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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gist of Japan, by R. B. Peery
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: The Gist of Japan
-       The Islands, Their People, and Missions
-
-Author: R. B. Peery
-
-Release Date: March 11, 2013 [EBook #42304]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GIST OF JAPAN ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Al Haines
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: Cover]
-
-
-
-
-[Frontispiece: Fuji San.]
-
-
-
-
-The Gist of Japan
-
-The Islands Their People And Missions
-
-
-By the Rev.  R. B. Peery, A.M., Ph.D.
-
-
-
-With Illustrations
-
-
-
-New York -- Chicago -- Toronto
-
-Fleming H. Revell Company
-
-M DCCC XCVII
-
-
-
-
-Copyright, 1897, by Fleming H. Revell Company
-
-
-
-
-To My Wife
-
-To whose Kindly Sympathy and Help is Largely Due Whatever of Value
-there may be in these Pages This Book is Affectionately Dedicated
-
-
-
-
-{3}
-
-PREFACE
-
-Although a great deal has already been published in English concerning
-Japan and the Japanese people, nothing, to my knowledge, has yet been
-published which attempts to give a full treatment of mission work in
-Japan.  "An American Missionary In Japan," by Dr. Gordon, is the only
-book I am aware of that deals exclusively with this subject; but its
-scope is quite different from that of the present volume.  Therefore I
-have been led to believe that there is a place for this book.
-
-I have written for the common people and hence have tried to give the
-subject a plain, popular treatment.  There has been no attempt at
-exhaustive discussion, but great pains have been taken to make the hook
-reliable and accurate.
-
-In the preparation of this little book I have consulted freely the
-following works in English: "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of
-Japan"; files of the "Japan Mail"; "Transactions of the {4} Osaka
-Conference, 1882"; Rein's "Japan"; Griffis's "Mikado's Empire";
-Griffis's "Religions of Japan"; Chamberlain's "Handbook of Things
-Japanese"; Miss Bacon's "Japanese Girls and Women"; Dr. Lawrence's
-"Modern Missions in the East"; "Report of the World's Missionary
-Conference, London, 1888"; and reports of the various missionary
-societies operating in Japan. In Japanese I have consulted some native
-historians and moral and religious writers--especially in the
-preparation of the chapters on History, Morality, and Religions.
-
-The book is sent forth with the prayer that it may be the means of
-begetting in the American churches a deeper interest in the work it
-portrays.
-
-R. B. P.
-
-SAGA, JAPAN.
-
-
-
-
-{5}
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
-  I. The Land of Japan
-  II. A Brief History of the Japanese People
-  III. Japanese Characteristics
-  IV. Manners and Customs
-  V. Japanese Civilization
-  VI. Japanese Morality
-  VII. Religions of Japan
-  VIII. First Introduction Of Christianity
-  IX. Modern Roman and Greek Missions
-  X. A Brief History of Protestant Missions in Japan
-  XI. Qualifications for Mission Work in Japan
-  XII. Private Life of the Missionary
-  XIII. Methods of Work
-  XIV. Hindrances
-  XV. Special Problems
-  XVI. The Outlook
-
-
-
-
-{7}
-
-LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
-
-Fuji San . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_
-
-A Bridge Scene
-
-A Kitchen Scene
-
-Hara-kiri
-
-A Shinto Temple
-
-A Buddhist Priest
-
-A Buddhist Cemetery
-
-The Author's Home
-
-Jinrikishas
-
-
-
-
-{9}
-
-I
-
-THE LAND OF JAPAN
-
-The empire of Japan consists of a chain of islands lying off the east
-coast of Asia, and extending all the way from Kamchatka in the north to
-Formosa in the south.  Its length is more than 1500 miles, while the
-width of the mainlands varies from 100 to 200 miles.  The entire area,
-exclusive of Formosa, recently acquired, is 146,000 square miles--just
-about equal to that of the two Dakotas or the United Kingdom of
-England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.  On this territory, at the
-beginning of the year 1893, there lived 41,089,940 souls.
-
-The country is divided into four large islands and more than two
-thousand smaller ones.  The larger ones are named respectively Hondo,
-Kyushu, Shikoku, and Yezo.  Of these the first named is by far the
-largest and most important.  This island originally had no separate
-name, but {10} in recent years it is very generally called Hondo.
-Western geographers have frequently made the mistake of applying the
-term "Nihon" to it; but "Nihon" is the native name for the whole
-empire, and not for its chief island.  The capital, Tokyo, the ancient
-capital, Kyoto, and the commercial center, Osaka, are all situated on
-this island.
-
-Kyushu is the second largest island in the group, and lies southwest of
-the main island.  It was on this island, in the town of Nagasaki, that
-the Dutch lived for more than two hundred years, forming the only means
-of communication Japan had with the outside world.
-
-Shikoku is next in size.  It lies south of Hondo and northeast of
-Kyushu.  Shikoku and Kyushu are separated from the main island by the
-Inland Sea, one of the most beautiful bodies of water in the world.
-
-The island of Yezo is in the extreme north, It has very cold winters
-and resembles the central part of North America somewhat in climate and
-productions.  On this island the aborigines of Japan, called Ainu, now
-live.
-
-Among the more important of the smaller groups are the Liukiu Islands,
-in the extreme south; the Goto Islands, in the west; and the Kuriles,
-in the north.  Besides these there are numerous other islands of
-considerable size lying {11} around the coasts, and the whole Inland
-Sea is beautifully dotted with them.
-
-Japan is a very mountainous country.  For this reason hardly twelve per
-cent. of her total area is cultivated.  In general the land gradually
-ascends on both sides as it recedes from the ocean, at first forming
-hills and table-lands, and then huge mountains.  Thus a chain of
-mountains is formed in the center of the islands, extending throughout
-the whole length of the empire.  The mountains are nearly all of
-volcanic origin, which accounts for their jagged appearance.  There are
-many active volcanoes, continually sending up great clouds of smoke,
-and occasionally emitting streams of fire and molten lava, deluging the
-whole neighborhood with sulphur and ashes.  One of the first sights
-that greets the traveler from the West as he approaches Japan is the
-smoke of a volcano, ever active, on Vries Island, in the entrance to
-Yokohama harbor.  The chief volcanoes active at present are Asama,
-Shirane-san, Bandai-san, Aso-san, and Koma-ga-take.  I shall never
-forget the ascent of Asama at night, in 1894.  The volcano had been
-unusually active recently, and a large part of the crater had fallen
-in, completely changing its appearance.  The sulphurous vapors and
-smoke came up so thick and fast that we dared not approach near the
-crater for fear of {12} suffocation.  At that time we could not see
-down into the crater at all, but occasionally one can see the blue-red
-flames curling and writhing far down in the bowels of the earth like a
-sea of fire, a veritable gate of hell.
-
-Of extinct volcanoes Japan boasts a large number.  The mightiest of
-these is the peerless Fuji-san, the pride of every Japanese, the
-highest mountain in Japan.  It is 12,365 feet high, and snow is found
-on its summit at all seasons.  This mountain is now a huge pile of
-ashes, lava, and boulders--apparently harmless.  As late as 1708 it was
-in eruption, and when I stood on its snowy summit in August, 1893,
-there were certain places where vapors hot enough to cook an egg came
-up from the ground.  For aught we know, it may at any time burst forth
-again and devastate whole provinces.
-
-This is a land of earthquakes.  The records show that from earliest
-times this country has been subject to great ruin by their visitations.
-Whole villages and towns have been suddenly swallowed up, and huge
-mountains have disappeared in a day.  These earthquakes are of frequent
-occurrence.  The seismic instruments now in use throughout the empire
-record about three hundred and sixty-five per year--one for each day.
-Certain localities are much more exposed to them than others, although
-none is {13} entirely free from them.  These disturbances are very
-destructive of life and property, especially injuring railways,
-bridges, and high buildings.  They have left their mark upon the whole
-country.  Through the effect of volcanoes and earthquakes together, the
-surface of Japan presents an appearance seldom seen in any other land.
-
-The forces of nature are unusually destructive in Japan.  Besides the
-volcanoes and earthquakes, the country is subject to occasional tidal
-waves, which kill thousands of people and destroy millions of dollars'
-worth of property.  Impelled by some mighty force, the great sea rises
-in its bed mountain high, and, angrily breaking out of its accustomed
-bounds, sweeps everything before it.  While I am writing this chapter
-(June, 1896) news has come of one of the most destructive waves known
-here for decades, which has just swept over the north coast of Hondo.
-More than 30,000 people were killed instantly, and great destruction
-wrought to property.  So terrible is nature in her fiercer aspects!
-
-Japan being a very narrow country, her rivers are short and small, few
-of them being serviceable for navigation.  Ordinarily they are quiet,
-lazy streams, but when the heavy rains fall in the mountains, the
-waters sweep down like a flood, swelling these rivers to huge size and
-converting them into fierce, angry torrents.  The {14} Tone-gawa is the
-longest and widest river, but its length is only 170 miles.  Other
-important ones are the Shinano-gawa, the Kiso-gawa, and the Kitakami.
-A peculiar feature about these rivers is that none of them bears the
-same name from source to mouth, but all change their name in nearly
-every province.
-
-There are few lakes of importance.  The largest is Lake Biwa, near
-Kyoto; it is 50 miles long, and 20 wide at its widest point.  Lake
-Inawashiro is of considerable size.  Lake Chuzenji, at the foot of
-Nantai-zan, is unrivaled for beauty, and is hardly surpassed in any
-land.  Hakone is also a beautiful lake, and the reflection of Fuji-san
-in its waters by moonlight is a sight well worth seeing.  Indeed, the
-whole of Japan abounds in picturesque landscapes and scenic beauty.
-Mountain scenes rivaling those of Switzerland; clear, placid lakes, in
-which the image of sky and mountains blends; and smiling, fertile
-valleys, heavily laden with fruits and grain, make the landscape one of
-surpassing beauty.  Few countries are more pleasing to the eye than is
-Japan.
-
-The coasts are indented by many bays and inlets, affording fine
-harbors.  The seas are very deep and often wild and stormy.  The
-islands are favorably located for commercial enterprises, and the
-Japanese are by nature destined to be a {15} maritime people.  As
-regards situation and harbors, there is a striking resemblance to
-England.  The two countries are of nearly equal size, they both are
-insular powers, and are situated about equidistant from a great
-continent.  It is safe to assume that Japan's development will be along
-lines somewhat similar to England's.
-
-There is a good system of roads.  The mountain roads are carefully
-graded; hollows are filled up and ridges cut through in such a manner
-as we employ only for railroads.  Indeed, some of the roads are so
-carefully graded that ties and rails could be laid on them almost
-without any further modification.  Many of them are as straight as the
-engineer's art can make them.  A new road was built recently from Saga
-to the small seaport town of Wakatsu, and between the two towns it is
-as direct as a bee-line.  This road crosses a river just at the
-junction of two streams.  The fork of the river lay exactly in the path
-of the road; by slightly swerving to either the right or the left a
-bridge half the length of the present one would have sufficed, but the
-long, costly bridge was built rather than have the road swerve from its
-course even a little.
-
-In the plains most of the roads are elevated three or four feet above
-the surrounding fields.  They are not macadamized, but are covered with
-large, coarse gravel known as _jari_.  When this {16} jari is first
-spread on, the roads are almost impassable, but it soon becomes beaten
-down and makes a good road.  Unfortunately, it must be applied nearly
-every year.
-
-Some of the chief highways are very old.  The most famous is the
-Tokaido, extending from the old capital, Kyoto, the seat of the
-imperial court, to the city of Yedo (now called Tokyo), the seat of the
-shogun's government.  It was over this road that the ancient daimios of
-the western provinces used to journey, with gorgeous pageantry and
-splendid retinues, to the shogun's court.
-
-Some highways are lined on either side with tall cryptomeria and other
-trees, giving a delightful shade and making of them beautiful avenues.
-The most beautiful of these is the road approaching Nikko.  This is
-said to be lined on both sides with rows of magnificent cedars and
-pines for a distance of 40 miles.
-
-The bridges add a great deal to the peculiar beauty of the landscape.
-They are substantial, beautiful structures, generally built in the
-shape of an arch, and are of stone, bricks, or wood.  The Japanese are
-very careful about bridges, and little streams across foot-paths, where
-in America one sees at best only a plank or log, are here carefully
-bridged.  The bridge called Nihon-bashi, in Tokyo, is said to be the
-center of the empire, the point at which all roads converge.
-
-[Illustration: A Bridge Scene.]
-
-{17}
-
-Japan is a land in which the rural population largely predominates.
-Most of the people live in the villages and small towns.  But in recent
-years a process similar to that going on in America has set in, and
-large numbers of the rural classes are drifting into the cities.
-
-The chief city is Tokyo, with a population of 1,323,295.  Being now the
-home of the emperor and the seat of government, it is held in much
-reverence by the people.  In popular parlance this city is exalted on a
-pedestal of honor, and the people speak of "ascending to" or
-"descending from" it.  It is really a fine city, with broad, clean
-streets and many splendid buildings, and has been called the "city of
-magnificent distances."  One can travel almost a whole day and not get
-outside the city limits.  It was formerly called Yedo, but when the
-emperor removed his court hither after the Restoration its name was
-changed to Tokyo.  The term means "east capital."  The city has enjoyed
-a marvelous growth and is to-day a vigorous, active place.  It has many
-of the conveniences of modern Western cities, such as electric lights,
-water-works, tram-cars, telephones, etc.
-
-Kyoto is the ancient capital, the place where the mikados lived in
-secluded splendor for so many centuries.  It was the most magnificent
-city of old Japan, and many highly cherished {18} national memories and
-traditions cluster around it.  The old classical Japanese, to whom the
-ancient régime is far superior to the present, still lingers fondly in
-thought round its sacred temples, shrines, and groves.  When the
-imperial court was removed to Tokyo the name of Kyoto was changed to
-Saikyo, a term meaning "west capital."  Western geographers frequently
-have been guilty of the error of calling this city "Miyako"; but that
-has never been the city's name, and is simply the Japanese word for
-"capital."  Kyoto is a beautiful, prosperous city, with a population of
-328,354.
-
-Osaka is the commercial center.  It is a city of manufactories, and
-nearly all native articles of merchandise bear the mark, "Made in
-Osaka."  As a business center this city surpasses all others in the
-empire.  It is centrally located, at the head of Osaka Bay, about 20
-miles from the open port of Kobé.  Here we find the imperial mint, with
-long rows of splendid buildings.  The population is 494,314.
-
-The next largest city is Nagoya, with a population of 206,742.  Other
-prominent cities are: Hiroshima, 91,985; Okayama, 52,360; Kanagawa,
-89,975; Kagoshima, 55,495, etc.
-
-There are seven open ports in which foreigners reside at present and
-engage in commerce.  In the order of importance they are: Tokyo, {19}
-population 1,323,295; Osaka, 494,314; Yokohama, 160,439; Kobé, 150,993;
-Nagasaki, 67,481; Hakodate, 66,333; Niigata, 50,300.  Formerly Nagasaki
-was in the lead, but now has fallen to the fifth place.  It is probable
-that other ports will be opened to foreign trade in the near future.
-
-
-
-_Climate_
-
-As Japan is so long a country, she has every variety of climate.  In
-the northern provinces, and especially on the northwest coast, it is
-extremely cold in winter, and snow falls in such quantities as
-practically to stop all kinds of business.  In Formosa and Liukiu there
-is perpetual summer.  That part of Japan in which the West is most
-interested, and about which it knows most,--which is far the most
-important portion of the empire,--has a mild, damp climate, free from
-great extremes of either heat or cold.  Each winter snow falls
-frequently, but it is seldom known to lie on the ground for more than a
-few hours at a time.  Cold frosts are rare.  Judged by the thermometer,
-the summers are no warmer than those of the Carolinas or Tennessee, but
-their effect upon people of the West resident here is much more trying
-than the summers of those places.  Various reasons are assigned for
-this.  Physicians are well aware that humidity affects {20} health for
-good or bad as much as temperature.  In considering the healthfulness
-of a climate, not only is the temperature to be taken into account, but
-the amount of moisture in the air must also be considered.  Now, in
-Japan there is so excessive an amount of moisture in the atmosphere
-that it makes the heat exceedingly depressing.
-
-The presence of this dampness makes it very hard to keep things clean
-and free from rust and mold.  Sewing-machines, bicycles, scissors,
-knives, and such things have to be watched carefully and oiled.
-Carpets, clothing, shoes, etc., have to be sunned well and then shut up
-in air-tight boxes during the summer season.  Often a single night is
-sufficient to make a pair of shoes white with mold.  Were it only on
-the machines and clothing that the dampness and mold settle, it would
-not be so bad; but we feel that this same clammy mold is going down
-into our very bones and marrow, gradually sapping their vigor and
-strength.
-
-Besides this great excess of moisture in the atmosphere, there are
-other reasons why the climate is so debilitating.  One of these is the
-lack of ozone.  This element is known to be one of the greatest
-atmospheric purifiers, and also to have a very invigorating and
-stimulating effect upon mind and body.  The proportion of ozone in the
-atmosphere of Japan is only about one {21} third as great as that in
-the atmosphere of most Western countries.
-
-The proportion of electricity in the atmosphere is also thought to be
-much below the average.  While not much is known in regard to the
-effect of atmospheric electricity upon the healthfulness of a country,
-it is generally believed by scientific and medical men that the
-proportion of electricity in the air has much to do with our physical
-well-being.
-
-These three factors, viz., too much moisture, not enough ozone, and not
-enough electricity, are named as the chief causes which conduce to make
-the climate depressing and enervating to people from the West.  We
-missionaries have neither the energy nor the strength to do here what
-we could do at home, and after a five or six years' residence, to do
-effective work must be permitted to recuperate in the home lands.
-
-The rainfall is far above the average of most countries.  Two thirds of
-the annual downpour falls during the six months from April to October.
-The rainy season proper begins early in June and lasts about six weeks.
-At this season it sometimes rains for weeks consecutively.  This year
-(1896) during the rainy season we did not once get a sight of the sun
-for at least three weeks.  The amount of rain varies greatly from year
-to year, as also in different localities.
-
-{22}
-
-Notwithstanding the heavy rainfall, bright, sunny days are far in
-excess of dark, rainy ones.  Clear, balmy skies are the rule rather
-than the exception.  There is a softness and delicacy about Japanese
-skies rare in America, but common in European countries bordering on
-the Mediterranean Sea.
-
-Japanese winds are irregular and violent, and subject to sudden
-changes.  During three months of the year the dreaded typhoons are
-expected, and once or twice each year great damage is done by them.
-These typhoons generally blow from the southwest.  They often sweep
-houses, forests, and everything else before them, their wake being a
-mass of ruins.  In fair weather, on the sea-shore, there is a gentle
-land- and sea-breeze in summer.
-
-
-
-_Productions_
-
-Japan is blessed with a fertile soil, capable of bearing a variety of
-products.  By centuries of the most careful fertilization and
-irrigation (arts in which the Japanese are adepts) the land has been
-brought to a very high state of cultivation.  One of the peculiar
-things to the people of the West is the manner in which the fields are
-irrigated.  Nearly all the land under cultivation can be freely watered
-at the will of the cultivator.  {23} Streams and canals everywhere wind
-in and out through the plains and round the hills, making easy the
-irrigation of all arable lands.
-
-A striking feature of the farming is the manner of terracing the sides
-of the hills and mountains.  These are not cultivated in their natural
-state, as in America, but stone walls are built at regular gradations
-on the mountain-sides, and the soil dug down until level with the tops
-of the walls.  Arranged in this way a mountain-side looks not unlike a
-huge stairway, and lends beauty to the landscape.
-
-The land here is not divided into large farms, as is usual in the West.
-Most of the farms are very small.  One never sees a field of ten or
-fifteen acres, but little plots hardly as large as our vegetable
-gardens.  The cultivation is mostly done by hand, the women laboring in
-the fields with their husbands and brothers.  The implements in general
-use are very rude.  Plows are used, but they are roughly made of wood,
-with an iron point attached, and do poor work.  Nearly all the
-cultivating is done with a hoe, the blade of which is almost as long as
-the handle, and is attached to it at an angle of less than forty-five
-degrees, making it an awkward thing to use.  All grains are harvested
-and threshed by hand.  The land being so fertile, the yield is large.
-
-In enumerating the products of their country, {24} the native writers
-usually begin with the _go-koku_, or five cereals--wheat, rice, millet,
-beans, and sorghum.  Fine crops of wheat are grown, especially in the
-southern provinces.  Perhaps no country in the world produces better
-rice or a greater quantity per acre.  One half of all the land under
-cultivation is used in the production of rice.
-
-Green grasses are remarkably rare in Japan, and the soil does not seem
-to be adapted to their growth.  Long plains of green meadow- and
-pasture-lands, so pleasing to the eye in home landscapes, are never
-seen.  Almost the only grass in the empire is the long, coarse grass
-that grows on the hills and mountains.
-
-Corn and oats are met with rarely.  The cultivation of corn is now
-being introduced in the northern provinces, however, and will probably
-soon become more general.  Hemp and cotton both flourish.  The cotton
-does not grow as large or yield as bountifully as it does in our own
-Southern States, but a very good crop is raised each year.  There is a
-large variety of vegetables, such as turnips, pumpkins, radishes,
-beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, etc.
-
-Japan produces a great variety of fruits and berries.  We can have
-fresh fruit all the year round.  Some of the more prominent are
-oranges, persimmons, figs, apricots, pears, peaches, {25} plums,
-loquats, grapes, etc.  As a rule the fruit is inferior to that of the
-West, but the oranges, persimmons, and figs are excellent.
-
-Until comparatively recent years apples were unknown here, but now they
-are being rapidly introduced and successfully cultivated.  They are
-grown only in the northern provinces, the southern soil not being well
-adapted to them.
-
-For bright, gay flowers Japan can hardly be excelled.  At certain
-seasons the whole country resembles an immense garden.  The
-crysanthemum is the national flower, and magnificent specimens of it
-are grown.  The cherry blossoms are universal favorites, and when they
-are at their best the whole population turns out to see them.  Lotus
-flowers are highly prized, and in our city of Saga there is an old
-castle moat, 200 or 300 yards wide and more than 1 mile long, filled
-with them, which in July and August is a sea of large red-and-white
-blossoms, beautiful to behold.  The hills and valleys abound in wild
-flowers, but the natives seem to prize them less than the cultivated
-ones.  In recent years Western flowers are being extensively
-cultivated, and most of them do well.  Flowers that must be carefully
-housed and nursed in America, such as geraniums, fuchsias, etc., will
-grow all the year in the open in Japan.  Some one only partially
-acquainted with Japan has said that the flowers have no {26} odor, but
-this is not true; they are, however, less fragrant than those of the
-West.
-
-There is no country in the East so well supplied with useful timber.
-On the island of Yezo alone there are thirty-six varieties of useful
-timber-trees, including the most useful of all trees, the oak.  These
-vast forests as yet are untouched practically, and the whole of the
-Hokkaido is one huge lumber-yard.  The main island, Kyushu, and Shikoku
-are also well timbered.  But the demand for building material,
-fire-wood, and charcoal is so great that rapid inroads are being made
-upon the supply of timber.  Unless a more thorough system of forestry
-is adopted the supply will some day be exhausted.  The mulberry-tree
-flourishes, and immense tracts of land are given to its cultivation.
-The fruit is not used, but the leaves are highly valuable in silk
-culture.  Lacquer-trees also abound, from which a considerable revenue
-is derived.
-
-The camphor-supply of the world is almost entirely in the hands of
-Japan.  Magnificent camphor-trees are growing over all southern Japan,
-and in the newly acquired territory of Formosa there are large groves
-of them.  The camphor industry is a lucrative one, and happy is the man
-who possesses a few trees.  Within a few yards of my former home in
-Saga, on a little strip of waste land, there were four camphor-trees
-which sold, standing, for $2000, silver.
-
-{27}
-
-This account would be very incomplete without a notice of the bamboo,
-which grows in large quantities over all the empire.  In the northern
-provinces it is only a small shrub; in the southern it grows to a large
-tree.  The uses to which it is put are innumerable, and the people
-hardly could do without it.
-
-The chief articles of foreign export produced in Japan are silk, tea,
-and rice.  Silk is produced throughout the country, with the exception
-of the island of Yezo, but the best yielding districts are in the
-center and north of the main island.  The Japanese cocoon seems to be
-equally as good as the European, but the methods of manufacturing are
-not yet up to the highest standard; for this reason Japanese silks are
-hardly as good as those of France or Italy.  The annual export of silk
-is worth to Japan about $30,000,000.
-
-Second only to silk in importance among exports is tea.  Most of it is
-shipped by foreign merchants to America, Chinese and Indian teas being
-more popular in Europe.  About 40,000,000 pounds are annually exported.
-The quantity consumed at home must be very great, at least equal to
-that sent abroad.
-
-The foreign trade in rice is large, and is increasing continually.
-Japanese rice is far better than that grown in India or Burmah, and is
-esteemed highly in European markets.  Formerly {28} the government
-exported the rice, as it levied taxes in rice and hence had great
-stores of it; but this practice has been discontinued.  Native
-merchants are now taking up this branch of the export trade and are
-pushing it with vigor.  The value of the export varies very much each
-year, in accordance with the crop produced.
-
-Japan is not only rich and fertile, yielding the greatest variety of
-products, but she is also endowed with great mineral wealth.  Kaempfer,
-in the first history of Japan given to the West, enumerates the
-minerals thus: sulphur, gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, coal, salt,
-agates, jasper, pearls, naphtha, ambergris, etc.  Coal of fairly good
-quality is present in great quantities in many parts of the empire.
