 he had written and published several hundred volumes2 and the school of which he was the last and greatest theologian already exerted far-reaching influence4 ,the restive lords of ,choshu1 ,satsuma1 ,tosa1 and ,hizen were watching and waiting4 ,they perceived #cgc the worth of the new ideas to their own policy2 they encouraged the new ,shintoism2 they felt that a time was coming when they could hope to shake off the domination of the ,tokugawa4 ,and their opportunity came at last with the advent to ,japan of ,commodore ,perry's fleet4 ,the events of that time are well known1 and need not here be dwelt upon at any length4 ,suffice to say that after the ,shogunate had been terrified into making commercial treaties with the ,united ,states and other powers1 and practically compelled to open sundry ports to foreign trade1 great discontent arose and was fomented as much as possible by the enemies of the military government4 ,meanwhile the ,shogunate had ascertained for itself the impossibility of resisting foreign aggression3 it was fairly well informed as to the strength of ,western countries4 ,the imperial court was nowise informed2 and the ,shogunate naturally dreaded to furnish the information4 ,to acknowledge incapacity to resist ,occidental aggression would be to invite the ruin of the ,tokugawa house2 to resist1 on the other hand1 would be to invite the destruction of the ,empire4 ,the enemies of the ,shogunate then persuaded the imperial court to order the expulsion of the foreigners2 and this order--which1 it must be remembered1 was essentially a religious order1 emanating from the source of all acknowledged authority--placed the military government in a serious dilemma4 #cgd ,it tried to effect by diplomacy what it could not accomplish by force2 but while it was negotiating for the withdrawal of the foreign' settlers1 matters were suddenly forced to a crisis by the ,prince of ,choshu1 who fired upon various ships belonging to the foreign powers4 ,this action provoked the bombardment of ,shimonoseki1 and the demand of an indemnity of three million dollars4 ,the ,shogun ,iyemochi attempted to chastise the daimyo of ,choshu for this act of hostility2 but the attempt only proved the weakness of the military government4 ,iyemochi died soon after this defeat2 and his successor ,hitotsubashi had no chance to do anything1--for the now evident feebleness of the ,shogunate gave its enemies courage to strike a fatal blow4 ,pressure was brought upon the imperial court to proclaim the abolition of the ,shogunate2 and the ,shogunate was abolished by decree4 ,hitotsubashi submitted2 and the ,tokugawa regime thus came to an end1--although its more devoted followers warred for two years afterwards1 against hopeless odds1 to reestablish it4 ,in #ahfg the entire administration was reorganized2 the supreme power1 both military and civil1 being restored to the ,mikado4 ,soon afterward the ,shinto cult1 officially revived in its primal simplicity1 was declared the ,religion of ,state2 and ,buddhism was disendowed4 ,thus the ,empire was reestablished upon the ancient lines2 and all that the literary party had #cge hoped for seemed to be realized--except one thing4444 ,be it here observed that the adherents of the literary party wanted to go much further than the great founders of the new ,shintoism had dreamed of going4 ,these later enthusiasts were not satisfied with the abolition of the ,shogunate1 the restoration of imperial power1 and the revival of the ancient cult3 they wanted a return of all society to the simplicity of primitive times2 they desired that all foreign influence should be got rid of1 and that the official ceremonies1 the future education1 the future literature1 the ethics1 the laws1 should be purely ,japanese4 ,they were not even satisfied with the disendowment of ,buddhism3 there was a vigorous proposal made for its total suppression6 ,and all this would have signified1 in more ways than one1 a social retrogression towards barbarism4 ,the great scholars had never proposed to cast away ,buddhism and all ,chinese learning2 they had only insisted that the native religion and culture should have precedence4 ,but the new literary party desired what would have been equivalent to the destruction of a thousand years' experience4 ,happily the clansmen who had broken down the ,shogunate saw both past and future in another light4 ,they understood that the national existence was in peril1 and that resistance to foreign pressure would be hopeless4 ,satsuma had witnessed the bombardment of ,kagoshima in #cgf #ahfc2 ,choshu1 the bombardment of ,shimonoseki in #ahfd4 ,evidently the only chance of being able to face ,western power would be through the patient study of ,western science2 and the survival of the ,empire depended upon the ,europeanization of society4 ,by #ahga the daimiates were abolished2 in #ahgc the edicts against ,christianity were withdrawn2 in #ahgf the wearing of swords was prohibited4 ,the samurai1 as a military body1 were suppressed2 and all classes were declared thenceforward equal before the law4 ,new codes were compiled2 a new army and navy organized2 a new police system established2 a new system of education introduced at ,government expense2 and a new constitution promised4 ,finally1 in #ahia1 the first ,japanese parliament 7strictly speaking7 was convoked4 ,by that time the entire framework of society had been remodelled1 so far as laws could remodel it1 upon a ,european pattern4 ,the nation had fairly entered upon its third period of integration4 ,the clan had been legally dissolved2 the family was no longer the legal unit of society3 by the new constitution the individual had been recognized4 ,when we consider the history of some vast and sudden political change in its details only1--the factors of the movement1 the combinations of immediate cause and effect1 the influences of strong personality1 the conditions impelling individual action1 #cgg--then the transformation is apt to appear to us the work and the triumph of a few superior minds4 ,we forget1 perhaps1 that those minds themselves were the product of their epoch1 and that every such rapid change must represent the working of a national or race-instinct quite as much as the operation of individual intelligence4 ,the events of the ,meiji reconstruction strangely illustrate the action of such instinct in the face of peril1--the readjustment of internal relations to sudden changes of environment4 ,the nation had found its old political system powerless before the new conditions2 and it transformed that system4 ,it had found its military organization incapable of defending it2 and it reconstructed that organization4 ,it had found its educational system useless in the presence of unforeseen necessities2 and it replaced that system1--simultaneously crippling the power of ,buddhism1 which might otherwise have offered serious opposition to the new developments required4 ,and in that hour of greatest danger the national instinct turned back at once to the moral experience upon which it could best rely1--the experience embodied in its ancient cult1 the religion of unquestioning obedience4 ,relying upon ,shinto tradition1 the people rallied about their ruler1 descendant of the ancient gods1 and awaited his will with unconquerable zeal of faith4 ,by strict obedience to his commands the peril might be averted1--never otherwise3 this was #cgh the national conviction4 ,and the imperial order was simply that the nation should strive by study to make itself1 as far as possible1 the intellectual equal of its enemies4 ,how faithfully that command was obeyed1--how well the old moral discipline of the race served it in the period of that supreme emergency1--,i need scarcely say4 ,japan1 by right of self-acquired strength1 has entered into the circle of the modern civilized powers1--formidable by her new military organization1 respectable through her achievements in the domain of practical science4 ,and the force to effect this astonishing self-improvement1 within the time of thirty years1 she owes assuredly to the moral habit derived from her ancient cult1--the religion of the ancestors4 ,to fairly measure the feat1 we should remember that ,japan was evolutionally younger than any modern ,european nation1 by at least twenty-seven hundred years1 when she went to school6 444 ,herbert ,spencer has shown that the great value to society of ecclesiastical institutions lies in their power to give cohesion to the mass1--to strengthen rule by enforcing obedience to custom1 and by opposing innovations likely to supply any element of disintegration4 ,in other words1 the value of a religion1 from the sociological standpoint1 lies in its conservatism4 ,various writers have alleged that the #cgi ,japanese national religion proved itself weak by incapacity to resist the overwhelming influence of ,buddhism4 ,i cannot help thinking that the entire social history of ,japan yields proof to the contrary4 ,though ,buddhism did for a long period appear to have almost entirely absorbed ,shinto1 by the acknowledgment of the ,shinto scholars themselves2 though ,buddhist emperors reigned who neglected or despised the cult of their ancestors2 though ,buddhism directed1 during ten centuries1 the education of the nation1 ,shinto remained all the while so very much alive that it was able not only to dispossess its rival at last1 but to save the country from foreign domination4 ,to assert that the ,shinto revival signified no more than a stroke of policy imagined by a group of statesmen1 is to ignore all the antecedents of the event4 ,no such change could have been wrought by mere decree had not the national sentiment welcomed it4444 ,moreover1 there are three important facts to be remembered in regard to the former ,buddhist predomination3 7#a7 ,buddhism conserved the family-cult1 modifying the forms of the rite2 7#b7 ,buddhism never really supplanted the ,ujigami cults1 but maintained them2 7#c7 ,buddhism never interfered with the imperial cult4 ,now these three forms of ancestor-worship1--the domestic1 the communal1 and the national1--constitute all that is vital in ,shinto4 ,no single essential of the ancient faith had ever been weakened1 #chj much less abolished1 under the long pressure of ,buddhism4 ,the ,supreme ,cult is not now the ,state ,religion by request of the chiefs of ,shinto1 it is not even officially classed as a religion4 ,obvious reasons of state policy decided this course4 ,having fulfilled its grand task1 ,shinto abdicated4 ,but as representing all those traditions which appeal to race-feeling1 to the sentiment of duty1 to the passion of loyalty1 and the love of country1 it yet remains an immense force1 a power to which appeal will not be vainly made in another hour of national peril4 #cha ,,survivals ,in the gardens of certain ,buddhist temples there are trees which have been famous for centuries1--trees trained and clipped into extraordinary shapes4 ,some have the form of dragons2 others have the form of pagodas1 ships1 umbrellas4 ,supposing that one of these trees were abandoned to its own natural tendencies1 it would eventually lose the queer shape so long imposed upon it2 but the outline would not be altered for a considerable time1 as the new leafage would at first unfold only in the direction of least resistance3 that is to say1 within limits originally established by the shears and the pruning-knife4 ,by sword and law the old ,japanese society had been pruned and clipped1 bent and bound1 just like such a tree2 and after the reconstructions of the ,meiji period1--after the abolition of the daimiates1 and the suppression of the military class1 it still maintained its former shape1 just as the tree would continue to do when first abandoned by the gardener4 ,though delivered from the bonds of feudal law1 released from the shears of military rule1 the great bulk of the social structure preserved its ancient #chb aspect2 and the rare spectacle bewildered and delighted and deluded the ,western observer4 ,here indeed was ,elf-land1--the strange1 the beautiful1 the grotesque1 the very mysterious1--totally unlike aught of strange and attractive ever beheld elsewhere4 ,it was not a world of the nineteenth century after ,christ1 but a world of many centuries before ,christ3 yet this fact--the wonder of wonders--remained unrecognized2 and it remains unrecognized by most people even to this day4 ,fortunate indeed were those privileged to enter this astonishing fairyland thirty odd years ago1 before the period of superficial change1 and to observe the unfamiliar aspects of its life3 the universal urbanity1 the smiling silence of crowds1 the patient deliberation of toil1 the absence of misery and struggle4 ,even yet1 in those remoter districts where alien influence has wrought but little change1 the charm of the old existence lingers and amazes2 and the ordinary traveller can little understand what it means4 ,that all are polite1 that nobody quarrels1 that everybody smiles1 that pain and sorrow remain invisible1 that the new police have nothing to do1 would seem to prove a morally superior humanity4 ,but for the trained sociologist it would prove something different1 and suggest something very terrible4 ,it would prove to him that this society had been moulded under immense coercion1 and that the coercion must have been exerted uninterruptedly #chc for thousands of years4 ,he would immediately perceive that ethics and custom had not yet become dissociated1 and that the conduct of each person was regulated by the will of the rest4 ,he would know that personality could not develop in such a social medium1--that no individual superiority dare assert itself1 that no competition would be tolerated4 ,he would understand that the outward charm of this life--its softness1 its smiling silence as of dreams--signified the rule of the dead4 ,he would recognize that between those minds and the minds of his own epoch no kinship of thought1 no community of sentiment1 no sympathy whatever could exist1--that the separating gulf was not to be measured by thousands of leagues1 but only by thousands of years1--that the psychological interval was hopeless as the distance from planet to planet4 ,yet this knowledge probably would not--certainly should not--blind him to the intrinsic charm of things4 ,not to feel the beauty of this archaic life is to prove oneself insensible to all beauty4 ,even that ,greek world1 for which our scholars and poets profess such loving admiration1 must have been in many ways a world of the same kind1 whose daily mental existence no modern mind could share4 ,now that the great social tree1 so wonderfully clipped and cared for during many centuries1 #chd is losing its fantastic shape1 let us try to see how much of the original design can still be traced4 ,under all the outward aspects of individual activity that modern ,japan presents to the visitor's gaze1 the ancient conditions really persist to an extent that no observation could reveal4 ,still the immemorial cult rules all the land4 ,still the family-law1 the communal law1 and 7though in a more irregular manner7 the clan-law1 control every action of existence4 ,i do not refer to any written law1 but only to the old unwritten religious law1 with its host of obligations deriving from ancestor-worship4 ,it is true that many changes--and1 in the opinion of the wise1 too many changes--have been made in civil legislation2 but the ancient proverb1 ,government-laws are only seven-day laws1 still represents popular sentiment in regard to hasty reforms4 ,the old law1 the law of the dead1 is that by which the millions prefer to act and think4 ,though ancient social groupings have been officially abolished1 re-groupings of a corresponding sort have been formed1 instinctively1 throughout the country districts4 ,in theory the individual is free2 in practice he is scarcely more free than were his forefathers4 ,old penalties for breach of custom have been abrogated2 yet communal opinion is able to compel the ancient obedience4 ,legal enactments can nowhere effect immediate #che change of sentiment and long-established usage1--least of all among a people of such fixity of character as the ,japanese4 ,young persons are no more at liberty now1 than were their fathers and mothers under the ,shogunate1 to marry at will1 to invest their means and efforts in undertakings not sanctioned by family approval1 to consider themselves in any way enfranchised from family authority2 and it is probably better for the present that they are not4 ,no man is yet complete master of his activities1 his time1 or his means4 ,though the individual is now registered1 and made directly accountable to the law1 while the household has been relieved from its ancient responsibility for the acts of its members1 still the family practically remains the social unit1 retaining its patriarchal organization and its particular cult4 ,not unwisely1 the modern legislators have protected this domestic religion3 to weaken its bond at this time were to weaken the foundations of the national moral life1--to introduce disintegrations into the most deeply seated structures of the social organism4 ,the new codes forbid the man who becomes by succession the head of a house to abolish that house3 he is not permitted to suppress a cult4 ,no legal presumptive heir to the headship of a family can enter into another family as adopted son or husband2 nor can he abandon the paternal house to establish an independent #chf family of his own499 ,provision has been made to meet extraordinary cases2 but no individual is allowed1 without good and sufficient reason1 to free himself from those traditional obligations which the family-cult imposes4 ,as regards adoption1 the new law maintains the spirit of the old1 with fresh provision for the conservation of the family religion1--permitting any person of legal age to adopt a son1 on the simple condition that the person adopted shall be younger than the adopter4 ,the new divorce-laws do not permit the dismissal of a wife for sterility alone 7and divorce for such cause had long been condemned by ,japanese sentiment72 but1 in view of the facilities given for adoption1 this reform does not endanger the continuance of the cult4 ,an interesting example of the manner in which the law still protects ancestor-worship is furnished by the fact that an aged and childless widow1 last representative of her family1 is not permitted to remain without an heir4 ,she must adopt a son if she can3 if she cannot1 because of poverty1 or for other reasons1 #chg the local authorities will provide a son for her1--that is to say1 a male heir to maintain the family-worship4 ,such official interference would seem to us tyrannical3 it is simply paternal1 and represents the continuance of an ancient regulation intended to protect the bereaved against what ,eastern faith still deems the supreme misfortune1--the extinction of the home-cult4444 ,in other respects the later codes allow of individual liberty unknown in previous generations4 ,but the ordinary person would not dream of attempting to claim a legal right opposed to common opinion4 ,family and public sentiment are still more potent than law4 ,the ,japanese newspapers frequently record tragedies resulting from the prevention or dissolution of unions2 and these tragedies afford strong proof that most young people would prefer even suicide to the probable consequence of a successful appeal to law against family decision4 99,that is to say1 he cannot separate himself from the family in law2 but he is free to live in a separate house4 ,the tendency to further disintegration of the family is shown by a custom which has been growing of late years1--especially in ,tokyo3 the custom of demanding1 as a condition of marriage1 that the bride shall not be obliged to live in the same house with the parents of the bridegroom4 ,this custom is yet confined to certain classes1 and has been adversely criticised4 ,many young men1 on marrying1 leave the parental home to begin independent housekeeping1--though remaining legally attached to their parents' families1 of course4444 ,it will perhaps be asked1 ,what becomes of the cult in such cases8 ,the cult remains in the parental home4 ,when the parents die1 then the ancestral tablets are transferred to the home of the married son4 ,the communal form of coercion is less apparent in the large cities2 but everywhere it endures to some extent1 and in the agricultural districts it remains supreme4 ,between the new conditions and the old there is this difference1 that the man who finds the yoke of his district hard to bear can flee from it3 he could not do so fifty years ago4 ,but he can flee from it only to enter into another state of subordination of nearly the same kind4 ,full #chh advantage1 nevertheless1 has been taken of this modern liberty of movement3 thousands yearly throng to the cities2 other thousands travel over the country1 from province to province2 working for a year or a season in one place1 then going to another1 with little more to hope for than experience of change4 ,emigration also has been taking place upon an extensive scale2 but for the common class of emigrants1 at least1 the advantage of emigration is chiefly represented by the chance of earning larger wages4 ,a ,japanese emigrant community abroad organizes itself upon the home-plan299 and the individual emigrant probably finds himself as much under communal coercion in ,canada1 ,hawaii1 or the ,philippine ,islands1 as he could ever have been in his native province4 ,needless to say that in foreign countries such coercion is more than compensated by the aid and protection which the communal organization insures4 ,but with the constantly increasing number of restless spirits at home1 and the ever widening experience of ,japanese emigrants abroad1 it would seem likely that the power of the commune for compulsory cooperation must become considerably weakened in the near future4 99,except as regards the communal cult1 perhaps4 ,the domestic cult is transplanted2 emigrants who go abroad1 accompanied by their families1 take the ancestral tablets with them4 ,to what extent the communal cult may have been established in emigrant communities1 ,i have not yet been able to learn4 ,it would appear1 however1 that the absence of ,ujigami in certain emigrant settlements is to be accounted for solely by the pecuniary difficulty of constructing such temples and maintaining competent officials4 ,in ,formosa1 for example1 though the domestic ancestor-cult is maintained in the homes of the ,japanese settlers1 ,ujigami have not yet been established4 ,the government1 however1 has erected several important ,shinto temples2 and ,i am told that some of these will probably be converted into ,ujigami when the ,japanese population has increased enough to justify the measure4 #chi ,as for the tribal or clan law1 it survives to the degree of remaining almost omnipotent in administrative circles1 and in all politics4 ,voters1 officials1 legislators1 do not follow principles in our sense of the word3 they follow men1 and obey commands4 ,in these spheres of action the penalties of disobedience to orders are endless as well as serious3 by a single such offence one may array against oneself powers that will continue their hostile operation for years and years1--unreasoningly1 implacably1 blindly1 with the weight and persistence of natural forces1--of winds or tides4 ,any comprehension of the history of ,japanese politics during the last fifteen years is not possible without some knowledge of clan-history4 ,a political leader1 fully acquainted with the history of clan-parties1 and their offshoots1 can accomplish marvellous things2 and even foreign residents1 with long experience of ,japanese life1 have been able1 by pressing upon clan-interests1 to exercise a very real power in government circles4 ,but to the ordinary foreigner1 ,japanese contemporary politics must appear a chaos1 a disintegration1 a hopeless flux4 ,the truth is that most things remain1 under varying outward forms1 as all were ordered1 ages since1--though the #cij shiftings have become more rapid1 and the results less obvious1 in the haste of an era of steam and electricity4 ,the greatest of living ,japanese statesmen1 the ,marquis ,ito1 long ago perceived that the tendency of political life to agglomerations1 to clan-groupings1 presented the most serious obstacle to the successful working of constitutional government4 ,he understood that this tendency could be opposed only by considerations weightier than clan-interests1 considerations worthy of supreme sacrifice4 ,he therefore formed a party of which every member was pledged to pass over clan-interests1 clique-interests1 personal and every other kind of interests1 for the sake of national interests4 ,brought into collision with a hostile cabinet in #aijc1 this party achieved the feat of controlling its animosities even to the extent of maintaining its foes in power2 but large fragments broke off in the process4 ,so profoundly is the grouping-tendency1 the clan-sentiment1 identified with national character1 that the ultimate success of ,marquis ,ito's policy must still be considered doubtful4 ,only a national danger--the danger of war1--has yet been able to weld all parties together1 to make all wills work as one4 ,not only politics1 but nearly all phases of modern life1 yield evidence that the disintegration of the old society has been superficial rather than fundamental4 ,structures dissolved have recrystallized1 taking forms #cia dissimilar in aspect to the original forms1 but inwardly built upon the same plan4 ,for the dissolutions really effected represented only a separation of masses1 not a breaking up of substance into independent units2 and these masses1 again cohering1 continue to act only as masses4 ,independence of personal action1 in the ,western sense1 is still almost inconceivable4 ,the individual of every class above the lowest must continue to be at once coercer and coerced4 ,like an atom within a solid body1 he can vibrate2 but the orbit of his vibration is fixed4 ,he must act and be acted upon in ways differing little from those of ancient time4 ,as for being acted upon1 the average man is under three kinds of pressure3 pressure from above1 exemplified in the will of his superiors2 pressure about him1 represented by the common will of his fellows and equals2 pressure from below1 represented by the general sentiment of his inferiors4 ,and this last sort of coercion is not the least formidable4 ,individual resistance to the first kind of pressure--that represented by authority--is not even to be thought of2 because the superior represents a clan1 a class1 an exceedingly multiple power of some description2 and no solitary individual1 in the present order of things1 can strive against a combination4 ,to resist injustice he must find ample support1 in #cib which case his resistance does not represent individual action4 ,resistance to the second kind of pressure--communal coercion --signifies ruin1 loss of the right to form a part of the social body4 ,resistance to the third sort of pressure1 embodied in the common sentiment of inferiors1 may result in almost anything1--from momentary annoyance to sudden death1--according to circumstances4 ,in all forms of society these three kinds of pressure are exerted to some degree2 but in ,japanese society1 owing to inherited tendency1 and traditional sentiment1 their power is tremendous4 ,thus1 in every direction1 the individual finds himself confronted by the despotism of collective opinion3 it is impossible for him to act with safety except as one unit of a combination4 ,the first kind of pressure deprives him of moral freedom1 exacting unlimited obedience to orders2 the second kind of pressure denies him the right to use his best faculties in the best way for his own advantage 7that is to say1 denies him the right of free competition72 the third kind of pressure compels him1 in directing the actions of others1 to follow tradition1 to forbear innovations1 to avoid making any changes1 however beneficial1 which do not find willing acceptance on the part of his inferiors4 ,these are the social conditions which1 under #cic normal circumstances1 make for stability1 for conservation2 and they represent the will of the dead4 ,they are inevitable to a militant state2 they make the strength of that state2 they render facile the creation and maintenance of formidable armies4 ,but they are not conditions favourable to success in the future international competition1--in the industrial struggle for existence against societies incomparably more plastic1 and of higher mental energy4 #cid #cie ,,modern ,,restraints ,for even a vague understanding of modern ,japan1 it will be necessary to consider the effect of the three forms of social coercion1 mentioned in the preceding chapter1 as restraints upon individual energy and capacity4 ,all three represent survivals of the ancient religious responsibility4 ,i shall treat of them in order inverse1 beginning with the under-pressure4 ,it has often been asserted by foreign observers that the real power in ,japan is exercised not from above1 but from below4 ,there is some truth in this assertion1 but not all the truth3 the conditions are much too complex to be covered by any general statement4 ,what cannot be gainsaid is that superior authority has always been more or less restrained by tendencies to resistance from below4444 ,at no time in ,japanese history1 for example1 do the peasants appear to have been left without recourse against excessive oppression1--notwithstanding all the humiliating regulations imposed on their existence4 ,they were suffered to frame their own village-laws1 to estimate the possible amount of #cif their tax-payments1--and to make protest--through official channels--against unmerciful exaction4 ,they were made to pay as much as they could2 but they were not reduced to bankruptcy or starvation2 and their holdings were mostly secured to them by laws forbidding the sale or alienation of family property4 ,such was at least the general rule4 ,there were1 however1 wicked daimyo1 who treated their farmers with extreme cruelty1 and found ways to prevent complaints or protests from reaching the higher authorities4 ,the almost invariable result of such tyranny was revolt2 and the tyrant was then made responsible for the disorder1 and punished4 ,though denied in theory1 the right of the peasant to rebel against oppression was respected in practice2 the revolt was punished1 but the oppressor was likewise punished4 ,daimyo were obliged to reckon with their farmers in regard to any fresh imposition of taxes or forced labour4 ,we also find that although heimin were made subject to the military class1 it was possible for artizans and commercial folk to form1 in the great cities1 strong associations by which military tyranny was kept in check4 ,everywhere the reverential deference of the common people to authority1 as exercised in usual directions1 seems to have been accompanied by an extraordinary readiness to defy authority exercised in other directions4 ,it may seem strange that a society in which religion #cig and government1 ethics and custom1 were practically identical1 should furnish striking examples of resistance to authority4 ,but the religious fact itself supplies the explanation4 ,from the earliest period there was firmly established1 in the popular mind1 the conviction that implicit obedience to authority was the universal duty under all ordinary circumstances4 ,but with this conviction there was united another1--that resistance to authority 7excepting the sacred authority of the ,supreme ,ruler7 was equally a duty under extraordinary circumstances4 ,and these seemingly opposed convictions were not really inconsistent4 ,so long as rule followed precedent1--so long as its commands1 however harsh1 did not conflict with sentiment and tradition1--that rule was regarded as religious1 and there was absolute submission4 ,but when rulers presumed to break with ethical usage1--in a spirit of reckless cruelty or greed1--then the people might feel it a religious obligation to resist with all the zeal of voluntary martyrdom4 ,the danger-line for every form of local tyranny was departure from precedent4 ,even the conduct of regents and princes was much restrained by the common opinion of their retainers1 and by the knowledge that certain kinds of arbitrary conduct were likely to provoke assassination4 ,deference to the sentiment of vassals and retainers was from ancient time a necessary policy with ,japanese rulers1--not merely because of the peril involved #cih by needless oppression1 but much more because of the recognition that duties are well performed only when subordinates feel assured that their efforts will be fairly considered1 and that sudden needless changes will not be made to their disadvantage4 ,this old policy still characterizes ,japanese administration2 and the deference of high authority to collective opinion astonishes and puzzles the foreign observer4 ,he perceives only that the conservative power of sentiment1 as exercised by groups of subordinates1 remains successfully opposed to those conditions of discipline which we think indispensable to social progress4 ,just as in ,old ,japan the ruler of a district was held1 responsible for the behaviour of his subjects1 so to-day1 in ,new ,japan1 every official in charge of a department is held responsible for the smooth working of its routine4 ,but this does not mean that he is responsible only for the efficiency of a service3 it means that he is held responsible likewise for failure to satisfy the wishes of his subordinates1 or at least the majority of his subordinates4 ,if this majority be displeased with their minister1 governor1 president1 manager1 chief1 or director1 the fact is considered proof of administrative incompetency4444 ,perhaps educational circles afford the most curious examples of this old idea of responsibility4 ,a student-revolt is commonly supposed to mean1 not that the students are intractable1 but that the superintendent or teacher does not know #cii his business4 ,thus the principal of a college1 the director of a school1 holds his office only on the condition that his rule gives satisfaction to a majority of the students4 ,in the higher government institutions1 each professor or lecturer is made responsible for the success of his lectures4 ,no matter how great may be his ability in other directions1 the official instructor1 unable to make himself liked by his pupils1 will be got rid of in short order--unless some powerful protectors interfere on his behalf4 ,the efforts of the man will never be judged 7officially7 by any accepted standard of excellence1--never estimated by their intrinsic worth2 they will be considered only according to their direct effect upon the average of minds499 ,almost everywhere this antique system of responsibility is maintained4 ,a minister of state is by public sentiment made responsible not only for the results of his administration1 but likewise for any scandals or troubles that may occur in his department1 independently of the question whether he could or could not have prevented them4 ,to a considerable degree1 therefore1 it is true that the ultimate #djj power is below4 ,the highest official is not able with impunity to impose his personal will in certain directions2 and1 for the time being1 it is probably better that his powers are thus restrained4 99,unjust as this policy must appear to the ,western reader 7a policy which certainly presupposes ethical conditions very different from our own71 it was probably at one time the best possible under the new order4 ,considering the extraordinary changes suddenly made in the educational system1 it will be obvious that a teacher's immediate value was likely---twenty years ago--to depend on his ability to make his teaching attractive4 ,if he attempted to teach either above or below the average capacity of his pupils1 or if he made his instruction unpalatable to minds greedy for new knowledge1 but innocent as to method1 his inexperience could be corrected by the will of his class4 ,from above downwards through all the grades of society1 the same system of responsibility1 and the same restraints upon individual exercise of will1 persist under varying forms4 ,the conditions within the household differ but little in this regard from the conditions in a government department3 no householder1 for example1 can impose his will1 beyond certain fixed limits1 even upon his own servants or dependents4 ,neither for love nor money can a good servant be induced to break with traditional custom2 and the old opinion1 that the value of a servant is proved by such inflexibility1 has been justified by the experience of centuries4 ,popular sentiment remains conservative2 and the apparent zeal for superficial innovation affords no indication of the real order of existence4 ,fashions and formalities1 house-interiors and street-vistas1 habits and methods1 and all the outer aspects of life are changed2 but the old regimentation of society persists under all these surface-shiftings2 and the national character remains little affected by all the transformations of ,meiji4 ,the second kind of coercion to which the individual is subjected --the communal1 or communistic--#dja seems likely to prove mischievous in the near future1 as it signifies practical suppression of the right to compete4444 ,the everyday life of any ,japanese city offers numberless suggestions of the manner in which the masses continue to think and to act by groups4 ,but no more familiar and forcible illustration of the fact can be cited than that which is furnished by the code of the kurumaya or jinrikisha-men4 ,according to its terms1 one runner must not attempt to pass by another going in the same direction4 ,exceptions have been made1 grudgingly1 in favour of runners in private employ1--men selected for strength and speed1 who are expected to use their physical powers to the utmost4 ,but among the tens of thousands of public kurumaya1 it is the rule that a young and active man must not pass by an old and feeble man1 nor even by a needlessly slow and lazy man4 ,to take advantage of one's own superior energy1 so as to force competition1 is an offence against the calling1 and certain to be resented4 ,you engage a good runner1 whom you order to make all speed3 he springs away splendidly1 and keeps up the pace until he happens to overtake some weak or lazy puller1 who seems to be moving as slowly as the gait permits4 ,therewith1 instead of bounding by1 your man drops immediately behind the slow-going vehicle1 and slackens his pace almost to a walk4 ,for half an hour1 or more1 you may be thus delayed by the regulation which obliges the strong and #djb swift to wait for the weak and slow4 ,an angry appeal is made to the runner who dares to pass another2 and the idea behind the words might be thus expressed3--,you know that you are breaking the rule1--that you are acting to the disadvantage of your comrades6 ,this is a hard calling2 and our lives would be made harder than they are1 if there were no rules to prevent selfish competition6 ,of course there is no thought of the consequences of such rules to business interests at large4444 ,now it is not unjust to say that this moral code of the kurumaya exemplifies an unwritten law which has been always imposed1 in varying forms1 upon every class of workers in ,japan3 ,you must not try1 without special authorization1 to pass your fellows4 444 ,la carriere est ouverte aux talents--mais la concurrence est defendue6 ,of course the modern communal restraint upon free competition represents the survival and extension of that altruistic spirit which ruled the ancient society1--not the mere continuance of any fixed custom4 ,in feudal times there were no kurumaya2 but all craftsmen and all labourers formed guilds or companies2 and the discipline maintained by those guilds or companies prohibited competition as undertaken for merely personal advantage4 ,similar or nearly similar forms of organization are maintained by artizans and labourers to-day2 and the relation #djc of any outside employer to skilled labour is regulated1 by the guild or company1 in the old communistic manner4444 ,let us suppose1 for instance1 that you wish to have a good house built4 ,for that undertaking1 you will have to deal with a very intelligent class of skilled labour2 for the ,japanese house-carpenter may be ranked with the artist almost as much as with the artizan4 ,you may apply to a building-company2 but1 as a general rule1 you will do better by applying to a master-carpenter1 who combines in himself the functions of architect1 contractor1 and builder4 ,in any event you cannot select and hire workmen3 guild-regulations forbid4 ,you can only make your contract2 and the master-carpenter1 when his plans have been approved1 will undertake all the rest1--purchase and transport of material1--hire of carpenters1 plasterers1 tilers1 mat-makers1 screen-fitters1 brass-workers1 stone-cutters1 locksmiths1 and glaziers4 ,for each master-carpenter represents much more than his own craft-guild3 he has his clients in every trade related to house-building and house-furnishing2 and you must not dream of trying to interfere with his claims and privileges4 ,he builds your house according to contract2 but that is only the beginning of the relation4 ,you have really made with him an agreement which you must not break1 without good and sufficient reason1 for the rest of your life4 ,whatever afterwards may happen to any part #djd of your house1--walls1 floor1 ceiling1 roof1 foundation1--you must arrange for repairs with him1 never with anybody else4 ,should the roof leak1 for instance1 you must not send for the nearest tiler or tinsmith2 if the plaster cracks1 you must not send for a plasterer4 ,the man who built your house holds himself responsible for its condition2 and he is jealous of that responsibility3 none but he has the right to send for the plasterer1 the roofer1 the tinsmith4 ,if you interfere with that right1 you may have some unpleasant surprises4 ,if you make appeal to the law against that right1 you will find that you can get no carpenter1 tiler1 or plasterer to work for you at any terms4 ,compromise is always possible2 but the guilds will resent a needless appeal to the law4 ,and after all1 these craft-guilds are usually faithful performers1 and well worth conciliating4 ,or take the occupation of landscape-gardening4 ,you want a pretty garden2 and you hire a professional gardener who comes to you well recommended4 ,he makes the garden2 and you pay his price4 ,but your gardener really represents a company2 and by engaging him it is understood that either he1 or some other member of the gardeners' corporation to which he belongs1 will continue to take care of your garden as long as you own it4 ,at each season he will pay your garden a visit1 and put everything to rights--he will clip the hedges1 prune the fruit trees1 #dje repair the fences1 train the climbing-plants1 look after the flowers1--putting up paper awnings to protect delicate shrubs from the sun during the hot season1 or making little tents of straw to shelter them in time of frost2--he will do a hundred useful and ingenious things for a very small remuneration4 ,you cannot dismiss him1 however1 without good reason1 and hire another gardener to take his place4 ,no other gardener would serve you at any price1 unless assured that the original relation had been dissolved by mutual consent4 ,if you have just cause for complaint1 the matter can be settled through arbitration2 and the guild will see that you have no further trouble4 ,but you cannot dismiss your gardener without cause1 merely to engage another4 ,the above examples will suffice to show the character of the old communistic organization which is yet maintained in a hundred forms4 ,this communism suppressed competition1 except as between groups2 but it insured good work1 and secured easy conditions for the workman4 ,it was the best system possible in those ages of isolation when there was no such thing as want1 and when the population1 for yet undetermined causes1 appears to have remained always below the numerical level at which serious pressure begins4444 ,another interesting survival is represented by existing conditions of apprenticeship #djf and service1--conditions which also originated in the patriarchal organization1 and imposed other kinds of restraint upon competition4 ,under the old regime service was1 for the most part1 unsalaried4 ,boys taken into a commercial house to learn the business1 or apprentices bound to a master-workman1 were boarded1 lodged1 clothed1 and even educated by their patron1 with whom they might hope to pass the rest of their lives4 ,but they were not paid wages until they had learned the business or the trade of their employer1 and were fully capable of managing a business or a workshop of their own4 ,to a considerable degree these conditions still prevail in commercial centres1--though the merchant or patron seldom now finds it necessary to send his clerk or apprentice to school4 ,many of the great commercial houses pay salaries only to men of great experience3 other employes are only trained and cared for until their term of service ends1 when the most clever among them will be reengaged as experts1 and the others helped to start in business for themselves4 ,in like manner the apprentice to a trade1 when his term expires1 may be reengaged by his master as a hired journeyman1 or helped to find permanent employ elsewhere4 ,these paternal and filial relations between employer and employed have helped to make life pleasant and labour cheerful2 and the quality of all industrial production must suffer much when they disappear4 #djg ,even in private domestic service the patriarchal system still prevails to a degree that is little imagined2 and this subject deserves more than a passing mention4 ,i refer especially to female service4 ,the maid-servant1 according to the old custom1 is not primarily responsible to her employers1 but to her own family2 and the