-Much of it is sold to the foreign steamers that call here on their way
-to China.  The export of copper amounts to more than $5,000,000 per
-year.  Iron, chiefly in the form of magnetic oxide, is present along
-the sea-coast and in the diluvium of rivers.  As yet the iron resources
-have not been developed.  Gold and silver are present in many places,
-but the mines have never been worked to very great advantage.  Large
-quantities of salt are made from sea-water.  Traces of petroleum are
-found in several localities, but not much has yet been made of it.  The
-great mineral wealth of Japan as yet is developed only partially.
-
-
-{29}
-
-_Animals_
-
-The fauna is represented generally as very meager, but this is an
-injustice.  A large portion of the animals now found here may have been
-imported, but, taking Japan as we find her to-day, animals are abundant.
-
-Horses and oxen are the beasts of burden, and are found everywhere.
-The horses are smaller than those of the West, and are not so gentle,
-though very sure-footed and hardy.  An effort is now being made to
-improve the breed by importing American and Australian horses.  Native
-oxen do most of the carrying and plowing.  Strange to say, the oxen are
-gentler and more manageable than the horses.  There are very few sheep,
-and it seems that the country is not adapted to them.  Almost the only
-sheep I have seen here were in menageries, caged, along with lions,
-bears, etc.  Pigs are found, but the people are not fond of their
-flesh, and consequently not many are raised.
-
-Domestic animals are plentiful, such as cats, dogs, ducks, geese,
-chickens, etc.  Many of the cats have no tails, and the people are
-prejudiced against cats that have tails.  If one happens to be born
-with a tail they will probably cut it off.  Turkeys are scarce.
-
-{30}
-
-There are many wild animals, such as bears, wild boars, deer, monkeys,
-_tanuki_, wild dogs, foxes, and hares.  The people are fond of the
-chase, but, as large game is rare, the opportunity to indulge this
-taste is very limited.
-
-Among the wild birds are found herons, cranes, ducks, geese, pheasants,
-pigeons, storks, falcons, hawks, ravens, woodcocks, crows, and a small
-bird, called _uquisu_, resembling the nightingale.  The stork and the
-heron are perhaps most popular, and have been pictured in all kinds of
-native art.  Wild geese and ducks spend the summer in Yezo and the
-winter in Hondo.  Singing birds are rare, but not, as some have
-affirmed, unknown.
-
-The seas surrounding Japan, and her numerous bays and rivers, are
-teeming with animal life, and for multitude and variety of edible fish
-are perhaps unsurpassed by any in the world.  Salmon, cod, mackerel,
-herring, bait, tai, and other small fish are very abundant, so much so
-that in many places they are used as a fertilizer.  From time
-immemorial fish have formed a prominent part of the daily diet of the
-people.  Whales are numerous on the shores of Kyushu and the southern
-shores of Hondo, where they are taken by means of harping-irons or
-darts.  Quantities of oil are extracted from them, and their flesh is
-much relished for food.
-
-The foregoing account will perhaps give the {31} reader some idea of
-the nature, extent, climate, and products of the land of Japan.  With a
-fertile soil, rich deposits of minerals, a genial climate, and a
-landscape unsurpassed, surely this is a country highly favored by
-Heaven.  How sad to think that those to whom God has given so much know
-so little of Him!  How one's heart bleeds to see God's beautiful
-handiwork all marred and stained by images and idols, and that praise
-which the people so justly owe Him given to gods of wood and stone!
-But such is the case in Japan to-day.  The people know that they are
-indebted to some higher power for innumerable blessings, but they do
-not know that this power is the God whom we preach to them.
-
-
-
-
-{32}
-
-II
-
-A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE
-
-Nothing definite is known concerning the origin of the Japanese people.
-Some authorities think that the southern portion of Japan was first
-peopled by sailors and fishermen from Malay, who were drifted thither
-by the strong current of the Black Stream.  That this has happened to
-shipwrecked sailors in the present time is cited in confirmation of
-this view.
-
-Some of the northern islands are within sight of the mainland, and it
-is possible that tribes from northern Asia made their way across the
-narrow seas and settled there.  Ethnological and philological evidence
-indicates that some immigrants came over from Korea, which they could
-easily have done, as the southern part of Korea is very near.
-
-If these suppositions are true, two races mingled in Japan--the Malay
-from the south and the {33} Mongol from the west--and the Japanese
-people are the joint product of the two.  But there is no certain
-information regarding these immigrations, and we cannot affirm them as
-historic facts.
-
-Two of the greatest authorities on this subject, Baelz and Rein, affirm
-that the Japanese are of Mongol origin.  Dr. Baelz supposes that there
-were two chief streams of immigration from northern and central Asia by
-way of Korea.  The immigrants gradually spread eastward and northward
-and settled in the land, becoming the progenitors of the present
-inhabitants.
-
-It is historically certain that some Chinamen and Koreans have settled
-in Japan and contributed toward the production of the Japanese race;
-both Chinese and Japanese histories contain accounts of such
-immigration; but it is likely that settlers were already here long
-before these, of whom we have historic accounts, arrived.
-
-This problem is made more difficult by the fact that there are two
-separate and distinct races here--the Japanese and the Ainu.  The
-latter do not appear to be Mongols.  The Japanese call them the
-aborigines.  When they entered Japan, and where they came from, is not
-known.  There is very little intermixing of these two races.  The
-Japanese have gradually forced the Ainu back to the northern island,
-just as the settlers in the United States have driven back the Indians.
-{34} Efforts are being made lately to better the condition of this
-race, but they do not meet with much success.  The Ainu appear to have
-little capacity for civilization, and the race is rapidly becoming
-extinct.
-
-So much for the origin of the people.  We will endeavor to treat their
-history, very briefly, under three heads: mythology, mythological
-history, and reliable history.
-
-
-
-_Japanese Mythology_
-
-Although we of the West are perplexed as to the origin of the Japanese,
-the national records give what has been a very clear and satisfactory
-account of this.  Hence I have included a very brief statement of this
-native account of the origin of the Japanese people under the head of
-history, although it is pure mythology.
-
-Japanese history teaches that in the beginning all things were chaos.
-There was no Creator, and no First Cause of the universe.  There was
-merely a cosmic mass.  By and by the ethereal matter sublimed and
-formed the heavens; what remained formed the earth.  From the warm mold
-of the earth sprang up a germ which became a self-animate being--the
-first of the gods.  Then four other gods were generated, all sexless
-and self-begotten.  These gods separated the {35} primordial substance
-into the five elements of wood, fire, metal, earth, and water, and gave
-to each its properties.  The last of these spontaneous divine
-generations were a brother and a sister, named Izanagi and Izanami.
-Uniting in marriage, they became the parents of the various islands of
-Japan and of gods and goddesses innumerable.  Izanami died when giving
-birth to the god of fire.  Her divine consort afterward visits her in
-the lower regions to induce her to return to him.  She would fain do
-so, but must first consult the gods of the place.  Going to ask counsel
-of them, she does not return, and Izanagi, impatient at her tarrying,
-goes in search of her.  He finds her a mass of putrefaction, in the
-midst of which the eight thunder-gods are sitting.
-
-Disappointed in his hope, he returns to Japan and purifies himself by
-bathing in a stream.  As he bathes new gods are born from his clothing
-and from each part of his body.  The sun-goddess was born from his left
-eye, the moon-god from his right eye, and Susanoo, the last of all, was
-born from his nose.  What a prolific breeder of gods was he!
-
-The mythology goes on relating, tale after tale, the absurd actions of
-these gods residing together for several generations in Japan, the
-center of the universe, frequently visiting both heaven and hell, and
-performing all kinds of miraculous feats.  {36} In native history this
-period is called the "period of the gods."  About six generations after
-Izanagi and Izanami, in the direct line of descent from them, the first
-human emperor of Japan was born.  His name was Kamu-Yamato-Ihare-Biko,
-posthumously called Jimmu Tenno.
-
-Those Japanese to whose minds the problem of the origin of the outside
-nations ever occurred solved it in this fashion: the barbarian nations
-must likewise have descended from the mikado, the son of heaven, in
-very remote times, but have wandered off and are now far from the
-divine source.  The Japanese, being still under the protection of their
-divine father, are very much nearer in the line of descent, and hence
-are the first race in the world.
-
-Thus they trace their descent direct to the gods, and their emperor is
-to this day considered the divine father of his people.  It is a pity
-we cannot join with them in accepting this easy solution of the
-difficult problem of their origin.
-
-
-
-_Mythological History_
-
-By this term I would designate that period in Japanese history in which
-mythology and history are so blended as to be inseparable.  For almost
-one thousand years records purporting to be historical are so
-intermingled with that which is {37} purely mythological as to make it
-next to impossible to discriminate between them.
-
-Japanese historians claim that the authentic history of their country
-dates from the time of Jimmu Tenno (600 B.C.), and the national records
-are unbroken from that time to the present.  Most European and American
-historians have accepted these records as true, and yet critical
-scholars here feel bound to reject them.  The oldest Japanese histories
-were not written until the eighth century A.D., and it does not seem
-probable that traditions handed down by word of mouth for more than a
-thousand years would be reliable.  The records themselves are
-contradictory and self-refuting.  Contemporary Chinese and Korean
-history, in which are frequent references to the "land of Wa," i.e.,
-Japan, does not agree with the Japanese records, which bear evidence of
-having been written for a purpose other than a true statement of
-historical facts.  These and other reasons have led Messrs. Aston and
-Chamberlain, the scholars who have studied this subject perhaps more
-than any others, to conclude that Japanese records prior to the date
-461 A.D. are unreliable.
-
-This period in dispute (from 600 B.C. to 461 A.D.) I have designated
-the period of mythological history.  Even in the Japanese so-called
-histories the mythology for centuries is narrated along with that which
-claims to be genuine {38} history; the gods still mingle with men and
-take part in their affairs.  The legends of the gods and those of the
-emperors are given side by side in the same book, and as much credence
-attaches to the one as to the other.
-
-Orthodox Shinto scholars, while recognizing the fact of the parallelism
-of the mythology and the history, inconsistently reject the
-mythological legends of the gods while strenuously holding to those
-relating to the emperors.  My own opinion is that most of the important
-events related in the records during this period had some basis in
-fact, but that the accounts of them are exaggerated and perverted.
-
-Commencing with the period which native historians assign as the
-beginning of authentic history, the first important event we find is
-the accession of Jimmu Tenno to the throne (600 B.C.).  But the very
-existence of Jimmu Tenno as an historical personage is not at all
-certain.  The evidence adduced has never been sufficient to satisfy
-Western scholars, although the Japanese would consider it almost
-treason to disbelieve in him.
-
-Japanese histories for this period are very meager.  They consist, for
-the most part, of a recital of the names and ages of the mikados, with
-perhaps a sentence or two concerning the state of the country during
-their reigns.
-
-One of the most important events noted in {39} this early period is the
-subjugation of Korea by the Empress Jingo.  She is said to have
-collected a large army, and, by the help of the fishes great and small,
-and of favorable winds and currents, to have crossed over into Korea in
-small junks, and completely subjugated the country, reducing it to the
-position of a tributary state.  The Japanese firmly believe this story,
-and are proud of the early success of their arms in this foreign war.
-Korean records justify us in assuming that Japanese influence was
-predominant in Korea at this time, but the story of the Empress Jingo,
-especially in its details, must be received with caution.  She is
-perhaps an historical personage, but whether she invaded Korea or not
-is doubtful.
-
-The next event of importance in the records is the introduction of
-Chinese art, science, and learning, which took place in the early
-centuries of the Christian era, and exerted an incalculable influence
-upon the people of Japan.  Learning, religion, philosophy, literature,
-laws, ethics, medicine, art--all were brought over bodily.  From this
-time forward the Japanese were largely students and imitators of China.
-Korea was the medium through which these continental influences were
-transmitted.  With the introduction of learning and literature
-historical records began to be kept over all Japan, and oral tradition
-was no longer relied upon.  From this time the authentic history of
-Japan begins.
-
-
-
-{40}
-
-_Reliable History_
-
-Chamberlain, Aston, and others agree that the first trustworthy date in
-Japanese history is 461 A.D., and that for the succeeding century too
-much confidence must not be placed in details.  This disproves the
-pretty stories told by the Japanese, and by many Western writers as
-well, as to the great age of this nation, and its unbroken line of
-emperors extending at least as far back as 600 B.C.; but it is not the
-first time that pretty theories have been rudely broken up by an
-investigation of facts.  The imperial line is probably as old as that
-of the popes, but hardly older.  Japan, in fact and in authentic
-history, is younger than Christianity.  Her existence as a state began
-about the time of the fall of the Roman empire.
-
-With the year 461 historical events and personages appear, and, in the
-main, we may accept the history from this time forward as accurate.
-
-About the middle of the sixth century began one of the most important
-processes in Japanese history--the conversion of the nation to
-Buddhism.  For some centuries previous Chinese learning and arts had
-been gradually filtering into Japan; but they had not as yet gained
-general acceptance.  The Buddhist priests brought Chinese civilization,
-and in the course of two {41} centuries it spread over the country,
-influencing morality, politics, and everything.  Sweeping changes were
-made in the government, which was then organized on the Chinese
-centralized plan.  Arts, sciences, and literature flourished.  This was
-the golden age of classical Japan.
-
-In the year 670 A.D. the great Fujiwara family came upon the stage.
-The mikados were in theory absolute rulers, but eventually they became
-mere figureheads.  Their mode of life was not such as to make of them
-able rulers.  Surrounded by an effeminate court, living in indolence
-and debauchery amid priests and court women, they were hardly competent
-to direct affairs.  The emperor was often a mere child, who, when he
-grew up, either abdicated freely or was forced to abdicate the throne
-in favor of another child as weak as himself.  The government was
-administered by the most powerful vassals.  The great Fujiwara family
-held the affairs of state in its own hands from 670 to 1050 A.D.: all
-the important posts were filled by its sons, while its daughters were
-married to the imbecile emperors.
-
-The next important event in Japanese history is the rise of feudalism.
-The warlike samurai classes, disgusted with this weak petticoat
-government, arose in arms and overthrew it.  The great clans of Taira
-and Minamoto appeared and alternately held the reins of government for
-nearly {42} two centuries.  Lawlessness and disorder prevailed.  The
-leader who could command the most men and win the victory with his
-sword was master of the empire.  All Japan became a military camp, the
-chieftains waging war against one another.  Thus feudalism took its
-rise and prevailed for many centuries, powerfully affecting every form
-of thought and life, just as it did in Europe at a similar period.
-
-The Taira family was finally overthrown by the Minamotos, and the chief
-of the latter clan, Yoritomo, was raised to the supreme power.  This
-man was the first to obtain from the imperial court in Kyoto the title
-of "shogun"--generally spoken of in the West as "tycoon."  From this
-time forward (1190-1867) the shogun was the real ruler of Japan.  The
-mikado was still the theoretical head of the state, descendant of the
-sun-goddess, and fountain of all honor, but he lived in the retirement
-and seclusion of his court, never seen by his subjects, and all matters
-of government were attended to by the shogun.  Yoritomo's descendants
-gradually degenerated, and were finally overthrown by the Ashikaga
-family.
-
-This powerful clan took charge of the government in 1338 and held it
-until 1565.  It encouraged literature and the arts, and the court
-became a center of elegance and refinement.  Especially {43} did the
-intricate tea ceremonies flourish at this time.  This family became
-weak and effeminate finally, like its predecessors, and was overthrown.
-
-Japan was first discovered by Europeans probably in 1542, when the
-Portuguese adventurer Mendez Pinto landed on her coasts.  He brought
-the first definite information concerning her received in Europe, and
-his reports were so highly exaggerated that he was spoken of everywhere
-as "mendacious Pinto."  Soon after his visit numbers of Portuguese
-adventurers came, who were received warmly by the impressible people.
-With them came the Jesuits and the introduction of Christianity.  The
-growth of Christianity, and the bloody persecutions it encountered,
-begin from this time.  These interesting subjects will be treated in
-another chapter and hence are passed over here.
-
-During this period lived successively three of the greatest men in
-Japanese history--Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Iyeyasu.  On these men
-devolved the tasks of breaking the power of the feudal lords and
-bringing them into more complete subjection to the shogun; of unifying
-the empire and of strengthening the central government.  The plan was
-conceived by Nobunaga, begun by Hideyoshi, and completed by Iyeyasu.
-The former was the friend and patron of the Christians, the two latter
-their bitter persecutors.
-
-{44}
-
-After the rulers had succeeded in stamping out Christianity the country
-was closed to foreign influence, and for two hundred years remained
-hermetically sealed.  Even shipwrecked foreign sailors found on her
-coasts were executed, and no Japanese was permitted to leave the
-country on pain of death.  The only communication with the outside
-world reserved was through the Hollanders, a small band of whom were
-permitted to reside at Nagasaki.  Through them various arts and
-sciences, including medicine, were introduced.
-
-This calm seclusion was rudely broken in upon by the coming of
-Commodore Perry, in 1853-54, with his big guns.  He came to establish
-treaties of commerce and trade, and to secure better treatment for
-American ships and sailors--peaceably if possible, forcibly if
-necessary.  Here it is needful, in the interests of truth, to disprove
-another pretty story, to the effect that Perry and his crew were very
-pious, godly men, and that they secured the concessions desired by
-peaceable methods--by praying and singing psalms.  The fact is that the
-concessions gained were _forced_ from Japan by intimidation, by
-threats, and by a show of strength.  Commodore Perry also used the same
-tactics in Liukiu.  He effected his purpose, it is true, without using
-his guns, except for intimidation, but it is safe to say that he would
-not have accomplished it without them.
-
-{45}
-
-The treaties then forced from the government were humiliating to Japan;
-for example, granting exterritoriality, by virtue of which foreigners
-should live under their own consuls and in no sense be amenable to the
-laws of the land.  Such concessions are demanded by civilized states of
-the uncivilized only, and their very existence implies inferiority.
-But nothing else was possible at that time, nor did Japan object.
-
-The coming of Perry, and his forced opening of the country, marked the
-birth of new Japan, so different from the old, and the beginning of an
-era of unprecedented prosperity.  The Japanese now recognize this, and
-speak of Perry as one of their greatest benefactors.
-
-During the years immediately preceding this there was a great revival
-of learning.  A school of literati arose, which zealously studied the
-antiquities of its own country as opposed to the imported Chinese
-classics.  A revival of Shinto sprang up, and with it grew again that
-great reverence and esteem for the ancient imperial line, the divine
-mikados, as against the upstart shoguns.  In this way began the
-movement which ended in the revolution of 1868 and the overthrow of the
-shogunate.
-
-When Perry came the shogun's government was already tottering to its
-fall, and when this government made treaties with foreign countries,
-{46} admitting the "barbarians" to this "land of the gods," a loud cry
-arose against it over all the land.  Finally the imperial court at
-Kyoto, prompted by the mighty daimios of Choshu, Satsuma, and Tosa,
-decided upon the abolition of the shogunate.  The shogun himself
-submitted to the decree of the mikado, but many of his followers did
-not.  The War of the Revolution ensued, and after much fighting the
-imperial troops were victorious; the shogunate was forever abolished,
-and the emperor once more took personal charge of the government.
-
-The literary party had triumphed.  Buddhism was largely supplanted by
-Shinto; the shogunate, which had admitted the foreigners, was
-abolished; and the literati fondly supposed that the court would now
-expel the intruders, abolish the treaties, again shut up the country,
-and affairs would go on as in the "good old times."  But they were
-deceived.  The mighty lords of Tosa, Satsuma, and Choshu now declared
-in favor of foreign intercourse and the adoption of European
-civilization.  These princes were too powerful not to be heard.  Their
-advice was heeded; the foreigners were welcomed, the country was opened
-more and more, old abuses were corrected, and the Europeanization of
-Japan was begun.
-
-The reformation was ably assisted from the very quarter where we would
-expect to find it {47} most bitterly opposed.  The young and able
-emperor Mutsuhito, coming out of the obscurity which had enshrouded his
-ancestors for ages, and putting aside the traditions of centuries, ably
-seconded the efforts of his ministers in every reform.  The
-unparalleled progress during his long and enlightened reign is due in
-no small part to his wisdom and prudence.  He has shown himself a
-liberal, enlightened monarch, and I am sure that I express the
-sentiment of every friend of Japan in saying, Long live his Majesty
-Mutsuhito!
-
-The reformation of the country, the assimilation of Western
-civilization and institutions, and the gradual opening and development
-of the empire have gone on uninterruptedly since the restoration of the
-emperor to the supreme power.
-
-In 1871 the daimiates were abolished and the old daimios retired to
-private life.  Thus feudalism was at last broken up and the central
-government strengthened.  In this same year the postal and telegraph
-systems were introduced and a mint was established.
-
-In 1889 the constitution was promulgated, whereby the people were given
-a voice in the government, and Japan became a constitutional monarchy,
-very much like Prussia or other European states.  In this year local
-self-government was also established.  In accordance with the
-constitution, the first Diet was opened in 1890.  {48} This highest
-legislative body in Japan resembles somewhat, in its organization and
-functions, the German Reichstag.
-
-One of the greatest recent events in Japanese history is the successful
-revision of the treaties.  After the Restoration and the adoption of
-Western institutions and civilization, efforts were continually being
-made to have these treaties revised on a basis more favorable to Japan;
-but these efforts were always defeated.  Thus Japan was for many years
-forced to submit to treaties made long ago, which were good enough
-then, but are outgrown entirely now.  No recognition whatever was made
-of her great progress during these thirty years, and the foreign powers
-still treated her as an inferior.  This was unjust, and the people
-naturally chafed under it.  Finally, by the wisdom and perseverance of
-the present Japanese statesmen, treaty revision has been secured on the
-basis of equality.  By this revision she regains the concessions forced
-from her in former years.  After the year 1900 all foreigners residing
-in Japan will become amenable to her laws; exterritoriality will be
-abolished; power to levy taxes upon imports within prescribed limits
-will be regained; and Japan will be recognized as an equal by the great
-powers of the West.  In return for these concessions on the part of
-foreign powers, she gives liberty of residence and travel {49} in any
-part of the empire, and all privileges generally accorded aliens in
-Western nations, except the right of ownership of land.  We rejoice
-with Japan that justice has at last been accorded her, and that the
-treaties have been satisfactorily revised.
-
-A sketch of Japanese history would be incomplete without some mention
-of the recent war with China.  This war was especially interesting
-because it afforded the first opportunity Japan has had of trying her
-strength with her new arms.  For years she has been to school to the
-Western nations; now she goes out to put into practice the lessons she
-has learned.  Her fine army and navy, constructed after the most
-approved Western models, are tested for the first time.  The results
-are such as to more than satisfy Japan with her new equipment.  The
-story of her splendid success against a nation outnumbering her ten to
-one is familiar to all and need not be recounted.
-
-The war was a positive gain to Japan in many ways.  Aside from the
-material gain in indemnity and the extension of her territory, it gave
-her an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the substantial progress
-she has made.  Nothing else would have gained for her so much respect
-from Western powers as her prowess exhibited in this war.  A
-demonstration of force and of ability to fight great battles is still
-regarded as a mark of progress and civilization.
-
-{50}
-
-The war also helped to settle many troublesome internal questions.
-Some feared the people would be so elated by their phenomenal success
-that their pride and arrogance would be unendurable.  But it was not
-so.  The Japanese expected to win from the beginning, and were not
-surprised at the result.  After the war was over they settled down to
-the even tenor of their ways as though nothing had happened.  They have
-shown themselves as able to bear victory as to win it.
-
-Such is an all too brief account of the history of this interesting
-people.  An acquaintance with the main facts of this history I thought
-necessary to enable American Christians rightly to appreciate the work
-of their missionaries in their efforts to plant the church in Japan.
-
-
-
-
-{51}
-
-III
-
-JAPANESE CHARACTERISTICS
-
-It is next to impossible for an alien to judge accurately the
-characteristics of a people.  That a foreigner's interpretation of a
-nation's character, and of the moral influences that direct and mold
-its life, is apt to be imperfect and erroneous is now a recognized
-truth.  An Englishman cannot understand a Frenchman, nor a Frenchman an
-Englishman.  Even people so closely related as the English and
-Americans, with a common ancestry, common history and traditions, a
-common speech, common laws, and a common faith, find great difficulty
-in properly understanding one another.  The American essayist Emerson
-did not venture to write "English Traits" until he had visited England,
-mingled freely with the people, and familiarized himself with the
-manifold phases of English character; and Bryce's excellent work on
-"The American Commonwealth," in {52} which American characteristics are
-reflected more truly than they have been by any other English writer,
-did not see the light until its author had made frequent visits to the
-United States and had carefully studied his subject for seventeen years.
-
-If it is so hard to understand a kindred people, how much harder it is
-to understand a people so alien as the Japanese!  Here the religion,
-language, manners and customs, and moral ideas are so different from
-our own that the task of portraying the real characteristics of the
-race becomes a colossal one.  It should be attempted only by men who
-have had years of practical experience with the people, who can read
-their language and look at things from their standpoint, and who bring
-to their task a loving sympathy with the people whose life they would
-portray.
-
-But nothing is more common than to meet with sweeping judgments on
-Japanese character by persons utterly incompetent to make them.  Men
-who have perhaps never seen Japan sit in judgment upon her with a gusto
-unequaled.  Globe-trotters, spending at most only a few weeks here, and
-necessarily learning nothing of the inner life of the people, have made
-most sweeping statements concerning the traits of national character,
-such as: "The Japanese are a nation of liars;" "They are mere
-imitators, originating nothing;" "They are fickle and quite {53}
-unreliable;" "Licentiousness is the most prominent trait in the
-national character," etc.  Now it is unnecessary to say that judgments
-formed in this way are worthless.  Here, if anywhere, it behooves one
-to write only after careful study and observation, and even then to
-speak with caution.