terms of her service must be arranged with her family1 who pledge themselves for their daughter's good behaviour4 ,as a general rule1 a nice girl does not seek domestic service for the sake of the wages 7which it is now the custom to pay71 nor for the sake of a living1 but chiefly to prepare herself for marriage2 and this preparation is desired as much in the hope of doing credit to her own family1 as in the hope of better fitting herself for membership in the family of her future husband4 ,the best servants are country girls2 and they are sometimes put out to service very young4 ,parents are careful about choosing the family into which their daughter thus enters3 they particularly desire that the house be one in which a girl can learn nice ways1--therefore a house in which things are ordered according to the old etiquette4 ,a good girl expects to be treated rather as a helper than as a hireling1--to be kindly considered1 and trusted1 and liked4 ,in an old-fashioned household the maid is indeed so treated2 and the relation is not a brief one--from three to five years being the term of service usually agreed upon4 ,but when a girl is #djh taken into service at the age of eleven or twelve1 she will probably remain for eight or ten years4 ,besides wages1 she is entitled to receive from her employers the gift of a dress1 twice every year1 besides other necessary articles of clothing2 and she is entitled also to a certain number of holidays4 ,such wages1 or presents in money1 as she receives1 should enable her to provide herself1 by degrees1 with a good wardrobe4 ,except in the event of some extraordinary misfortune1 her parents will make no claim upon her wages2 but she remains subject to them2 and when she is called home to be married1 she must go4 ,during the period of her service1 the services of her family are also at the disposal of her employers4 ,even if the mistress or master desire no recognition of the interest taken in the girl1 some recognition will certainly be made4 ,if the servant be a farmer's daughter1 it is probable that gifts of vegetables1 fruits1 or fruit trees1 garden-plants or other country products1 will be sent to the house at intervals fixed by custom2--if the parents belong to the artizan-class1 it is likely that some creditable example of handicraft will be presented as a token of gratitude4 ,the gratitude of the parents is not for the wages or the dresses given to their daughter1 but for the practical education she receives1 and for the moral and material care taken of her1 as a temporarily adopted child of the house4 ,the employers may reciprocate such attentions #dji on the part of the parents by contributing to the girl's wedding outfit4 ,the relation1 it will be observed1 is entirely between families1 not between individuals2 and it is a permanent relation4 ,such a relation1 in feudal ages1 might continue through many generations4 ,the patriarchal conditions which these survivals exemplify helped to make existence easy and happy4 ,only from a modern point of view is it possible to criticise them4 ,the worst that can be said about them is that their moral value was chiefly conservative1 and that they tended to repress effort in new directions4 ,but where they still endure1 ,japanese life keeps something of its ancient charm2 and where they have disappeared1 that charm has vanished forever4 ,there remains to be considered a third form of restraint1--that exercised upon the individual by official authority4 ,this also presents us with various survivals1 which have their bright as well as their dark aspects4 ,we have seen that the individual has been legally freed from most of the obligations imposed by the ancient law4 ,he is no longer obliged to follow a particular occupation2 he is able to travel2 he is at liberty to marry into a higher or a lower class than his own2 he is not even forbidden to change his religion2 he can do a great many things--at his own #daj risk4 ,but where the law leaves him free1 the family and the community do not2 and the persistence of old sentiment and custom nullifies many of the rights legally conferred4 ,precisely in the same way1 his relations to higher authority are still controlled by traditions which maintain1 in despite of constitutional law1 many of the ancient restraints1 and not a little of the ancient coercion4 ,in theory any man of great talent and energy may rise1 from rank to rank1 up to the highest positions4 ,but as private life is still controlled to no small degree by the old communism1 so public life is yet controlled by survivals of class or clan despotism4 ,the chances for ability to rise without assistance1 to win its way to rank and power1 are extraordinarily small2 since to contend alone against an opposition that thinks by groups1 and acts by masses1 must be almost hopeless4 ,only commercial or industrial life now offers really fair opportunities to capable men4 ,the few talented persons of humble origin who do succeed in official directions owe their success chiefly to party-help or clan-patronage3 in order to force any recognition of personal ability1 group must be opposed to group4 ,alone1 no man is likely to accomplish anything by mere force of competition1 outside of trade or commerce4444 ,it is true1 of course1 that individual talent must in every country encounter many forms of opposition4 ,it is likewise true that the malevolence of envy and the brutalities of class-prejudice #daa have their sociological worth3 they help to make it impossible for any but the most gifted to win and to keep success4 ,but in ,japan the peculiar constitution of society lends excessive power to social intrigues directed against obscure ability1 and makes them highly injurious to the interests of the nation2--for at no previous time in her history has ,japan needed1 so much as now1 the best capacities of her best men1 irrespective of class or condition4 ,but all this was inevitable in the period of reconstruction4 ,more significant is the fact that in no single department of its multitudinous service does the ,government yet offer substantial reward to rising merit4 ,no matter how well a man may strive to win ,government approbation1 he must strive for little more than honour and the bare means of existence4 ,the costliest efforts are no more highly paid in proportion to their worth than the cheapest2 the most invaluable services are scarcely better recognized than those most easily dispensed with or replaced4 7,there have been some remarkable exceptions3 ,i am stating only the general rule47 ,by extraordinary energy1 patience1 and cleverness1 one may reach1 with class-help1 some position which in ,europe would assure comfort as well as honour2 but the emoluments of such a position in ,japan will scarcely cover the actual cost of living4 ,whether in the army or in the navy1 in the departments of justice1 of education1 of communications1 or of #dab home affairs1--the differences in remuneration nowhere represent the differences in capacity and responsibility4 ,to rise from grade to grade signifies pecuniarily almost nothing1--for the expenses of each higher position augment out of all proportion to the salaries fixed by law4 ,the general rule has been to exact everywhere the greatest possible amount of service for the least possible amount of pay499 ,any one unacquainted with the social history #dac of the country might suppose that the policy of the ,government toward its employes consisted in substituting empty honours for material advantages4 ,but the truth is that the ,government has simply maintained1 under modern forms1 the ancient feudal condition of service1--service in exchange for the means of simple but honourable living4 ,in feudal times the farmer was expected to pay all that he could pay for the right to exist2 the artist or artizan was expected to content himself with the good fortune of having a distinguished patron2 even the ordinary samurai were supplied with barely more than the necessary by their liege-lords4 ,to receive considerably more than the necessary signified extraordinary favour2 and the gift was usually accompanied by promotion4 ,but although the same policy is yet successfully maintained by ,government1 under the modern system of money-payments1 the conditions everywhere1 outside of commercial life1 are incomparably harder than in feudal times4 ,then the poorest samurai was secured against want1 and not liable to be dismissed from his post without fault4 ,then the teacher received no salary2 but the respect of the community and the gratitude of his pupils assured him of the means to live #dad respectably4 ,then the artizans were patronized by great lords who vied with each other in the encouragement of humble genius4 ,they might expect the genius to be satisfied with merely nominal payment1 so far as money was concerned2 but they secured him against want or discomfort1 allowed him ample leisure to perfect his work1 made him happy in the certainty that his best would be prized and praised4 ,but now that the cost of living has tripled or quadrupled1 even the artist and the artizan have small encouragement to do their best3 cheap rapid work is replacing the beautiful leisurely work of the old days2 and the best traditions of the crafts are doomed to perish4 ,it cannot even be said that the state of the agricultural classes to-day is happier or better than in the time when a farmer's land could not legally be taken from him4 ,and as the cost of life continues always to increase1 it is evident that at no distant time1 the present patient order of things will become impossible4 99,salaries of judges range from #gj pounds to #ejj pounds per annum1--the latter figure representing the highest possible emolument4 ,the highest salary allowed to a ,japanese professor in the imperial universities has been fixed at #abj pounds4 ,the wages of employees in the postal departments is barely sufficient to meet the cost of living4 ,the police are paid from #a pound to #a pound #ajs4 per month1 according to locality2 and the average pay of school-teachers is yet lower 7being #i yen #ej sen1 or about #ais4 per month71--many receiving less than #gs4 a month4 ,readers may be interested in the following table of army-payments 7#aijd73-- ,,monthly ,,pay ,,allowance ,,for ,,total ,,house-,,rent yen yen yen ,general #ejj 7#ej pounds7 #be3jj #ebe3jj ,lieutenant-,general #ccc #ah3ge #cea3ge ,major-,general #bfc #ab3ej #bge3ej ,colonel #agi #aj3jj #ahi3jj ,lieutenant-,colonel #adf #h3ge #aed3ge ,major #ajb #g3ej #aji3ej ,captain 7#ast grade7 #gj #d3ge #gd3ge 7#bnd grade7 #fj #d3ge #fd3ge ,lieutenant 7#ast grade7 #de #d3jj #di3jj 7#bnd grade7 #cd #d3jj #ch3jj ,second ,lieutenant #cj #c3ej #cc3ej ,when these rates of pay were fixed1 about twenty years ago1 house-rent was cheap3 a good house could be rented anywhere at #c ,yen or #d ,yen per month4 ,to-day in ,tokyo an officer can scarcely rent even a very small house at less than #ai yen or #bj yen2 and prices of food-stuffs have tripled4 ,yet there have been very few complaints4 ,officers whose pay will not allow them to rent houses hire rooms wherever they can4 ,many suffer hardship2 but all are proud of the privilege of serving1 and no one dreams of resigning4 ,to many it would seem that a wise government must recognize the impracticability of indefinitely maintaining its present demand for self-sacrifice1 must perceive the necessity of encouraging talent1 inviting fair competition1 and making the prizes of life large enough to stimulate healthy egoism4 ,but it is possible that the ,government has been acting more wisely than outward appearances would indicate4 ,several years ago a ,japanese official made in #dae my presence this curious observation3 ,our ,government does not wish to encourage competition beyond the necessary4 ,the people are not prepared for it2 and if it were strongly encouraged1 the worst side of character would came to the surface4 ,how far this statement really expressed any policy ,i do not know4 ,but every one is aware that free competition can be made as cruel and as pitiless as war1--though we are apt to forget what experience must have been undergone before ,occidental free competition could become as comparatively merciful1 as it is4 ,among a people trained for centuries to regard all selfish competition as criminal1 and all profit-seeking despicable1 any sudden stimulation of effort for purely personal advantage might well be impolitic4 ,evidence as to how little the nation was prepared1 twelve or thirteen years ago1 for ,western forms of free government1 has been furnished by the history of the earlier district-elections and of the first parliamentary sessions4 ,there was really no personal enmity in those furious election-contests1 which cost so many lives2 there was scarcely any personal antagonism in those parliamentary debates of which the violence astonished strangers4 ,the political struggles were not really between individuals1 but between clan-interests1 or party-interests2 and the devoted followers of each clan or party understood the new politics only as a new kind of war1--a war of loyalty to be fought for the leader's sake1 #daf--;a war not to be interfered with by any abstract notions of right or justice4 ,suppose that a people have been always accustomed to think of loyalty in relation to persons rather than to principles1--loyalty as involving the duty of self-sacrifice regardless of consequence1--it is obvious that the first experiments of such a people with parliamentary government will not reveal any comprehension of fair play in the ,western sense4 ,eventually that comprehension may come2 but it will not come quickly4 ,and if you can persuade such a people that in other matters every man has a right to act according to his own convictions1 and for his own advantage1 independently of any group to which he may belong1 the immediate result will not be fortunate1--because the sense of individual moral responsibility has not yet been sufficiently cultivated outside of the group-relation4 ,the probable truth is that the strength of the government up to the present time has been chiefly due to the conservation of ancient methods1 and to the survival of the ancient spirit of reverential submission4 ,later on1 no doubt1 great changes will have to be made2 meanwhile1 much must be bravely endured4 ,perhaps the future history of modern civilization will hold record of nothing more touching than the patient heroism of those myriads of ,japanese patriots1 content to accept1 under legal #dag conditions of freedom1 the official servitude of feudal days1--satisfied to give their talent1 their strength1 their utmost effort1 their lives1 for the simple privilege of obeying a government that still accepts all sacrifices in the feudal spirit--as a matter of course1--as a national duty4 ,and as a national duty1 indeed1 the sacrifices are made4 ,all know that ,japan is in danger1 between the terrible friendship of ,england and the terrible enmity of ,russia1--that she is poor1--that the cost of maintaining her armaments is straining her resources1--that it is everybody's duty to be content with as little as possible4 ,so the complaints are not many4444 ,nor has the simple obedience of the nation at large been less touching1--especially1 perhaps1 as regards the imperial order to acquire ,western knowledge1 to learn ,western languages1 to imitate ,western ways4 ,only those who have lived in ,japan during or before the early nineties are qualified to speak of the loyal eagerness that made self-destruction by over-study a common form of death1--the passionate obedience that impelled even children to ruin their health in the effort to master tasks too difficult for their little minds 7tasks devised by well-meaning advisers with no knowledge of ,far-,eastern psychology71--and the strange courage of persistence in periods of earthquake and conflagration1 when boys and girls used the tiles of their ruined homes for school-slates1 and bits of fallen plaster for pencils4 ,what #dah tragedies ,i might relate even of the higher educational life of universities6--of fine brains giving way under pressure of work beyond the capacity of the average ,european student1--of triumphs won in the teeth of death1--of strange farewells from pupils in the time of the dreaded examinations1 as when one said to me3 ,sir1 ,i am very much afraid that my paper is bad1 because ,i came out of the hospital to make it--there is something the matter with my heart4 7,his diploma was placed in his hands scarcely an hour before he died47 444 ,and all this striving--striving not only against difficulties of study1 but in most cases against difficulties of poverty1 and underfeeding1 and discomfort--has been only for duty1 and the means to live4 ,to estimate the ,japanese student by his errors1 his failures1 his incapacity to comprehend sentiments and ideas alien to the experience of his race1 is the mistake of the shallow3 to judge him rightly one must have learned to know the silent moral heroism of which he is capable4 #dai ,,official ,,education ,the extent to which national character has been fixed by the discipline of centuries1 and the extent or its extraordinary capacity to resist change1 is perhaps most strikingly indicated by certain results of ,state education4 ,the whole nation is being educated1 with ,government help1 upon a ,european plan2 and the full programme includes the chief subjects of ,western study1 excepting ,greek and ,latin classics4 ,from ,kindergarten to ,university the entire system is modern in outward seeming2 yet the effect of the new education is much less marked in thought and sentiment than might be supposed4 ,this fact is not to be explained merely by the large place which old ,chinese study still occupies in the obligatory programme1 nor by differences of belief--it is much more due to the fundamental difference in the ,japanese and the ,european conceptions of education as means to an end4 ,in spite of new system and programme the whole of ,japanese education is still conducted upon a traditional plan almost the exact opposite of the ,western plan4 ,with us1 the repressive part of moral training begins in early childhood--the ,european or ,american teacher is strict with the little #dbj ones2 we think that it is important to inculcate the duties of behaviour1--the must and the must not of individual obligation1--as soon as possible4 ,later on1 more liberty is allowed4 ,the well-grown boy is made to understand that his future will depend upon his personal effort and capacity2 and he is thereafter left1 in a great measure1 to take care of himself1 being occasionally admonished or warned1 as seems needful4 ,finally1 the adult student of promise and character may become the intimate1 or1 under happy circumstances1 even the friend of his tutor1 to whom he can look for counsel in all difficult situations4 ,and throughout the whole course of mental and moral training competition is not only expected1 but required4 ,but it is more and more required as discipline is more and more relaxed1 with the passing of boyhood into manhood4 ,the aim of ,western education is the cultivation of individual ability and personal character1--the creation of an independent and forceful being4 ,now ,japanese education has always been conducted1 and1 in spite of superficial appearances1 is still being conducted1 mostly upon the reverse plan4 ,its object never has been to train the individual for independent action1 but to train him for cooperative action1--to fit him to occupy an exact place in the mechanism of a rigid society4 ,constraint among ourselves begins with childhood1 and gradually relaxes2 constraint in ,far-,eastern training begins later1 #dba and thereafter gradually tightens2 and it is not a constraint imposed directly by parents or teachers--which fact1 as we shall presently see1 makes an enormous difference in results4 ,not merely up to the age of school-life1--supposed to begin at six years1--but considerably beyond it1 a ,japanese child enjoys a degree of liberty far greater than is allowed to ,occidental children4 ,exceptional cases are common1 of course2 but the general rule is that the child be permitted to do as he pleases1 providing that his conduct can cause no injury to himself or to others4 ,he is guarded1 but not constrained2 admonished1 but rarely compelled4 ,in short1 he is allowed to be so mischievous that1 as a ,japanese proverb says1 even the holes by the roadside hate a boy of seven or eight years old99 99,by former custom a newly-born child was said to be one year old2 and in this case the words seven or eight years old mean six or seven years old4 7,nanatsu1 yatsu--michibata no ana desaimon nikumu74 ,punishment is administered only when absolutely necessary2 and on such occasions1 by ancient custom1 the entire household--servants and all--intercede for the offender2 the little brothers and sisters1 if any there be1 begging in turn to bear the penalty instead4 ,whipping is not a common punishment1 except among the roughest classes2 the moxa is preferred as a deterrent2 and it is a severe one4 ,to frighten a child by loud harsh words1 or angry looks1 is condemned by general opinion3 all punishment ought #dbb to be inflicted as quietly as possible1 the punisher calmly admonishing the while4 ,to slap a child about the head1 for any reason1 is a proof of vulgarity and ignorance4 ,it is not customary to punish by restraining from play1 or by a change of diet1 or by any denial of accustomed pleasures4 ,to be perfectly patient with children is the ethical law4 ,at school the discipline begins2 but it is at first so very light that it can hardly be called discipline3 the teacher does not act as a master1 but rather as an elder brother2 and there is no punishment beyond a public admonition4 ,whatever restraint exists is chiefly exerted on the child by the common opinion of his class2 and a skilful teacher is able to direct that opinion4 ,also each class is nominally governed by one or two little captains1 selected for character and intelligence2 and when a disagreeable order has to be given1 it is the child-captain1 the kyucho1 who is commissioned with the duty of giving it4 7,these little details are worthy of note3 ,i cite them only to show how early in school-life begins the discipline of opinion1 the pressure of the common will1 and how perfectly this policy accords with the ethical traditions of the race47 ,in higher classes the pressure slightly increases2 and in higher schools it is very much stronger2 the ruling power always being class-sentiment1 not the individual will of the teacher4 ,in middle schools the pupils become serious3 class-opinion there attains a force to which the teacher #dbc himself must bend1 as it is quite capable of expelling him for any attempt to override it4 ,each middle-school class has its elected officers1 who represent and enforce the moral code of the majority1--the traditional standard of conduct4 7,this moral standard is deteriorating2 but it survives everywhere to some degree47 ,fighting or bullying are yet unknown in ,japanese schools of this grade for obvious reasons3 there can be little indulgence of personal anger1 and no attempt at personal domination1 under a discipline enforcing a uniform manner of behaviour4 ,it is never the domination of the one over the many that regulates class-life3 it is always the rule of the many over the one1--and the power is formidable4 ,the student who consciously or unconsciously offends class-sentiment will suddenly find himself isolated1--condemned to absolute solitude4 ,no one will speak to him or notice him even outside of the school1 until such time as he decides to make a public apology1 when his pardon will depend upon a majority-vote4 ,such temporary ostracism is not unreasonably feared1 because it is regarded even outside of student-circles as a disgrace2 and the memory of it will cling to the offender during the rest of his career4 ,however high he may rise in official or professional life in after years1 the fact that he was once condemned by the general opinion of his schoolmates will not be forgotten1--though circumstances may occur #dbd which will turn the fact to his credit4444 ,in the great ,government schools--to one of which the student may proceed after graduating from a middle-school--class-discipline is still more severe4 ,the instructors are mostly officials looking for promotion3 the students are grown men1 preparing for the ,university1 and destined1 with few exceptions1 for public office4 ,in this quietly and coldly ordered world there is little place for the joy of youth1 and small opportunity for sympathetic expansion4 ,there are gatherings and societies2 but these are arranged or established for practical purposes--chiefly in relation to particular branches of study2 there is little time for merry-making1 and less inclination4 ,under all circumstances1 a certain formal demeanour is exacted by tradition1--a tradition older by far than any public school4 ,everybody watches everybody3 eccentricities or singularities are quickly marked and quietly suppressed4 ,the results of this class-discipline1 as maintained in some institutions1 must seem to the foreign observer discomforting4 ,what most impressed me about these higher official schools was the sinister silence of them4 ,in one where ,i taught for several years--the most conservative school in the country--there were more than a thousand young men1 full of life and energy2 yet during the intervals between classes1 or during recreation-hours in the playground1 the garden1 and the gymnastic hall1 the general hush gave one a strange sense of #dbe oppression4 ,one might watch a game of foot-ball being played1 and hear nothing but the thud of the kicking2 or one might watch wrestling-contests in the jiujutsu-room1 and hear no word spoken for half an hour at a time4 7,the rules of jiujutsu1 it is true1 require not only silence1 but the total suppression of all visible emotional interest on the part of the spectators47 ,all this repression at first seemed to me very strange--though ,i knew that thirty years previously1 the training at samurai-schools compelled the same impassiveness and reticence4 ,at last the ,university is reached1--the great gate of ceremony to public office4 ,here the student finds himself released from the restraints previously imposed upon his private life199 though the class-will continues to rule him in certain directions4 ,as a rule1 the student passes into official life after having graduated1 marries1 and becomes the head1 or the #dbf prospective head1 of a household4 ,how sudden the transformation of the man at this epoch of his career1 only those who have observed the transformation can imagine4 ,it is then that the full significance of ,japanese education reveals itself4 99,this release is of recent date2 and the results1 by the acknowledgment of the students themselves1 have not been good4 ,twenty-five years ago1 ,university study was so seriously thought about that a scholar who failed1 through his own fault1 would have been considered a criminal4 ,there was then a ,chinese poem in vogue1 which used to be sung at the departure of youths for the ,university of that time 7,daigaku ,nanko7 by their friends and relations3-- ,danji kokorozashi wo tatete1 kyokwan wo idzu2 ,gaku moshi narazunba1 shisudomo kaeradzu1 ,the young man1 having made a firm resolve1 leaves his native home4 ,if he fail to acquire learning1 then1 even though he die1 he must never return4 ,in those years also it was obligatory upon students to live and dress simply1 and to abstain from all self-indulgence4 ,few incidents of ,japanese life are more surprising than the metamorphosis of the gawky student into the dignified1 impassive1 easy-mannered official4 ,but a little time ago he was respectfully asking1 cap in hand1 the explanation of some text1 the meaning of some foreign idiom2 to-day1 perhaps1 he is judging cases in some court1 or managing diplomatic correspondence under ministerial supervision1 or directing the management of some public school4 ,whatever you may have thought of his particular capacity as a student1 you will scarcely doubt his particular fitness for the position to which he has been called4 ,success in study was at best a secondary consideration in the matter of his appointment1--though he had to succeed4 ,he was put through some special course1 under high protection1 after having been selected for certain qualities of character1--or at least for the promise of such qualities4 ,there may have been favouritism in his case2 but1 generally speaking1 capable men are appointed to positions of trust3 the ,government seldom makes serious mistakes4 ,this man has value beyond what mere study could make for him1--some capacity in the direction of management or of organization1 #dbg--some natural force or talent which his training has served to cultivate4 ,according to the quality of his worth1 his position was chosen for him in advance4 ,his long1 hard schooling has taught him more than books can teach1 and more than a stupid person can ever learn3 how to read minds and motives1--how to remain impassive under all circumstances1--how to reach a truth quickly by simple questioning1--how to live upon his guard 7even against the most intimate of old acquaintances71--how to remain1 even when most amiable1 secretive and inscrutable4 ,he has graduated in the art of worldly wisdom4 ,he is really a wonderful person1 a highly developed type of his race2 and no inexperienced ,occidental is capable of judging him1 because his visible acquirements count for very little in the measure of his relative value4 ,his ,university study--his ,english or ,french or ,german knowledge--serves him only as so much oil to make easy the working of certain official machinery3 he esteems this learning only as means to some administrative end2 his real learning1 considerably deeper1 represents the development of the ,japanese soul of him4 ,between that mind and any ,western mind the distance has become immeasurable4 ,and now1 less than ever before1 does he belong to himself4 ,he belongs to a family1 to a party1 to a government3 privately he is bound by custom2 publicly he must act according to order only1 and never dream of yielding to #dbh any impulses at variance with order1 however generous or sensible such impulses may be4 ,a word might ruin him3 he has learned to use no words unnecessarily4 ,by silent submission and tireless observance of duty he may rise1 and rise quickly3 he may become ,governor1 ,chief justice1 ,minister of ,state1 ,minister ,plenipotentiary2 but the higher he rises1 the heavier will his bonds become4 ,long training in caution and self-control is indeed an indispensable preparation for official existence2 the ability either to keep a position won1 or to resign it with honour1 depending much upon such training4 ,the most sinister circumstance of official life is the absence of moral freedom1--the absence of the right to act according to one's own convictions of justice4 ,the subordinate1 who desires above all things to keep his place1 is not supposed to have personal convictions or sympathies--save by permission4 ,he is not the slave of a man1 but of a system--a system as old as ,china4 ,were human nature perfect1 that system would be perfect2 but so long as human nature remains what it is now1 the system leaves much to be desired4 ,everything may depend upon the personal character of those temporarily intrusted with higher power2 and the only choice left for the most capable servant under a bad master may be to resign or to do wrong4 ,the strong man faces the problem bravely and resigns2 but for one strong man there are fifty timid ones4 #dbi ,probably the prospect of a broken career is much less terrifying than the ancient idea of crime attaching to any form of insubordination4 ,as the forms of a religion survive after the faith in doctrine has passed away1 so the power of ,government to coerce even conscience still remains1 though religion is no longer identified with ,government4 ,the system of secrecy1 implacably enforced1 helps to maintain the vague awe that has always attached to the idea of administrative authority2 and such authority is practically omnipotent within those limits which ,i have already indicated4 ,to be favoured by authority means to experience all the illusive pleasure of a suddenly created popularity3 an entire community1 a whole city1 is made by a word to turn all the amiable side of its human nature toward the favourite1--to charm him into the belief that he is worthy of the best that the world can give him4 ,but suppose that the moving powers happen1 latter on1 to find the favoured man in the way of some policy--lo6 at another whispered word he finds himself1 without knowing why1 the public enemy4 ,none speak to him or salute him or smile upon him--save ironically3 long-esteemed friends pass him by without recognition1 or1 if pursued1 reply to his most earnest questions with all possible brevity and caution4 ,most likely they do not know the why of the matter3 they only know that orders have been given1 and that into the #dcj reason of orders it is not good to enquire4 ,even the street-children know this much1 and mock the despondent victim of fortune2 even the dogs seem instinctively to divine the change and bark at him as he passes by4444 ,such is the power of official displeasure2 and the penalty of a blunder or a breach of discipline may extend considerably further--but in feudal times the offender would have been simply told to perform harakiri4 ,sometimes1 when the wrong men get into power1 the force of authority may be used for malevolent ends2 and in such event it requires not a little courage to disobey an order to act against conscience4 ,what saved ,japanese society in former ages from the worst results of this form of tyranny1 was the moral sentiment of the mass1--the common feeling that underlay all submission to authority1 and remained always capable1 if pressed upon too brutally1 of compelling a reaction4 ,conditions to-day are more favourable to justice2 but it requires much tact1 steadiness1 and resolution on the part of a rising official to steer himself safely among the reefs and the whirlpools of the new political life4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,the reader will now be able to understand the general character1 aim1 and results of official education as a system4 ,it will be also worth while to consider in detail certain phases of student-life1 which equally prove the survival of old conditions and old #dca traditions4 ,i can speak about these matters from personal experience as a teacher1--an experience extending over nearly thirteen years4 ,readers of ,goethe will remember the trustful docility of the student received by ,doctor ,mephistopheles in the ,first ,part of ,faust1 and the very different demeanour of the same student when he reappears1 in the ,second ,part1 as ,baccalaureus4 ,more than one foreign professor in ,japan must have been reminded of that contrast by personal experience1 and must have wondered whether some one of the early educational advisers to the ,japanese ,government did not play1 without malice prepense1 the very role of ,mephistopheles4444 ,the gentle boy who1 with innocent reverence1 makes his visit of courtesy to the foreign teacher1 bringing for gift a cluster of iris-flowers or odorous spray of plum-blossoms1--the boy who does whatever he is told1 and charms by an earnestness1 a trustfulness1 a grace of manner rarely met with among ,western lads of the same age1--is destined to undergo the strangest of transformations long before becoming a baccalaureus4 ,you may meet with him a few years later1 in the uniform of some ,higher ,school1 and find it difficult to recognize your former pupil1--now graceless1 taciturn1 secretive1 and inclined to demand as a right what could scarcely1 with propriety1 be requested as a favour4 ,you may find #dcb him patronizing1--possibly something worse4 ,later on1 at the ,university1 he becomes more formally correct1 but also more far away1--so very far away from his boyhood that the remoteness is a pain to one who remembers that boyhood4 ,the ,pacific is less wide and deep than the invisible gulf now extending between the mind of the stranger and the mind of the student4 ,the foreign professor is now regarded merely as a teaching-machine2 and he is more than likely to regret any effort made to maintain an intimate relation with his pupils4 ,indeed the whole formal system of official education is opposed to the development of any such relation4 ,i am speaking of general facts in this connexion1 not of merely personal experiences4 ,no matter what the foreigner may do in the hope of finding his way into touch with the emotional life of his students1 or in the hope of evoking that interest in certain studies which renders possible an intellectual tie1 he must toil in vain4 ,perhaps in two or three cases out of a thousand he may obtain something precious1--a lasting and kindly esteem1 based upon moral comprehension2 but should he wish for more he must remain in the state of the ,antarctic explorer1 seeking1 month after month1 to no purpose1 some inlet through endless cliffs of everlasting ice4 ,now the case of the ,japanese professor proves the barrier natural1 to a large extent4 ,the ,japanese professor can ask for extraordinary efforts and1 #dcc obtain them2 he can afford to be easily familiar with his students outside of class2 and he can get what no stranger can obtain1--their devotion4 ,the difference has been attributed to race-feeling2 but it cannot be so easily and vaguely explained4 ,something of race-sentiment there certainly is2 it were impossible that there should not be4 ,no inexperienced foreigner can converse for one half hour with any ,japanese--at least with any ,japanese who has not sojourned abroad---and avoid saying something that jars upon ,japanese good taste or sentiment2 and few--perhaps1 none--among untravelled ,japanese can maintain a brief conversation in any ,european tongue without making some startling impression upon the foreign listener4 ,sympathethic understanding1 between minds so differently constructed1 is next to impossible4 ,but the foreign professor who looks for the impossible--who expects from ,japanese students the same quality of intelligent comprehension that he might reasonably expect from ,western students--is naturally disturbed4 ,why must there always1 remain the width of a world between us8 is a question often asked and rarely answered4 ,some of the reasons should by this time be obvious to my reader2 but one among them and the most1 curious--will not4 ,before stating it ,i must observe that while the relation between foreign #dcd instructor and the ,japanese student is artificial1 that between the ,japanese teacher and the student is traditionally one of sacrifice and obligation4 ,the inertia encountered by the stranger1 the indifference which chills him at all times1 are due in great part to the misapprehension arising from totally opposite conceptions of duty4 ,old sentiment lingers long after old forms have passed away2 and how much of feudal ,japan survives in modern ,japan1 no stranger can readily divine4 ,probably the bulk of existing sentiment is hereditary sentiment3 the ancient ideals have not yet been replaced by fresh ones4444 ,in feudal times the teacher taught without salary3 he was expected to devote all his time1 thought1 and strength to his profession4 ,high honour was attached to that profession2 and the matter of remuneration was not discussed1--the instructor trusting wholly to the gratitude of parents and pupils4 ,public sentiment bound them to him with a bond that could not be broken4 ,therefore a general1 upon the eve of an assault1 would take care that his former teacher should have an opportunity to escape from the place beleaguered4 ,the tie between teacher and pupil was in force second only to the tie between parent and child4 ,the teacher sacrificed everything for his pupil3 the pupil was ready at all times to die for his teacher4 ,now1 indeed1 the hard and selfish aspects of ,japanese character are coming to the surface4 ,but a #dce single fact will sufficiently indicate how much of the old ethical sentiment persists under the new and rougher surface3 ,nearly all the higher educational work accomplished in ,japan represents1 though aided by ,government1 the results of personal sacrifice4 ,from the summit of society to the base1 this sacrificial spirit rules4 ,that a large part of the private income of their ,imperial ,majesties has1 for many years1 been devoted to public education is well known2 but that every person of rank or wealth or high position educates students at his private expense1 is not generally known4 ,in the majority of cases this help is entirely gratuitous2 in a minority of cases1 the expenses of the student are advanced only1 to be repaid by instalments at some future time4 ,the reader is doubtless aware that the daimyo in former times used to dispose of the bulk of their incomes in supporting and helping their retainers2 supplying hundreds1 in some cases thousands1 and in some few cases1 even tens of thousands1 of persons with the necessaries of life2 and exacting in return military service1 loyalty1 and obedience4 ,those former daimyo or their successors--particularly those who are still large landholders--now vie with each other in assisting education4 ,all who can afford it are educating sons or grandsons or descendants of former retainers2 the subjects of this patronage being annually selected from among the students of #dcf schools established in the former daimiates4 ,it is only the rich noble who can now support a number of students gratuitously1 year after year2 the poorer men of rank cannot care for many4 ,but all1 or very nearly all1 maintain some1--and this even in cases where the patron's income is so small that the expense could not be borne unless the student were pledged to repay it after graduation4 ,in some instances1 half of the cost is borne by the patron2 the student being required to repay the rest4 ,now these aristocratic examples are extensively followed through other grades of society4 ,merchants1 bankers1 and manufacturers--all rich men of the commercial and industrial classes--are educating students4 ,military officers1 civil service officials1 physicians1 lawyers1 men of every profession1 in short1 are doing the same thing4 ,persons whose incomes are too small to permit of much generosity are able to help students by employing them as door-keepers1 messengers1 tutors1--giving them board and lodging1 and a little pocket-money at times1 in return1 for light services4 ,in ,tokyo1 and in most of the large cities1 almost every large house is guarded by students who are being thus assisted4 ,as for what the teachers do--that requires special mention4 ,the majority of teachers in the public schools do not receive salaries enabling them to help students with money2 but all teachers earning more than the #dcg bare necessary give aid of some sort4 ,among the instructors and professors of the higher educational establishments1 the helping of students seems to be thought of as a matter of course1--so much a matter of course that we might suspect a new tyranny of custom1 especially in view of the smallness of official salaries4 ,but no tyranny of custom would explain the pleasure of sacrifice and the strange persistence of feudal idealism which are revealed by some extraordinary facts4 ,for example3 ,a certain ,university professor is known to have supported and educated a large number of students by dividing among them1 during many years1 nearly the whole of his salary4 ,he lodged1 clothed1 boarded1 and educated them1 bought their books1 and paid their fees1--reserving for himself only the cost of his living1 and reducing even that cost by living upon hot sweet potatoes4 7,fancy a foreign professor in ,japan putting himself upon a diet of bread and water for the purpose of educating gratuitously a number of poor young men67 ,i know of two other cases nearly as remarkable2 the helper1 in one instance1 being an old man of more than seventy1 who still devotes all his means1 time1 and knowledge to his ancient ideal of duty4 ,how much obscure sacrifice of this kind has been performed by those least able to afford it never will be known3 indeed1 the publication of the facts would only give pain4 ,i am guilty of some indiscretion in mentioning #dah even the cases brought to my attention--though human nature is honoured by the mention4444 ,now it should be evident that while ,japanese students are accustomed to witness self-denial of this sort on the part of native professors1 they cannot be much impressed by any manifestation of interest or sympathy on the part of the foreign professor1 who1 though receiving a higher salary than his ,japanese colleagues1 has no reason and small inclination to imitate their example4 ,surely this heroic fact of education sustained by personal sacrifices1 in the face of unimaginable difficulties1 is enough to redeem much humbug and wrong4 ,in spite of the corruption which has been of late years rife in educational circles1--in spite of official scandals1 intrigues1 and shams1--all needed reforms can be hoped for while the spirit of generous self-denial continues to rule the world of teachers and students4 ,i can venture also the opinion that most of the official scandals and failures have resulted from the interference of politics with modern education1 or from attempting to imitate foreign conventional methods totally at variance with national moral experience4 ,where ,japan has remained true to her old moral ideals she has done nobly and well3 where she has needlessly departed from them1 sorrow and trouble have been the natural consequences4 ,there are yet other facts in modern education #dci suggesting even more forcibly how much of the old life remains hidden under the new conditions1 and how rigidly race-character has become fixed in the higher types of mind4 ,i refer chiefly to the results of ,japanese education abroad1--a