-
-Physically the Japanese are inferior to the races of the West.  They
-are shorter of stature and lighter of weight than Europeans or
-Americans.  The upper part of their bodies is developed perhaps as
-fully as our own; but the lower limbs have been so cramped by sitting
-on the floor for centuries that they are shorter and weaker.  Their
-habits of life and their vegetable diet have combined to make of them a
-physically weak people.  They age earlier than the races of the
-Occident.
-
-In color they do not differ much from the American Indians or the
-half-breeds of the South.  There are two types of facial expression:
-the old samurai or noble classes have a long, narrow face, sharp nose,
-high, narrow forehead, and oblique eyes; the lower classes have fat,
-round, pudding faces, with broad mouths and flat noses.  These two
-types are distinguished readily on the streets, and rank can be judged
-by them.
-
-The Japanese are a cheerful race.  The cares of life seem lightly to
-weigh upon them.  On the surface they appear always smiling and happy.
-{54} They are very fond of gay scenes and bright colors.  Politeness is
-a national characteristic.  Etiquette has been carried to such an
-extent as to have largely degenerated into empty forms.
-
-Mentally they are bright and intelligent, receiving and apprehending
-instruction readily.  The students are equally as diligent and earnest
-as are those in the academies and colleges of America, though
-physically they are not so able to endure prolonged study.  They have
-great thirst for knowledge, and study for the sake of learning itself;
-hence the various devices for evading study so common in the schools at
-home are almost unknown.  The intensity of this thirst for knowledge on
-the part of the young is remarkable.  Hundreds of young men over all
-Japan are struggling for an education against very great odds.  Many
-are now educated abroad, and these take their stand in our best
-colleges and universities along with the brightest of our own students.
-When their course is completed they are able to carry on all kinds of
-learned scientific investigations independently of their teachers.
-Witness what they have done in seismology, botany, and medicine.  These
-facts indicate that the Japanese are an intellectual race.
-
-In order rightly to appreciate the national character we must remember
-that the idea of personality is developed here only partially.  {55}
-This is strikingly evident in the structure of the language, which
-consists of nouns and verbs almost exclusively.  Distinctions of person
-and number are generally ignored, and true pronouns are entirely
-wanting.  From ancient times men have been considered, not as
-individuals, but _en masse_.  The family has been exalted above the
-individual, who is hardly considered to have an existence apart from
-it.  Thus, in ancient times, as among Occidental races also, if one
-member of a family came under the censure of the government, all were
-censured.  When one member was put to death, all were executed.  As the
-family, and not the individual, was the unit with which the laws dealt,
-the family became the subject of prime consideration.  To perpetuate
-the family line came to be considered a very essential thing, and in
-order thereto the system of concubinage was introduced.  It is proper
-to state that in regard to this exaltation of the family over the
-individual Japan is now in a transition period, and that the individual
-is becoming more and more important in the eyes of the law.
-
-A marked characteristic of the Japanese is their strong patriotism.
-There is no more patriotic people on the face of the earth.  It is said
-that the name of the emperor, whispered over the heads of an excited
-mob, will calm it as readily as oil poured on troubled waters.  In the
-recent war {56} with China there were many more volunteers for active
-service than could be sent to the front.  I have seen old men lament,
-with tears in their eyes, that they could no longer serve their country
-as soldiers, even to the death if need be.  This principle of loyalty
-is the strongest motive power in Japan to-day.  It supersedes all
-others.  A man's duty to his family, even to his parents, is nothing
-when compared with his duty to his country; and Japanese history
-abounds in pathetic stories of men, women, and even children, who have
-counted all other duties as naught and have willingly sacrificed their
-lives for their country.
-
-Patriotism here amounts to a passion--I had almost said a fanaticism.
-From earliest infancy it is instilled into the minds of the children,
-and there is not one of the little ones in whose heart his country has
-not the first place.  A native writer has expressed the sentiments of
-every Japanese thus: "My native land! everywhere and always the first
-affections of my heart and the first labor of my hands shall be thine
-alone."
-
-This patriotism is not always held intelligently.  The masses of the
-people have very mistaken ideas as to what patriotism is.  I meet not a
-few who believe that love for Japan necessitates a hatred of all other
-countries, and that no man can be loyal and at the same time admire and
-praise foreign lands.  Fortunately, the class {57} whose nationalism is
-so unenlightened is not an influential one; otherwise patriotism itself
-would check the growth and development of the country.  As it is, the
-strong nationalistic feeling serves to prevent a too indiscriminate
-adoption of Western institutions and to preserve the good elements of
-old Japan.
-
-Respect for parents and teachers is one of the most prominent elements
-in the national character.  The first principle of Confucian ethics, as
-taught in China, is reverence and obedience to parents; and although in
-Japan this has been subordinated to the principle of loyalty, it is
-still a prominent factor in the national life.  The proper attitude of
-children toward parents, and pupils toward teachers, is not one of
-love, but one of absolute obedience and reverence.  It is said here
-that true love can come only from a superior to an inferior, while the
-proper feeling of inferiors toward their superiors is one of reverence.
-This relation of superior and inferior is carried into every phase of
-society, and on it depends much of the family and national life.  The
-principle of obedience is almost the only moral teaching given to the
-girls, and when they are grown up their moral ideas cluster round this
-one point.  In olden times parents had absolute control over their
-children and could dispose of them as they saw fit, even killing them
-if they so desired.  But now the {58} parent's control over the child
-is limited by law.  Children are expected to yield implicit,
-unquestioning obedience to their parents, and Japanese children are
-usually more virtuous in this respect than the children of Americans.
-
-As a result of this fundamental principle of obedience, inculcated from
-childhood, has grown the universal respect for authority found in
-Japan.  Whatever the government does the common people do not question.
-Even petty officials are respected and obeyed in a manner surprising to
-us independently thinking people of the West.  No matter how
-disagreeable and unjust an act on the part of the authorities may be,
-it is usually accepted meekly with the comment, "There is no help for
-it."
-
-The counterpart of this reverence and unquestioning obedience to
-authority is a feeling of meekness and dependence.  The government is
-depended upon for much more than is the government in the United
-States.  It is expected to inaugurate all great commercial and
-industrial enterprises.  Thus the building of railroads, the
-construction of telegraphs, and other great works have had to be
-executed by the government.  In recent years this spirit is changing
-somewhat, and private corporations are beginning to inaugurate great
-enterprises.  But in general it may be said that the national character
-is lacking in independence and decision.
-
-{59}
-
-Love of the beautiful is a prominent and highly developed Japanese
-trait.  Their ideals of beauty differ much from Western ideals, and
-many things that they pronounce beautiful would not be so judged in the
-Occident.  Most Americans at first cannot appreciate Japanese art,
-landscape scenery, or flowers; but a short residence here and an
-acquaintance with native life and scenes soon bring one to appreciate
-them.  The esthetic faculty is much more highly developed than in
-America.  It is possessed by all classes.  The gardens of the rich are
-laid out with especial care, and no money or pains are spared to make
-them beautiful.  I have seen day-laborers stand and gaze for a long
-time at a beautiful sunset, or go into raptures over a dwarfed
-cherry-bush just putting forth its tiny buds.  Men who have worked in
-the fields all day, until they are exhausted, on their return home in
-the evening will stop by the wayside to pluck some beautiful shrub or
-flower and carry it back with them.  Go into the room of a school-boy
-and you will almost invariably find his table brightened by a pretty
-bouquet of flowers.  When the cherries are in bloom the whole
-population leaves off work and turns out to enjoy them.  Japan is a
-beauteous land, and no people are more capable of appreciating her
-beauty than her own.
-
-The Japanese are open-minded and receptive of truth, from whatever
-quarter it may come.  Were this not true it would have been impossible
-{60} for her to have become what she is to-day.  When Buddhism was
-first brought to Japan it was seen to possess elements of religious
-power that Shinto did not have, and the people by and by accepted it.
-When Confucianism was introduced its moral teachings were seen to be
-lofty and inspiring, and it was given a warm welcome.  When
-Christianity first came many of the daimios took especial pains to
-examine into it to see if it were likely to benefit their country, with
-the full intention of accepting it.  How many of them did accept it is
-told in another chapter.  The present attitude of opposition is the
-result of prejudice, instilled in part by past experience with
-Christianity, and in part by the misrepresentation of its enemies; it
-is not the result of natural intolerance.  The readiness with which
-Western learning of all kinds has been adopted, and the patient hearing
-and investigation native scholars give to all new theories of science
-and knowledge, clearly show that their mind is an open and receptive
-one.  A native professor has expressed this characteristic in these
-words: "The Japanese as a race are open-hearted, with a mind free from
-prejudice and open to conviction."  But that it is as receptive of
-prejudice and misrepresentation as of truth and knowledge is evidenced
-by its present attitude toward Christianity.
-
-Many critics have pronounced the Japanese a {61} very speculative
-people, but it is doubtful if this is true.  By nature, I think, they
-are more inclined to be practical than speculative.  Abstract
-metaphysical and theological ideas have little charm for them.
-
-But there is a large element in Japan that simulates a taste for
-philosophical study.  Philosophy and metaphysics are regarded by them
-as the profoundest of all branches of learning, and in order to be
-thought learned they profess great interest in these studies.  Not only
-are the highly metaphysical philosophies of the East studied, but the
-various systems of the West are looked into likewise.  Many of the
-people are capable of appreciating these philosophies, too; but they do
-it for a purpose.
-
-Japanese character is lacking in steadfastness and fixedness of
-purpose.  Huge enterprises will be begun with great enthusiasm, only to
-be abandoned in a short while.  There is not that steadfastness and
-fixedness which lays out far-reaching plans, extending years into the
-future, and which adheres to these plans until their purpose is
-accomplished.  On the contrary, they are vacillating and changeful, as
-is shown by their migratory disposition.  This want of steadfastness is
-even evinced by many ministerial candidates.  It is a frequent
-occurrence for young men to enter the mission schools with the firm
-intention of {62} becoming evangelists, and, by the time their academic
-course is finished, to change their mind and go into some other
-calling.  Some of those who have become evangelists are restless and
-vacillating, and after they have been located in one place for a few
-years like to be transferred to another.  The "stick-to-it-iveness" of
-the Anglo-Saxon is largely wanting.  But we must not speak too
-dogmatically upon this point, for the Japanese government has shown
-itself capable of laying out far-reaching plans, and of adhering to its
-original purpose until it is successfully accomplished.
-
-Inconsistency is another trait of the Japanese mind, which often turns
-square about and takes positions exactly opposed to its avowed
-principles, realizing no inconsistency in doing so.  This is well
-illustrated in the political life of the people.  In theory the
-emperor, as the divine head of the nation, cannot go wrong, and
-whatever he does is necessarily right.  It is the duty of every subject
-unquestioningly to obey the will of the emperor.  To this all Japanese
-will readily agree, but in practice the people are often found
-arraigned against the government, which has the emperor for its head.
-Lines of policy which the emperor himself has mapped out and pursued
-for years are often bitterly opposed; and yet the people are all
-unconscious of this, and resent very much any insinuation that they are
-opposing his will.
-
-{63}
-
-Another evidence of inconsistency is seen in their opposition to
-Christianity.  The usual objection that is made against our faith is
-that it is a Western religion, and there are thousands of people who
-oppose it solely on this ground.  But, even while opposing the Western
-religion, they are daily using all kinds of Western institutions
-gladly.  All manner of material things are received from abroad with
-pleasure, and are considered none the worse for their foreign origin,
-the line being drawn at religion.
-
-Japanese character is largely wanting in originality.  The people have
-originated almost nothing, having accepted nearly everything at the
-hands of others.  In ancient times Japan had Korea for a teacher;
-afterward she studied under China; now she is at school to Europe and
-America.  Her medieval civilization was accepted bodily from Asia, just
-as her modern is from Europe.  No important inventions have been made.
-Even the little jinrikisha, which is the universal means of locomotion,
-and which, I believe, is found nowhere else except in certain Chinese
-ports, is said to have been first made by an American missionary for
-the comfort and convenience of his invalid wife.  It should be said,
-however, that some claim the native origin of the jinrikisha, and
-contend that its inventor lived in Kyoto.
-
-But while the Japanese are not originators, they {64} are excellent
-imitators.  The ability to imitate well is a power not to be despised.
-This, when coupled with assimilation, is a very fruitful source of
-progress, as the Japan of to-day witnesses.  The ease and facility with
-which Japan has imitated the West and assimilated her institutions,
-applying them to new and changed conditions, is marvelous.  Given a
-model, the people can make anything, no matter how diminutive or
-complicated.  Even the American dude is most successfully imitated.
-
-The Japanese do not slavishly follow their models, but are able to
-change, modify, and develop them at will.  Given the general idea, they
-can easily construct the rest.  Thus in the adoption of Western
-institutions they have in some cases actually improved upon their
-models.  Especially is this true of the postal and telegraph systems,
-which, though copied after our own, are in many respects superior.
-They are not blind followers of their teachers, but often start out on
-independent exploration and investigation.  Such powers of imitation
-are second only to those of invention, and have made Japan what she is
-to-day.
-
-Another national peculiarity is the slight value placed upon human
-life.  The idea that the family, and not the individual, is of supreme
-importance, and the Buddhistic teaching that life itself is the
-greatest of all evils, are responsible for this.  To {65} pour out
-one's blood upon the battle-field for one's lord has from of old been
-considered a privilege.  Death has not that terror that it has in the
-West, and the people are not afraid to die.  Hence suicides are of very
-frequent occurrence, and to take one's own life is, under certain
-circumstances, considered a meritorious act.  Under the old régime a
-member of the samurai or warrior classes could not be executed like a
-common man, but after condemnation was left to take his own life.
-
-About seven thousand suicides occur in Japan each year.  The slightest
-reasons will induce a man to take his own life.  Statistics show that
-the proportion of suicides varies with the success or failure of the
-rice crop.  If sustenance is cheap, people live; if it is dear, they
-rid themselves of the burden of life.  The number of suicides also
-varies much with the season of the year, showing that such little
-matters as heat and discomfort will outweigh the value put upon life.
-
-A young girl recently came to Saga from Kagoshima as a household
-servant She did not like her new home, and asked her mistress to send
-her back to her birthplace.  The mistress refused, and the next morning
-the poor girl was found dead in the yard, having hanged herself during
-the night--all, forsooth, because she could not go home.  So low is the
-value placed upon life here!  Human life is valued highly in the West
-{66} solely because of Christian teaching; outside of Christendom it is
-cheap.
-
-It has been charged upon the Japanese that they are wanting in
-gratitude, or, at least, that their gratitude lasts only so long as
-they are looking for favors.  This is but partially true.  Ever since I
-came to Japan I have been teaching a few boys English at odd hours, and
-they have really embarrassed me by the number of their presents.  On
-the other hand, I have helped young men with money at school, who were
-at first grateful apparently, and would come to my home to perform
-various small services in return, but by and by would object to doing
-the least service, even while living on my charity.
-
-In past years Japan has in various capacities employed a great number
-of Americans and Europeans, and has usually rendered them a very
-adequate return for their services.  In addition to the stipulated
-salary, she has often given them costly presents.  But recently a good
-deal of complaint has been made by foreign employees to the effect
-that, after they have given the best years of their lives to the
-service of Japan, they have been summarily dismissed, without previous
-notice and without thanks.
-
-Evidences of ingratitude are very numerous in the native church.  The
-missionary who has left home, friends, and country for the sake of
-these {67} people, and who labors for them with all the powers God has
-given him, is often not rewarded by that gratitude and kindness on the
-part of his converts which he reasonably expects.  Frequently he takes
-young men from the humbler walks of life, provides both their food and
-clothing, gives them six or eight years' instruction in well-equipped
-schools, supports them liberally as evangelists, only to have them rise
-up against him, oppose him in his work, and pronounce him an ignoramus.
-In many parts of the native church there is a strong anti-missionary
-spirit, and the feeling of gratitude which these churches should have
-for their founders, organizers, and supporters is wanting.  From such
-facts as these we are forced to conclude that the feeling of gratitude
-is not very strong.
-
-Much has been said in regard to the commercial honor and integrity of
-the Japanese.  Our first American minister to Japan, Townsend Harris,
-pronounced them "the greatest liars upon the face of the earth."  A
-foreign employee in a government school, when asked concerning the
-native character, replied in two words--_deceit_ and _conceit_.  The
-numerous exceptions to upright dealing in mercantile circles seem to
-justify these judgments.  Native merchants are unreliable in such
-matters as punctuality, veracity, and the keeping of contracts.  They
-will do all in their {68} power to avoid the fulfilment of a contract
-which would entail a loss.  The artisan class is even more unreliable
-in these respects than are the merchants.
-
-To offset this, it should be said that, while the people are frequently
-unreliable in private matters, in public affairs and in all
-governmental relations they are honest and fair-dealing.  Public office
-is seldom perverted for private ends, and the national conscience would
-quickly call to account any official who would enrich himself at the
-public expense.  In this respect Japan is in striking contrast with the
-other nations of the East, and, alas! with many of those of the West as
-well.
-
-I have not endeavored to give an exhaustive statement of the national
-characteristics of the Japanese people, but have simply tried to give
-enough to help my readers to an appreciation of the native character.
-I have endeavored to be strictly truthful and at the same time to do
-justice to the race.  While fully recognizing the failings of the
-Japanese, we must also recognize the great improvement of the national
-character in recent years, and must remember that they are in many
-respects laboring at a great disadvantage, and deserve, not hatred and
-contempt, but our warmest sympathy and love.
-
-
-
-
-{69}
-
-IV
-
-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
-
-A study of the manners and customs of foreign peoples is both
-interesting and profitable.  If we have no knowledge of the customs of
-other nations we are apt to think that our own customs have their
-ground in eternal reason, and that all customs differing from ours are
-necessarily false and wrong.  But if we study the manners of other
-lands, and learn of the daily observance of customs many of which are
-squarely opposed to our own, and which nevertheless work well, we will
-be led to value our own customs at their true worth, and to realize
-that we have not a monopoly of all that is good, convenient, and useful.
-
-To know the manners and customs of a country is to know much about that
-country.  There is no truer index of the character of a people's life.
-Knowing these, the prevailing morality and governing laws may be very
-largely inferred.  In fact, {70} every phase of a nation's life has so
-intimate a connection with the manners and customs that a study of
-these is exceedingly profitable.
-
-Such a study is especially necessary to those who would gain a correct
-knowledge of the nature and difficulties of mission work in foreign
-lands.  The customs of a people will have a direct bearing upon mission
-work among them.  If Christianity violates national customs it will be
-condemned; if it observes them it will be tolerated.  Whether it
-observes or violates them must depend upon the nature of the customs
-themselves.  The success of Christianity in any country will depend, in
-part, upon the nature of the customs prevalent there.  Therefore it is
-wise for us to study those of Japan, in order to a better understanding
-of the people and of the condition and prospects of mission work among
-them.
-
-One of the most striking facts in connection with Japanese customs is
-that many of them are exactly opposed to those which prevail in the
-West.  People who have been accustomed to doing certain things one way
-all their lives, and have come to look upon that as the only way, upon
-coming out here are shocked to find these very same things done in
-precisely the opposite way.  This is so to such an extent that Japan
-has been called "Topsyturvydom."  But to those who are acquainted with
-the customs of both East and {71} West it is a serious question which
-one is topsy-turvy.  After one has become used to them, many of the
-customs appear just as sensible and convenient as those of America or
-Europe.  Why this opposition, we do not know, but perhaps the fact that
-the Japanese are antipodal to us makes it fitting that their customs
-should be antipodal too.  I will point out a few of the things that are
-so different.
-
-The manner of making books and of writing letters is very different
-from that to which my readers are accustomed.  An Occidental has an
-idea that something inherent in things necessitates that a book begin
-at the left side, and the thought of beginning at the other side
-appears to him ridiculous.  But in reality it is every whit as
-convenient, fitting, and sensible to begin at one side as at the other;
-and all Japanese books begin at the side which people of the West call
-the end, i.e., at the right side, and read toward the left.  While
-English books are printed across the page in lines from left to right,
-Japanese books are printed from right to left in columns.  An
-Occidental generally turns the leaves of his book from the top with his
-left hand; an Oriental turns them from the bottom with his right hand.
-In Western libraries the books are placed on their ends in rows; in
-Japan they are laid flat down on their sides and piled up in columns.
-If we see several good dictionaries {72} or encyclopedias in a man's
-study we are apt to infer that he is a man of studious habits; the
-Japanese of olden times inferred just the opposite.  The idea seems to
-have been that a scholar would already have the meaning and use of all
-words in his head and would not need to refer to a dictionary.  A
-Japanese friend who came into my study one day expressed great surprise
-at seeing several large dictionaries there.  "You have certainly had
-better educational advantages than I have," he said, "and yet I can get
-along with a very small dictionary; why cannot you?"  Upon inquiry, I
-learned that many Japanese keep their dictionaries concealed, because
-they do not want it said that they must refer to them often.
-
-The manner of addressing letters in Japan is exactly opposed to ours.
-Take a familiar example.  We write:
-
-  MR. FRANK JONES,
-      110 Gay Street,
-          Knoxville,
-              Tennessee.
-
-A Japanese would write it:
-
-  Tennessee,
-      Knoxville,
-          Gay Street, 110,
-              JONES, FRANK, MR.
-
-The latter is certainly the more sensible method, because what the
-postmaster wants to see is not {73} the name of the man to whom the
-letter is addressed, but the place to which it is to go.
-
-In matters of dress there are some customs quite opposed to our own.
-The American lady, especially if she goes to a ball, has her neck and
-arms bare, but she would be shocked at the very mention of having her
-feet bare.  The Japanese lady puts her heaviest clothing on her arms
-and shoulders, but does not at all mind being seen with bare feet and
-ankles.  Many of the ladies do not wear any foot-gear at all in the
-house, but these same women could hardly be induced to expose their
-arms and necks as Western women do.
-
-A Western lady is very anxious to have a thin, narrow waist; her
-Japanese sister wants a broad one.  In the West curly hair is highly
-prized on girls and women; in the East it is considered an abomination.
-If you tell a little girl here that her hair is curly, she will
-consider it a disgrace and will cry bitterly.  The most striking
-difference in regard to dress, however, is in mourning dress.  Whereas
-in the West it is always black, in Japan it is always white.
-
-Another remarkable contrast is found in the relation of the sexes.  In
-America the woman is given the precedence in everything.  Her husband,
-and all other men who come within her influence, must serve and honor
-her.  Attend an evening party and see woman in her glory.  How {74} the
-men crowd round her, anxious to serve or entertain!  When supper is
-announced they vie with one another for the honor of escorting her to
-the dining-room.  She must have first seat at table and be first
-served, and during the progress of the meal the men must be careful to
-see that she has everything her sweet will desires.  When supper is
-over the ladies precede the men to the drawing-room, and by the time
-the men again appear on the scene the ladies, including the hostess,
-are settled in the easiest chairs.  When the time for departure has
-come it is my lady who announces to the hostess--not the host--her
-departure, and her husband or escort simply awaits her bidding.  In
-Japan all of this is changed.  The man takes precedence everywhere, and
-the woman must serve him.  At meals the woman must first wait on her
-husband and then she herself may eat.  When, guests come, the husband
-is the chief entertainer, and the wife takes a back seat and says
-little.  On passing through a door, entering a train or carriage, etc.,
-the husband always precedes his wife.  When walking on the street
-together she does not walk by his side, but comes along behind.  The
-men do not intend to mistreat the women; they simply take what they
-regard their due as the head of the family.
-
-Among the customs most peculiar in the eyes of Westerners and most
-squarely opposed to their {75} own are those relating to marriage.  In
-Japan the young man and woman have nothing whatever to do with the
-match-making, except to give their consent to the arrangements of their
-parents; and frequently even this is not asked.  The wedding is
-arranged in some such manner as this: Whenever the parents of a young
-man think their son old enough to get married they secure the services
-of some friend, who acts as "go-between."  It is the duty of this party
-to search out a suitable girl and win the consent of her parents to the
-marriage.  While this is going on it is not likely that either of the
-young people is aware of it, but as soon as the parents have arranged
-matters to their own satisfaction they are informed.  It often happens
-that the man has never seen his bride until the wedding-day.  Young
-people seldom object to the arrangements of their parents, and
-marriages made in this way seem to work well.
-
-In the West the wedding often takes place in church; in Japan the
-temples are studiously avoided at such times.  There a minister is
-nearly always present; here they are very careful to exclude priests.
-The wedding is to be joyous, and as priests are known best as
-officiators at funerals, and ideas of sadness and misfortune are
-associated with them, they are excluded.
-
-In the West, if the wedding does not take place in church, it will
-probably be held in the home of {76} the bride; in the East it is
-always held in the home of the groom.  There the bride's household
-prepares the feast; here the groom's prepares it.  There the groom must
-go to fetch his bride; here she must come to him.  It makes no
-difference whether she lives in the same city or in a distant province;
-she must go to the groom, not he to her.
-
-The poor mother-in-law is evil spoken of in the East as well as in the
-West; but while there it is the mother of the bride who is said to make
-life miserable for the groom, here it is the mother of the groom who
-often makes life miserable for the bride.