higher special training in ,german1 ,english1 ,french1 or ,american ,universities4 ,in some directions these results1 to foreign observation at least1 appear to be almost negative4 ,considering the immense psychological differentiation1--the total oppositeness of mental structure and habit1--it is astonishing that ,japanese students have been able to do what they actually have done at foreign ,universities4 ,to graduate at any ,european or ,american ,university of mark1 with a mind shaped by ,japanese culture1 filled with ,chinese learning1 crammed with ideographs1--is a prodigious feat3 scarcely less of a feat than it would be for an ,american student to graduate at a ,chinese ,university4 ,certainly the men sent abroad to study are carefully selected for ability2 and one indispensable requisite for the mission is a power of memory incomparably superior to the average ,occidental memory1 and different altogether as to quality1--a memory for details2--nevertheless1 the feat is amazing4 ,but with the return to ,japan of these young scholars1 there is commonly an end of effort in the direction of the speciality studied1--unless it happens to have been a purely practical subject4 ,does this signify incapacity for independent work #ddj upon ,occidental lines8 incapacity for creative thought8 lack of constructive imagination8 disinclination or indifference8 ,the history of that terrible mental and moral discipline to which the race was so long subjected would certainly suggest such limitations in the modern ,japanese mind4 ,perhaps these questions cannot yet be answered1--except1 ,i imagine1 as regards the indifference1 which is self-evident and undisguised4 ,but1 independently of any question of capacity or inclination1 there is this fact to be considered1--that proper encouragement has not yet been given to home-scholarship4 ,the plain truth is that young men are sent to foreign seats of learning for other ends than to learn how to devote the rest of their lives to the study of psychology1 philology1 literature1 or modern philosophy4 ,they are sent abroad to fit them for higher posts in ,government-service2 and their foreign study is but one obligatory episode in their official career4 ,each has to qualify himself for special duty by learning how ,western people study and think and feel in certain directions1 and by ascertaining the range of educational progress in those directions2 but he is not ordered to think or to feel like ,western people--which would1 in any event1 be impossible for him4 ,he has not1 and probably could not have1 any deep personal interest in ,western learning outside of the domain of applied science4 ,his business is to learn how to understand such matters from the #dda ,japanese1 not from the ,occidental1 point of view4 ,but he performs his part well1 does exactly what he has been told to do1 and rarely anything more4 ,his value to his ,government is doubled or quadrupled by his allotted experience2 but at home--except during a few years of expected duty as professor or lecturer--he will probably use that experience only as a psychological costume of ceremony1--a mental uniform to be donned when official occasion may require4 ,it is otherwise in the case of men sent abroad for scientific studies requiring1 not only intelligence and memory1 but natural quickness of hand and eye1--surgery1 medicine1 military specialities4 ,i doubt whether the average efficiency of ,japanese surgeons can be surpassed4 ,the study of war1 ,i need hardly say1 is one for which the national mind and character have inherited aptitude4 ,but men sent abroad merely to win a foreign ,university-degree1 and destined1 after a term of educational duty1 to higher official life1 appear to set small value upon their foreign acquirements4 ,however1 even if they could win distinction in ,europe by further effort at home1 that effort would have to be made at a serious pecuniary sacrifice1 and its results could not as yet be fairly appreciated by their own countrymen4 ,some of us have wondered at times what the old ,egyptians or the old ,greeks would have done if #ddb suddenly brought into dangerous contact with a civilization like our own1--a civilization of applied mathematics1 with sciences and branch-sciences of which the mere names would fill a dictionary4 ,i think that the history of modern ,japan suggests very clearly what any wise people1 with a civilization based upon ancestor-worship1 would have done4 ,they would have speedily reconstructed their patriarchal society to meet the sudden peril2 they would have adopted1 with astonishing success1 all the scientific machinery that they could use2 they would have created a formidable army and a highly efficient navy2 they would have sent their young aristocrats abroad to study alien convention1 and to qualify for diplomatic duty2 they would have established a new system of education1 and obliged all their children to study many new things2--but toward the higher emotional and intellectual life of that alien civilization1 they would naturally exhibit indifference3 its best literature1 its philosophy1 its broader forms of tolerant religion could make no profound appeal to their moral and social experience4 #ddc ,,industrial ,,danger ,everywhere the course of human civilization has been shaped by the same evolutional law2 and as the earlier history of the ancient ,european communities can help us to understand the social conditions of ,old ,japan1 so a later period of the same history can help us to divine something of the probable future of the ,new ,japan4 ,it has been shown by the author of ,la ,cite ,antique that the history of all the ancient ,greek and ,latin communities included four revolutionary periods499 ,the first revolution had everywhere for its issue the withdrawal of political power from the priest-king2 who was nevertheless allowed to retain the religious authority4 ,the second revolutionary period witnessed the breaking up of the gens or 7,greek genos74 the enfranchisement of the client from the authority of the patron1 and several important changes in #ddd the legal constitution of the family4 ,the third revolutionary period saw the weakening of the religious and military aristocracy1 the entrance of the common people into the rights of citizenship1 and the rise of a democracy of wealth1--presently to be opposed by a democracy of poverty4 ,the fourth revolutionary period witnessed the first bitter struggles between rich and poor1 the final triumph of anarchy1 and the consequent establishment of a new and horrible form of despotism1--the despotism of the popular ,tyrant4 99,not excepting ,sparta4 ,the ,spartan society was evolutionally much in advance of the ,ionian societies2 the ,dorian patriarchal clan having been dissolved at some very early period4 ,sparta kept its ,kings2 but affairs of civil justice were regulated by the ,senate1 and affairs of criminal justice by the ephors1 who also had the power to declare war and to make treaties of peace4 ,after the first great revolution of ,spartan history the ,king was deprived of power in civil matters1 in criminal matters1 and in military matters3 he retained his sacerdotal office4 ,see for details4 ,la ,cite ,antique1 pp1 #bhe-bhg4 ,to these four revolutionary periods1 the social history of ,old ,japan presents but two correspondences4 ,the first ,japanese revolutionary period was represented by the ,fujiwara usurpation of the imperial civil and military authority1--after which event the aristocracy1 religious and military1 really governed ,japan down to our own time4 ,all the events of the rise of the military power and the concentration of authority under the ,tokugawa ,shogunate properly belong to the first revolutionary period4 ,at the time of the opening of ,japan1 society had not evolutionally advanced beyond a stage corresponding to that of the antique ,western societies in the seventh or eighth century before ,christ4 ,the second revolutionary period really began only with the reconstruction of society in #ahga4 ,but within the space of a single generation thereafter1 ,japan entered upon her third revolutionary #dde period4 ,already the influence of the elder aristocracy is threatened by the sudden rise of a new oligarchy of wealth1--a new industrial power probably destined to become omnipotent in politics4 ,the disintegration 7now proceeding7 of the clan1 the changes in the legal constitution of the family1 the entrance of the people into the enjoyment of political rights1 must all tend to hasten the coming transfer of power4 ,there is every indication that1 in the present order of things1 the third revolutionary period will run its course rapidly2 and then a fourth revolutionary period1 fraught with serious danger1 would be in immediate prospect4 ,consider the bewildering rapidity of recent changes1--from the reconstruction of society in #ahga to the opening of the first national parliament in #ahia4 ,down to the middle of the nineteenth century the nation had remained in the condition common to ,european patriarchal communities twenty-six hundred years ago3 society had indeed entered upon a second period of integration1 but had traversed only one great revolution4 ,and then the country was suddenly hurried through two more social revolutions of the most extraordinary kind1--signalized by the abolition of the daimiates1 the suppression of the military class1 the substitution of a plebeian for an aristocratic army1 popular enfranchisement1 the rapid formalism of a new commonalty4 industrial #ddf expansion1 the rise of a new aristocracy of wealth1 and popular representation in government6 ,old ,japan had never developed a wealthy and powerful middle class3 she had not even approached that stage of industrial development which1 in the ancient ,european societies1 naturally brought about the first political struggles between rich and poor4 ,her social organization made industrial oppression impossible3 the commercial classes were kept at the bottom of society1--under the feet even of those who1 in more highly evolved communities1 are most at the mercy of money-power4 ,but now those commercial classes1 set free and highly privileged1 are silently and swiftly ousting the aristocratic ruling-class from power1--are becoming supremely important4 ,and under the new order of things1 forms of social misery1 never before known in the history of the race1 are being developed4 ,some idea of this misery may be obtained from the fact that the number of poor people in ,tokyo unable to pay their annual resident-tax is upwards of #ej1jjj2 yet the amount of the tax is only about #bj sen1 or #e pence ,english money4 ,prior to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a minority there was never any such want in any part of ,japan1--except1 of course1 as a temporary consequence of war4 ,the early history of ,european civilization supplies analogies4 ,in the ,greek and ,latin communities1 up to the time of the dissolution of the gens1 there #ddg was no poverty in the modern meaning of that word4 ,slavery4 with some few exceptions1 existed only in the mild domestic form2 there were yet no commercial oligarchies1 and no industrial oppressions2 and the various cities and states were ruled1 after political power had been taken from the early kings1 by military aristocracies which also exercised religious functions4 ,there was yet little trade in the modern signification of the term2 and money1 as current coinage1 came into circulation only in the seventh century before ,christ4 ,misery did not exist4 ,under any patriarchal system1 based upon ancestor-worship1 there is no misery1 as a consequence of poverty1 except such as may be temporarily created by devastation or famine4 ,if want thus comes1 it comes to all alike4 ,in such a state of society everybody is in the service of somebody1 and receives in exchange for service all the necessaries of life3 there is no need for any one to trouble himself about the question of living4 ,also1 in such a patriarchal community1 which is self-sufficing1 there is little need of money3 barter takes the place of trade4444 ,in all these respects1 the condition of ,old ,japan offered a close parallel to the conditions of patriarchal society in ancient ,europe4 ,while the uji or clan existed1 there was no misery except as a result of war1 famine1 or pestilence4 ,throughout society--excepting the small commercial class--the need of money was rare2 and such coinage as existed #ddh was little suited to general circulation4 ,taxes were paid in rice and other produce4 ,as the lord nourished his retainers1 so the samurai cared for his dependants1 the farmer for his labourers1 the artizan for his apprentices and journeymen1 the merchant for his clerks4 ,everybody was fed2 and there was no need1 in ordinary times at least1 for any one to go hungry4 ,it was only with the breaking-up of the clan-system in ,japan that the possibilities of starvation for the worker first came into existence4 ,and as1 in antique ,europe1 the enfranchised client-class and plebeian-class developed1 under like conditions1 into a democracy clamouring for suffrage and all political rights1 so in ,japan have the common people developed the political instinct1 in self-protection4 ,it will be remembered how1 in ,greek and ,roman society1 the aristocracy founded upon religious tradition and military power had to give way to an oligarchy of wealth1 and how there subsequently came into existence a democratic form of government1--democratic1 not in the modern1 but in the old ,greek meaning4 ,at a yet later day the results of popular suffrage were the breaking-up of this democratic government1 and the initiation of an atrocious struggle between rich and poor4 ,after that strife had begun there was no more security for life or property until the ,roman conquest enforced order4444 ,now it seems not unlikely that there will he witnessed in ,japan1 at no very #ddi distant day1 a strong tendency to repeat the history of the old ,greek anarchies4 ,with the constant increase of poverty and pressure of population1 and the concomitant accumulation of wealth in the hands of a new industrial class1 the peril is obvious4 ,thus far the nation has patiently borne all changes4 relying upon the experience of its past1 and trusting implicitly to its rulers4 ,but should wretchedness be so permitted to augment that the question of how to keep from starving becomes imperative for the millions1 the long patience and the long trust may fail4 ,and then1 to repeat a figure effectively used by ,professor ,huxley1 the ,primitive ,man1 finding that the ,moral ,man has landed him in the valley of the shadow of death1 may rise up to take the management of affairs into his own hands1 and fight savagely for the right of existence4 ,as popular instinct is not too dull to divine the first cause of this misery in the introduction of ,western industrial methods1 it is unpleasant to reflect what such an upheaval might signify4 ,but nothing of moment has yet been done to ameliorate the condition of the wretched class of operatives1 now estimated to exceed half a million4 ,m4 de ,coulanges has pointed out99 that the absence of individual liberty was the real cause of the disorders and the final ruin of the ,greek societies4 99,la ,cite ,antique4 pp1 #djj-dja4 #dej ,rome suffered less1 and survived1 and dominated1--because within her boundaries the rights of the individual had been more respected4444 ,now the absence of individual freedom in modern ,japan would certainly appear to be nothing less than a national danger4 ,for those very habits of unquestioning obedience1 and loyalty1 and respect for authority1 which made feudal society possible1 are likely to render a true democratic regime impossible1 and would tend to bring about a state of anarchy4 ,only races long accustomed to personal liberty1--liberty to think about matters of ethics apart from matters of government1--liberty to consider questions of right and wrong1 justice and injustice1 independently of political authority1--are able to face without risk the peril now menacing ,japan4 ,for should social disintegration take in ,japan the same course which it followed in the old ,european societies1--unchecked by any precautionary legislation1--and so bring about another social revolution1 the consequence could scarcely be less than utter ruin4 ,in the antique world of ,europe1 the total disintegration of the patriarchal system occupied centuries3 it was slow1 and it was normal--not having been brought about by external forces4 ,in ,japan1 on the contrary1 this disintegration is taking place under enormous outside pressure1 operating with the rapidity of electricity and steam4 ,in ,greek societies the changes were effected in about three #dea hundred years2 in ,japan it is hardly more than thirty years since the patriarchal system was legally dissolved and the industrial system reshaped2 yet already the danger of anarchy is in sight1 and the population--astonishingly augmented by more than ten millions--already begins to experience all the forms of misery developed by want under industrial conditions4 ,it was perhaps inevitable that the greatest freedom accorded under the new order of things should have been given in the direction of greatest danger4 ,though the ,government cannot be said to have done much for any form of competition within the sphere of its own direct control1 it has done even more than could have been reasonably expected on behalf of national industrial competition4 ,loans have been lavishly advanced4 subsidies generously allowed2 and1 in spite of various panics and failures1 the results have been prodigious4 ,within thirty years the value of articles manufactured for export has risen from half a million to five hundred million yen4 ,but this immense development has been effected at serious cost in other directions4 ,the old methods of family production--and therefore most of the beautiful industries and arts1 for which ,japan has been so long famed--now seem doomed beyond hope2 and instead of the ancient kindly relations between master and workers1 there have been brought into existence--with no legislation to restrain #deb inhumanity--all the horrors of factory-life at its worst4 ,the new combinations of capital have actually reestablished servitude1 under harsher forms than ever were imagined under the feudal era2 the misery of the women and children subjected to that servitude is a public scandal1 and proves strange possibilities of cruelty on the part of a people once renowned for kindness1--kindness even to animals4 ,there is now a humane outcry for reform2 and earnest efforts have been made1 and will be made1 to secure legislation for the protection of operatives4 ,but1 as might be expected1 these efforts have been hitherto strongly opposed by manufacturing companies and syndicates with the declaration that any ,government interference with factory management will greatly hamper1 if not cripple1 enterprise1 and hinder competition with foreign industry4 ,less than twenty years ago the very same arguments were used in ,england to oppose the efforts then being made to improve the condition of the industrial classes2 and that opposition was challenged by ,professor ,huxley in a noble address1 which every ,japanese legislator would do well to read to-day4 ,speaking of the reforms in progress during #ahhh4 the professor said3 ,if it is said that the carrying out of such arrangements as those indicated must enhance the cost of production1 and thus handicap the producer in the race of competition4 ,i venture1 in the first place4 to doubt the fact2 but1 if it be #dec so1 it results that industrial society has to face a dilemma1 either alternative of which threatens destruction4 ,on the one hand1 a population1 the labour of which is sufficiently remunerated1 may be physically and morally healthy1 and socially stable1 but may fail in industrial competition by reason of the dearness of its produce4 ,on the other hand1 a population1 the labour of which is insufficiently remunerated1 must become physically and morally unhealthy1 and socially unstable2 and though it may succeed for a while in competition1 by reason of the cheapness of its produce1 it must in the end fall1 through hideous misery and degradation1 to utter ruin4 ,well1 if these be the only alternatives1 let us for ourselves and our children choose the former1 and1 if need be1 starve like men4 ,but ,i do not believe that a stable society1 made up of healthy1 vigorous1 instructed1 and self-ruling people would ever incur serious risk of that fate4 ,they are not likely to be troubled with many competitors of the same character just yet2 and they may be safely trusted to find ways of holding their own499 99,the ,struggle for ,existence in ,human ,society4 ,collected ,essays1 ,vol4 ,,ix4 pp1 #aac--bai4 ,if the future of ,japan could depend upon her army and her navy1 upon the high courage of her people and their readiness to die by the hundred thousand for ideals of honour and of duty1 there would be small cause for alarm in the present state of affairs4 ,unfortunately her future must depend upon other qualities than courage1 other abilities than those of #ded sacrifice2 and her struggle hereafter must be one in which her social traditions will place her at an immense disadvantage4 ,the capacity for industrial competition cannot be made to depend upon the misery of women and children2 it must depend upon the intelligent freedom of the individual2 and the society which suppresses this freedom1 or suffers it to be suppressed1 must remain too rigid for competition with societies in which the liberties of the individual are strictly maintained4 ,while ,japan continues to think and to act by groups1 even by groups of industrial companies1 so long she must always continue incapable of her best4 ,her ancient social experience is not sufficient to avail her for the future international struggle1--rather it must sometimes impede her as so much dead weight4 ,dead1 in the ghostliest sense of the word1--the viewless pressure upon her life of numberless vanished generations4 ,she will have not only to strive against colossal odds in her rivalry with more plastic and more forceful societies2 she will have to strive much more against the power of her phantom past4 ,yet it were a grievous error to imagine that she has nothing further to gain from her ancestral faith4 ,all her modern successes have been aided by it2 and all her modern failures have been marked by needless breaking with its ethical custom4 ,she could compel her people1 by a simple fiat1 to adopt the #dee civilization of the ,west1 with all its pain and struggle1 only because that people had been trained for ages in submission and loyalty and sacrifice2 and the time has not yet come in which she can afford to cast away the whole of her moral past4 ,more freedom indeed she requires1--but freedom restrained by wisdom2 freedom to think and act and strive for self as well as for others1--not freedom to oppress the weak1 or to exploit the simple4 ,and the new cruelties of her industrial life can find no justification in the traditions of her ancient faith1 which exacted absolute obedience from the dependant1 but equally required the duty of kindness from the master4 ,in so far as she has permitted her people to depart from the way of kindness1 she herself has surely departed from the ,way of the ,gods4444 ,and the domestic future appears dark4 ,born of that darkness1 an evil dream comes oftentimes to those who love ,japan3 the fear that all her efforts are being directed1 with desperate heroism1 only to prepare the land for the sojourn of peoples older by centuries in commercial experience2 that her thousands of miles of railroads and telegraphs1 her mines and forges1 her arsenals and factories1 her docks and fleets1 are being put in order for the use of foreign capital2 that her admirable army and her heroic navy may be doomed to make their last sacrifices in hopeless contest against some combination of greedy states4 provoked or encouraged to aggression #def by circumstances beyond the power of ,government to control4444 ,but the statesmanship that has already guided ,japan through many storms should prove able to cope with this gathering peril4 #deg ,,reflections ,in the preceding pages ,i have endeavoured to suggest a general idea of the social history of ,japan1 and a general idea of the nature of those forces which shaped and tempered the character of her people4 ,certainly this attempt leaves much to be desired3 the time is yet far away at which a satisfactory work upon the subject can be prepared4 ,but the fact that ,japan can be understood only through the study of her religious and social evolution has been1 ,i trust1 sufficiently indicated4 ,she affords us the amazing spectacle of an ,eastern society maintaining all the outward forms of ,western civilization2 using1 with unquestionable efficiency1 the applied science of the ,occident2 accomplishing1 by prodigious effort1 the work of centuries within the time of three decades1--yet sociologically remaining at a stage corresponding to that which1 in ancient ,europe1 preceded the ,christian era by hundreds of years4 ,but no suggestion of origins and causes should diminish the pleasure of contemplating this curious world1 psychologically still so far away from us in the course of human evolution4 ,the wonder and #deh the beauty of what remains of the ,old ,japan cannot be lessened by any knowledge of the conditions that produced them4 ,the old kindliness and grace of manners need not cease to charm us because we know that such manners were cultivated1 for a thousand years1 under the edge of the sword4 ,the common politeness which appeared1 but a few years ago1 to be almost universal1 and the rarity of quarrels1 should not prove less agreeable because we have learned that1 for generations and generations1 all quarrels among the people were punished with extraordinary rigour2 and that the custom of the vendetta1 which rendered necessary such repression1 also made everybody cautious of word and deed4 ,the popular smile should not seem less winning because we have been told of a period1 in the past of the subject-classes1 when not to smile in the teeth of pain might cost life itself4 ,and the ,japanese woman1 as cultivated by the old home-training1 is not less sweet a being because she represents the moral ideal of a vanishing world1 and because we can faintly surmise the cost1--the incalculable cost in pain1--of producing her4 ,no3 what remains of this elder civilization is full of charm1--charm unspeakable1--and to witness its gradual destruction must be a grief for whomsoever has felt that charm4 ,however intolerable may seem1 to the mind of the artist or poet1 those countless restrictions which once ruled all this fairy-world #dei and shaped the soul of it1 he cannot but admire and love their best results3 the simplicity of old custom1--the amiability of manners1--the daintiness of habits1--the delicate tact displayed in pleasure-giving1--the strange power of presenting outwardly1 under any circumstances1 only the best and brightest aspects of character4 ,what emotional poetry1 for even the least believing1 in the ancient home-religion1--in the lamplet nightly kindled before the names of the dead1 the tiny offerings of food and drink1 the welcome-fires lighted to guide the visiting ghosts1 the little ships prepared to bear--them back to their rest6 ,and this immemorial doctrine of filial piety1--exacting all that is noble1 not less than all that is terrible1 in duty1 in gratitude1 in self-denial1--what strange appeal does it make to our lingering religious instincts2 and how close to the divine appear to us the finer natures forged by it6 ,what queer weird attraction in those parish-temple festivals1 with their happy mingling of merriment and devotion in the presence of the gods6 ,what a universe of romance in that ,buddhist art which has left its impress upon almost every product of industry1 from the toy of a child to the heirloom of a prince2--which has peopled the solitudes with statues1 and chiselled the wayside rocks with texts of sutras6 ,who can forget the soft enchantment of this ,buddhist atmosphere8--the deep music of the great bells8--the #dfj green peace of gardens haunted by fearless things1 doves that flutter down at call1 fishes rising to be fed8 444 ,despite our incapacity to enter into the soul-life of this ancient ,east1 --despite the certainty that one might as well hope to remount the ,river of ,time and share the vanished existence of some old ,greek city1 as to share the thoughts and the emotions of ,old ,japan1--we find ourselves bewitched forever by the vision1 like those wanderers of folk-tale who rashly visited ,elf-land4 ,we know that there is illusion1--not as to the reality of the visible1 but as to its meanings1--very much illusion4 ,yet why should this illusion attract us1 like some glimpse of ,paradise8--why should we feel obliged to confess the ethical glamour of a civilization as far away from us in thought as the ,egypt of ,ramses8 ,are we really charmed by the results of a social discipline that refused to recognize the individual8--enamoured of a cult that exacted the suppression of personality8 ,no3 the charm is made by the fact that this vision of the past represents to us much more than past or present1--that it foreshadows the possibilities of some higher future1 in a world of ,perfect sympathy4 ,after many a thousand years there may be developed a humanity able to achieve1 with never a shadow of illusion1 those ethical conditions prefigured by the ideals of ,old ,japan3 instinctive unselfishness1 #dfa a common desire to find the joy of life in making happiness for others1 a universal sense of moral beauty4 ,and whenever men shall have so far gained upon the present as to need no other code than the teaching of their own hearts1 then indeed the ancient ideal of ,shinto will find its supreme realization4 ,moreover1 it should be remembered that the social state1 whose results thus attract us1 really produced much more than a beautiful mirage4 ,simple characters of great charm1 though necessarily of great fixity1 were developed by it in multitude4 ,old ,japan came nearer to the achievement of the highest moral ideal than our far more evolved societies can hope to do for many a hundred years4 ,and but for those ten centuries of war which followed upon the rise of the military power1 the ethical end to which all social discipline tended might have been much more closely approached4 ,yet if the better side of this human nature had been further developed at the cost of darker and sterner qualities1 the consequence might have proved unfortunate for the nation4 ,no people so ruled by altruism as to lose its capacities for aggression and cunning could hold their own1 in the present state of the world1 against races hardened by the discipline of competition as well as by the discipline of war4 ,the future ,japan must rely upon the least #dfb amiable qualities of her character for success in the universal struggle2 and she will need to develop them strongly4 99 99 99 ,how strongly she has been able to develop them in one direction1 the present war with ,russia bears startling witness4 ,but it is certainly to the long discipline of the past that she owes the moral strength behind this unexpected display of aggressive power4 ,no superficial observation could discern the silent energies masked by the resignation of the people to change1--the unconscious heroism informing this mass of forty million souls1 the compressed force ready to expand at ,imperial bidding either for construction or destruction4 ,from the leaders of a nation with such a military and political history1 one might expect the manifestation of all those abilities of supreme importance in diplomacy and war4 ,but such capacities could prove of little worth were it not for the character of the masses1--the quality of the material that moves to command with the power of winds and tides4 ,the veritable strength of ,japan still lies in the moral nature of her common people1--her farmers and fishers1 artizans and labourers1--the patient quiet folk one sees toiling in the rice-fields1 or occupied with the humblest of crafts and callings in city by-ways4 ,all the unconscious heroism of the race is in these1 and all its splendid courage1--a #dfc courage that does not mean indifference to life1 but the desire to sacrifice life at the bidding of the ,imperial ,master who raises the rank of the dead4 ,from the thousands of young men now being summoned to the war1 one hears no expression of hope to return to their homes with glory2--the common wish uttered is only to win remembrance at the ,shokonsha--that ,spirit-,invoking ,temple1 where the souls of all who die for ,emperor and fatherland are believed to gather4 ,at no time was the ancient faith stronger than in this hour of struggle2 and ,russian power will have very much more to fear from that faith than from repeating rifles or ,whitehead torpedoes499 ,shinto1 as a religion of patriotism1 is a force that should suffice1 if permitted fair-play1 to affect not only the destinies of the whole ,far ,east1 but the future of civilization4 ,no more irrational assertion was ever made about the ,japanese than the statement of their indifference to religion4 ,religion is still1 as it has #dfd ever been1 the very life of the people1--the motive and the directing power of their every action3 a religion of doing and suffering1 a religion without cant and hypocrisy4 ,and the qualities especially developed by it are just those qualities which have startled ,russia1 and may yet cause her many a painful surprise4 ,she has discovered alarming force where she imagined childish weakness2 she has encountered heroism where she expected to find timidity and helplessness49999 99,the following reply1 made by ,admiral ,togo ,commander-in-,chief of the ,japanese fleet1 to an ,imperial message of commendation received after the second attempt to block the entrance to ,port ,arthur1 is characteristically ,shinto3-- ,the warm message which ,your imperial ,majesty condescended to grant us with regard to the second attempt to seal ,port ,arthur1 has not only overwhelmed us with gratitude1 but may also influence the patriotic manes of the departed heroes to hover long over the battle-field and give unseen protection to the ,imperial forces4444 ,translated in the ,,japan ,,times of ,march #cast1 #aijd4 --,such thoughts and hopes about the brave dead might have been uttered by a ,greek warrior before the battle of ,salamis4 ,the faith and courage which helped the ,greeks to repel the ,persian invasion were of precisely the same quality as that religious heroism which now helps the ,japanese to challenge the power of ,russia4 9999,the case of the ,japanese officers and men on the transport ,kinshu ,maru1 sank by the ,russian warships on the #bfth of last ,april1 should have given the enemy matter for reflection4 ,although allowed an hour's time for consideration1 the soldiers refused to surrender1 and opened fire with their rifles on the battleships4 ,then1 before the ,kinshu ,maru was blown in two by a torpedo1 a number of the ,japanese officers and men performed harakiri4444 ,this strong display of the fierce old feudal spirit suggests how dearly a ,russian success would be bought4 99 99 99 ,for countless reasons this terrible war 7of which no man can yet see the end7 is unspeakably to be regretted2 and of these reasons not the least are industrial4 ,war must temporarily check all tendencies towards the development of that healthy individualism without which no modern nation can become prosperous and wealthy4 ,enterprise is numbed1 markets paralyzed1 manufactures stopped4 ,yet1 in the extraordinary case of this extraordinary people1 it is possible that the social effects of the contest will prove to some degree beneficial4 ,prior to hostilities1 there had been a visible tendency to #dfe the premature dissolution of institutions founded upon centuries of experience1--a serious likelihood of moral disintegration4 ,that great changes must hereafter be made1--that the future well-being of the country requires them1--would seem to admit of no argument4 ,but it is necessary that such changes be effected by degrees1--not with such inopportune haste as to imperil the moral constitution of the nation4 ,a war for independence1--a war that obliges the race to stake its all upon the issue1--must bring about a tightening of the old social bonds1 a strong quickening of the ancient sentiments of loyalty and duty1 a reinforcement of conservatism4 ,this will signify retrogression in some directions2 but it will also mean invigoration in others4 ,before the ,russian menace1 the ,soul of ,yamato revives again4 ,out of the contest ,japan will come1 if successful1 morally stronger than before2 and a new sense of self-confidence1 a new spirit of independence1 might then reveal itself in the national attitude toward foreign policy and foreign pressure4 --,there would be1 of course1 the danger of overconfidence4 ,a people able to defeat ,russian power on land and sea might be tempted to believe themselves equally able to cope with foreign capital upon their own territory2 and every means would certainly be tried of persuading or bullying the government #dff into some fatal compromise on the question of the right of foreigners to hold land4 ,efforts in this direction have been carried on persistently and systematically for years2 and these efforts seem to have received some support from a class of ,japanese politicians1 apparently incapable of understanding what enormous tyranny a single privileged syndicate of foreign capital would be capable of exercising in such a country4 ,it appears to me that any person comprehending1 even in the vaguest way1 the nature of money-power and the average conditions of life throughout ,japan1 must recognize the certainty that foreign capital1 with right of land-tenure1 would find means to control legislation1 to control government1 and to bring about a state of affairs that would result in the practical domination of the empire by alien interests4 ,i cannot resist the conviction that when ,japan yields to foreign industry the right to purchase land1 she is lost beyond hope4 ,the self-confidence that might tempt to such yielding1 in view of immediate advantages1 would be fatal4 ,japan has incomparably more to fear from ,english or ,american capital than from ,russian battleships and bayonets4 ,behind her military capacity is the disciplined experience of a thousand years2 behind her industrial and commercial power1 the experience of half-a-century4 ,but she has been fully warned2 and if she chooses hereafter to invite her own ruin1 it will not have #dfg been for lack of counsel1--since she had the wisest man in the world to advise her499 99,herbert ,spencer4 ,to the reader of these pages1 at least1 the strength and the weakness of the new social organization--its great capacities for offensive or defensive action in military directions1 and its comparative feebleness in other directions--should now be evident4 ,all things considered1 the marvel is that ,japan should have been so well able to hold her own2 and it was assuredly no common wisdom that guided her first unsteady efforts in new and perilous ways4 ,certainly her power to accomplish what she has accomplished was derived from her old religious and social training3 she was able to keep strong because1 under the new forms of rule and the new conditions of social activity1 she could still maintain a great deal of the ancient discipline4 ,but even thus it was only by the firmest and shrewdest policy that she could avert disaster1--could prevent the disruption of her whole social structure under the weight of alien pressure4 ,it was imperative that vast changes should be made1 but equally imperative that they should not be of a character to endanger the foundations2 and it was above all things necessary1 while preparing for immediate necessities1 to provide against future perils4 ,never before1 perhaps1 in the history of human civilization1 did any rulers find themselves #dfh obliged to cope with problems so tremendous1 so complicated1 and so inexorable4 ,and of these problems the most inexorable remains to be solved4 ,it is furnished by the fact that although all the successes of ,japan have been so far due to unselfish collective action1 sustained by the old ,shinto ideals of duty and obedience1 her industrial future must depend upon egoistic individual action of a totally opposite kind6 99 99 99 ,what then will become of the ancient morality8--the ancient cult8 --,in this moment the conditions are abnormal4 ,but it seems certain that there will be1 under normal conditions1 a further gradual loosening of the old family-bonds2 and this would bring about a further disintegration4 ,by the testimony of the ,japanese themselves1 such disintegration was spreading rapidly among the upper and middle classes of the great cities1 prior to the present war4 ,among the people of the agricultural districts1 and even in the country towns1 the old ethical order of things has yet been little affected4 ,and there are other influences than legislative change or social necessity which are working for disintegration4 ,old beliefs have been rudely shaken by the introduction of larger knowledge3 a new generation is being taught1 in twenty-seven thousand primary schools1 the rudiments of science and the modern conception of the universe4 ,the #dfj ,buddhist cosmology1 with its fantastic pictures of ,mount ,meru1 has become a nursery-tale2 the old ,chinese nature-philosophy finds believers only among the little educated1 or the survivors of the feudal era2 and the youngest schoolboy has learned that the constellations are neither gods nor ,buddhas1 but far-off groups of suns4 ,no longer can popular fancy picture the ,milky ,way as the ,river of ,heaven2 the legend of the ,weaving-,maiden1 and her waiting lover1 and the ,bridge of ,birds1 is now told only to children2 and the young fisherman1 though steering1 like his fathers1 by the light of stars1 no longer discerns in the northern sky the form of ,mioken ,bosatsu4 ,yet it were easy to misinterpret the weakening of a certain class of old beliefs1 or the visible tendency to social change4 ,under any circumstances a religion decays slowly2 and the most conservative forms of religion are the last to yield to disintegration4 ,it were a grave mistake to suppose that the ancestor-cult has yet been appreciably affected by exterior influences of any kind1 or to imagine that it continues to exist merely by force of hallowed custom1 and not because the majority still believe4 ,no religion--and least of all the religion of the dead--could thus suddenly lose its hold upon the affections of the race that evolved it4 ,even in other directions the new scepticism is superficial3 it has not spread downwards into the core of things4 ,there is indeed #dgj a growing class of young men with whom scepticism of a certain sort is the fashion1 and scorn of the past an affectation1--but even among these no word of disrespect concerning the religion of the home is ever heard4 ,protests against the old obligations of filial piety1 complaints of the growing weight of the family yoke1 are sometimes uttered2 but the domestic cult is never spoken of lightly4 ,as for the communal and other public forms of ,shinto1 the vigour of the old religion is sufficiently indicated by the continually increasing number of temples4 ,in #ahig there were #aia1ifb ,shinto temples2 in #aija there were #aie1bef4 ,it seems probable that such changes as must occur in the near future will be social rather than religious2 and there is little reason to believe that these changes--however they may tend to weaken filial piety in sundry directions--will seriously affect the ancestor-cult itself4 ,the weight of the family-bond1 aggravated by the increasing difficulty and cost of life1 may be more and more lightened for the individual2 but no legislation can abolish the sentiment of duty to the dead4 ,when that sentiment utterly fails1 the heart of a nation will have ceased to beat4 ,belief in the old gods1 as gods1 may slowly pass2 but ,shinto may live on as the ,religion of the ,fatherland1 a religion of heroes and patriots2 and the likelihood of such future modification is indicated by the memorial character of many new temples4 #dga--;,it has been much asserted of late years 7chiefly because of the profound impression made by ,mr4 ,percival ,lowell's ,soul of the ,far ,east7 that ,japan is desperately in need of a ,gospel of ,individualism2 and many pious persons assume that the conversion of the country to ,christianity would suffice to produce the ,individualism4 ,this assumption has nothing to rest on except the old superstition that national customs and habits and modes of feeling1 slowly shaped in the course of thousands of years1 can be suddenly transformed by a mere act of faith4 ,those further dissolutions of the old order which would render possible1 under normal conditions1 a higher social energy1 can be safely brought about through industrialism only1--through the working of necessities that enforce competitive enterprise and commercial expansion4 ,a long peace will be required for such healthy transformation2 and it is not impossible that an independent and progressive ,japan would then consider questions of religious change from the standpoint of political expediency4 ,observation and study abroad may have unduly impressed ,japanese statesmen with the half-truth so forcibly uttered by ,michelet1--that money has a religion1--that capital is ,protestant1--that the power and wealth and intellectual energy of the world belong to the races who cast off the yoke of ,rome1 and freed themselves from the creed of the ,middle #dgb ,ages499 ,a ,japanese statesman is said to have lately declared that his countrymen were rapidly drifting towards ,christianity6 ,newspaper reports of eminent utterances are not often trustworthy2 but the report in this case is probably accurate1 