-
-Customs in regard to the use of houses are quite different.  In America
-the front rooms of a house are considered most desirable; in Japan the
-back rooms are preferred.  There the parlors, sitting-rooms, etc., are
-in front, and the kitchen and store-rooms are relegated to the back;
-here the kitchen and store-rooms are in front, and the parlors and
-sitting-rooms behind.  There the front yards are kept clean, but the
-back yards are proverbially dirty; here all sorts of dirt and trash may
-be lying around in the front yard, while the back yard is a perfect
-little garden of beauty.
-
-Signs made with the hands are very different in Japan from those to
-which my readers are accustomed, and are much more graceful.  Here,
-when we call some one to us by the hand, {77} instead of the awkward,
-ungainly motion of the index-finger used in the West, we simply hold
-out the whole hand horizontally in front of us and gently move all the
-fingers up and down.  The latter motion is very graceful, while even a
-pretty girl cannot execute the former one gracefully.  Here, when we
-refuse a request or repel one from us by a sign of the hand, instead of
-turning the palm of the hand outward and pushing it from the body in a
-rough, uncivil manner, we merely hold the hand perpendicularly before
-the face, palm outward, and move it back and forth a few times.
-
-Japanese carpenters saw by pulling the saw toward them instead of
-pushing it from them; the planes cut in the same way; and screws are
-put in by turning them to the left instead of the right.
-
-Even in the nursery we find customs directly antipodal.  While the
-American nurse takes the child up in her arms, the Japanese nurse takes
-it on her back.
-
-These are some of the customs most squarely opposed to our own.  The
-first thought of my readers when learning of them will probably be, how
-ridiculous and inconvenient!  And yet they are just as convenient and
-sensible as their own, and some of them much more so.  There is nothing
-in the nature of things why most customs should be either this way or
-that.
-
-{78}
-
-The most interesting things about foreign peoples are those connected
-with their daily lives--their homes, food, and dress.  Let us examine a
-Japanese house, take a meal with its occupants, and then observe their
-manner of dress.
-
-The houses are usually very light structures, built of wood, one or two
-stories high.  They resemble an American house but little.  The roofs
-are made of tiles, straw, or shingles.  Tiles make a pretty and durable
-roof, but they cost much more than straw, and hence the common people
-generally use the latter.  The skilful Japanese workman can make a very
-pretty, lasting, and effective roof of straw.  The houses of the rich
-are large and have many nice rooms in them; those of the poor are
-small, with only one or two rooms.  Houses are so constructed as to
-permit the air to pass through them freely.  The rooms are separated
-only by light, detachable partitions made of paper, and these are
-frequently taken away and the whole house thrown into one room.  Many
-of the outer walls are also detachable, and on a warm summer day are
-put aside, when a delightful breeze constantly passes through the
-house.  The floors are covered with thick, soft straw mats, which are
-kept so clean that the people, even when dressed in their best clothes,
-sit or loll on them.  On entering a Japanese house you must leave your
-shoes at the door, just as you {79} do your hat.  It would be an
-unpardonable offense to come inside and tread on the mats with your
-shoes on.
-
-[Illustration: A Kitchen Scene.]
-
-The average Japanese eats, sleeps, and lives in the same room.  He has
-no chairs, no bedsteads, and no tables to get in his way.  During the
-day he sits on the soft straw mats; when evening comes two large
-comfortables are brought, and one is spread on the floor to lie on,
-while the other is used for covering.  No sheets are used, and the
-pillow is a funny little block of wood.  On this simple bed the man
-sleeps as soundly as we in our more elaborate ones.  In the morning the
-bed is rolled up and packed away.  At meal-time little tables, four or
-six inches high and about sixteen inches square, are brought, and one
-is placed before each person.  The food is served in pretty little
-lacquer or china bowls, and each one's portion is placed on his own
-table.  The people eat with chopsticks about eight inches long and one
-fourth of an inch in diameter.  These answer their purpose well, but
-are hard to use until one is accustomed to them.  When the meal is over
-all these things are carried away to the kitchen, and the room is ready
-for any other use to which one may desire to put it.  In this way one
-room is made to serve for all the purposes of a household.
-
-The most conspicuous thing in a Japanese room {80} is the _hibachi_--a
-little wooden or china box about one foot square.  This is kept half
-full of ashes, and on top of the ashes is a handful of burning
-charcoal.  On this usually sits a little tea-kettle, filled with
-boiling water used in making the tea, which is drunk without milk or
-sugar at every hour of the day.  When one first enters a Japanese
-house, politeness requires that the host or hostess immediately offer
-the guest a small cup of this tea.  There is no other provision than
-this hibachi for heating a room; and, as one would imagine, it gives
-out but little heat Japanese houses are very cold in winter.  They
-would not at all answer in a cold climate, and even here the people
-suffer from the cold.
-
-Japanese food is unpalatable to most foreigners, and the eating of it
-is an art which must be acquired gradually.  After repeated experiments
-we learn to like it, and can live on it fairly well; but most foreign
-residents usually take more or less European food with them every time
-they go into the interior.
-
-From of old Buddhism forbade the eating of anything that had animal
-life, and hence it came about that the Japanese are probably as
-vegetarian in their diet as any people on earth.  Even such animal food
-as butter and milk is not used.  Butter is very unpalatable to them,
-but many are beginning to use a little milk.  Bread, so necessary {81}
-to a Western table, forms no part of a Japanese bill of fare.  The
-staple here is rice, not boiled and mashed to pieces, with milk and
-butter, but simply boiled in water sufficiently to cook it well without
-breaking the grains.  When it is cooked each grain remains intact, and
-it is snowy white and perfectly dry.  No salt or seasoning of any kind
-is put into it, as it is thought to spoil the flavor.
-
-The rivers, lakes, and seas of Japan are teeming with splendid fish,
-which form an important part of the native diet.  It seems that
-Buddhism, while forbidding the use of meats generally, permitted the
-eating of fish.  Certain kinds of fish, cut into thin slices and eaten
-raw with a kind of sauce, are considered a great delicacy.  The idea of
-eating raw fish seems very repugnant, but many of my readers would eat
-it without realizing what it is unless they were told.  I often eat it.
-But only a few of the fish consumed are eaten raw; most are boiled or
-fried.
-
-Foreign vegetables are rare, and are not much liked by the natives.
-But there is an abundance of native vegetables.  The most common one is
-a large, coarse radish called _daikon_, which is pickled, and eaten at
-nearly every meal.  This daikon is very cheap, and is a chief part of
-the diet of that small portion of the population that cannot afford
-rice.  Sweet potatoes are abundant and cheap.  {82} They are considered
-the poor man's food, and the well-to-do people are ashamed to eat them.
-Often at hotels, when I have asked for sweet potatoes, the servant has
-replied in astonishment, "Why, do you eat sweet potatoes?  They are for
-coolies."  A mountain-potato and the roots of the lotus and bamboo are
-also eaten.  Since the country has been opened to foreign trade and
-foreigners have settled here it is possible to get meats and flour and
-some foreign vegetables at most places.
-
-Japanese clothing is frequently conspicuous by its absence.  Many of
-the people do not realize the necessity of burdening themselves with
-clothing on a hot summer day, and wear very little.  The government has
-been constrained to make laws against nudity, but these are enforced
-only in the cities.  The usual summer garment of many of the children
-in my city is simply the dark-brown one given them by nature.  Most of
-the coolies wear nothing but a little loin-cloth when at work.
-
-The real native costume is both pretty and becoming.  It consists
-usually of a single robe reaching from the shoulders to the ankles, and
-tied round the waist with a heavy girdle.  Tight-fitting undergarments,
-in foreign style, are sometimes worn now, but they form no part of the
-original native costume.  A black outer garment, {83} reaching only to
-the knees, is placed over the ordinary robe on state occasions.
-Formerly the Japanese did not wear hats, and even now half of the men
-one meets on the street are bareheaded.  The women wear neither hats
-nor bonnets.
-
-It is not considered improper to go barefooted in Japan, but generally
-the better classes are shod when they go out of doors.  If anything
-resembling a stocking is worn, it is what they call _tabi_, a sort of
-foot-glove, made of either white or black cloth, with a separate
-inclosure for the great toe.  A block of wood called _geta_ corresponds
-to our shoes.  It has two cords attached to the same place in front,
-and then dividing, one being fastened on each side at the back.  These
-cords slip in between the great toe and the others, and, passing over
-the foot, secure the geta.
-
-Japanese bathing customs are peculiar.  Perhaps there are no other
-people on earth that bathe as often as they.  It is customary for every
-one, even the coolies, to bathe well the whole body every day.  The
-baths are taken very hot--about 110°F.  Each private house has a large
-bath-tub, which in many instances is capacious enough to accommodate
-the whole family at once.  Besides these private baths each city and
-town has its public ones, where a good hot bath, in a place large
-enough for you to swim round, can be had for one cent.  Men, women, and
-children go into {84} them at the same time, indiscriminately.  Japan
-is a land of hot springs, so that almost every district has its natural
-hot baths.  Most of them have medicinal value, and the people flock to
-them by thousands.
-
-The funeral customs are very different from ours.  It is a strange
-feature of the native character that when one is deeply moved he is
-very likely to cover up his emotion with a laugh.  If a man announces
-to you the death of his child, he will probably laugh as he does so.
-At funerals there is not that solemn silence which we expect, but
-frequently loud talking and laughter.  The coffin is a square, upright
-box with considerable ornamentation.  The corpse is placed in it in a
-sitting posture.  In Japan are found the hired mourners of whom we read
-in the Bible.  Anciently they were employed to follow the corpse,
-mourning in a loud voice; but that has become obsolete, and now they
-simply follow in the procession, wearing the white garments.  The usual
-manner of disposing of dead bodies is by interment, but cremation is
-rapidly growing in favor.  The government will not permit a body to be
-buried until it has been dead twenty-four hours.
-
-For several weeks after a body has been interred it is customary for
-the members of the bereaved family to make daily visits to the tomb and
-present offerings to the departed spirit in the temple.  {85} Each
-year, on the anniversary of the death, the children are expected to
-visit the tomb and worship the spirit of the departed.  This custom of
-ancestor-worship is forbidden by Christianity, and hence the people
-charge us with teaching disrespect to parents and ancestors.
-
-[Illustration: Hara-kiri.]
-
-A custom peculiar to Japan is a form of suicide known as hara-kiri, or
-"belly-cutting."  From time immemorial, to take one's own life in this
-manner has been considered very honorable and has expiated all crimes
-and offenses.  In olden times, if the life of any one of noble blood
-became hurtful to the state, he was simply sent a certain kind of short
-sword.  This meant that he was to take his own life by the favorite
-national method.  So the recipient quietly ate his last meal, bade his
-family farewell, and, seating himself squarely on the mat, deliberately
-thrust the sword into the left side of his abdomen, and drew it across
-to the right side.  As this cut does not kill immediately, a retainer,
-from behind, placed there for that purpose, struck off his master's
-head with one blow of a heavy sword.  In the eyes of the law this death
-atoned for all sins and offenses; hence it was often practised in old
-Japan.  It is almost obsolete now.
-
-The Japanese are an exceedingly polite people.  They have been called
-the Frenchmen of the Orient in recognition of this national
-characteristic.  Politeness is exalted above everything, above {86}
-even truth and honor.  If you ask an ordinary Japanese which is better,
-to tell a falsehood or be impolite, he will at once reply, "To tell a
-falsehood."  But while the people are exceedingly polite, a large part
-of this politeness is merely surface, without any meaning.  Etiquette
-requires that you always address and treat your equals as though they
-were your superiors.  There is a separate form of address for each step
-in the social scale.  I have seen Japanese men stand at a door for five
-minutes, and blush, and beg each other to pass through first, each
-hesitating to precede the other.  A Japanese gentleman never stops to
-converse with a friend, be he only a child, without taking off his hat.
-
-To look down upon one from a superior elevation is considered very
-impolite.  Thus if the emperor or any one of especial distinction
-passes through a city, all the upper stories of the houses must be
-vacated.  Under no circumstances are any permitted to observe the
-procession from an upper window.  I was out walking one day in our good
-city of Saga with a foreign friend who was leading his little boy by
-the hand.  It happened that a countess was passing through the city.
-The policemen had cleared the street for the procession, and a large
-crowd was standing at the corner.  We joined this crowd.  The little
-boy could not see, so his father held him up that {87} he might look
-over the people's heads.  At once the police forbade it and made him
-put the child down.
-
-In many instances forms of politeness are carried to a ridiculous
-extreme.  When you give a present, no matter how nice, you must
-apologize by saying that it is so _cheap_ and _insignificant_ that you
-are ashamed to _lift it up_ to the honorable person, but if he will
-_condescend_ to accept it he will make you very happy.  If you receive
-a present you must elevate it toward the top of the head (as that is
-considered the most honorable part of the body) and at the same time
-say that it is the _most beautiful thing on earth_.  When you are
-invited to a dinner the invitation will carefully state that no special
-preparation will be made for the occasion.  At the beginning of the
-meal the hostess will apologize for presuming to set before you such
-mean, dirty food, and will declare that she has nothing whatever for
-you to eat, although she will doubtless have a feast fit for a king.
-Even if it should not be good, you must say that it is and praise it
-extravagantly.
-
-The greetings between friends are sometimes right funny.  I have often
-overheard such conversations as the following.  Two men meet in the
-street, and, taking off their hats, bow very low, and begin as follows:
-
-_A_.  "I have not had the pleasure of {88} hanging myself in your
-honorable eyes for a long time."
-
-_B_.  "I was exceedingly rude the last time I saw you."
-
-_A_.  "No; it was surely I who was rude.  Please excuse me."
-
-_B_.  "How is your august health?"
-
-_A_.  "Very good, thanks to your kind assistance."
-
-_B_.  "Is the august lady, your honorable wife, well?"
-
-_A_.  "Yes, thank you; the lazy old woman is quite well."
-
-_B_.  "And how are your princely children?"
-
-_A_.  "A thousand thanks for your kind interest.  The noisy, dirty
-little brats are well too."
-
-_B_.  "I am now living on a little back street, and my house is awfully
-small and dirty; but if you can endure it, please honor me by a visit."
-
-_A_.  "I am overcome with thanks, and will early ascend to your
-honorable residence, and impose my uninteresting self upon your
-hospitality."
-
-_B_.  "I will now be very impolite and leave you."
-
-_A_.  "If that is so, excuse me.  _Sayonara_."
-
-
-
-
-{89}
-
-V
-
-JAPANESE CIVILIZATION
-
-The question is often asked, Are the Japanese a civilized people?  The
-answer will entirely depend upon our definition of civilization.  If
-civilization consists in a highly organized commercial and industrial
-life, in the construction and use of huge, towering piles of
-manufactories and commercial houses, such as are seen in New York and
-Chicago, in amassing enormous capital, controlling the trade of the
-country by monopolies, and doing the work of the world by machinery
-that moves with the precision of clockwork, then Japan is not yet
-civilized.  But if civilization consists in a courteous, refined
-manner, in a calm enjoyment of literature and the arts, in an ability
-to live easily and comfortably with a due regard to all the amenities
-of life, then the Japanese are a civilized people.
-
-A very brilliant writer on Japanese subjects[1] {90} has said that the
-Japanese have been a civilized people for at least a thousand years.
-Chinese civilization was brought to Japan early in the Christian era,
-and flourished for more than fifteen hundred years.  While it differs
-much from European civilization, it is a highly organized and developed
-system, venerable with age.  When people of the West speak of civilized
-countries they are apt to think of Europe and America, to the exclusion
-of all the rest of the world.  This is unfair.  Chinese civilization is
-much older than our own.  Long before the dark ages of Europe the
-Chinese were living under a regular system of laws and were engaged in
-all peaceful pursuits.  Systematic methods of agriculture, the art of
-printing, gunpowder, and the mariners' compass were all known and used.
-While our own forefathers in northern Europe roamed the forests as wild
-men and dressed in skins, the Chinese were living quietly in cities and
-towns, dressed in silks.  This venerable Chinese civilization was
-readily adopted in Japan, and prevailed down to the time of the
-Restoration, in 1868.  Since that time the adoption and assimilation of
-Western civilization have been progressing with a rapidity and success
-which have no precedent in the history of the world.  The old immobile,
-crystallized Chinese civilization has been thrown off, and the
-vigorous, elastic forms of the West have been successfully {91}
-adopted.  Japanese civilization of to-day is European, only with a
-national coloring.
-
-
-[1] Lafcadio Hearn.
-
-
-On the advice of an American missionary,[2] who was then president of
-the Imperial University, and who arranged the program for the
-expedition, in 1872 a committee of seventy intelligent Japanese
-gentlemen, many of them from the noble families, was sent to the West
-to visit the capitals of the several countries, examine into their
-forms of government and civilization, and, of all that they found, to
-choose and bring back with them what was best adapted to Japan.  This
-committee, after visiting Washington, London, Berlin, and other places,
-and carefully examining into their different institutions, returned and
-reported to the government.  From this time began the rapid adoption of
-Western civilization, which is still in progress.
-
-
-[2] Dr. Verbeck.
-
-
-Foreign employees have played an important part in this peaceful
-revolution.  At first nearly everything that was adopted was under
-foreign superintendence; but the Japanese are such apt learners that
-they are now capable of managing this new civilization for themselves,
-and the foreign employees have been mostly dispensed with.
-
-With this brief history of Japanese progress before us, let us now
-examine into the present condition of Japanese civilization.
-
-{92}
-
-One of the best indicators of the civilization of a country is its
-literature.  No writers of world-wide fame have arisen in Japan, yet
-the country has a literature of which she is not ashamed.  In ancient
-times the Chinese classics were alone studied, and all literature was
-molded by Confucian ideas; to-day these models have been cast aside,
-and a school of young, independent writers has arisen, by whom history,
-political and moral science, botany, sociology, belles-lettres, and
-numerous other subjects are discussed with vigor and originality.
-
-In the number of newspapers and magazines published Japan can compare
-favorably with any country of equal size.  The great dailies have not
-yet grown to such importance as those of America or England, but they
-already wield a mighty influence.  Nearly every small town has its
-morning and its evening sheet.  Even in our backward old town of Saga
-we have two very good dailies.  There are a large number of able
-magazines published.  Nearly every branch of learning has a magazine
-devoted exclusively to its interests, as is frequently the case in the
-West.  The very existence of this innumerable multitude of newspapers
-and magazines shows that the Japanese are great readers.
-
-The educational system in vogue is a good index of a nation's
-civilization.  Perhaps no {93} nation of the West has a better
-organized and developed free-school system than has Japan.  Schools are
-found in every village and hamlet, and as all children of a prescribed
-age are required to attend, they are full to overflowing.  The little
-round-faced, sleek-headed Japanese children swarm round them like bees.
-There are four grades of schools: the primary lower, the advanced
-lower, the lower middle, and the higher middle.  The lower schools are
-found everywhere; the higher ones only in the large towns and cities.
-Of the higher middle schools (which correspond to our American colleges
-of middle grade) there are seven, distributed at various points over
-the empire.  At the head of this whole system stands the Imperial
-University in Tokyo, which is itself the outgrowth of several colleges,
-and is largely modeled after the German universities.  The lower
-schools are modeled after our American schools.  Unfortunately, so
-large a part of the time of the school-children must be spent in
-studying Chinese characters that it takes about eight years to learn to
-read.  What a pity that the awkward, antiquated system of Chinese
-writing is not abandoned!  It seems that the native _kana_, of which
-there are about forty-eight, with a few of the more common Chinese
-characters, would answer all purposes; then the long years spent in
-studying Chinese could be devoted to other things, to {94} the immense
-advantage of the student.  In the lower schools very little is studied
-except Chinese.  In the middle schools the branches studied are just
-about what American youths study in the academies.  Formerly
-considerable stress was laid upon the study of modern languages, and
-all students of the middle schools were required to study English and
-either French or German.  But in recent years only English has been
-required, and it, even, is not studied so carefully as it was.  Since
-the revision of the treaties the study of foreign languages seems to be
-on the increase.
-
-The Imperial University compares very favorably with Western
-universities of the middle class.  It has six faculties, namely, law,
-medicine, literature, science, engineering, and agriculture.  The
-medical department is under German influence; the others have
-professors of various nationalities, mostly English, German, and
-Japanese.  The students number over 1000.  The government has recently
-undertaken the establishment of another university in Kyoto.  It also
-supports two higher normal schools, a higher commercial school, naval
-and military academies, fine-arts school, technical school, the nobles'
-school, the musical academy, and the blind and dumb school.  Professor
-Chamberlain, of the Imperial University, says the leading idea of the
-Japanese government {95} in all its educational improvements is the
-desire to assimilate the national ways of thinking to those of European
-countries.  In view of the difference between the East and the West,
-this is an enormous task; and great credit is due that brave body of
-educators who, fighting against fearful odds, are gradually
-accomplishing their purpose.
-
-The Japanese are a nation of artists.  Life in one of the most
-beautiful countries in the world has, to a rare degree, developed in
-them the love of the beautiful; and this has expressed itself in the
-various phases of national art.  In general, Japanese art is pretty,
-but small, isolated, and lacking in breadth of view.  Its chief use in
-former times was largely decorative, to paint a screen or a piece of
-porcelain, and the artists did this to perfection.  As a nation the
-Japanese are very skilful with the pencil.  Long writing of Chinese
-characters has given them a control of the pencil or crayon not
-commonly found among the people of the West.  Drawing is taught in the
-schools, and every school-boy can draw pretty pictures.  But in art, as
-in other things, the Japanese are frequently inconsistent, and show a
-haughty disregard of details.  They excel in portraying nature.
-
-The government of Japan is progressive and enlightened.  In reality it
-is an absolute monarchy, ruled by the "heaven-descended mikado." {96}
-The empire belongs to him by divine right, and none has ever disputed
-this.  Unquestioning, implicit obedience is the duty of all subjects.
-But the present emperor, who is a liberal-minded monarch, has
-graciously given his people a voice in the government.  In 1889 the
-constitution was promulgated, which laid the foundation for a new order
-of things.  It established the Diet, consisting of two houses, and gave
-many rights to the people, including local self-government, within
-certain limits.  The franchise is so limited in Japan that a man must
-annually pay a stipulated amount of tax before he can either vote or
-run for office.
-
-Japanese laws have for years been gradually approaching Western
-standards.  The transition has been difficult and necessarily slow, but
-praise-worthy progress has been made.  A code somewhat resembling the
-Code Napoleon is now the law of the land, and is being applied in the
-courts as fast as circumstances will permit.  People coming from Europe
-or America will find that, in the main, the laws are not very different
-from those they have been accustomed to.
-
-Nearly all the material expressions of an advanced civilization found
-at home are likewise met with in Japan--good railways, steamboats,
-telegraphs, mails, electric lights, etc.  It is often a surprise to the
-traveler from the West who has {97} read little about the country, and
-who expects only the rudest form of civilization, to find instead
-nearly all the conveniences to which he has been accustomed.
-
-RAILWAYS.--Japanese railways are narrow gauge, and while in recent
-years the question of changing them to standard gauge has been
-agitated, nothing definite has been done.  The narrow-gauge system
-seems fairly adequate to the present demand.  The railways are modeled
-after those of England, and are miniature as compared with those
-thundering monsters that make the American valleys tremble with their
-tread.  The coaches are much smaller than the American and are
-differently arranged, opening on the side instead of the end, passage
-from one coach to another being precluded.  There is no conductor to
-come around and disturb one with the continual cry of "Tickets!"  The
-_punch, punch, punch_, so annoying to sensitive people, is not heard.
-As the passenger leaves the station to enter the train his ticket is
-examined, and this ends the matter until he reaches his destination,
-when he must pass out through the station, where his ticket is taken by
-a polite official.  One of the things that have most impressed me about
-the railroad service is the kindness and politeness of the officials,
-in striking contrast with the gruffness and incivility one often
-encounters in America.
-
-{98}
-
-The average Japanese train has three classes of coaches.  The first
-class corresponds to the ordinary first-class day-coach at home; second
-class corresponds to our smoking-cars; while third class is poorer
-still.  The fares are just about one half what they are in America, and
-one can travel in first-class style for a cent and a half per mile.
-Third-class fare is only a little over half a cent, and most of the
-people travel in this class.  The trains do not have the conveniences
-to which my readers are accustomed.  There are no sleeping- and
-dining-cars, no provision for heating in winter, and no water.  The
-average running speed is about 20 miles per hour--a rate which would
-not at all suffice for the high-tensioned, nervous, always-in-a-hurry
-civilization of the West, but which meets all the demands of the
-slower, quieter life of the East.  Running at this rate, accidents are
-comparatively rare, and the trains easily make their scheduled time.
-
-There is one main trunk-line running throughout the length of the land,
-besides numerous shorter lines.  All of the more prominent towns and
-cities are connected by rail.  At present a railroad-construction craze
-has seized Japan.  Many are being constructed, others are being
-surveyed, and the papers daily contain accounts of new ones projected.
-So far, Japanese railway stocks have yielded good dividends.  That the
-{99} more important lines are owned and operated by the government is
-not the result of any political or economic theory, but simply because
-at first private individuals had neither the means nor the energy to
-inaugurate such huge and hitherto untried enterprises.  Many of the
-smaller roads are now owned and controlled by private corporations, and
-most of those in process of construction are private enterprises.  Some
-months ago a private corporation made a proposition to the government
-to buy its main railway, but the offer was rejected.
-
-STEAMERS.--Steamboat service in Japan is good.  As the country is only
-a range of islands, the largest of which are very narrow, and as all
-the more important towns are on the sea-coast or only a short distance
-inland, it is possible to go nearly everywhere by boat.  Travel by
-water is very popular.  There are fairly good steamers plying daily
-between the most important ports, but foreigners generally prefer to
-travel only on those officered by Europeans or Americans.  There are a
-number of native steamers, comfortable and speedy, which are officered
-by foreigners, and differ but little from the transpacific liners.