and the utterance intended to suggest possibilities4 ,since the declaration of the ,anglo-,japanese alliance1 there has been a remarkable softening in the attitude of safe conservatism which the government formerly maintained toward ,western religion4444 ,but as for the question whether the ,japanese nation will ever adopt an alien creed under official encouragement1 ,i think that the sociological answer is evident4 ,any understanding of the fundamental structure of society should make equally obvious the imprudence of attempting hasty transformations1 and the impossibility of effecting them4 ,for the present1 at least1 the religious question in ,japan is a question of social integrity2 and any efforts to precipitate the natural course of change can result only in provoking reaction and disorder4 ,i believe that the time is far away at which ,japan can venture to abandon the policy of #dgc caution that has served her so well4 ,i believe that the day on which she adopts a ,western creed1 her immemorial dynasty is doomed2 and ,i cannot help fearing that whenever she yields to foreign capital the right to hold so much as one rood of her soil1 she signs away her birthright beyond hope of recovery4 99,no inferences can be safely drawn from the apparent attitude of the government towards religious bodies in ,japan4 ,of late years the seeming policy has been to encourage the less tolerant forms of ,western religion4 ,in curious contrast to this attitude is the non-toleration of ,freemasonry4 ,strictly speaking1 ,freemasonry is not allowed in ,japan--although1 since the abolition of exterritoriality1 the foreign lodges at the open ports have been permitted 7or rather1 suffered7 to exist upon certain conditions4 ,a ,japanese in ,europe or ,america is free to become a ,mason2 but he cannot become a ,mason in ,japan1 where the proceedings of all societies must remain open to official surveillance4 99 99 99 ,with a few general remarks upon the religion of the ,far ,east1 in its relation to ,occidental aggressions1 this attempt at interpretation may fitly conclude4 --,all the societies of the ,far ,east are founded1 like that of ,japan1 upon ancestor-worship4 ,this ancient religion1 in various forms1 represents their moral experience2 and it offers everywhere to the introduction of ,christianity1 as now intolerantly preached1 obstacles of the most serious kind4 ,attacks upon it must seem1 to those whose lives are directed by it1 the greatest of outrages and the most unpardonable of crimes4 ,a religion for which every member of a community believes it his duty to die at call1 is a religion for which he will fight4 ,his patience with attacks upon it will depend upon the degree of his intelligence and the nature of his training4 ,all the races of the ,far ,east have not the intelligence of the ,japanese1 nor have they been equally well trained1 under ages of military discipline1 to adapt their conduct to circumstances4 ,for #dgd the ,chinese peasant1 in especial1 attacks upon his religion are intolerable4 ,his cult remains the most precious of his possessions1 and his supreme guide in all matters of social right and wrong4 ,the ,east has been tolerant of all creeds which do not assault the foundations of its societies2 and if ,western missions had been wise enough to leave those foundations alone1--to deal with the ancestor-cult as ,buddhism did1 and to show the same spirit of tolerance in other directions1--the introduction of ,christianity upon a very extensive scale should have proved a matter of no difficulty4 ,that the result would have been a ,christianity differing considerably from ,western ,christianity is obvious1--the structure of ,far-,eastern society not admitting of sudden transformations2--but the essentials of doctrine might have been widely propagated1 without exciting social antagonism1 much less race-hatred4 ,to-day it is probably impossible to undo what the sterile labour of intolerance has already done4 ,the hatred of ,western religion in ,china and adjacent countries is undoubtedly due to the needless and implacable attacks which have been made upon the ancestor-cult4 ,to demand of a ,chinese or an ,annamese that he cast away or destroy his ancestral tablets is not less irrational and inhuman than it would be to demand of an ,englishman or a ,frenchman that he destroy his mother's tombstone in proof of his devotion to ,christianity4 #dge ,nay1 it is much more inhuman1--for the ,european attaches to the funeral monument no such idea of sacredness as that which attaches1 in ,eastern belief1 to the simple tablet inscribed with the name of the dead parent4 ,from old time these attacks upon the domestic faith of docile and peaceful communities have provoked massacres2 and1 if persisted in1 they will continue to provoke massacres while the people have strength left to strike4 ,how foreign religious aggression is answered by native religious aggression2 and how ,christian military power avenges the foreign victims with tenfold slaughter and strong robbery1 need not here be recorded4 ,it has not been in these years only that ancestor-worshipping peoples have been slaughtered1 impoverished1 or subjugated in revenge for the uprisings that missionary intolerance provokes4 ,but while ,western trade and commerce directly gain by these revenges1 ,western public opinion will suffer no discussion of the right of provocation or the justice of retaliation4 ,the less tolerant religious bodies call it a wickedness even to raise the question of moral right2 and against the impartial observer1 who dares to lift his voice in protest1 fanaticism turns as ferociously as if he were proved an enemy of the human race4 ,from the sociological point of view the whole missionary system1 irrespective of sect and creed1 represents the skirmishing-force of ,western civilization in its general attack upon all civilizations of the #dgf ancient type1--the first line in the forward movement of the strongest and most highly evolved societies upon the weaker and less evolved4 ,the conscious work of these fighters is that of preachers and teachers2 their unconscious work is that of sappers and destroyers4 ,the subjugation of weak races has been aided by their work to a degree little imagined2 and by no other conceivable means could it have been accomplished so quickly and so surely4 ,for destruction they labour unknowingly1 like a force of nature4 ,yet ,christianity does not appreciably expand4 ,they perish2 and they really lay down their lives1 with more than the courage of soldiers1 not1 as they hope1 to assist the spread of that doctrine which the ,east must still of necessity refuse1 but to help industrial enterprise and ,occidental aggrandizement4 ,the real and avowed object of missions is defeated by persistent indifference to sociological truths2 and the martyrdoms and sacrifices are utilized by ,christian nations for ends essentially opposed to the spirit of ,christianity4 ,needless to say that the aggressions of race upon race are fully in accord with the universal law of struggle1--that perpetual struggle in which only the more capable survive4 ,inferior races must become subservient to higher races1 or disappear before them2 and ancient types of civilization1 too rigid for progress1 must yield to the pressure of more efficient and #dgg more complex civilizations4 ,the law is pitiless and plain3 its operations may be mercifully modified1 but never prevented1 by humane consideration4 ,yet for no generous thinker can the ethical questions involved be thus easily settled4 ,we are not justified in holding that the inevitable is morally ordained1--much less that1 because the higher races happen to be on the winning side in the world-struggle1 might can ever constitute right4 ,human progress has been achieved by denying the law of the stronger1--by battling against those impulses to crush the weak1 to prey upon the helpless1 which rule in the world of the brute1 and are no less in accord with the natural order than are the courses of the stars4 ,all virtues and restraints making civilization possible have been developed in the teeth of natural law4 ,those races which lead are the races who first learned that the highest power is acquired by the exercise of forbearance1 and that liberty is best maintained by the protection of the weak1 and by the strong repression of injustice4 ,unless we be ready to deny the whole of the moral experience thus gained1--unless we are willing to assert that the religion in which it has been expressed is only the creed of a particular civilization1 and not a religion of humanity1--it were difficult to imagine any ethical justification for the aggressions made upon alien peoples in the name of ,christianity and enlightenment4 ,certainly the results in ,china of such aggression #dgh have not been ,christianity nor enlightenment1 but revolts1 massacres1 detestable cruelties1--the destruction of cities1 the devastation of provinces1 the loss of tens of thousands of lives1 the extortion of hundreds of millions of money4 ,if all this be right1 then might is might indeed2 and our professed religion of humanity and justice is proved to be as exclusive as any primitive cult1 and intended to regulate conduct only as between members of the same society4 ,but to the evolutionist1 at least1 the matter appears in a very different light4 ,the plain teaching of sociology is that the higher races cannot with impunity cast aside their moral experience in dealing with feebler races1 and that ,western civilization will have to pay1 sooner or later1 the full penalty of its deeds of oppression4 ,nations that1 while refusing to endure religious intolerance at home1 steadily maintain religious intolerance abroad1 must eventually lose those rights of intellectual freedom which cost so many centuries of atrocious struggle to win4 ,perhaps the period of the penalty is not very far away4 ,with the return of all ,europe to militant conditions1 there has set in a vast ecclesiastical revival of which the menace to human liberty is unmistakable2 the spirit of the ,middle ,ages threatens to prevail again2 and anti-semitism has actually become a factor in the politics of three ,continental powers4444 #dgi--;,it has been well said that no man can estimate the force of a religious conviction until he has tried to oppose it4 ,probably no man can imagine the wicked side of convention upon the subject of missions until the masked batteries of its malevolence have been trained against him4 ,yet the question of mission-policy cannot be answered either by secret slander or by public abuse of the person raising it4 ,to-day it has become a question that concerns the peace of the world1 the future of commerce1 and the interests of civilization4 ,the integrity of ,china depends upon it2 and the present war is not foreign to it4 ,perhaps this book1 in spite of many shortcomings1 will not fail to convince some thoughtful persons that the constitution of ,far-,eastern society presents insuperable obstacles to the propaganda of ,western religion1 as hitherto conducted2 that these obstacles now demand1 more than at any previous epoch1 the most careful and humane consideration2 and that the further needless maintenance of an uncompromising attitude towards them can result in nothing but evil4 ,whatever the religion of ancestors may have been thousands of years ago1 to-day throughout the ,far ,east it is the religion of family affection and duty2 and by inhumanly ignoring this fact1 ,western zealots can scarcely fail to provoke a few more ,boxer uprisings4 ,the real power to force upon the world a peril from ,china 7now that the chance seems lost for ,russia7 should #dhj not be suffered to rest with those who demand religious tolerance for the purpose of preaching intolerance4 ,never will the ,east turn ,christian while dogmatism requires the convert to deny his ancient obligation to the family1 the community1 and the government1--and further insists that he prove his zeal for an alien creed by destroying the tablets of his ancestors1 and outraging the memory of those who gave him life4 #dha ,,appendix ,,herbert ,,spencer',s ,,advice ,,to ,,japan ,some five years ago ,i was told by an ,american professor1 then residing in ,tokyo1 that after ,herbert ,spencer's death there would be published a letter of advice1 which the philosopher had addressed to a ,japanese statesman1 concerning the policy by which the ,empire might be able to preserve its independence4 ,i was not able to obtain any further information2 but ,i felt tolerably sure1 remembering the statement regarding ,japanese social disintegration in ,first ,principles 7section #agh71 that the advice would prove to have been of the most conservative kind4 ,as a matter of fact it was even more conservative than ,i had imagined4 ,herbert ,spencer died on the morning of ,december #hth1 #aijc 7while this book was in course of preparation72 and the letter1 addressed to ,baron ,kaneko ,kentaro1 under circumstances with which the public have already been made familiar1 was published in the ,london ,times of ,january #ahth1 #aijd4 ,,fairfield1 ,,pewsey1 ,,wilts1 ,aug4 #bf1 #ahib4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1--,your proposal to send translations of my two letters99 to ,count ,ito1 the newly-appointed ,prime ,minister1 is quite satisfactory4 ,i very willingly give my assent4 99,these letters have not as yet been made public4 ,respecting the further questions you ask1 let me1 in the first place1 answer generally that the ,japanese policy should1 ,i think1 be that of keeping ,americans and ,europeans as much as possible at arm's length4 ,in presence of the more powerful races your position is one of chronic danger1 and you should take every precaution to give as little foothold as possible to foreigners4 #dhb ,it seems to me that the only forms of intercourse which you may with advantage permit are those which are indispensable for the exchange of commodities--importation and exportation of physical and mental products4 ,no further privileges should be allowed to people of other races1 and especially to people of the more powerful races1 than is absolutely needful for the achievement of these ends4 ,apparently you are proposing by revision of the treaty with the ,powers of ,europe and ,america to open the whole ,empire to foreigners and foreign capital4 ,i regret this as a fatal policy4 ,if you wish to see what is likely to happen1 study the history of ,india4 ,once let one of the more powerful races gain a point d'appui and there will inevitably in course of time grow up an aggressive policy which will lead to collisions with the ,japanese2 these collisions will be represented as attacks by the ,japanese which must be avenged1 as the case may be2 a portion of territory will be seized and required to be made over as a foreign settlement2 and from this there will grow eventually subjugation of the entire ,japanese ,empire4 ,i believe that you will have great difficulty in avoiding this fate in any case1 but you will make the process easy if you allow of any privileges to foreigners beyond those which ,i have indicated4 ,in pursuance of the advice thus generally indicated1 ,i should say1 in answer to your first question1 that there should be1 not only a prohibition of foreign persons to hold property in land1 but also a refusal to give them leases1 and a permission only to reside as annual tenants4 ,to the second question ,i should say decidedly prohibit to foreigners the working of the mines owned or worked by ,government4 ,here there would be obviously liable to arise grounds of difference between the ,europeans or ,americans who worked them and the ,government1 and these grounds of quarrel would be followed by invocations to the ,english or ,american ,governments or other ,powers to send forces to insist on whatever the ,european workers claimed1 for always the habit here and elsewhere among the civilized peoples is to believe what their agents or sellers abroad represent to them4 ,in the third place1 in pursuance of the policy ,i have indicated1 you ought also to keep the coasting trade in your own hands and forbid foreigners to engage in it4 ,this coasting trade is clearly not included in the requirement ,i have indicated as the sole one to be recognized--a requirement to facilitate exportation and importation #dhc of commodities4 ,the distribution of commodities brought to ,japan from other places may be properly left to the ,japanese themselves1 and should be denied to foreigners1 for the reason that again the various transactions involved would become so many doors open to quarrels and resulting aggressions4 ,to your remaining question respecting the intermarriage of foreigners and ,japanese1 which you say is now very much agitated among our scholars and politicians and which you say is one of the most difficult problems1 my reply is that1 as rationally answered1 there is no difficulty at all4 ,it should be positively forbidden4 ,it is not at root a question of social philosophy4 ,it is at root a question of biology4 ,there is abundant proof1 alike furnished by the intermarriages of human races and by the interbreeding of animals1 that when the varieties mingled diverge beyond a certain slight degree the result is inevitably a bad one in the long run4 ,i have myself been in the habit of looking at the evidence bearing on this matter for many years past1 and my conviction is based on numerous facts derived from numerous sources4 ,this conviction ,i have within the last half-hour verified1 for ,i happen to be staying in the country with a gentleman who is well known and has had much experience respecting the interbreeding of cattle2 and he has just1 on inquiry1 fully confirmed my belief that when1 say of the different varieties of sheep1 there is an interbreeding of those which are widely unlike1 the result1 especially in the second generation1 is a bad one--there arise an incalculable mixture of traits1 and what may be called a chaotic constitution4 ,and the same thing happens among human beings--the ,eurasians in ,india1 the half-breeds in ,america1 show this4 ,the physiological basis of this experience appears to be that any one variety of creature in course of many generations acquires a certain constitutional adaptation to its particular form of life1 and every other variety similarly acquires its own special adaptation4 ,the consequence is that1 if you mix the constitution of two widely divergent varieties which have severally become adapted to widely divergent modes of life1 you get a constitution which is adapted to the mode of life of neither--a constitution which will not work properly1 because it is not fitted for any set of conditions whatever4 ,by all means1 therefore1 peremptorily interdict marriages of ,japanese with foreigners4 ,i have for the reasons indicated entirely approved of the regulations which have been established in ,america for restraining the ,chinese immigration1 and had ,i the power ,i would restrict them #dhd to the smallest possible amount1 my reasons for this decision being that one of two things must happen4 ,if the ,chinese are allowed to settle extensively in ,america1 they must either1 if they remain unmixed1 form a subject race standing in the position1 if not of slaves1 yet of a class approaching to slaves2 or if they mix they must form a bad hybrid4 ,in either case1 supposing the immigration to be large1 immense social mischief must arise1 and eventually social disorganization4 ,the same thing will happen if there should be any considerable mixture of ,european or ,american races with the ,japanese4 ,you see1 therefore1 that my advice is strongly conservative in all directions1 and ,i end by saying as ,i began--keep other races at arm's length as much as possible4 ,i give this advice in confidence4 ,i wish that it should not transpire publicly1 at any rate during my life1 for ,i do not desire to rouse the animosity of my fellow-countrymen4 ,i am sincerely yours1 ,,herbert ,,spencer4 ,p4,s4--,of course1 when ,i say ,i wish this advice to be in confidence1 ,i do not interdict the communication of it to ,count ,ito1 but rather wish that he should have the opportunity of taking it into consideration4 ,how fairly ,herbert ,spencer understood the prejudices of his countrymen has been shown by the comments of the ,times upon this letter1--comments chiefly characterized by that unreasoning quality of abuse with which the ,english conventional mind commonly resents the pain of a new idea opposed to immediate interests4 ,yet some knowledge of the real facts in the case should serve to convince even the ,times that if ,japan is able in this moment to fight for the cause of civilization in general1 and for ,english interests in particular1 it is precisely because the ,japanese statesmen of a wiser generation maintained a sound conservative policy upon the very lines indicated in that letter--so unjustly called a proof of colossal egotism4 ,whether the advice itself directly served at any time to influence government policy1 ,i do not know4 ,but that it fully accorded with the national instinct of self-preservation1 is shown by the history #dhe of that fierce opposition which the advocates of the abolition of extra-territoriality had to encounter1 and by the nature of the precautionary legislation enacted in regard to those very matters dwelt upon in ,herbert ,spencer's letter1 ,though extra-territoriality has been 7unavoidably1 perhaps7 abolished1 foreign capital has not been left free to exploit the resources of the country2 and foreigners are not allowed to own land4 ,though marriages between ,japanese and foreigners have never been forbidden199 they have never been encouraged1 and can take place only under special legal restrictions4 ,if foreigners could have acquired1 through marriage1 the right to hold ,japanese real estate1 a considerable amount of such estate would soon have passed into alien hands4 ,but the law has wisely provided that the ,japanese woman marrying a foreigner thereby becomes a foreigner1 and that the children by such a marriage remain foreigners4 ,on the other hand1 any foreigner adopted by marriage into a ,japanese family becomes a ,japanese2 and the children in such event remain ,japanese4 ,but they also remain under certain disabilities3 they are precluded from holding high offices of state2 and they cannot even become officers of the army or navy except by special permission4 7,this permission appears to have been accorded in one or two cases47 ,finally1 it is to be observed that ,japan has kept her coasting-trade in her own hands4 99,the number of families in ,tokyo representing such unions is said to be over one hundred4 ,on the whole1 then1 it may be said that ,japanese policy followed1 to a considerable extent1 the course suggested in ,herbert ,spencer's letter of advice2 and it is much to be regretted1 in my humble opinion1 that the advice could not have been followed more closely4 ,could the philosopher have lived to hear of the recent ,japanese victories1--the defeat of a powerful ,russian fleet without