-These were nearly all built in England, but in recent years they are
-building very good ones in Japan.  The facilities for travel in this
-empire leave little to be desired.
-
-TELEGRAPHS.--The Japanese telegraph {100} system is excellent.  It
-extends to all towns of any size in the empire, and by cable to all
-parts of the world.  From the old city of Saga, in which I live, I can
-send a cablegram to any point in Europe or America.  A telegraph code
-on the basis of the Morse code has been made in Japan, which admits of
-internal telegrams being transmitted in the native syllabary.  In this
-respect the Japanese system is unique among Eastern countries.  For
-instance, in India or China telegrams can be transmitted only in Roman
-letters or Arabic figures.  By the formation of a vernacular code the
-telegraph was brought within the reach of the masses of the people, and
-it soon became familiar and popular.
-
-The tariff for messages is perhaps lower than any other in the world.
-A message of ten kana, equaling about five English words, together with
-name and address of sender and receiver, can be sent to any part of the
-empire for eight or nine cents.  Telegrams in foreign languages are
-sent within the empire for five sen per word, with a minimum charge of
-twenty-five sen for five words or a fraction thereof.  No charge is
-made for delivery within a radius of 2-½ miles of the telegraph office.
-
-There are no private telegraph corporations.  The government builds,
-owns, and operates the lines just as it does the mails.  The postal and
-{101} telegraph systems are intimately connected, and the same office
-does service for both.
-
-The first telegraph line in Japan was opened in 1869.  The venture
-proving a success, the following year the line was extended and a
-general telegraphic system for the whole country decided upon.  The
-rapid construction of telegraph lines began in 1872, from which year it
-has gone forward uninterruptedly.  At present the lines extend to every
-corner of the empire.  The first lines were surveyed, built, and
-operated under foreign experts; but the natives have learned so rapidly
-that they have been enabled to do away with all foreign employees.  All
-of the materials and instruments in use, with the exception of
-submarine cables and the most delicate electrical measuring apparatus,
-are made in Japan.
-
-MAILS.--The Japanese mail system was modeled after the American in
-1871.  At first it was limited to postal service between the three
-large cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka; but in 1872 it was extended to
-the whole country, with the exception of a certain part of the
-Hokkaido, which was without roads and almost without population.
-To-day there is no village or hamlet in the whole land which does not
-enjoy the convenience of a good postal system.  The mails are sent with
-promptness and despatch, and it requires only a few days to communicate
-with any part of the {102} empire.  The postal rates are very low.
-Postal cards cost one sen and letters two sen--about five eighths and
-one and two eighths of a cent, respectively.
-
-All mail is delivered free of charge.  Not only is this so in the
-cities and larger towns, but in the villages and rural districts as
-well.  There is no place where the dapper little postman does not go.
-Another convenience of the mail system is its excellent parcel-post
-department.  Very large parcels, containing almost anything, can be
-sent for a small charge.  Still another praiseworthy feature is that
-each office is a savings-bank, where the people can deposit small sums
-of money at any time and receive a good rate of interest.  This money
-can be withdrawn without previous notice.  The government has
-established these savings-banks in connection with the post-offices to
-encourage the people to lay up small sums of money, and they accomplish
-their purpose well.
-
-Japan was admitted into the International Postal Union in 1879, with
-full management of all her postal affairs.  As all her rates are now
-based on a silver standard, postage to foreign countries is much
-cheaper than from them to Japan.  To the United States or to China we
-pay five sen (about two and a half cents) per letter; to all other
-countries within the Postal Union ten sen per letter.
-
-{103}
-
-LIGHTS.--The system of lighting is an index of the civilization of a
-country.  In this respect Japan is not yet so far advanced as the
-leading countries of the West, yet she is well lighted.  In all the
-large cities there are good electric plants, and electricity is
-extensively used.  The streets and many of the best stores and shops
-are very well lighted with it.  However, electric lights are seldom
-found in interior cities of less than 40,000 people.  I think
-electricity is too costly to come into general use, except in the
-centers.  Illuminating gas is very little used.
-
-The only oil used in former times was extracted from whales and large
-fish, and chiefly from the seed of a certain tree.  Since the opening
-of the country, kerosene has come into general use, immense quantities
-being imported from the United States and from Russia.  Oil has been
-found in several places in Japan, but as yet has never been developed.
-
-BANKING.--One of the most useful products of the introduction of our
-modern civilization is the present system of banking.  This system will
-compare favorably with those of the West.  There are a number of
-national banks distributed over all the land, together with many
-substantial private banking corporations.  All forms of banking
-business are transacted, and good interest is given on deposits.  The
-great {104} popularity of the banks is shown by the fact that to-day in
-Tokyo, only eight years after bank-checks have come into use, the
-amount annually drawn exceeds $100,000,000.
-
-Having taken this rapid view of Japanese civilization, we are in a
-position to judge as to whether or not this is a civilized land; and we
-answer that it is.  But although modeled after that of the West, it in
-many respects differs from Western civilization.  Japan has shown
-herself capable of doing great things, but she does not do them in the
-same way that they are done in Europe or America.  For example,
-consider her manufactories, which now threaten to compete with those of
-our own country.  In America manufactories mean enormous capital
-invested.  Costly factories must be erected, the most approved
-machinery provided, and the completed plant operated at great expense.
-Here almost no capital is used.  The buildings are low, one-story
-sheds, not more costly than a row of stables at home.  It is true that
-Japan has a few large, substantial buildings for manufacturing
-purposes; but such are rare, and, when found, look out of harmony with
-their surroundings.  Even nature seems to protest against huge piles of
-brick and stone, as she so frequently demolishes them.  Most of the
-wares of Japan are manufactured in small, cheap buildings, and little
-machinery is used.  The best silk {105} made is woven in a house that
-cost scarcely $500.  The best cloisonne, of which only a small piece a
-few inches high will cost hundreds of dollars, is made in a little,
-two-story house with only six rooms.  Some of the greatest
-porcelain-makers in the world, whose products are better known in
-London and Paris than in their own country, do their work in small
-wooden houses in Kyoto, no better than the homes of the American
-laborer.  "The vast rice crop is raised on millions of tiny farms; the
-silk crop in millions of small, poor homes; the tea crop on countless
-little patches of soil.  Japan has become industrial without becoming
-essentially mechanical and artificial."[3]  On this small scale the
-great work of Japan is done.  Japanese civilization, in its parts, is
-miniature.
-
-
-[3] Lafcadio Hearn.
-
-
-When compared with the civilization of the West, it is unstable; in
-fact stability is almost unknown.  The land itself is a land of change.
-The outlines of the coasts, the courses of the rivers, the form of the
-mountains, by the combined action of volcanoes, earthquakes, winds, and
-waves, are constantly changing.
-
-The people themselves are continually drifting about from place to
-place, changing their residence with the seasons.  It has been said
-that no people in the world are so migratory.  {106} Preparation can be
-made in a few hours for the longest journey, and all the necessary
-baggage wrapped up in a handkerchief.  Japanese life is in a constant
-state of fluidity.
-
-The average house, likewise, seems built but for a day.  The walls, the
-roof, the floors, are made of the lightest materials, and apparently
-there is no thought of permanence.
-
-We of the West are wont to think that no real progress can be made
-without stability, but Japan has proved the contrary.  A uniformly
-mobile race is, correspondingly, uniformly impressionable.  The fluid
-mass of the Japanese people submits itself to the hands of its rulers
-as readily as the clay to the hands of the potter, and thus it moves
-with system and order toward great ends.  It is thus that Japanese
-civilization is strong.
-
-When compared with Western civilization, that of Japan is seen to be
-less organized and developed, less hasty and feverish in its movements,
-It does not impress one so much with its hugeness and ponderosity.  It
-is lighter, brighter, quieter, more soothing.  It is the civilization
-of the West robbed of its immensity and seriousness, and reflecting the
-national characteristics of these light-hearted sons of the East.
-
-
-
-
-{107}
-
-VI
-
-JAPANESE MORALITY
-
-Japanese morality has been much written about by men of the West, and
-many dogmatic judgments have been pronounced upon it.  At one extreme,
-we have been told that "they are the most immoral people on the face of
-the earth"; at the other, we are told that in morality "they have
-nothing to learn from the people of Christendom."  There is about as
-much--or rather as little--truth in the one statement as in the other.
-The fact is that it is necessary to have an experimental acquaintance
-with Japan before one can really understand or appreciate the moral
-condition of her people.  The moral ideas and teachings to which they
-have been accustomed from childhood are so different from our own that
-they could not be expected to approximate to our standards.  Judged by
-the ideas of the West, they are lacking in morality; but from {108}
-their own standpoint they are a moral people.  While we cannot accept
-theirs as the true standard, it is but fair that, in judging them, we
-keep this in view.
-
-Before the introduction of Chinese ethics there was no such thing as a
-moral code.  The original native religion, Shinto, taught no doctrines
-of morality, as we understand them.  According to it, to obey
-implicitly the mikado was the whole duty of man.  As for the rest, if a
-Japanese obeyed the natural impulses of his own heart he would be sure
-to do right.  Modern Shinto writers, in all seriousness, account for
-this absence of a moral code by stating that originally Japanese nature
-was pure, clean, and sinless, possessing no tendency to evil or wrong.
-Barbarians, like the Chinese and Americans, being by nature immoral,
-were forced to invent a moral code to control their actions; but in
-Japan this was not necessary, as every Japanese acted aright if he only
-consulted his own heart.  They explain the need for the present moral
-laws--a need which they acknowledge--by the fact of association with
-outside nations.  Immorality and dissoluteness were introduced by the
-Chinese and Western peoples, to counteract the evil influence of which
-they now have the shameful spectacle of a moral law even among the
-children of the "heaven-descended mikado."  So much for the teaching of
-Shinto in {109} regard to morality.  It would be exasperating were it
-not ludicrous.
-
-Confucius is the master of Japanese morality.  His teachings were
-introduced into Japan early in the Christian era, but they became
-predominant only in the time of Iyeyasu, in the seventeenth century.
-This great statesman, warrior, and patron of learning caused the
-Chinese classics to be printed in Japan for the first time; and from
-that day to this the morality of Japan has been dominated by Confucian
-ideas.
-
-In order to understand Japanese morality, it is necessary for us to
-shift our moral base and try to look at the subject through Japanese
-eyes.  The average native of the West thinks of "morality" as something
-belonging to the individual.  Even in religion his first thought is to
-save his own soul.  The value of the soul, its immortality, its
-immediate relation to the infinite and eternal Father--these have been
-emphasized ever since the first establishment of the church.  In
-consequence, there is a duty which man owes to himself.  He may not
-disregard it even at the command of father or king.  Within the soul is
-the holiest of all, for there is heard in conscience the voice of God
-himself.  No external authority may be supreme, and at no external
-voice may one violate his own convictions of truth.
-
-This thought exalts the individual, and, {110} therefore, sins which
-degrade our own personality become most repulsive.  Thus, among
-high-minded men truth is almost first among the virtues, and an
-accusation of falsehood the most hateful of insults.  For truth seems
-peculiarly personal and spiritual, as if belonging to the very
-sanctuary of one's nature.  And in like manner, among women, in popular
-esteem chastity is of the essence of morality, as its violation seems
-to contaminate and debase her holiest self.
-
-Now the Confucian ethics rest upon a quite different principle, and in
-this are at one with the ancient teaching of the Greeks and Romans.
-The supreme duty is not to the self, but to the organization of which
-one is but a part--that is, to the family or to the state.  The great
-Chinese moralists were statesmen, and their chief concern was, not the
-salvation of the individual, but the peace and prosperity of the state.
-In their view, the family was the unit, and the state a greater family.
-So the conflict of duties, in their questions of casuistry, is never
-between individual and social duties, but between duties owed to family
-and to state.  Loyalty to the state and obedience to parents must be
-supreme; but China and Japan differ as to the value of these two.
-
-According to original Confucianism, the first duty of men is obedience
-to parents; the second, loyalty to rulers; but in Japan the order of
-these {111} duties has been changed, the second being given first place.
-
-The people have learned well this teaching of Confucius.  Japan was
-prepared soil for its sowing.  The native religion taught that the
-emperor was a direct descendant of heaven, who ruled by divine right;
-the provincial lords were his ministers, and hence loyalty was a plain
-duty.  The Confucian teaching only strengthened, deepened, and gave
-form and outline to a sentiment already existing.  This principle of
-loyalty thus became the foundation stone of Japanese ethics, and one's
-duty to one's lord paramount to all other duties.
-
-In the olden times the people did not look beyond their own feudal
-lords and clans to the emperor and the nation.  They were to be
-faithful unto death to these, but no further.  Now that loyalty once
-shown to the local princes and clans finds its apotheosis in the
-emperor and the empire.
-
-A man's duty to his friends, to his wife and children, and even to his
-parents, is counted as nothing in comparison with his duty to rulers
-and country.  There are many instances in Japanese history of men who,
-having slain their own parents, children, wives, for the sake of their
-prince, were praised.  At the time of the recent tidal wave in northern
-Japan, when the waters were rushing furiously into one home, a husband
-and {112} father turned a deaf ear to the cries of his drowning wife
-and children, permitting them to perish that he might save the
-emperor's picture; and he was applauded for the act.  A fire recently
-demolished the beautiful new buildings of the middle school in Saga.
-The library, laboratories, and scientific apparatus were mostly
-destroyed, and many of the students lost their clothing and books.  The
-loss in buildings alone was some $20,000.  Yet the thing the loss of
-which they lamented most deeply was a photograph of the emperor which
-could easily be replaced for a few yen.
-
-A characteristic story, showing the devotion with which the old samurai
-carried out this principle of loyalty, is the tale of the forty-seven
-ronins.  It is rather long to insert here, but as it illustrates so
-well the power of this principle, I will relate it.
-
-In the year 1701 the lord of Ako, Asano by name, visited Yedo to pay
-his respects to the shogun.  While there the shogun appointed him to
-receive and entertain an envoy from the mikado.  Now, the reception of
-an envoy from the imperial court was one of the greatest state
-ceremonies of the day, and as Asano knew little of ceremonies and
-etiquette, he asked the advice of another nobleman, named Kira, who was
-expert in such matters.  This man, who seems to have {113} been of a
-very mean disposition, grudgingly gave the information desired, and
-then asked a fee for the same.  Asano refused to give the fee, and
-Kira, becoming angry, twitted and jeered at him, calling him a country
-lout, unworthy the name of daimio.  Asano endured the insults patiently
-until Kira peremptorily ordered him to stoop down and fasten his
-foot-gear for him,--a most menial service,--when he drew his sword and
-gave the offender a deep cut across the face.  This quarrel took place
-in the precincts of the palace, and instantly the whole court was in an
-uproar.  To degrade the sacred place was an insult punishable with
-death and the confiscation of all property; and Asano was condemned to
-take his own life by hara-kiri that same evening, his estates were
-confiscated, his family declared extinct, and his clan disbanded.
-Henceforth his retainers became ronins ("wandering men"), with no
-country and no lord.  According to the ethics of their country, it was
-their bounden duty to avenge the death of their lord, and we shall see
-how relentlessly they followed their purpose until it was accomplished.
-
-The senior retainer of the dead Asano, Oishu Kuranosuke, together with
-forty-six others of his most trusty fellow-lieges, took counsel as to
-how they might avenge their lord.  They all were willing to lay down
-their lives in the attempt, but {114} even then the task was difficult,
-because of the vigilance of the government.  For such vengeance was
-rigidly prohibited by law, although as rigidly required by custom.
-Notwithstanding the fact that all who slew an enemy for vengeance were
-punished by death, not to take such vengeance never entered the mind of
-any chivalrous Japanese.  After much planning the forty-seven ronins
-decided that to avoid the suspicions of the government it would be
-necessary for them to separate and for the time conceal their purpose.
-So they separated, settling in different cities, and taking up various
-occupations.  Many of them became carpenters, smiths, and merchants,
-and in these capacities gained access to Kira's house and learned all
-about its interior arrangements.  The leader of this faithful band,
-Oishu, went to Kyoto and plunged into a life of drunkenness and
-debauchery.  He even put away his wife and children, and led the most
-dissolute life possible, simply to throw off the suspicions of the
-authorities.  All of the ronins were closely watched by spies, who
-secretly reported their conduct to Kira.  But by these devices they
-finally lulled all suspicion, and the vigilance ceased.  Then the day
-long waited for had come.  Suddenly, on the night of January 30, 1703,
-two years after the death of their lord, in the midst of a violent
-snowstorm, these forty-seven faithful men attacked {115} Kira's castle,
-forced the gate, and slew all the retainers.  Kira, who was a coward at
-heart, concealed himself in an outhouse.  The ronins found him there,
-drew him forth, and requested him to kill himself by hara-kiri, as was
-the privilege of a man of his rank.  But he refused out of fear, and
-the retainers of Asano were forced to kill him as they would have
-killed a common coolie.  Thus did they accomplish their purpose and
-fulfil the high duty of loyalty to their dead lord, after two years of
-waiting, most careful planning, and ceaseless vigilance.
-
-By the time their purpose was accomplished day had dawned, and, in
-plain view of the whole city, this brave band marched in order to the
-temple of Sengakuji, where Asano was buried.  The citizens showed them
-every honor on the way.  A wealthy nobleman, as a reward for their
-loyal deed, sent them out costly refreshments.  When they arrived at
-the temple the head abbot received them in person and showed them every
-honor.  Finding the grave of their dead lord, they laid thereon the
-head of the enemy by whom he had been so deeply wronged, and then felt
-that their duty was done.  They were all sentenced to commit hara-kiri,
-which they did willingly.  Afterward they were buried together in the
-same temple grounds with their lord, where their graves can be seen to
-this day.
-
-{116}
-
-These men simply obeyed the ethical code of their time and country, and
-as a reward for their loyalty they have received the enthusiastic
-praise of their countrymen for two centuries.  No other story is so
-popular to-day, or so stirs the hearts of the people, as this.  While
-we, believing that vengeance belongs to the Lord, cannot indorse this
-deed, we must admire the loyalty and faithfulness of those ronins, and
-the perseverance with which they adhered to their purpose.  In this
-true story we see clearly the power of this first principle of Japanese
-morality--loyalty.
-
-The sister principle of loyalty in Confucian ethics is obedience to
-parents.  Unquestioning, absolute, implicit obedience is required of
-all children.  Formerly the child was considered the property of the
-parents, and could be disposed of at will, even to the taking of its
-life.  To-day the father may sell his daughter to a life of shame, or
-"lend" her to a private individual for immoral purposes; and, however
-much she may dislike such a life, obedience to parents requires that
-she acquiesce in his will, which she does uncomplainingly.
-
-This principle of obedience is the foundation stone of Japanese family
-life.  The relation between parents and children is stronger than that
-between man and wife, and is given a prior place.  An only son cannot
-be forced to leave his mother {117} and become a soldier, but a husband
-may be forced to leave his wife.  Within the family circle, the son's
-duty to his aged parents always precedes his duty to his wife.  Every
-Japanese feels deeply this obligation to his parents, and properly to
-support and nourish them in old age he holds to be a sacred duty.
-Americans could learn much that would be profitable from the reverence
-and respect shown for parents and teachers by the Japanese.
-
-In Japan, however, this principle is carried too far.  It continues
-after death as binding as before, and divine honors are paid to dead
-ancestors.  Periodical visits are made to their tombs, religious
-candles are kept burning in their honor, and prayers are said to them.
-Among the more enlightened to-day there is perhaps nothing in these
-ceremonies but reverence and respect; yet by the masses of the people
-ancestors are worshiped.
-
-There are two moral maxims that show well the relative importance in
-which parents, relatives, and wives are held.  They are the following:
-"Thy father and thy mother are like heaven and earth; thy teacher and
-thy lord are like the sun and the moon."  "Other kinsfolk may be
-likened to the rushes; husbands and wives are but as useless stones."
-
-It is apparent that virtues have differing values in the Confucian and
-Christian systems.  We can {118} appreciate their point of view best,
-perhaps, as we remember the ethics of an army.  Here obedience,
-loyalty, self-devotion, courage, are supreme.  Much is forgiven if
-these are manifested.  The organization is everything, and the
-individual nothing, save as he is a fraction of the great machine.
-Carry that idea into the social community, and think of it as an army,
-with all, women as well as men, of value only as parts of the greater
-whole, and we shall understand why and how the Japanese may esteem men
-and women righteous whom we judge debased and even criminal.  So would
-the Japanese judge them, were the motive mere passion or selfish
-desire, but not when the controlling power is loyalty or obedience.
-Thus the forty-seven ronin were pre-eminently "righteous" when they
-debauched themselves with every swinish vice.
-
-Of course this view of morality puts great temptation in the way of
-parents and rulers.  Having supreme power, they may use it to the
-degradation of those whom they control.  Confucius, it is true, taught
-parents and rulers that they too owed duties to the state, and that use
-of their Heaven-given powers for selfish ends was treason against the
-supreme law; but, beyond doubt, the duty of submission, of loyalty and
-unquestioning obedience, was so exaggerated that evils many and great
-resulted.  At the same time {119} a sympathetic view leads one to
-wonder the rather that the ethical results are so wholesome.
-
-Turning from this general view, one finds in particulars much the same
-conditions as in other lands.  For example, immense quantities of
-alcoholic stimulants are consumed annually.  There is a native liquor
-called "sake," made from rice, that is very popular and, in some of its
-forms, very intoxicating.  Its manufacture and sale is one of the most
-lucrative businesses in the empire.  Foreign whiskies, wines, and beers
-are sold in large quantities, but they are so costly as to be beyond
-the reach of all but the wealthy.  Outside of the small circle of
-Christians, there are few people who do not drink.  The total abstainer
-is a rarity.  But, while nearly every one drinks, in general the
-Japanese do not drink to such excess as other nations.  One seldom sees
-such beastly drunkenness as is often seen in the West.  Drinking is
-taken as a matter of course, and society does not condemn it.  The
-usual way in which Japanese men pass a dull day is in feasting and
-drinking.  The use of alcoholic stimulants is much more common here
-than at home.
-
-In business and commercial morality there is much to be desired.  The
-merchants do not sell according to the worth of an article, but
-according to what they can make the purchaser pay.  They are great
-bargainers.  Recently I wanted to buy {120} two large wall-pictures.
-The dealer asked me $21 for them, but finally sold them for $5.  It is
-a very common thing to buy articles for less than half the price first
-asked.  In matters of veracity and in the fulfilment of contracts
-Japanese merchants are not generally to be trusted.  The average man is
-famous for lying, and the merchants and tradesmen seem to have acquired
-an extra share of this general characteristic.  A Japanese trader will
-do all in his power to avoid the fulfilment of a contract if it entails
-a loss.  This lack of commercial honor is recognized by the foreign
-firms doing business here, and it has hindered not a little the growth
-and development of trade.
-
-The moral sense of the people in regard to taking one's own life is
-very different from that of Christendom.  From ancient times, suicide
-has been thought to be a praiseworthy act, and has been extensively
-practised.  Formerly it was encouraged, and sometimes required, by the
-government; but now it has no official sanction whatever.  Still, the
-custom exists, and some authorities place the annual number of suicides
-as high as 10,000.  The people laugh at our Western idea that it is
-wrong to take one's own life.  On the contrary, they hold that when
-misfortunes and calamities make this life unattractive it is the part
-of wisdom to end it.  Even the feelings of young Japanese, {121} who
-have been educated somewhat into our own way of thinking, do not seem
-to have changed on this point; they still adhere to the old Roman view
-that self-destruction is permissible and often meritorious.  The
-Western fiction that all suicides are the result of some form of
-insanity is not countenanced here.  The various causes leading to
-self-destruction are coolly and carefully tabulated, and very few are
-attributed to insanity.  Contrariwise, long and careful study of the
-subject has shown that self-destruction is gone about with as much
-coolness, precision, and judgment as any act of daily life.
-
-The above are in brief the leading moral ideas and principles that
-govern the Japanese people.  For their loyalty and obedience we have
-only admiration.  But both of these principles are given an undue
-importance and are carried to extremes.  The chief defect of Japanese
-morality is the minor place it gives to the individual.  The moral need
-of the nation is a Christian morality--not just the morality of the
-West, but a morality founded on the ethical principles inculcated in
-the Bible.  This would exalt truth and chastity, would soften and
-temper the great duties of loyalty and obedience, and would make of
-Japan an honest, temperate nation.
-
-
-
-
-{122}
-
-VII
-
-RELIGIONS OF JAPAN
-
-The Japanese are by nature a religious people.  In the earliest times a
-conglomerate mass of superstitions and mythological ideas was made to
-do service as a religion.  Fetishism, phallicism, animism, and tree-
-and serpent-worship were very common.  The line of distinction between
-the Creator and the creature was not clearly marked; gods and men
-mingled and intermingled, and were hardly known apart.  But it is not
-our purpose here to trace the ancient religious ideas of Japan, but
-rather to give a short account of contemporary religions.  Therefore we
-cannot dwell on these unwritten mythological-religious systems.
-
-The religions of contemporary Japan are four--Shinto, Buddhism,
-Confucianism, and Tenrikyo.  Shinto and Tenrikyo are indigenous;
-Buddhism and Confucianism have been imported from China and Korea.