the loss of a single ,japanese vessel1 and the rout of thirty thousand ,russian troops on the ,yalu1--,i do not think that he would have changed his counsel by a hair's-breadth4 ,perhaps he would have commended1 #dhf so far as his humanitarian conscience permitted1 the thoroughness of the ,japanese study of the new science of war3 he might have praised the high courage displayed1 and the triumph of the ancient discipline2--his sympathies would have been on the side of the country compelled to choose between the necessities of inviting a protectorate or fighting ,russia4 ,but had he been questioned again as to the policy of the future1 in case of victory1 he would probably have reminded the questioner that military efficiency is a very different thing from industrial power1 and have vigorously repeated his warning4 ,understanding the structure and the history of ,japanese society1 he could clearly perceive the dangers of foreign contact1 and the directions from which attempts to take advantage of the industrial weakness of the country were likely to be made4444 ,in another generation ,japan will be able1 without peril1 to abandon much of her conservatism2 but1 for the time being1 her conservatism is her salvation4 #dhg ,,bibliographical ,,notes ,in the preparation of this essay1 ,i have been much indebted to the ,transactions of the ,asiatic ,society of ,japan1 and especially to the following contributions3-- 7,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,shinto7 ,the ,revival of ,pure ,shinto1 by ,sir ,ernest ,satow1--,appendix to ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,the ,shinto ,temples of ,ise1 by ,satow1--,vol4 ,,ii4 ,ancient ,japanese ,rituals1 by ,satow1--,vols4 ,,vii and ,,ix4 ,japanese ,funeral ,rites1 by ,a4 ,h4 ,lay1--,vol4 ,,xix4 7,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,law ,,and ,,custom7 ,notes on ,land ,tenure and ,local ,institutions in ,old ,japan1 by ,dr4 ,d4 ,b4 ,simmons4 ,edited by ,professor ,j4 ,h4 ,wigmore1--,vol4 ,,xix4 ,materials for the ,study of ,private ,law in ,old ,japan1 by ,professor ,j4 ,h4 ,wigmore1--,vol4 ,,xx1 ,supplements #a1 #b1 #c1 #e4 7,,on ,,the ,,christian ,,episode ,,of ,,the ,,sixteenth ,,and ,,seventeenth ,,centuries7 ,the ,church at ,yamaguchi from #aeej to #aehf1 by ,satow1--,vol4 ,,vii4 ,review of the ,introduction of ,christianity into ,china and ,japan1 by ,j4 ,h4 ,gubbins1--,vol4 ,,vi4 ,historical ,notes on ,nagasaki1 by ,w4 ,a4 ,wooley1--,vol4 ,,ix4 ,the ,arima ,rebellion1 by ,dr4 ,geertz1--,vol4 ,,ix4 #dhh 7,,on ,,japanese ,,history ,,and ,,sociology7 ,early ,japanese ,history1 by ,w4 ,g4 ,aston1--,vol4 ,,xvi4 ,the ,feudal ,system of ,japan under the ,tokugawa ,shoguns1 by ,j4 ,h4 ,gubbins1--,vol4 ,,xv4 --,the extracts quoted from ,the ,legacy of ,iyeyasu have been taken from the translation made by ,j4 ,f4 ,lowder4 --,i regret not having been able1 in preparing this essay1 to avail myself of the very remarkable ,history of ,japan during the ,century of ,early ,foreign ,intercourse 7#aedb-afea71--;by ,james ,murdoch and ,isoh ,yamagata1--which was published at ,kobe last winter4 ,this important work contains much documentary material never before printed1 and throws new light upon the religious history of the period4 ,the authors are inclined to believe that1 allowing for numerous apostasies1 the total number of ,christians in ,japan at no time much exceeded #cjj1jjj2 and the reasons given for this opinion1 if not conclusive1 are at least very strong4 ,perhaps the most interesting chapters are those dealing with the ,machiavellian policy of ,hideyoshi in his attitude to the foreign religion and its preachers1 but there are few dull pages in the book4 ,help to a correct understanding of the history of the time is furnished by an excellent set of maps1 showing the distribution of the great fiefs and the political partition of the country before and after the establishment of the ,tokugawa ,shogunate4 ,not the least merit of the work is its absolute freedom from religious bias of any sort4 ,,index ,ability1 slight opportunity for1 to rise1 #daj-daa4 ,adams1 ,will1 #bed1 #cac2 interviewed by ,iyeyasu1 #cad-caf1 favoured by the ,emperor1 #caf-cag2 quoted concerning ,hideyori's intrigues and fate4 #cbb-cbc4 ,adoption1 custom of1 in patriarchal family1 #ei1 #fd-fe2 marriage signified merely1 #fd2 modern practices regarding1 #chf4 ,adultery1 enactments of ,iyeyasu regarding1 #cde-cdf4 ,affection1 limitations placed on1 #fi ff4 ,age of the ,gods1 period called the1 #bei4 ,agnosticism1 ,buddhism is not4 #bac1 #bbj4 ,agriculture1 gods of1 #abf1 #aec-aed2 no degradation attached to pursuit of1 #bde4 ,akindo1 the commercial class1 #bdf-bdg4 ,see ,commerce4 ,alcestis1 the ,japanese woman might be compared to1 #cff4 ,ancestors1 imperial1 worship of the1 #ajh-abc1 #bgi-bhj4 ,ancestor-worship1 introduction to religion of1 #ba-cb2 the real religion of ,japan1 #ba2 summary of the three forms of1 #ba-bb2 the family-cult of1 #ba-bb1 #be-bf2 characteristics of earliest1 #bd ff42 stability of1 in ,japan for two thousand years1 #cb2 summary of beliefs surviving from1 #ca2 three stages of1 #cc-cd2 evolution of permanent form from funeral-rites1 #cd-ea3 characteristics of religion of1 to-day1 #ea-ec2 bearing of1 on family-organization of1 #ee ff4 2 marriage under the religion of1 #ajg ff4 2 four classes of1 to-day1 #abc-abd2 accommodation of ,buddhism to1 #ahc-ahd2 toleration of ancient ,european1 by ,roman ,catholicism1 #aia2 ,buddhist theory of rebirths reconciled to1 #aie n42 ,confucian system founded on1 #agg-agh1 #bib2 needless attacks on1 account for smallness of result1 of modern missions1 #cci1 #dgc-dge2 protection of1 by modern laws1 #che-chh2 obstacles presented to ,christianity by1 #dgc-dge4 ,ancient ,japanese ,rituals1 #dc n4 ,see ,satow4 ,animals1 absence of cruelty to1 #ab-ac2 kindness to1 taught by ,buddhism1 #aif-aig4 ,animism1 development of1 #aca-acb4 ,antigone1 comparison of the ,japanese woman to1 #cff4 ,apes1 images of ,koshin's symbolic1 #bjj4 ,apprentices1 obligation of1 to avenge masters1 #bic2 past and present position of1 #djf4 ,architecture1 displayed in ,buddhist temples1 #aii-bjj4 ,arima1 lord of ,shimabara1 #cbd1 #cbe4 ,army1 birth of modern1 #cgf3 pay of officers in1 #dab4 ,art1 knowledge of ,japanese religion necessary to understanding of1 #b-c2 introduction by ,buddhism1 #aig-aih1 #bjd1 #dei2 forms of1 in ,buddhist temples1 #aih-aii2 expulsion of ,jesuits1 a fortunate thing for1 #cda-cdb2 causes which tended to production of a multitude of objects of1 #cef2 effect of modern industrial conditions on1 #dea4 ,artizans1 gods of1 #abd-abe2 clans of1 #bce2 position of1 under quasi-feudal system1 #bde-bdf2 organizations of1 see ,guilds4 ,arts1 developed in ,japan under ,buddhist teaching1 #ahh2 progress of the1 under ,iyeyasu1 #bgi4 ,asada1 ,lieutenant1 suicide of widow of1 #bhi4 ,asceticism1 ,shinto1 #adi-aej4 ,ashikaga shogunate1 #bga-bgc4 ,sec undo ,iyeyasu4 ,aston1 ,w4,g41 translation of the ,nihongi by1 cited1 #ch1 #ci1 #aab n41 #aea n41 #afd n41 #bcb n41 #bcd n42 ,early ,japanese ,history by1 cited1 #bei n4 ,bambetsu1 ,foreign ,branch1 the mass of people1 #bce-bcf4 ,banishment1 punishment by1 #if-ii4 ,banner-supporters 7hatamoto71 #bdc4 ,bateren1 ,roman ,catholic priests1 #caa n4 ,bato-,kwannon1 images of1 #bjj4 ,behaviour1 sumptuary regulations as to1 #agc-agd2 proclamation of ,shotoku ,taishi regarding1 #cei-cfj4 ,births1 regulations as to presents on occasions of1 #afe2 registration of1 by ,buddhist priests1 #bjc-bjd4 ,black1 an ,englishman1 as a ,japanese story-teller1 #aj-aa4 ,bon-odori1 dances of the festival of the dead1 #bjb4 ,boundaries1 gods of1 #acj4 ,bow1 etiquette of the1 #agd4 ,boys1 conduct of1 regulated by the community1 #hi-ij2 proverb regarding mischievousness of1 #dba4 ,buddhism1 ,japanese name for 7,butsudo71 #ba2 mortuary tablets of1 #db-dc1 #bja2 the dead according to1 and ,shinto1 #dg-dh2 entry of1 into ,japan1 #ahc-ahd2 disestablishment of 7#ahga71 #ajg-aji2 charm of1 to ,western thinkers1 #bji-baj2 summary of teachings of1 under ,emperor ,temmu1 #bci2 obstacles to establishment of religious hierarchy by1 #bea2 military development of1 #bfi-bgj2 violent end to militant1 #bge-bgf2 jesuitism mistaken for a new kind of1 #ccb-ccd2 no essential of ,shinto weakened by1 #cgi-chj4 ,buke1 the military class1 #bda4 ,butsudan1 household-shrine1 #db4 ,butsudo1 ,the ,way of the ,buddha1 #ba4 ,capital1 danger to ,japan from foreign1 #dfe-dff1 #dgc4 ,carpenters1 religious rites preformed by1 #abe2 organizations of1 #djc-djd4 ,castes1 division of society into1 #bcf4 ,cauldron and saucepan1 god of the1 #abi4 ,celibacy1 forbidden by early religion1 #eh2 condemned by code of ,iyeyasu1 #cdi4 ,charms1 to protect houses1 #adg n4 ,chastisement1 punishment by1 #ie-if1 #dba4 ,chiara1 ,giuseppe1 #cbg n4 ,chieftainship1 hereditary1 #bce4 ,china1 date of introduction of spirit-tablet from1 #bd2 religion of filial piety in1 #di-ej2 belief as to the ,demon-,gate imported from1 #acj2 penal codes imported from1 #agf2 arts and learning of1 taught by ,buddhism1 #bja2 civilization of1 brought to ,japan by ,buddhism1 #bjc2 harakiri1 perhaps introduced from1 #bhf2 ,jesuit policy in1 #cca2 cause for hatred of ,western religion in1 #dgd2 integrity of1 depends on mission-policy1 #dgi-dhj4 ,chori1 pariahs1 #bdg-bej4 ,chosku1 clan of1 #cfg1 #cfh1 #cgb1 #cgd4 ,chronicles of ,nihon1 see ,nihongi4 ,christianity1 assumption that individualism would be produced by1 #dga2 obstacles to1 presented by religion of ancestor-worship1 #dgi-dha4 ,see ,jesuits and ,missions4 ,chi-,u1 the condition of1 #aia n4 ,circle of ,perpetual ,hunger for wicked ghosts1 #aia4 ,clan1 cult of the1 #ha-hc4 ,clans1 number of1 in ancient ,japan1 #hc2 three great classes of1 #bce-bcf2 early society an aggregation of1 #bcf-bcg1 #beb-bec2 wars between the military1 for supremacy1 #bfg ff42 misery one result of break-up of1 #ddg-ddi4 ,cleanliness exacted by ,shinto1 #ade-adf4 ,coffins1 size regulated by law1 #agi4 ,colour-prints1 production of1 #ceg4 ,commerce1 contempt for1 #bdf2 ,portuguese1 a help to ,jesuit missionary work1 #ccd-cce2 rise to power1 #ddf2 dangers resulting from the rise of1 #ddg-deb4 ,communism not a modern growth1 #bee4 ,competition1 undesirability of1 #dad-daf2 ,government aid to national industrial1 #dea-deb4 ,concubines1 under patriarchal system1 #eh1 #fh-fi1 #gd2 remarks of ,iyeyasu regarding1 #fh1 #cdh4 ,confucianism1 influence of1 in ,japan1 #ahg-ahh1 #bib ff4 ,conscience1 doctrine of1 admitted by ,buddhism1 #aif4 ,coulanges1 ,fustel de1 #eb1 #bfd1 #ddi2 quoted1 #bg1 #fg4 ,courtesy1 legal regulation of1 #agc-agf4 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the1 #dji-daf4 ,individualism1 assumption that ,christianity would produce1 #dga4 ,industry1 developed in ,japan under ,buddhist teachings1 #ahh2 development of1 under ,iyeyasu1 #bgi4 ,industry1 gods of1 #abd-abe1 #aec-aed4 ,irregularity1 the aesthetie value of1 #h4 ,ise1 shrines of1 #abb4abc-abd2 every ,japanese expected to visit1 #abc-abd2 worship at shrines of1 #ach-aci4 ,ishijima1 suicide of wife of1 #bij4 ,isolation1 causes for policy of1 #cbi4 ,ito1 ,marquis1 policy of1 #cij4 ,iyemochi1 ,shogun1 #cgd4 ,iyeyasu1 ,tokugawa1 apotheosis of1 #abg2 enactment of1 concerning rudeness1 #age2 powers of daimyo restricted by1 #bdb2 ,will ,adams created a samurai by1 #bed2 sketch of career of1 #bgg-bgh2 decree of1 concerning suicide1 #bhe2 decree concerning code of vengeance1 #bic2 persecution of ,christians by1 #cjg1 #cjh1 #cbj-cba2 interviews with ,will ,adams1 #cad-cae2 castle of ,osaka stormed and burnt by1 #cbb2 ,legacy of1 #fh1 #cai1 #cde-cea1 #cfj4 ,izanagi1 the legend concerning1 #dj1 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in1 #che-chf2 service by girls merely a preparation for1 #djg-djh4 ,masashige1 ,kusunoki1 #ej4 ,massacre of ,shimabara1 #cbe-cbg4 ,massacres1 of priests by ,nobunaga1 #bea2 caused by ,christian attacks on domestic faiths1 #dge1 #dgi4 ,matsuri-goto1 matters of worship1 #cb4 ,matsuri1 temple-festivals1 #hd4 ,meat1 forbidden for food1 #aif-aig2 forbidden as offerings by ,buddhism1 #bja4 ,merchants1 place of1 in social ranking1 #bdf2 modern rise of1 to power1 #ddf4 ,metempsychosis1 no doctrine of1 in ,shinto1 #ee ff41 #ahi-aij4 ,mikado1 ,god of the ,living1 #abb-abe2 usurpation of powers of1 #bfj-bff4 ,miko1 girl-priestesses1 #adb-adc4 ,mimidzuka1 ,ear-monument1 #bgg4 ,minamoto1 regency of the1 #bfg-bfh4 ,mionoseki1 ,eta settlement at1 #bdi4 ,miracle-plays performed by ,jesuits1 #ccd4 ,missions1 ,christian1 causes of small results of modern1 #cci1 #dgc-dgf2 consideration of work of foreign #dgf-dgh2 importance of policy of1 in ,far ,east1 #dgi-dhj4 ,see ,jesuits4 ,mitama-,san-no-tana1 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#dh-di1 #fc1 #aeg1 7see ,filial ,piety72 modern reversion to law of1 #fc1 #cgg-cgh2 of individual to the community1 #hi-ii4 ,offerings1 to the dead1 #cg2 meat forbidden as1 #bja4 ,officers1 army pay of1 #dab4 ,o-harai1 ceremony of purification1 #add-adg4 ,oho-kuni-nushi-no-,kami1 #abj1 #abb2 ,rough and ,gentle ,spirits of1 #abf4 ,ojin1 ,emperor1 #hc2 ,korean immigration in reign of1 #bfj4 ,osaka1 ,temple of the ,four ,deva ,kings at1 #bjj2 military headquarters of the ,shin sect at1 #bge2 ,iyeyasu storms castle of1 #cbb4 ,ostracism1 the punishment by1 #ie-if2 student1 #dbc-dbd4 ,o-uji1 great families1 #fj-fb1 #beb4 ,outcasts1 the class of1 #ih1 #bdg1 #bej4 ,outlines of the ,mahayana ,philosophy1 ,kuroda's1 #bad-bae1 #bbb4 ,painting1 effect of ,buddhism on1 #ahh2 examples of1 in temples1 #aih-aii4 ,panama railroad1 debt of1 to religion of filial piety1 #ej4 ,papacy1 interference of1 in ,jesuit missionary system1 #ccg-cch4 ,parents1 rights of1 in patriarchal system1 #gj-gb4 ,pariahs1 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,japan ancient and modern1 #ajj4 ,professions1 under divine patronage1 #aec-aed4 ,pronouns1 rules as to use of1 #aga4 ,property1 laws of succession to1 in ,old ,japan1 #gb-gc4 ,psychology1 difference between ,eastern and ,western1 #i4 ,punishment of school-children1 #dba-dbb4 ,punishment1 severity of1 under ancient system1 #id-ie1 #agf-agg2 by communities1 #id-ii2 by tutelar deities1 #ajb-aje2 laws as to1 #age-agg4 ,purification1 ceremonies of1 #add-aae2 by ascetic practices1 #adh-aej4 ,rebirth1 doctrine of1 inconsistent with early ,japanese beliefs1 #ee2 the ,buddhist idea of1 and ancestor-worship1 #aic n4 ,reform1 agitation for industrial4 #deb-ded4 ,regency1 growth of the1 #bfb-bfd2 usurpation of power by the1 #bfd-bfg4 ,registrars1 ,buddhist priests become public1 #bjc-bjd4 ,relationship1 gradation of nouns indicating1 #aga4 ,religion1 summary of three forms of ,shinto1 #ba-bb2 of final piety1 #dh-ea1 #eg1 #fe1 #ahh1 #dei2 the basis of organization of patriarchal family1 #eg1 #fd2 marriage a rite of1 #fe-fg3 identity of government with1 #ajj1 #aja2 metaphysics of ,buddhist1 #bjg-bbh2 origin in1 of customs of the vendetta1 #bie2 tolerance of1 by ,iyeyasu 7except ,roman ,catholicism71 #cdi-cej2 the life of the ,japanese people1 #dfc-dfd2 obstacles to propagation of the ,western1 in the ,far ,east1 #dgi4 ,see ,ancestor-worship and ,missions4 ,responsibility from above downward1 #cie-djj4 ,review of the ,introduction of ,christianty into ,china and ,japan1 quoted from1 #cje4 ,revolution1 modern industrial1 #dde-ddi2 dangers of a social1 #ddh-dea4 ,rice-pot1 goddess of the1 #acj4 ,riddle of the ,universe1 ,haeckel's cited1 #bba4 ,roads1 under the protection of ,buddhist deities1 #acj4 ,romans1 ancient1 parallels between ,japanese and1 #bg1 #bi1 #cd1 #eg1 #fe1 #fg1 #gj1 #gh1 #ii1 #adh1 #afi1 #bbi1 #bcd1 #bfd1 #ddc1 #ddd1 #ddf4 ,rudeness1 ,japanese definition of1 #age4 ,russia1 the war with1 #dfb-dfc4 ,ryobu-,shinto1 establishment of2 #ahe-ahf4 ,sacrifices1 history of all religious1 traceable to offerings to ghosts1 #cj2 ancient funeral1 #cg-ch2 origin of human1 #bhd2 of one's family1 #bij-bia4 ,see ,junshi4 ,samurai1 class of the1 #bdc1 #bea2 obligation of1 to perform harakiri1 #bhg2 suppression of1 #cgf4 ,saris1 ,captain1 account by1 of an execution1 #agg-agh2 quoted1 #cah4 ,satow1 ,sir ,earnest1 quoted1 #dc n41 #di1 #fh1 #abf n41 #ada1 #adb1 #afj-afa1 #cab n41 #ccc4 ,satsuma1 clan of the1 #cfg1 #cgb4 ,scarecrows1 god of1 #acj1 #ace1 #aec4 ,scholarship1 advance of1 in ,tokugawa period1 #cfi-cgj4 ,school1 training of children in1 #dba-dbe4 ,schools1 connected with ,buddhist temples1 #bjc2 ,government1 #dbd-dbe4 ,sculpture1 developed in ,japan under ,buddhist teachings1 #ahh2 displayed in roadside images1 #bjj1 #dei4 ,sekigahara1 battle of1 #bgh4 ,self-control1 legal enforcement of1 #agc-agd4 ,seppuku1 ,chinese term for harakiri1 #bhg4 ,servants1 in ,old ,japan1 #gf-gh2 conservative attitude of1 #djj2 position of maid1 #djg-djh4 ,see ,apprentices and ,dependants4 ,shadow-,shogun1 the1 #bfh2 deposition of1 #bfg4 ,shelf of the august spirits1 #db4 ,shimabara ,revolt1 the1 #cbd-cbe4 ,shimonoseki1 ,bombardment of1 #cgd4 ,shin1 sect of1 defeated by ,nobunaga1 #bge-bgf4 ,shinbetsu1 divine branch of families1 #bce4 ,shin-,shir-,sai1 the ,ninth ,festival1 #bde4 ,shinto1 signification1 #ba2 forms of worship1 #ba-bb2 the morals of1 #ajj-aja2 relation to ,japanese mythology to1 summarized1 #aae-acd2 origin of gods of the house in1 #abi-acj2 greater gods of1 acknowledged by ,buddhism1 #aij2 restoration of1 #cgd2 no essential of ,buddhism weakened by1 #cgi-chj4 ,see ,ancestor-worship4 ,shogun1 authority of the1 #bda1 #bea-beb3 significance of term1 #bfg2 extension of power of the1 #bfg-bfh4 ,shogunate1 beginning of the history of1 #bfg2 abolition of the1 #cgd4 ,shorei-,hikki1 ,record of ,ceremonies1 #ff4 ,shoryobune1 ghost-ships2 #bjb4 ,shrines1 worship at1 #aba1 #abc1 #ach-aci4 ,sickness1 charms against1 #adg-adh4 ,sisters of ,charity1 comparison of ,japanese women to1 #cff4 ,smile1 rules and regulations about the1 #agc-agd4 ,socialism1 not a modern growth1 #bee4 ,societies1 secret1 #dgb n4 ,society1 organization of ,old ,japanese1 #bbi-beh4 ,sociology1 difficulties in studying ,japanese1 #a-b4 ,soga brothers1 the1 apotheosis of1 #abg4 ,sohodo-no-kami1 god of scarecrows4 #acj1 #ace1 #aec4 ,son1 eleven graded terms signifying1 #aga4 ,sons-in-law1 significant motto concerning1 #fd2 customs as to1 #fd-fe4 ,speech1 non-existence of freedom of1 #agj2 regulations of forms of1 #aga-agc4 ,spirits1 ,rough and ,gentle1 #abf4 ,story-teller1 an ,englishman who is a professional ,japanese1 #aj-aa4 ,strangulation1 suicide by1 #bhf4 ,student-revolts1 significance and results of1 #cih-cii4 ,students1 private means furnished for education of1 #dce-dcf2 education of abroad1 #dcg-dch4 ,see ,education4 ,subsidies1 ,government1 to industries1 #dea4 ,succession laws1 in ,old ,japan1 #gb-gc4 ,sugiwara-no-,michizane1 spirit of1 #abg4 ,suicide1 by the sword1 #ci-dj2 customs as to1 #bhf-bij2 modern instances of female1 #bhi2 instances of1 in ,russian war1 #dfd n4 ,see ,harakiri and ,junshi4 ,sulko1 ,empress1 #bfj1 #bfa4 ,suinin1 ,emperor1 abolishes the human hedge1 #ch4 ,sun1 daily greeting to the1 #ace-acf4 ,sun-goddess1 worship of1 #aji-aaj1 #aaf-aag2 acknowledged by ,buddhism1 #aij2 offerings of first fruits to1 by ,emperor1 #bde n4 ,surgeons1 efficiency of ,japanese1 #dda4 ,sword-making1 most sacred of crafts1 #abe1 #aed1 #bde-bdf4 ,swords1 wearing of1 prohibited1 #cgf4 ,tables1 mortuary1 #db-dc2 ,buddhist mortuary 7ihai71 #bja4 ,taira1 rise and fall of the1 #bff-bfg4 ,taishi1 ,shotoku1 proclamation of1 regarding politeness1 #cei-cfj4 ,takatoki1 sacrifical suicide by the sword originated by1 #ci4 ,takayama1 a ,japanese ,jesuit1 #cba4 ,take-no-uji-no-,sukune1 apotheosis of1 #abg4 ,tales of ,old ,japan1 ,mitford's1 #bdg1 #bie4 ,tattooing of slaves1 #bcb4 ,tea-ceremony1 in ,tokugawa period1 #ceh-cei4 ,teachers1 ,buddhist priests as1 #bjb-bjc2 duties to1 same as to fathers1 #bid2 salaries of1 #dab2 relation of1 to pupils1 #dbb2 transformation stages in attitude of1 pupils toward1 #dca-dcc4 ,temmu1 ,emperor1 decree of1 forbidding use of meat1 #aif2 reorganization of castes by1 #bcf2 reign of1 #bcg4 ,temple of the ,four ,deva ,kings at ,osaka1 #bjj4 ,temples1 ,shinto1 evolved from mourning-houses1 #da2 ,shinto parish dedicated to ,uji-gods 7,ujigami71 #hb-hd2 ,shinto1 of the first grade1 #aba2 ,shinto1 classification of1 #abc2 forms of art in ,buddhist1 #aih-aii2 notable examples of1 #bjj2 schools connected with1 #bjc2 ,buddhist1 burned by ,jesuits1 #cjf1 #cjh2 ,shinto1 in ,formosa1 #chh2 number of ,shinto1 at present1 #dgj2 memorial character of new1 #dgj4 ,terakoya1 drama of1 #bia4 ,thieves sentenced to slavery1 #bcd4 ,togo1 ,vice-,admiral1 reply of1 to ,imperial message1 #dfc4 ,tokugawa1 shogunate of1 ,japanese civilization reaches limit of development under1 #cdc4 ,see ,iyeyasu4 ,tokyo1 widespread poverty in1 resulting from industrial revolution1 #ddf4 ,tools1 surprising shapes of1 #g2 sacredness of1 #aec4 ,toshogu1 ,iyeyasu worshipped under name of1 #abg4 ,trade1 mean rank of those engaged in1 #bdf4 ,see ,commerce4 ,tragedy1 ,japanese1 founded on fact1 #bij-bia4 ,ujigami1 original relation of community to1 #ha-hb2 as clan-deities1 #hb-hd2 offences against1 #hh2 relation of the individual to1 #abj-aba2 cults of1 maintained1 and not supplanted1 by ,buddhism1 #cgi4 ,uneme-no-kami1 ,takenaka1 #cbd4 ,university1 students at the1 #dbe-dbf4 ,utensils1 domestic1 sacredness of1 #aec2 art displayed in1 #ceg4 ,uyernon no ,hyoge1 decree concerning junshi disobeyed by1 #bhe4 ,variety to be found in ,japanese form of civilization1 #bef-beg4 ,vendetta1 religious origin for customs of1 #bie4 ,vengeance1 the duty of1 #bib-bic2 ,iyeyasu's decree concerning code of1 #bic4 ,verb1 etiquette governing uses of the1 #aga-agb4 ,vice1 ,iyeyasu on suppression of1 #cdf-cdg4 ,village-laws1 peasants' #cie-cif4 ,wages of maid-servants1 #djh4 ,wanderings of ,cain1 ,coleridge's1 #abb4 ,war1 ten centuries of1 following rise of military power1 #bei-bfg2 against ,korea1 #bgg2 with peasantry1 #cbd-cbe2 with ,russia1 #dfb-dfc4 ,warfare1 divination in1 #aeb4 ,way of the ,buddha1 the 7,butsudo71 #ba4 ,way of the ,gods1 the 7,shinto71 #ba1 #da4 ,weddings1 customs as to1 #fe-fg2 laws as to food at1 #gc2 presents at1 #afe-aff4 ,whipping1 infrequency of now1 as punishment1 #dba4 ,see ,punishments4 ,wife1 gradation of terms signifying1 #aga4 ,wine1 ,buddhist forbids offerings of1 #bja4 ,woman1 tribute paid to the ,japanese1 #cfa-cfb4 ,women1 mourning rites intrusted to1 #dc2 position of1 in old ,japanese family1 #gc-gd2 as priestesses1 #adc2 forms of speech for use of1 #agb2 methods of suicide for1 #bhg2 modern instances of suicide by1 #bhi1 #bij2 duty of vengeance performed by1 #bic4 ,worship1 three forms of ,shinto1 #ba-bb 7,see ,ancestor-worship72 of ,imperial ancestors1 #ajh-aji2 of ,sun-goddess1 #aji-aaj2 at shrines1 #aai2 phallic1 #acb4 ,yama1 judge of the dead1 #aih-aii4 ,yamaguchi1 land granted to ,jesuits at4 #ccb-ccc4 ,yamato-damashi1 ,the ,soul of ,yamato1 #aei4 ,yedo1 obligatory residence of daimyo in1 #bgh2 ,iyeyasu1 the founder of1 #bgi4 ,yeizan1 ,buddhist high priest1 #cea4 ,yuriaku1 ,emperor1 deaths inflicted by1 for rudeness1 #agf4