-Tenrikyo is of recent origin and has {123} not yet the influence and
-standing of the others.  Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism have
-existed here side by side for centuries.  There is no great antagonism
-between them, as there is between Christianity and the ethnic
-religions.  Many of the people are disciples of all three at the same
-time, taking their theology from Shinto, their soteriology and
-eschatology from Buddhism, and their moral and economic ideas from
-Confucianism.  No inconsistency is felt in thus believing all three
-religions and worshiping at their shrines.  Indeed, these three faiths
-have so commingled, the ideas and practices of one have so filtered
-into the others, that it is hard now to distinguish the pure teachings
-of each.  In the minds of the masses they are not distinguished in
-detail.  And yet as regards origin, history, and teachings they are
-separate and distinct faiths.
-
-
-
-_Shinto_
-
-Shinto may be called the national cult of Japan.  The word "Shinto"
-means "the way of the gods."  This system hardly deserves the name
-religion.  It has no moral code, no dogmas, no sacred books.
-Originally it consisted chiefly of ancestor- and nature-worship, and of
-certain mythological ideas.  A chief feature of it still is the worship
-of ancestors, who are exalted to a high pedestal in thought {124} and
-worshiped as gods.  The divine origin of the imperial family, and the
-obligation to worship and obey it, was a prominent teaching of Shinto.
-The ancestors of the imperial family were to be held in supreme
-reverence and were the objects of especial worship.
-
-According to the Shinto of this period, there was neither heaven nor
-hell, but only an intermediate Hades.  There was a sort of priesthood,
-but its duty was to watch over particular local gods, not to preach to
-the people.  Pure Shinto taught that a man's whole duty lay in absolute
-obedience to the mikado and in following the natural promptings of his
-own heart.
-
-Shinto was very much affected by the introduction of Buddhism, about
-the middle of the sixth century, and its further growth was checked.
-Buddhism adopted and largely absorbed it.  Shinto gods were given a
-place in the Buddhist pantheon, and many of the Shinto ceremonies were
-adopted.  But Shinto was completely overshadowed by Buddhism, and lay
-in a dormant state from the year 550 to 1700, a night of more than a
-thousand years.
-
-[Illustration: A Shinto Temple.]
-
-Since the beginning of the eighteenth century a revival of Shinto has
-sprung up.  Native scholars tried to call up the past, to find out what
-pure Shinto was before its corruption by Buddhism, and to teach it as
-the national faith.  In this effort {125} they were partially
-successful.  The old Buddhistic accretions were largely thrown off, and
-many of the temples, stripped of their Buddhist ornaments, were handed
-over to the Shinto priests.  Buddhism was disestablished, and Shinto
-again became the religion of the state.  A Shinto "Council for
-Spiritual Affairs" was appointed, which had equal rank with the Council
-of State.  This, however, was reduced gradually to the rank of a
-department, then to a bureau, later to a sub-bureau.  At present Shinto
-is the state religion, in so far as there can be said to be any state
-religion; but in reality there is no established religion.  The
-connection of the government with Shinto extends no further than the
-maintenance of certain temples and the attendance of certain officials
-on some ceremonies.  Shinto enjoys a large amount of popularity because
-it is indigenous, while Buddhism and Confucianism labor under the
-disadvantage of being of foreign origin.  The majority of the upper
-classes in Japan who to-day have any religion at all are Shintoists.
-
-
-
-_Buddhism_
-
-The religion founded by Buddha in India is six centuries older than
-Christianity.  Its nominal adherents comprise almost one third of the
-human race.  Its philosophical precepts are deep {126} and profound,
-while its ethical teachings are, for the most part, lofty and
-ennobling.  This religion is worthy the careful study of any man who
-has the time and inclination.
-
-We cannot attempt to give a full exposition of it, but will have to
-content ourselves with a bare mention of its more prominent teachings.
-Certain resemblances to Catholicism in ritual, ceremony, and
-ornamentation strike one very forcibly in observing Buddhist rites.
-The candles, the incense, the images and processions, all resemble
-Rome.  But this resemblance extends no further than ritual and
-ceremony.  In point of doctrine Buddhism is widely separated from every
-form of Christianity.  In Buddhism the condition on which grace is
-received is not faith, but knowledge and enlightenment.  Salvation is
-accomplished, not by the vicarious sufferings of a Redeemer, but by
-self-perfection through self-denial and discipline.
-
-Dr. Griffis, a man who has written much and well on Japan, has
-pronounced the principal features of Buddhism to be atheism,
-metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls, and absence of caste.
-
-[Illustration: A Buddhist Priest.]
-
-Buddhism knows nothing of the existence of a supreme God who created
-the world.  It inherited ideas of certain gods from Brahmanism, but
-these are made secondary to the _hotoke_, or buddhas, {127} who are
-simply men who have finally reached the calm of perfect holiness after
-toiling through endless ages and countless existences.  It teaches that
-existence itself is the chief of all evils.  Instead of longing for
-eternal life, the Buddhist longs for annihilation.  Happy, well-fed
-Western people, to whom existence is a delight, can hardly understand
-how any one can really desire its cessation.  But the life of the lower
-classes in many countries of the East is one daily struggle for bread,
-so full of sorrow and misery that it is not unnatural they should
-desire to end it.
-
-This religion teaches that the evil of existence springs from the
-double root of ignorance and human passions, and is to be overcome by
-knowledge and self-discipline.  The heaven it offers is absorption in
-the Nirvana--the loss of personal identity and practical annihilation.
-
-Buddhism numbers more devotees and exerts a greater influence than any
-of the other religions of Japan.  It was received from Korea about the
-middle of the sixth century.  After it had been transplanted and had
-grown into popular favor, many Japanese were sent to Korea and China to
-study its doctrines more fully; and they brought back with them not
-only Buddhism, but also Chinese literature and civilization.  At first
-Buddhism encountered fierce opposition, but it was fortunate in
-securing court patronage, and {128} very soon the opposition entirely
-ceased, so that in two or three centuries it spread itself throughout
-the whole empire.  If ever a nation was ripe for the introduction of a
-foreign religion, that nation was Japan at that time.  The national
-cult was silent, or almost so, in regard to the destiny of man and many
-other questions which religion is expected to answer.  The religious
-nature of the people was asserting itself, and they were longing for
-more light on the great questions of life--its _whence_, _why_, and
-_whither_.  Buddhism gave this light, and therefore was warmly
-welcomed.  It had the whole field to itself, and took complete
-possession of it.
-
-[Illustration: A Buddhist Cemetery.]
-
-From the time of its introduction into Japan down to the present,
-Buddhism has enjoyed a wide popularity and exerted a powerful
-influence.  It is not too much to say that Buddhism has largely formed
-Japanese civilization and national life.  In the words of Professor
-Chamberlain, "All education was for centuries in Buddhist hands.
-Buddhism introduced art and medicine, molded the folk-lore of the
-country, created its dramatic poetry, deeply influenced politics and
-every sphere of social and intellectual activity.  In a word, Buddhism
-was the teacher under whose instruction the Japanese nation grew up."
-
-Buddhism has by no means lost its hold in Japan.  It still has great
-life and power.  Some {129} writers have said that they have never seen
-a new temple in Japan--only old ones falling into decay.  Their
-experience must have been limited.  I see plenty of new temples, some
-of which are very costly.
-
-Buddhist temples are numerous, and many are of imposing architecture.
-Being generally surrounded by tall trees, they have a lonely, mournful
-appearance.  Hideous beasts, dragons, and serpents are carved upon
-them, and large, fierce-looking stone lions guard them, the effect
-being to awe and terrify the beholder.  Some are furnished with
-gorgeous altars covered with beautiful flowers, images, and statues.
-Besides the temples there are everywhere little shrines.  The religious
-spirit of the people prompts them to dedicate the most beautiful spots
-and nooks to the gods, and there to erect shrines and idols.
-
-Buddhist priests dress in robes not very unlike the official robes of
-the Episcopal clergy.  Their heads are always close-shaven, a mark by
-which they are easily distinguished.  Forbidden to marry, they are
-expected to lead lives of purity and chastity.  They have greatly
-degenerated, a large per cent. being illiterate and immoral.  Their
-lives will not bear comparison with those of the Christian evangelists.
-That nearly all the cemeteries of Japan are in their hands gives them
-great influence.
-
-{130}
-
-Japanese Buddhism is divided into numerous sects, chief of which are
-the Tendai, Shingon, Jodo, and Zen, of Chinese origin, and the Shin and
-Nichiren, of native origin.  The latter two are most prosperous.
-
-Buddhism has profited by its contact with Christianity.  As the
-reaction of Protestantism upon Catholicism was beneficial to the
-latter, so the reaction of Christianity upon Buddhism has been
-healthful It has forced a revival and purification of the Buddhist
-faith, and to-day it is better and more active than before it
-encountered Christianity.  Still, Christianity is gradually encroaching
-upon its domain and is crippling its influence.  That Buddhism is bound
-to perish in its encounter with Western civilization and Christianity
-seems a foregone conclusion.
-
-
-
-_Confucianism_
-
-Confucianism is even less deserving the name of a religion than Shinto.
-It consists chiefly in a set of moral teachings, of narrow application
-and mostly of a political nature.  Confucius, avoiding all metaphysical
-abstractions and devotional rhapsodies, confined himself to the much
-more practical field of morals and politics.  But his disciples and
-commentators, especially during the middle ages, expanded his doctrines
-and added ideas {131} more or less religious.  Thus developed, it
-became a sort of religious system, the only one believed by the old
-samurai or warrior classes.
-
-Confucius, its founder, was born in the year 551 B.C., in the state of
-Lu, province of Shantung, China.  He was an earnest student of the
-older Chinese classics, and one of the most learned men of his time.
-He gathered round him a circle of young men, whom he instructed, like
-Socrates, by questions and answers.  He died in 478 B.C.  No other
-human teacher has had more disciples or exerted a wider and stronger
-influence.
-
-From its birthplace in China Confucianism spread to Korea, where it
-soon became, and still continues to be, the predominant faith.  From
-Korea it advanced to the Japanese archipelago, where for many hundred
-years it has had much to do with shaping and molding the character of
-the people.  Confucianism has undergone many modifications.  At first a
-comparatively simple system of ethics and politics, it has expanded
-until to-day it is a complicated philosophico-religious system.
-
-The basal principles of Confucian ethics are the "five relations."
-These are: sovereign and minister; father and son; husband and wife;
-elder brother and younger brother; friend and friend.  I have named
-them in the order of their importance.  The duty of loyalty is above
-that of filial {132} obedience, while the relation of husband and wife
-is inferior to both of these.  We will briefly consider each of these
-relations separately.
-
-The duty of a minister, or servant, to his prince, or sovereign, is the
-first duty of man, and is emphasized to an extreme degree.  In order to
-discharge this obligation to the feudal lord or emperor, one must, if
-necessary, give up everything: house, lands, kinsmen, name, fame, wife,
-children, society--all.  And Japanese history is filled with instances
-of retainers who have counted their lives, their families, their all,
-as less than nothing when compared with their duty to their lord.
-Loyalty is the one idea which dominates all others in the Confucianism
-of Japan.  Thus it has exerted an influence hardly second to Shinto in
-inculcating loyalty to the emperor and to Japan, and making the people
-fanatically patriotic.
-
-The second relation is that of father and son, or parent and child.  My
-readers perhaps would consider the relation of husband and wife the
-first of all human relations, but not so the Oriental.  With him the
-family is of far more importance than the individual, and the chief aim
-of marriage is the maintenance of the family line.  If the wife becomes
-a mother she is honored because she assists in perpetuating the family
-line; if she is childless she is probably neglected.  Where there are
-no children adoption is the universal practice.  {133} The one adopted
-takes the family name and perpetuates it.  No greater misfortune can be
-conceived than for the house to become extinct.
-
-The relation of parent and child is very different from that to which
-we are accustomed.  Mutual love hardly exists.  The parent feels
-compassion and love for his child; the child reverences the parent.  To
-speak of a child's love for his father, or a man's love for God, is
-repugnant to the Confucianist.  It is thought to be taking an undue
-familiarity, and the proper relation is considered one of dependence
-and reverence.  In old Japan the father was absolute lord and master,
-and had power over the life and death of his child.  In recent times
-his power is more limited, and the idea is beginning to dawn upon
-thinking natives that children have rights as well as duties.  A
-Japanese child feels more reverence for its parents, or at least for
-its father, than does the average child reared in the Christian homes
-of the West.
-
-The third relation is that of husband and wife.  On this point the
-teaching of Confucius is very different from that of Christ.  Instead
-of having two parties bound together by mutual love, with equal rights
-and duties, we have the relation of superior and inferior, of master
-and servant.  The husband precedes the wife in all things.  She must
-serve him and his family zealously and {134} uncomplainingly.  She must
-be especially on her guard against the foolish sin of jealousy, and is
-not to complain if her husband introduces a concubine into the same
-house in which she resides.  She is to yield absolute obedience to him
-in all things.  She can be divorced for very slight reasons, and
-divorces are matters of every-day occurrence.  Statistics show that the
-annual number of divorces is about one third the number of marriages.
-Sentiment is gradually changing in this regard, and marriage and
-divorce laws are becoming more strict.
-
-Confucius condemned adultery as a heinous crime, but this teaching is
-made to apply only to the wife.  She must remain true to her husband,
-but he is not considered under the same obligation to her.
-
-The fourth relation is that of elder brother and younger brother.  This
-is evident from the language used to express the relation of children
-of the same household to one another.  The word for brother or sister
-is seldom used; in fact, there is no word to express just that idea.
-In its stead we hear "elder brother," "elder sister," and "younger
-brother," "younger sister."  The children of a household are not
-considered equals; the elder ones are given the preference in all
-things.  Especially does the eldest son hold a position of prominence
-far above that of the other children.  {135} He is looked upon as the
-perpetuator of the family line and is given especial honor.  His
-younger brothers and his sisters, and even his mother, must serve and
-obey him.
-
-The younger sons are subjects for adoption into other families,
-especially into those where there are daughters to be married and
-family names to be perpetuated.  This is in accordance with the Eastern
-idea that the house is of more importance than the individual.
-Confucian ethics largely overlooks the idea of personality.
-
-The fifth relation is that between friends.  Some writers have spoken
-of this as that of man to man, and have thus read Christian ideas into
-Confucianism; but this relation as taught by Confucius is only between
-friends.  As regards man and man, Confucius taught the duties of
-courtesy and propriety, but no others.  He taught the duty of kindness
-to strangers, but most students of his writings are of the opinion that
-he did not include foreigners among strangers.  The nearest approach to
-Christianity in Confucianism is the negative of the golden rule, "Do
-not do unto others as you would not have others do unto you."  This
-approaches the teaching of Christ very nearly, but only in a negative
-form.  Some have thought that Confucius taught the duty of returning
-good for evil, but this is a mistake.  One of his contemporaries,
-Lao-tse, did teach {136} this duty; but when Confucius was asked about
-it he replied, "What, then, will you return for good?  Recompense
-_injury with justice_, and return good for good."
-
-Certain it is that this relation, as understood in Japan, does not
-apply to foreigners.  How the Japanese treated foreigners in former
-times is well known.  Foreign sailors shipwrecked on her coasts were
-tortured and executed.  Ships from abroad, bringing shipwrecked
-Japanese back to their own country, were met with powder and ball and
-repulsed.  Commodore Perry, in attempting to establish a treaty with
-Japan, justly complained to the native authorities that the dictates of
-humanity had not been followed, that shipwrecked men were treated with
-useless cruelty, and that Japan's attitude toward her neighbors and all
-the world was that of an enemy and not of a friend.  The fifth relation
-did not teach a common brotherhood of men and obligations of kindness
-to foreigners.  It applied only to the charmed circle of friendship.
-
-On these five relations rests the whole Japanese social and moral
-structure.  Family and national life has been shaped and molded by
-them.  They are the ten commandments of the East.  How very different
-from the principles which have determined our own family and social
-life!
-
-Confucianism in Japan has been developed into {137} a highly
-complicated religious system, and in this form is believed by large
-numbers of high-class, educated Japanese.  It is wholly pantheistic in
-its teaching, having points of resemblance with German pantheism.  It
-knows no such thing as God as a separate existence.  Rather, all is
-God.  Dr. Martin, of China, has well styled it "a pantheistic medley."
-
-Although Confucianism has long had a strong hold upon Japanese minds,
-its influence is waning.  The ancient classics are little studied, and
-the younger generation knows almost nothing of them.  The great temple
-of Confucius in Tokyo, the Seido, has been changed into an educational
-museum.
-
-
-
-_Tenrikyo_
-
-Perhaps some will think that Tenrikyo does not deserve mention along
-with the before-named great religions.  Certainly it is not worthy of
-the respect accorded to them, and has not exerted such an influence as
-they have.  It is of very recent origin and is as yet confined to the
-lower strata of society.  But its disciples constitute one of the most
-vigorous and active religious bodies in Japan to-day.  Its growth has
-been remarkably rapid, especially during the past five years.
-Government recognition has been already gained, and it is gradually
-making a place for itself among {138} the religions of Japan.  Some
-authorities place the number of its adherents as high as 5,000,000, but
-these figures are probably too high.
-
-Tenrikyo is a missionary religion, having very earnest representatives
-in almost every district in Japan.  These men rely almost exclusively
-upon preaching for the propagation of their doctrines, and their
-efforts are generally successful.
-
-Space permits us to say only a few words in regard to the origin of
-this religion.  Its founder was a peasant woman named Nakayama Miiki,
-popularly called Omiiki, who was born of a very poor family in the
-province of Yamato in 1798, There was nothing remarkable about her life
-until her fortieth year, when she fell into a trance.  While in this
-state one of the old Shinto deities, Kuni-Toko-Tachi No Mikoto,
-appeared to her, and, after causing her much distress, left her for a
-short time undisturbed.  After this brief interval of quiet she again
-fell into a trance, and was visited by a large number of gods, some of
-them the greatest of the Shinto pantheon.  These gods revealed to her
-the substance of her teaching, representing it as the only true
-doctrine and the one which would ultimately triumph over all others.
-They also informed her that she was the divinely appointed instrument
-through whom this revelation was to be given to the world.  From {139}
-this time forward Omiiki devoted herself to the propagation of this
-revelation.
-
-Not wishing to break entirely with the old religions, she represented
-her revelation as having been received from the Shinto gods, and gave a
-place in her teaching to some prominent Buddhist elements.  By this
-means she won popular favor and gained an earnest hearing.
-
-The term "Tenrikyo" signifies the "Doctrine of the Heavenly Reason."
-While many of its teachings differ but little from current Shinto and
-Buddhistic ideas, its more prominent tenets are radically different.
-
-In the first place, Tenrikyo tends much toward monotheism.  Omiiki
-herself accepted polytheism, but taught that man's real allegiance is
-due to the sun and the moon.  These she regarded as the real gods; but
-as they always work together, and as the world and all things therein
-are the product of their joint working, they are practically one.
-Since her death the teaching has become more and more monotheistic in
-tendency, and some of its preachers teach explicit monotheism.
-
-Omiiki taught a new relation between the gods and men--a relation of
-parents to children.  The gods watch over and love their children just
-as earthly parents do.  The emperor is the elder brother of the people,
-who rules as the representative of the divine parents.
-
-{140}
-
-Faith-healing formed a prominent part in the original teaching of
-Tenrikyo.  It asserted that neither physicians nor medicine was needed,
-but that cures are to be effected through faith alone.  Marvelous
-stories are told of the wonderful cures it has accomplished, many of
-which seem well authenticated.  But while there seems no good reason
-for doubting the genuineness of some of these cures, the power of mind
-over mind, and the influence of personal magnetism in certain kinds of
-nervous disorders, are so well known that they can be easily explained
-without any reference to the supernatural.  The faith-cure feature of
-this religion is now falling into disuse.
-
-Tenrikyo makes very little of the future state, although Omiiki assumed
-its reality.  In one passage she refers to the soul as an emanation
-from the gods, and says that after death it will go back to them.  She
-teaches that the cause of suffering, disease, and sin is found in the
-impurity of the human heart, and that the heart must be cleansed before
-believers can receive the divine favor.  She insists over and over
-again that no prayers nor religious services are of any avail so long
-as the heart is impure.
-
-The aim of Omiiki and her followers seems to be a worthy one.  The
-movement is highly ethical, and there is little doubt but that the
-adherents of the Tenrikyo are superior in morals to {141} the rest of
-their class.  Some features of this new religion are, however, looked
-upon with suspicion, and it is being closely watched by the government.
-Charges of gross immorality have been preferred against it, especially
-in reference to the midnight dances, in which both sexes are said to
-participate indiscriminately; but these charges are made by its enemies
-and have never been proved.
-
-In many respects Tenrikyo materially differs from the other religions
-of Japan.  Its adherents assemble at stated times for worship and
-instruction, while the Buddhists assemble in the temples for worship
-and preaching only three or four times a year, and the Shintoists
-seldom, if ever, assemble.  The worship of Tenrikyo, for the most part,
-consists of praise and thanksgiving by music and dancing; but prayer is
-also practised.
-
-Another distinguishing characteristic of Tenrikyo is that it is
-exclusive.  The other religions of Japan are very tolerant of one
-another; one may believe them all.  But Tenrikyo will not tolerate
-either Buddhism or Shinto.  Its adherents must give their allegiance to
-it alone.
-
-It is interesting to conjecture as to the influence Christianity has
-had upon Tenrikyo.  It does not seem probable that Omiiki was at all
-influenced by it, unless the traditions of the Catholic Christianity of
-some two or three hundred years previous reached her in some way.  But
-the expansion {142} and development of the system by its later teachers
-have been very much affected by Christianity.  Some of its present
-preachers, in constructing their sermons, borrow largely from Christian
-sources.  In the minds of the common people Tenrikyo is generally
-associated with Christianity.
-
-
-There are several other small religious sects in Japan, such as the
-Remmon Kyokwai, Kurozumi Kyokwai, etc., but they are not of sufficient
-importance to command notice here.
-
-Any statement of the religions of contemporary Japan would be
-incomplete without notice of Christianity, but that will be reserved
-for another portion of this book.
-
-The three great religions, Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism, are
-completely woven into the warp and woof of Japanese society.  As
-Christianity has shaped the political, social, and family life of the
-West, so these ancient faiths have that of the East.  The laws, the
-morality, the manners and customs of these peoples all have been
-determined by their religions.  And to-day the masses of the people
-look to them for principles to guide their present life, and for their
-future spiritual welfare, with just as much confidence and trust as my
-readers look to Christianity.  The missionary, in his work, must
-encounter and {143} vanquish all of these religions, which is no light
-task.  They all have elements of superstition, and their origin and
-supernatural teachings will not bear the search-light of the growing
-spirit of criticism and investigation.  Each one of them is even now
-modifying gradually its doctrines in some features, so as to bring them
-into harmony with true learning and science; and as the nation
-progresses intellectually the hold of these ancient faiths upon the
-common mind will become more and more precarious.  We expect to see
-them gradually retreating, though stubbornly resisting every inch of
-ground, until they shall finally leave the field to their younger and
-more vigorous antagonists, Christianity and civilization.
-
-
-
-
-{144}
-
-VIII
-
-FIRST INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY
-
-One of the most interesting chapters of Japanese history is that
-relating to the introduction and growth of Catholic Christianity in the
-sixteenth century.  This story has been eloquently told in nearly all
-European languages, and is familiar to the reading public.  The
-terrible persecutions then enacted are vividly represented in paintings
-and other works of art on exhibition in art galleries of Europe and
-America.  This chapter is not written with the hope of saying anything
-new upon the subject, but because a story of mission work in Japan
-would be incomplete without it; and it may be that some for the first
-time will here read this story.
-
-In order rightly to appreciate the introduction and spread of
-Christianity in Japan, it is necessary that we take a bird's-eye view
-of the internal condition of the country about the middle of the {145}
-sixteenth century.  The Japanese were not then, as now, a homogeneous
-people with a strong central government.  The emperor, although the
-nominal ruler, was in reality the creature of the shogun, who was the
-real ruler.  His title to the shogunate was frequently disputed,
-however, and rival claimants waged fierce war upon him.  The whole of
-Japan was divided into warring factions that were hardly ever at peace
-with one another.  The feudal lords of the various provinces were only
-bound to the central government by the weakest ties, and were
-continually in a state of rebellion.  Many of these daimios were great
-and powerful, able to wage war with the shogun himself.  Jealousy and
-rivalry between the provinces kept up constant quarrels and divisions.
-Bad government, internal wars, the disputes and quarrels of different
-clans, and the ambitions and jealousies of their rulers had destroyed
-the resources of the country and had devastated her rich and beautiful
-cities.  Even the fine old capital of Kyoto is represented as at that
-time in a state of dilapidation and ruin, its streets filled with
-unburied corpses and all kinds of debris and filth.  Kamakura, the seat
-of the shogun's government, once boasting 1,000,000 inhabitants, was in
-ashes.
-
-In those dark times there was little in the prevalent religions to
-cheer and uplift discouraged {146} men.  Shinto was so completely
-overshadowed by Buddhism that it was little more than a myth.  Buddhism
-had become a political system, and paid little attention to purely
-religious matters.  The priests had degenerated into an army of
-mercenaries, living in luxury and dissoluteness.  The common people
-were in a continual state of excitement and ferment.
-
-Into this disordered, chaotic society Catholic Christianity was first
-introduced.  The conditions were favorable to its reception.
-
-St. Francis Xavier, one of the most devoted, earnest, and successful
-missionaries ever sent out by the Roman Church, has the honor of having
-been the first missionary to Japan.  He was led to go there in the
-following manner: A refugee from Japan, named Anjiro, had wandered to
-Malacca, and there he met Xavier, who was at that time engaged in
-preaching the gospel in India and the Sunda Islands.  Through Xavier's
-influence Anjiro was converted to Christianity.  The stories which he
-told of his own people fired the great evangelist with the desire to
-preach the gospel to the Japanese.  A few years prior to this some
-Portuguese traders had made their way to Japan, had been warmly
-received, and had begun a lucrative trade.  Some of the daimios
-expressed to them a desire to have the Christian religion taught to
-their people; and Xavier no {147} sooner heard of this than he set out
-for Japan, accompanied by the native convert Anjiro.
-
-They landed at Kagoshima, a large city on the coast of the southern
-island of Kyushu, August 15, 1549.  The prince of Satsuma gave Xavier a
-hearty welcome, but afterward became jealous because one of the rival
-clans had been furnished with firearms by the Portuguese merchants, so
-that Xavier was compelled to remove to Hirado.  From there he went to
-Nagato, thence to Bungo, where he again met a warm reception.  Although
-so great a missionary, and having labored in so many countries, Xavier
-is said never to have mastered completely a single foreign tongue.  He
-studied the rudiments of Japanese, but, finding that way much too slow,
-began preaching through an interpreter, with marked success and power.
-Anjiro had translated the Gospel of Matthew, writing it in Roman
-letters, and Xavier is said to have read this to the people with
-wonderful effect.  He stayed only two and a half years in Japan; yet in
-that short time he organized several congregations in the neighborhood
-of Yamaguchi and Hirado, and visited and preached in the old capital
-Kyoto.  He then left the work in the hands of other missionaries, while
-he undertook the spiritual conquest of China.  This ancient empire,
-with her hard, conservative civilization, impervious to foreign
-influence, lay like a burden {148} on his heart.  Contemplating her
-learning, her pride, and her exclusiveness, he uttered the despairing
-cry, "O mountain, mountain, when wilt thou open to my Lord?"  He died
-December 2, 1551, on an island in the Canton River.
-
-The inspiring example of Xavier attracted scores of missionaries to
-Japan, and also incited the native converts to constitute themselves
-missionaries to their kinsmen and friends; and their labors bore much
-fruit.  In a very short time, in the region of Kyoto alone, there were
-seven strong churches; and the island of Amakusa, the greater part of
-the Goto Islands, and the daimiates of Omura and Yamaguchi had become
-Christian.  In 1581 the churches had grown to two hundred, and the
-number of Christians to 150,000.  The converts were drawn from all
-classes of the people; Buddhist priests, scholars, and noblemen
-embraced the new faith with as much readiness as did the lower classes.
-Two daimios had accepted it, and were doing all in their power to aid
-the missionaries in their provinces.  At this period the missionaries
-and Christians found a powerful supporter in Nobunaga, the minister of
-the mikado.  This man openly welcomed the foreign priests, and gave
-them suitable grounds on which to build their churches, schools, and
-dwellings; and under his patronage the new {149} religion grew apace.
-Catholic Christianity took its deepest root in the southern provinces,
-flourishing especially in Bungo, Omura, and Arima; but there were
-churches as far north as Yedo, and evangelists had carried the tidings
-of Christ and the "Mother of God" even to the northern boundaries of
-the empire.  This was the high tide of Japanese Catholicism.
-
-The native Christians were so earnest and loyal to the church that, in
-1583, they sent an embassy of four young noblemen to Rome to pay their
-respects to the pope and to declare themselves his spiritual vassals.
-They were suspected by some of their countrymen of desiring to become
-his vassals in another sense as well.  This embassy was received with
-the greatest honors by the pope, as well as by the European princes,
-and was sent away heavily laden with presents.  After an absence of
-eight years it returned to Nagasaki, accompanied by seventeen more
-Jesuit fathers.  Up to this time all of the priests laboring in Japan
-were members of this order.  From time to time other embassies were
-despatched from Japan to Rome, one of which was sent many years after
-the persecutions had begun.  Catholic histories put the number of
-native Christians at this time at about 600,000, but native authorities
-put it much higher.
-
-
-
-{150}
-
-_Persecutions_
-
-Such was the happy state of Christianity in this empire as the
-sixteenth century was drawing to a close.  But, thick and fast, clouds
-were gathering over the horizon, and suddenly and furiously the storm
-broke.  The loss of their protector, Nobunaga, was the beginning of the
-misfortunes of the Christians.  This great man was slain by an
-assassin, Akechi by name, who attempted to take the reins of government
-into his own hands.  Hideyoshi, one of the greatest men Japan ever
-produced, now came upon the stage.  He was the loyal general of the
-mikado, and, by the help of the Christian general Takayama, he
-overthrew the usurper Akechi, and became the molder of the destinies of
-the empire.  He was the unifier of Japan.
-
-Hideyoshi was at first tolerant of Christianity; but his suspicions
-were by and by aroused, and he became a cruel and relentless
-persecutor.  According to Dr. Griffis, his umbrage arose partly because
-a Portuguese captain would not please him by risking his ship in coming
-out of deep water and nearer land, and partly because some Christian
-maidens of Arima scorned his degrading proposals.  The quarrels of the
-Christians themselves also helped to bring on the persecutions.  {151}
-Franciscan and Dominican missionaries from Spain had recently landed in
-Japan, and they were continually at strife with the Portuguese Jesuits.
-The jealousy and indiscretion of these unfriendly religious orders, and
-the slanders circulated by the Buddhists, stirred up the popular fury,
-and a persecution of fire and blood broke out.  Hideyoshi issued an
-edict commanding the Jesuits to leave the country in twenty days; but
-this edict was winked at, and the persecutions were carried on only
-locally and spasmodically.  The converts increased faster during these
-persecutions than before, about 10,000 being added each year.
-
-In open violation of the edict, four Franciscan priests came to Kyoto
-in 1593 with a Spanish envoy.  They were allowed to build houses and
-reside there on the express condition that they were not to preach or
-teach, either publicly or privately.  Immediately violating their
-pledge, they began preaching openly in the streets, wearing the
-vestments of their order.  They excited a great deal of discord among
-the Jesuit congregations and used most violent language.  Hideyoshi was
-angered at this,--as he had good reason to be,--and caused nine
-preachers to be seized while they were building chapels in Osaka and
-Kyoto, and condemned to death.  These, together with three Portuguese
-Jesuits, six Spanish {152} Franciscans, and seventeen native
-Christians, were crucified on bamboo crosses in Nagasaki, February 5,
-1597.  They were put to death, not as Christians, but as law-breakers
-and political conspirators.
-
-Hideyoshi was further confirmed in his opinion that these foreign
-priests had political designs by the remark of a Spanish sea-captain
-who showed him a map of the world, on which the vast dominions of the
-King of Spain were clearly marked, and who, in reply to the question as
-to how his master came by such wide territories, foolishly replied that
-he first sent priests to win over the people, then soldiers to
-coöperate with the native converts, and the conquest was easy.
-Hideyoshi's fears were not entirely ungrounded.  The truth is that
-Catholic Christianity has always been, and was especially at that time,
-so intimately connected with the state that her emissaries could not
-keep from entangling themselves in politics.
-
-Hideyoshi died in 1597, and with the death of their persecutor the
-missionaries again took heart and began their work anew.  The political
-successor of Hideyoshi was Iyeyasu--a man even greater, perhaps, than
-his predecessor.  He was not permitted to assume direction of affairs
-without a fierce and bloody struggle.  Around the capital 200,000
-soldiers were gathered under ambitious rival leaders.  Soon the camps
-were {153} divided into two factions, the northern soldiers under
-Iyeyasu, and the southern soldiers under their own daimios.  Most of
-the Christians were naturally allied with the latter party.  Believing
-Iyeyasu to be a usurper, the Christian generals arrayed themselves
-against him and went forth to meet him in the open field.  On the field
-of Sekigahara a bloody battle was fought, and 10,000 men lost their
-lives.  The Christians were beaten, and were dealt with after the
-custom of the time--their heads were stricken off.  Iyeyasu, finding
-himself in undisputed possession of the reins of government, began at
-once the completion of the work of Hideyoshi, i.e., the creation of a
-strong central government and the subjugation of the several daimios.
-Henceforth the Christians had to deal with this central government
-instead of the petty local ones.
-
-Systematic persecutions were now begun in the different provinces,
-culminating in the year 1606, when Iyeyasu issued his famous edict
-prohibiting Christianity.  At this time there were more than 1,000,000
-Christians in Japan.  An outward show of obedience warded off active
-persecution for a few years, when the Franciscan friars again aroused
-the wrath of the government by openly violating the laws and exhorting
-their converts to do likewise.  In 1611 Iyeyasu is reported to have
-discovered documentary evidence of the {154} existence of a plot on the
-part of the native Christians and the foreign emissaries to overthrow
-the government and reduce Japan to the position of a subject state.
-Taking advantage of the opportunity thus afforded, he determined to
-utterly extirpate Christianity from his dominions.  January 27, 1614,
-he issued the famous edict in which he branded the Jesuit missionaries
-as triple enemies--as enemies of the gods, of Japan, and of the
-buddhas.  Desiring to avoid so much bloodshed, if possible, he tried
-the plan of transportation.  Three hundred persons--Franciscans,
-Jesuits, Dominicans, Augustinians, and natives--were shipped from
-Nagasaki to Macao.  But many priests concealed themselves and were
-overlooked.  The native Christians refused to renounce their faith.  It
-was evident that the end was not yet.  The Christians were sympathizers
-with Hideyori, who had been a rival claimant with Iyeyasu for the
-shogunate, and whose castle in Osaka was the greatest stronghold in the
-empire.  In this castle Hideyori gave shelter to some Christians, and
-Iyeyasu called out a great army and laid siege to it.  The war which
-followed was very brief, but, if the report of the Jesuits is to be
-relied upon, 100,000 men perished.  The castle finally fell, and with
-it the cause of the Christians.  Hidetada, the next shogun, now
-pronounced sentence of death upon {155} every foreigner, whether priest
-or catechist, found in the country.  All native converts who refused to
-renounce their faith were likewise sentenced to death.  The story of
-the persecutions that followed is too horrible to be described.  Fire
-and sword were freely used to extirpate Christianity.  Converts were
-wrapped in straw sacks, piled in heaps of living fuel, and then set on
-fire.  Many were burned with fires made from the crosses before which
-they were accustomed to bow.  Some were buried alive.  All the tortures
-that barbaric cruelty could invent were freely used to rid the land of
-them.  The calmness and fortitude with which they bore their lot,
-gladly dying for their faith, command our warmest admiration.  The
-power of our religion to uphold and sustain even in the midst of
-torture was never more strikingly illustrated, and the ancient Roman
-world produced no more willing martyrs than did Japan at this time.
-
-At last even the patient, uncomplaining Japanese Christians could stand
-it no longer.  Persecuted until desperate, those who remained finally
-arose in rebellion, seized and fortified the old castle of Shimabara,
-and resolved to die rather than submit.  The rebelling party probably
-numbered about 30,000, and there was not one foreigner among them.  A
-veteran army, led by skilled commanders, was sent against the rebels,
-{156} and after a stubborn resistance of four months the castle was
-taken.  Men, women, and children--all were slaughtered.  There is an
-old story to the effect that many of them were thrown from the rock of
-Pappenburg into the sea; but it lacks confirmation and doubtless is
-only a myth.  It has also been charged against the Protestant
-Hollanders then resident in Nagasaki that they assisted in the
-overthrow of the Shimabara castle and the destruction of the Catholics
-with their heavy guns, but this probably is untrue.
-
-There was now left no power to resist, and the sword, fire, and
-banishment swept away every trace of Christianity.  The extermination
-appeared so complete that non-Christian writers have pointed to Japan
-as a land in which Christianity had been entirely conquered by the
-sword, thus proving that it could be extirpated.  But the extirpation
-was not so thorough as at first appeared.  Christian converts remained,
-and assembled regularly for worship; but the utmost secrecy was
-observed, for fear of the authorities.  When the country was reopened
-in 1859, the Catholic fathers found remaining in and around Nagasaki
-whole villages of Christians, holding their faith in secret, it is
-true, but still holding it.  During the two hundred years in which they
-had been left alone the faith had become corrupt, but there were still
-thousands of people who, amid {157} much ignorance, worshiped the true
-God and refused to bow at pagan shrines.  Christianity was not entirely
-crushed, neither can be, by the secular arm.
-
-After the government had, as it fondly supposed, entirely suppressed
-the hated foreign religion, in order to prevent its return it
-determined upon the most rigid system of exclusiveness ever practised
-by any nation.  The means of communication with the outer world were
-all cut off; all ships above a certain size were destroyed, and the
-building of others large enough to visit foreign lands rigidly
-prohibited; Japanese were forbidden to travel abroad on pain of death;
-native shipwrecked sailors who had been driven to other lands were not
-permitted to return to their own country, lest they should carry the
-dreaded religion back with them; and all foreigners found on Japanese
-territory were executed.  Over all the empire the most rigid
-prohibitions of Christianity were posted.  The high-sounding text of
-one of them was as follows: "So long as the sun shall continue to warm
-the earth, let no Christian be so bold as to come to Japan; and let all
-know that the King of Spain himself, or the Christians' god, or the
-great God of all, if He dare violate this command, shall pay for it
-with His head."  These prohibitions could still be seen along the
-highways as late as 1872.
-
-{158}
-
-During this period of exclusion the only means of communication with
-the outside world was through the Dutch, a small colony of whom were
-permitted to reside in Nagasaki as a sort of safety-valve and a means
-of communication with the outside world when such communication became
-absolutely necessary.  They enjoyed the confidence of Japan more than
-any other nation.  These Hollanders were compelled to live on the
-narrow little island of Desima, in Nagasaki harbor, always under strict
-surveillance.  Ships from Holland were permitted to visit them
-occasionally, and they carried on a very lucrative trade between the
-two countries.
-
-The mistake of Catholic Christianity in Japan during the century the
-history of which we have been reciting was its meddling in politics and
-getting itself entangled in the internal affairs of the country.  If it
-had avoided politics and been at peace and harmony with itself, it
-might have enjoyed continued prosperity, and Japan to-day might have
-been one of the brightest stars in the pope's crown.
-
-While this was, as we firmly believe, a very corrupt form of
-Christianity, we must remember that it was immeasurably better than any
-religion Japan had yet known.  Although it taught Mariolatry, salvation
-in part by works, penance, and many other errors, it also taught that
-there {159} is but one God, and that His Son died for men.  It very
-much improved the morals of its adherents, and purified and exalted
-their lives.
-
-At the present day very little remains of this century of Christianity
-besides the few scattered and corrupt congregations found by the
-Jesuits on their return, the introduction of firearms and a few rude
-tools, and the infusion of a handful of foreign words into the
-language.  The most important effect of this period is an inborn and
-inveterate prejudice against and mistrust of Christianity on the part
-of the people, which to-day hinders much our work of evangelization.
-
-
-
-
-{160}
-
-IX
-
-MODERN ROMAN AND GREEK MISSIONS
-
-
-_Roman Church_
-
-The Roman Church was not discouraged by the fierce persecutions she was
-called upon to endure during the seventeenth century.  Nothing daunted,
-she continued to send missionaries at intervals during the eighteenth
-century; but they were thrown into prison or executed as soon as they
-landed.  In order to be in readiness for the opening of the country,
-which could not be much longer delayed, the pope, in 1846, nominated a
-bishop and several missionaries to Japan.  These men took up their
-station in the neighboring Liukiu Islands and patiently awaited their
-opportunity.  As soon as the treaties with foreign nations were made,
-and the country was opened, they at once entered Japan, and resumed the
-work so rudely interrupted two hundred years before.
-
-{161}
-
-A few years later these priests had the joy of discovering in the
-neighborhood of Nagasaki several Christian communities that had
-survived the bloody persecutions and had perpetuated their faith for
-more than two centuries, in spite of the vigilance of the authorities
-and the rigid prohibitions of Christianity.  Left for so long without
-direction and guidance, bound for the sake of their lives to strictest
-secrecy, and, above all, not having the Bible to enlighten them, the
-faith of these communities had become very corrupt.  But they still
-retained a certain knowledge of God, of Jesus Christ, and of the Virgin
-Mary.  The rite of baptism and some prayers also survived.
-
-Of the existence of these Christian communities, and the perpetuation
-of their faith in secrecy for more than two hundred years, there is not
-the slightest room for doubt.  The persecuting spirit, which had also
-survived, found large numbers of them in 1867, and more than 4000 who
-refused to renounce their faith were banished.  After six years of
-exile they were permitted to return to their homes.
-
-The mistake of the Romanists here, as elsewhere, was in not translating
-the Bible into the vernacular.  Xavier and his successors did not give
-the Word of God to the churches, and hence when the priests all were
-banished the people were left without any light to guide them.  Had
-{162} they possessed a Japanese Bible, the reopening of the country
-would have shown us, instead of a few corrupt Christian communities, a
-vigorous, aggressive native church, only made stronger by persecution.
-Such was the case in Madagascar, and such probably it would have been
-in Japan had the people been given the Word of God.
-
-The relative importance of the Bible to the Romanist and the Protestant
-is well shown in this matter of Bible translation.  One of the first
-efforts of the Protestant Churches in Japan was a translation of the
-Bible, and an excellent version was prepared and published more than
-ten years ago.  The Roman Church, with more than a century of
-unprecedented prosperity in former times, and with the same advantages
-enjoyed by the Protestants in recent years, has not yet published its
-Bible in Japanese.  Some priests and native scholars are now engaged on
-a translation of the Vulgate, which will doubtless be published soon.
-
-Ever since the opening of the country the Church of Rome has been very
-earnest and zealous in her efforts to evangelize this land.  She has
-used a great many men, who have labored hard and faithfully, and has
-expended large sums of money.  Her success has not been great, because
-she has had to contend against fearful odds.  The hindrances that have
-made the progress of {163} Protestant missions in this land very slow
-have had to be overcome also by Catholicism, besides some other strong
-militating influences.  I will mention two of the most important of
-these hindrances peculiar to Catholicism.
-
-1. The genius of the Catholic Church is not adapted to Japan.  The
-priority of the spiritual over the temporal ruler, the exaltation of
-church over state, the allegiance required to a foreign pope, the
-unqualified obedience to foreign ecclesiastical authority, and numerous
-other things, come into conflict with the strong national feeling now
-animating the Japanese, and seem to them to conflict with the great
-duty of loyalty.  The celibacy of the clergy and the rite of extreme
-unction are also very unpopular.  Both Catholicism and Protestantism
-are regarded as evils, but the former is, on account of its nature and
-organization, considered the greater.
-
-2. The past history of Catholicism in Japan also militates very much
-against its progress.  The people recognize it as the specific form of
-Christianity that the government, in former times, felt bound, for the
-sake of its own safety, to persecute to the death.  They cannot forget
-that, although under great provocation, it dared bare its arm against
-the imperial Japanese government and inaugurate a bitter rebellion.  In
-their work to-day the priests encounter all of these {164} objections,
-and must satisfactorily explain them away--a difficult task.
-
-But, notwithstanding, the Roman Church has enjoyed an equal degree of
-prosperity with the Protestant Churches since the opening of Japan in
-1858.  The statistics for the year 1895 show 50,302 adherents--about
-10,000 more than the Protestants.  But the manner of compiling
-statistics differs so much that these figures do not fairly represent
-the numerical strength of the two bodies.  The Catholics not only count
-all baptized children, but all nominal adherents; while Protestants
-count no nominal adherents, and many of the denominations do not even
-count baptized children.  If the same method of compiling statistics
-were used by both bodies, their numerical strength would probably
-appear to be about equal.
-
-These 50,302 adherents are comprised in two hundred and fifty
-congregations.  There are one hundred and sixty-nine churches and
-chapels; one theological seminary, with 46 pupils; two colleges, with
-181 pupils; three boarding-schools for girls, with 171 pupils;
-twenty-six industrial schools, with 764 pupils; and forty-one primary
-schools, with 2924 pupils.
-
-The Catholic Church throughout the East is noted for its splendid
-charities.  It is doing more to care for the helpless, aged, and infirm
-than all the Protestant bodies combined.  It supports in {165} Japan
-one hospital for lepers that is exceedingly popular with that
-unfortunate class.  The government has one good leper hospital, but it
-is said that the lepers much prefer going to the Catholic hospital,
-because there they are treated so much more kindly and considerately.
-There are 70 lepers in this Catholic hospital.  The Catholic Church has
-also one hospital for the aged, with 31 inmates; and nineteen
-orphanages, with 2080 children in them.  This large number of
-charitable institutions supported by the Roman Church makes a strong
-appeal to the Japanese public and does much toward overcoming the
-prejudice against her.
-
-The active working force of the Catholic mission, besides the lay
-members of the native church, consists of 1 archbishop, 3 bishops, 88
-European missionaries, 20 native priests, 304 native catechists, 25
-European friars, 85 European sisters, and 42 novices.  The archbishop
-and bishops reside respectively in Nagasaki, Osaka, Tokyo, and Hakodate.
-
-
-
-_Greek Church_
-
-The Greek Church has had a flourishing mission in Japan ever since
-1871.  It is always spoken of here as the "Greek Church" or the "Greek
-Catholic Church," although it would more properly be called the
-"Russian Church," {166} as it was founded and is supported by the
-national church of Russia.
-
-This mission is largely the result of the prodigious labors of one
-man--Bishop Nicolai Kasatkin.  He first came to Japan in 1861 as
-chaplain to the Russian consulate at Hakodate, but it was his desire
-and intention from the beginning to do mission work.  For some years he
-was so absorbed in the study of the language that he made no attempt
-whatever to preach or teach.  After he had been in Hakodate several
-years a Buddhist priest who came to revile him was converted through
-his influence.  This man was the first convert to the Greek Church in
-Japan, and was baptized in 1866.  Three years afterward the second
-convert, a physician, was baptized.
-
-The zeal of these converts, and Nicolai's own conscience, now incited
-him to throw his whole life and influence into the cause of a mission
-in Japan.  He was led deeply to regret that he had not done more to
-make Christ known to the Japanese, instead of giving all his time and
-attention to scholarship and letters.  In 1869 he returned to Russia
-and began to agitate the founding of a mission in Japan.  The Holy
-Synod gave the desired permission the next year, and appointed Nicolai
-its first missionary.  In 1871 Nicolai returned to Japan and made his
-headquarters in the capital city, Tokyo.  From this {167} time his
-active missionary work began, and in it he has shown himself a master.
-Whether in the work of preaching, translating, financiering, building,
-or what not, he has been director and chief laborer.  In 1872 a new
-priest, Anatoli by name, came out from Russia and ably assisted Nicolai
-for eighteen years, at the end of which time declining health forced
-him to return.
-
-Nicolai again returned to Russia in 1879, and was consecrated bishop of
-the Greek Church in Japan.  At this time he began a work which had long
-been on his heart, viz., the collection of funds for the erection of a
-fine cathedral in Tokyo.  This cathedral was begun in 1884 and
-completed in 1891.  It is a magnificent building, by far the finest
-ecclesiastical structure in Japan.  It stands on an eminence from which
-it seems to dominate the whole city.  The cost of this cathedral was
-$177,575, silver.
-
-Here one may hear the finest choral music in the empire.  Those who
-believe it to be impossible to train well Japanese voices have but to
-attend a service at this cathedral to have their ideas changed.  A
-choir of several hundred voices has been trained to sing in perfect
-harmony, and the music is inspiring.  Travelers who have heard the
-music of the most famous cathedrals and churches of Europe and America
-say that this will compare favorably with the best.  The {168}
-development of music in the Greek Church of Japan has been marvelous.
-
-The work of this church, while scattered over the whole empire, is
-chiefly carried on in the cities and larger towns.  Like the Roman
-Church, it refuses fellowship with the various Protestant bodies.  Some
-men of note belong to it, and it is to-day recognized as one of the
-influential religious bodies.
-
-A notable feature of its work is that it has employed comparatively few
-foreign missionaries.  The burden of the work has been done by Bishop
-Nicolai and an able body of trained native assistants.  At present
-there are only two foreigners in connection with it, and there have
-never been at any time more than three or four.  While foreign priests
-have been little used, several of its native priests have been educated
-abroad.
-
-This church has 21 native priests and 158 unordained catechists.  It is
-now conducting work in two hundred and nineteen stations and
-outstations.  It has one boarding-school for boys, with 47 pupils; one
-for girls, with 76 pupils; and one theological school, with 18 pupils.
-The membership at the close of the year 1895 was 22,576, and the amount
-contributed for all purposes during that year was $4754.95.
-
-
-
-
-{169}
-
-X
-
-A BRIEF HISTORY OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN JAPAN
-
-During Japan's period of seclusion, when no foreigner dared enter the
-country upon pain of death, many godly people were praying that God
-would open the doors, and some mission boards were watching and waiting
-for an opportunity to send the gospel to the Japanese.  When, in the
-year 1854, treaties were made with Western powers, and it became known
-that Japan was to be reopened to foreign intercourse, great interest
-was at once manifested by the friends of missions in the evangelization
-of this land.
-
-This same year the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church
-in the United States of America requested one of its missionaries in
-China to visit Japan and examine into the condition of affairs there,
-with the purpose of establishing a mission.  At this time permanent
-{170} residence of foreigners was not secured, and it was doubtless for
-this reason that no progress was made toward the establishment of a
-mission.
-
-The country was not actually opened to foreign residence until the year
-1859, and by the close of that year three Protestant missionary
-societies, quick to take advantage of the opportunity offered, had
-their representatives in the field.  The Protestant Episcopal Church of
-the United States has the honor of sending the first Protestant
-missionaries to Japan.  It transferred two of its missionaries from
-China, the Rev. C. M. Williams and the Rev. J. Liggins.  Previous to
-this time a few missionaries had made transient visits from China to
-Kanagawa and Nagasaki, and found opportunity to teach elementary
-English; but this work accomplished little.
-
-According to the treaty with England, the four treaty ports of Japan
-were opened July 1, 1859; according to that with America, July 4th.
-Mr. Liggins arrived in Nagasaki May 2d, two months before the actual
-opening of the port; he was joined by Mr. Williams one month later.
-
-On, October 18th of the same year the first missionaries of the
-Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Dr. and Mrs. J. C.
-Hepburn, arrived at Kanagawa.  A fortnight later the Rev.  S. R. Brown
-and D. B. Simmons, M.D., of the Reformed Church in America, reached
-Nagasaki.  {171} The Rev. Dr. G. F. Verbeck, also of the Reformed
-Church, reached Nagasaki one month later.  Thus it will be seen that
-missionaries were sent here as soon as the country was opened to
-foreign residence, the Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Reformed
-churches of America beginning the work almost simultaneously.
-
-The example set by these boards was soon followed by others.  The
-American Baptists began the work in 1860, the American Board
-(Congregationalist) in 1869, and the American Methodists in 1873.  From
-time to time other boards also sent representatives.
-
-Although the country was now open to foreign residence, it was by no
-means open to the propagation of the foreign religion.  All that the
-missionaries could do was to study the language and teach English.  In
-this early period many of them found employment in the schools of the
-various daimios and in those of the national government.
-
-The first years were very trying ones.  The missionaries were in
-imminent danger of their lives; attacks without either provocation or
-warning were very common.  Foreigners, and especially those who wanted
-to teach the foreign religion, were everywhere bitterly hated.  The
-lordly samurai walked about with two sharp swords stuck into his belt,
-and his very look was {172} threatening.  At their houses and when they
-walked abroad foreigners had special guards provided them by the
-government.
-
-Great difficulty was at first experienced by the missionaries in
-employing teachers, because of the suspicion in which foreigners were
-held.  Those who finally agreed to teach were afterward found to be
-government spies.
-
-The government was still confessedly hostile to Christianity as late as
-1869.  Shortly before this time some Roman Catholic Christians who had
-been found around Nagasaki were torn from their homes and sent away
-into exile.  The sale of Christian books was rigidly prohibited.  The
-prohibitions against Christianity were still posted over all the
-empire, and were rigidly enforced.  If a conversation on religious
-subjects was begun with a Japanese his hand would involuntarily grasp
-his throat, indicating the extreme perilousness of such a topic.
-
-The following story shows what native Christians had to endure in some
-parts of Japan as late as 1871.  "Mr. O. H. Gulick, while at Kobé, had
-a teacher, formerly Dr. Greene's teacher, called Ichikawa Yeinosuke.
-In the spring of the year named this man and his wife were arrested at
-dead of night and thrown into prison.  He had for some time been an
-earnest student of the Bible, and had expressed the desire to receive
-{173} baptism, but had not been baptized.  His wife was not then
-regarded as a Christian.  Every effort was made to secure his release;
-but neither the private requests of the missionaries, nor the kindly
-offices of the American consul, nor even those of the American
-minister, availed anything.  Even his place of confinement was not
-known at the time.  It was at length learned that he had been confined
-in Kyoto, and had died there November 25, 1872.  His wife was shortly
-afterward released.  She is now a member of the Shinsakurada church in
-Tokyo."
-
-At this early period no distinction was made between Catholic and
-Protestant Christianity, and both were alike hated.  There was no
-opportunity to do direct Christian work, and many of the supporters of
-missions at home were beginning to doubt the expediency of keeping
-missionaries where they were not permitted to work.  Some boards even
-contemplated recalling their men.  But the missionaries were permitted
-to remain and await their opportunity, which soon came.  With the
-gradual opening of the country, and especially with the dissemination
-of a knowledge of foreign nations and their faith, the opportunities
-for work more and more increased and the old prohibitions were less and
-less enforced.
-
-During the period of forced inactivity the missionaries were busily
-engaged in a study of the {174} language and in the writing of various
-useful books and tracts.  At first Chinese Bibles and other Christian
-books were extensively used, the educated classes reading Chinese with
-facility.  The first religious tract published in Japanese appeared in
-1867.  One of the most important of the literary productions of the
-missionary body, Dr. J. C. Hepburn's Japanese-English and
-English-Japanese Dictionary, appeared in this same year.  It was a
-scholarly work, the result of many years of hard, persevering labor.
-The first edition was speedily exhausted, and a second was issued in
-1872.  The translation of the Holy Scriptures was also begun and gotten
-well under way in this period.  Several separate portions of the
-Scriptures from time to time appeared.  The first was the Gospel of
-Matthew, translated by the Rev. J. Goble, of the Baptist mission, and
-published in 1871.  Dr. S. R. Brown had previously prepared first
-drafts of some portions of the New Testament, but unfortunately they
-were destroyed by fire.  Translations of Mark and John, by Drs. Brown
-and Hepburn, were published in 1872.
-
-This irregular, piecemeal method of translation was not satisfactory;
-so in order to expedite the work, and to elicit an active interest in
-it on the part of all the missionaries in the country, a convention on
-Bible translation was called to meet {175} in Yokohama on September 20,
-1872.  As a result of this convention the Translation Committee was
-organized.  At first it consisted of Drs. Brown, Hepburn, and Greene.
-Other names were afterward added.  This committee was ably assisted in
-its work by prominent Japanese Christian scholars.  The great
-undertaking was brought to a successful conclusion in 1880, when an
-edition of the whole Bible was published in excellent Japanese.
-
-We have anticipated matters somewhat.  Let us now go back a few years
-and take up the thread where we left off.  The work of the missionaries
-for a long time was fruitless, but the day of reaping was near.  The
-first Protestant convert of Japan was baptized in Yokohama by the Rev.
-Mr. Ballagh, in 1864.  Two years later Dr. Verbeck baptized two
-prominent men in southern Japan.  In 1866 Bishop Williams, of the
-Episcopal Church, baptized one convert.  Who can tell the joy of these
-missionaries when, after so many years of hard work, they were
-permitted to see these precious fruits?  From time to time others were
-baptized, but for many years accessions were rare.  The first church
-was organized in Yokohama in 1872.  It was left to draft its own
-constitution and church government, and was a very liberal body.
-
-During all this time the prohibitions of {176} Christianity were still
-posted over all the land, and the government had never officially
-renounced its policy of persecution.  But the infringement of the laws
-was permitted, and gradually they became a dead letter.  Many Japanese
-of influence and of official position traveled abroad, and learning of
-the status of Christianity in the countries of the West, and
-particularly of the attitude of the chief nations of the world toward
-the persecution of Christians, exerted their influence to have these
-prohibitions rescinded.  Especially did the strong stand taken by some
-Western governments influence Japan in favor of toleration.  Our own
-Secretary of State in Washington plainly informed the Japanese
-committee then visiting there that the United States could not regard
-as a friendly power any nation that persecuted its Christian subjects.
-
-As a result of various influences, the edicts against Christianity were
-removed from the signboards in 1873.  This was an event of the utmost
-importance to Christian work, for, although the infringement of the
-edicts had been for some time winked at, their very existence before
-the eyes of the people had a great deterring effect.  The government
-announced that this action did not signify that the prohibition of
-Christianity was now abrogated.  It declared that the edicts were
-removed because their subject-matter, {177} having been so long before
-the eyes of the people, "was sufficiently imprinted on their minds."
-And yet their removal conveyed the idea to the people at large that
-liberty of conscience was henceforth to be allowed, and this virtually
-proved to be so.  Persecutions ceased and the work was allowed to go on
-untrammeled.  The object for which the church abroad had waited and
-prayed, and for which the missionaries on the ground had longed and
-labored, was at last realized.  Joy and hope filled the hearts of the
-workers.  The cause of missions had received a new and powerful
-impulse, which ere long made itself felt in a wide enlargement of its
-operations.
-
-The work now went on much more rapidly.  Soon a great pro-foreign
-sentiment sprang up.  With the rapid adoption of Western civilization
-there grew up not only a toleration, but an actual desire for the
-Western religion.  It became rather fashionable to confess Christ.
-Some statesmen even went so far as to advocate as a matter of policy
-the adoption of Christianity as the state religion.
-
-In this happy time Christian schools, which had sprung up like
-mushrooms over all the land, were filled with eager students; the
-churches and chapels were crowded with interested listeners; and large
-numbers were annually added to the church.
-
-{178}
-
-But the pendulum had swung too far.  About 1888 a reaction set in,
-caused largely by the impatience of the Japanese at the refusal of
-Western nations to revise the treaties on a basis of equality.  A
-strong nationalism asserted itself.  Everything foreign was brought
-into disrepute.  Christianity was frowned upon as a foreign religion,
-and the old native religions again came into favor.  Attendance at
-Christian schools fell off almost fifty per cent.; the churches and
-chapels became empty; and few names were added to the church rolls.  A
-sifting process began which very much reduced the membership.  When
-Christianity was popular many had hastily and as a matter of policy
-joined the churches, who in this time of disfavor fell away.  This
-reactionary feeling has lasted uninterruptedly down to the present, and
-in recent years the losses numerically have almost equaled the gains.
-This reaction has in some respects worked good to the churches.  The
-former growth was too rapid.  Many unconverted men came into the bosom
-of the church.  Such have fallen away; the church has been pruned of
-her old dead branches, and is now a livelier, healthier body.
-
-In the judgment of some, this reactionary period is now on the decline.
-The recent growth and progress of Japan have been recognized by the
-West; treaty revision on a basis of equality has {179} been granted
-her, and the cause which brought about the reaction has thus been
-largely removed.  For these reasons we may look for a gradual breaking
-down of the prejudice and opposition toward foreign institutions and
-religion, though such a pro-foreign wave as swept the country during
-the eighties will not probably be experienced again.
-
-In order to give a correct idea of the work now being done by the
-various missions in Japan, It will be well to give a short sketch of
-each one separately.  We will consider them in the order of their size
-and influence.
-
-
-
-_American Board Mission_
-
-This mission is conducted by the American Board of Commissioners for
-Foreign Missions (organized on an undenominational basis, but now
-Congregational), and has met with great success.  Begun in 1869, it is
-younger than either the Episcopalian, Reformed, Presbyterian, or
-Baptist missions, but has exerted a greater influence than any of them.
-It has for years enjoyed the distinction of having more adherents than
-any other Christian body at work here.  But there has been a large
-falling off in its membership, and during the past year or so very few
-new names have been added to its rolls.  At the {180} close of 1895 the
-Church of Christ in Japan (Presbyterian) was only about 62 members
-behind this body, and by the close of 1896 will in all probability be
-ahead.
-
-This mission was especially fortunate in reaching a wealthy,
-influential class of people, which has given it a position and prestige
-superior to the other missions.  In the number of self-supporting
-native churches it has led all other denominations.
-
-The first missionaries of the American Board to Japan were Dr. and Mrs.
-Greene.  They arrived in Yokohama November 30, 1869, and, with the
-usual intermissions for rest, have labored here continuously since that
-time.  Three years later the Rev. O. H. Gulick and wife, and the Rev.
-J. D. Davis and wife, joined the mission.  Since that time the number
-of missionaries has been rapidly increased until now it reaches 74.
-The membership of the native church is about 11,162.  There are 60
-ordained native ministers and 54 unordained.  There are four
-boarding-schools for girls, with 863 students.  The most advanced of
-these is the Girls' School of Kobé, with a curriculum as high as that
-of most female colleges in America.  There is also one school for the
-training of Bible-women.
-
-The chief educational institution of this body is the Doshisha
-University, in Kyoto.  This {181} school is largely the result of the
-labors of Dr. Neesima, easily the first Christian preacher and teacher
-Japan has yet produced.  It is a large school, beautifully located and
-well housed.  Last year only 320 students were in attendance, a great
-decline from former years.  Unfortunately this institution does not now
-exert the positive influence for Christianity that it formerly did.
-Higher criticism and speculative philosophy have largely supplanted
-Christian teaching.  The school is now entirely in the hands of the
-trustees (all natives), and the mission has no control over it
-whatever.  Recently all of the missionaries of the American Board who
-were serving as professors in the Doshisha have, because of
-dissatisfaction with the policy of the school authorities, resigned.
-The trustees affirm that it is their intention to keep the school
-strictly Christian, but they refuse to define the term "Christian."
-Such vital matters as the divinity of Christ and the immortality of the
-soul are not positively affirmed.  The rationalism which has emanated
-from this school has perhaps done as much in recent years to impede the
-progress of Christianity as any other one cause.  It is very sad to see
-an institution, built up at great expense by bequests of earnest
-Christian people, intended by its founder to lead the evangelical
-Christianity of this country, thus turned aside from its original
-purpose.  {182} We trust that a gradual growth of a deeper Christian
-consciousness and a more positive faith in the hearts of the trustees
-and professors may yet lead them to make of this school a positive
-force for evangelical Christianity.
-
-The mission of the American Board has experienced more trouble in
-recent years than any other, especially in the attempt properly to
-adjust the relations between the native and foreign workers, and in the
-matter of mission property.  Most of the valuable property of the
-mission has passed into native hands, and in some instances has been
-perverted from its original purpose.  The missionaries are regarded
-with jealousy by many in the native church; they are entirely excluded
-from the church councils, and are being gradually pushed out of the
-most important positions, and their places filled with Japanese.  It is
-a question just how far the policy adopted by this mission from the
-beginning is to blame for this unfortunate state of affairs.  This
-policy has been to push the native workers to the front, to give them
-the important positions, and to allow them perfect freedom in all
-church matters.  As a consequence, that which was at first granted as a
-concession is now demanded as a right.  As a teacher in one of their
-own schools has comically put it, the mission said in the beginning--in
-Japanese phraseology--to the native brethren, {183} "Please honorably
-condescend to take the first place," and they are just doing what they
-were bidden to do.  Other boards, with a different policy, have fared
-better.  The Episcopal Church of Japan, which is one of the most
-active, vigorous bodies at work here, is governed by foreign bishops,
-and nearly all the positions of importance are filled by foreign
-missionaries, and yet the relations between the native and foreign
-workers are, on the whole, cordial and harmonious.  The Methodist
-Church is governed by foreign bishops, and nearly all the presiding
-elders are foreign missionaries, yet complete harmony prevails between
-the native and the foreign ministry.  The Presbyterian Church, with a
-policy somewhat resembling the Congregational, is encountering the same
-difficulties in a milder form.  These facts seem to indicate that, at
-least in part, the policy of the mission is itself responsible for the
-position in which it now finds itself.
-
-But in nearly every mission field, as soon as a strong native church is
-developed, misunderstandings and friction between the native and
-foreign workers have arisen.  Questions regarding the position of the
-native church and its relation to the foreign boards and missionaries
-almost inevitably arise.  Therefore what the American Board has
-encountered may be partially encountered by all as soon as a stronger
-native church is {184} developed.  Perhaps the national characteristics
-of the people are to some extent responsible also for this trouble and
-friction.
-
-
-
-_The Church of Christ in Japan_
-
-This body represents an attempt at church union on a large scale.  It
-is composed of all the Presbyterian and Reformed churches working in
-Japan.  These are the Presbyterian Church in the United States of
-America, the Reformed Church in America, the United Presbyterian Church
-of Scotland, the Reformed Church in the United States, the Presbyterian
-Church in the United States (South), the Woman's Union Missionary
-Society, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  All of these bodies
-are engaged in building up one and the same native church--the Church
-of Christ in Japan.  Yet each has its own field and is doing its own
-individual work.
-
-The growth and success of this body have been phenomenal.  It has
-11,100 members, 60 ordained native ministers, 113 unordained
-catechists, and 146 missionaries.  Its leading educational institution
-is the Meiji Gakuin, in Tokyo, with both an academic and a theological
-department.  This is a large, well-equipped school, with a good faculty.
-
-In connection with this Church of Christ there {185} is a good academic
-and theological school in Nagasaki, known as Steele College, and
-supported by the Dutch Reformed and Southern Presbyterian missions.
-This school is as thoroughly evangelical and positive in its teachings
-as any to be found in Japan.
-
-There are besides these five boarding-schools for boys, with 376
-students, and sixteen boarding-schools for girls, with 795 pupils.
-
-The representatives of the Church of Christ are found throughout the
-length and breadth of the land and are doing a good work.  It is likely
-that this church will take the lead in the future.
-
-
-
-_Methodist Churches_
-
-There are five branches of the Methodist Church at work, namely, the
-American Methodist Episcopal, the Canadian Methodist Episcopal, the
-Evangelical Association of North America, the Methodist Protestant, and
-the American Methodist Episcopal (South).  There is no organic union
-between these bodies, but harmony and fraternity prevail.  Efforts at
-union have been made time and again, but have been as yet unsuccessful.
-We hope the future Methodist Church of Japan will be a united body.
-
-At present each one of these different bodies supports its own schools;
-their efficiency is thus {186} impaired, and great loss of men, time,
-and money entailed.  In the whole Methodist Church there are five boys'
-boarding-schools, with 329 scholars; sixteen girls' boarding-schools,
-with 970 scholars; and five theological schools, with 60 students.
-
-There are 143 missionaries, 115 native ministers, 116 catechists, and
-7678 members.
-
-The Methodist missions have had a rapid, substantial growth and are
-exerting a strong influence.  They surpass all other bodies in annual
-contributions per member, and I think it may be said that the native
-Methodist churches have shown less of self-seeking and more of
-self-sacrifice than the others.  The emotional character of Methodism
-adapts it to the taste of the people.
-
-
-
-_Episcopalians_
-
-The five branches of this church working in Japan are laboring unitedly
-for the establishment of one native church, called _Nippon Sei Kokwai_.
-These five bodies are the American Protestant Episcopal Church, the
-Church Missionary Society (English), the Society for the Propagation of
-the Gospel (English), the Wyclif College Mission (Canada), and the
-English Church in Canada.  The united body has 149 missionaries, 30
-native ministers, 124 unordained helpers, and 5555 communicant members.
-
-{187}
-
-This church conducts five boarding-schools for boys, with 169 scholars;
-eight boarding-schools for girls, with 263 scholars; and four
-theological schools, with 52 students.  This body has done a great deal
-of hard, substantial work, and has enjoyed a fair degree of the popular
-favor.  During these late reactionary years, when other missions have
-made little progress, its growth has continued uninterruptedly.  The
-Nippon Sei Kokwai is presided over by five bishops, four of whom are
-English and one American.  Two are located in Tokyo, one in Hokkaido,
-one in Osaka, and one in Nagasaki.
-
-
-
-_Baptists_
-
-There are four Baptist societies doing mission work in Japan: the
-Baptist Missionary Union (United States), the Disciples of Christ, the
-Christian Church of America, and the Southern Baptist Convention.
-There is no organic union between them, but the first- and last-named
-bodies work together.  The four bodies unitedly have 92 missionaries,
-14 native ministers, 68 native catechists, and 2327 members.
-
-They have one boarding-school for boys, with 14 students; six
-boarding-schools for girls, with 205 students; and two theological
-schools, with 21 students.
-
-{188}
-
-The Baptist missionaries laboring in Japan are an able, hard-working,
-evangelical body of men, and there are some good, strong native Baptist
-ministers.
-
-
-
-_Lutherans_
-
-The Lutheran Church began mission work in Japan only four years ago,
-and as yet her mission is small.  It is supported by the United Synod
-of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the South (United States).  The
-Lutheran Church in the United States has occupied a peculiar position.
-A large per cent. of the emigrants from the Old World are of Lutheran
-antecedents.  Hundreds of thousands of them have come over and settled
-in the West, and the energies of the American Lutheran Church have been
-largely expended in caring for these unhoused and unshepherded sheep of
-her own flock.  It seems that Providence has allotted to her this
-special work.  No other church in America is carrying on home mission
-work on so large a scale, among so many different nationalities, and in
-so many languages.  Because of the great home mission work that has
-naturally fallen into her hands and demanded her men and money she has
-not engaged in foreign work as extensively as some other American
-bodies.
-
-And yet the American contingent of this old {189} mother church of
-Protestantism has a foreign-mission record of which she is not ashamed.
-She has supported for many years a mission on the west coast of Africa,
-at Muhlenberg, that is by universal consent the most successful mission
-in West Africa.  She is also supporting two large and successful
-missions in India.
-
-The Lutheran mission in Japan was begun as a venture.  The after
-development of the work has amply justified the wisdom of the
-undertaking.  It is not the purpose of the Lutheran Church to
-antagonize any of the bodies now at work in Japan, but rather to stand,
-amid all the doctrinal unrest characteristic of Japanese Christianity,
-for pure doctrine, as she has always done.  It is her purpose to teach
-a positive, evangelical Christianity.
-
-The working force of the mission consists of 2 missionaries and their
-wives, 2 native helpers, and 1 Bible-woman.  The field occupied is
-small.  There is only one station, and that is in the city of Saga, on
-the island of Kyushu.  Much work is done in the surrounding villages
-and towns from Saga as a center.  It is not the purpose of this mission
-to use large numbers of men and great quantities of money, as some
-others have done.  It purposes working intensively rather than
-extensively.  It attempts to devote all of its time to evangelistic
-work, and does not engage in {190} educational work further than
-theological instruction.
-
-Although the missionaries came to Japan in 1892, the station was not
-opened until 1893.  Since that time about 55 converts have been
-baptized.
-
-
-There are numerous small Christian bodies at work, such as the
-Scandinavian Japan Alliance, the Society of Friends, the International
-Missionary Alliance, the Hephzibah Faith Missionary Association, and
-the Salvation Army.  There are also three liberal bodies working here,
-generally classed as unevangelical: the Evangelical Protestant
-Missionary Society, the Universalist mission, and the Unitarian mission.
-
-The English and American Bible and tract societies have ably seconded
-these missionary bodies by the circulation of large numbers of Bibles,
-tracts, and various kinds of Christian books.  The value of their work
-can hardly be estimated.  The American Bible Society, the National
-Bible Society of Scotland, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the
-American Tract Society, and the London Religious Tract Society have all
-had a part in the work.
-
-Such is a brief enumeration of the Christian forces at work in Japan.
-With so large a body of consecrated workers and so much missionary
-{191} machinery, it seems that the work of evangelization ought to go
-on rapidly.  A great deal has already been accomplished, as the figures
-given above show.  A native church of 40,000 people is no mean prize;
-but this is only the smallest part of the work of the missions.  They
-have created a Christian literature, disseminated a certain knowledge
-of the gospel among the people, and in a hundred different ways
-indirectly influenced the life of this nation.  Japanese missions have
-been a brilliant success.
-
-
-
-
-{192}
-
-XI
-
-QUALIFICATIONS FOR MISSION WORK IN JAPAN
-
-For mission work, as for every other calling in life, some men are
-naturally adapted, others are not.  Those by nature fitted for the work
-will in all probability have a reasonable degree of success, while no
-amount of zeal or spiritual fervor can make successful those not so
-fitted.  It is true to a large extent that missionaries are born, not
-made.
-
-How important it becomes, then, that mission boards and societies
-should carefully consider the qualifications of all applicants before
-they are sent to the mission field!  How necessary it is for all those
-contemplating work in certain fields, before offering their services to
-the boards, to examine whether their qualifications are such as to
-justify an expectation of a reasonable degree of success in those
-fields!
-
-For the benefit of the various missionary {193} societies that are
-annually choosing and sending out new men to Japan, as well as for the
-advantage of those who contemplate offering themselves for work in this
-field, I will put down a few thoughts on the necessary qualifications
-for successful mission work here.
-
-These may be roughly classified as physical, spiritual, and mental.
-
-PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS.--I regard physical qualifications as of
-supreme importance.  Many of my readers will think that the spiritual
-should precede the physical, but with this opinion I do not agree.
-Health is absolutely essential to successful work; deep spirituality,
-while greatly to be desired, is not so essential.  Many men have failed
-on the field and have been forced to withdraw because of a lack of
-physical qualifications, while few have failed for lack of spiritual
-qualifications.  I think it is true that young men who when in college
-and seminary appear to be almost consumed with missionary zeal and
-enthusiasm, who are pointed out as examples in spirituality, and who
-are burning with a desire to get into the foreign field, do not make as
-good missionaries as some others.  Men who pledge themselves in youth,
-and who, actuated by a wild enthusiasm, which has more zeal than
-knowledge, urge themselves upon the mission boards, do not do as good
-work as those chosen {194} by the boards themselves, who may never have
-considered seriously foreign work before the call was extended to them.
-Enthusiasm and zeal are good things in their place, but they are apt to
-lead men to extremes.  People who enter mission work simply because
-they are filled with a burning enthusiasm and zeal are not likely to
-stay as long or work as well as those who enter upon the work with more
-hesitation, after careful deliberation and a counting of the cost.
-
-Wallace Taylor, M.D., of Osaka, Japan, himself an experienced
-missionary of the American Board, says: "I should advise that men be
-chosen for their physical and mental adaptation and ability rather than
-for their burning zeal for the foreign work.  To maintain health and be
-a successful missionary a man must possess more judgment than
-enthusiasm and more discretion than zeal.  Enthusiasm and zeal are good
-qualities in a missionary, but to these you must add that which is
-better--judgment, wisdom, and self-control.  The burning fire shut up
-in the bones, that cannot be controlled, only consumes vital energies
-and speedily produces failing health.  We need men who can stand and
-face the white harvest and the many calls to work, and yet with cool
-deliberation preserve their strength for future work.  We want men sent
-for their cool deliberation and self-control rather than for their
-{195} burning zeal and enthusiasm.  We need men who are intellect
-rather than a bundle of nerves.  A nervous, excitable, uneasy person
-will fret and wear himself out in from six months to three years in
-Japan."
-
-It is desirable, then, in the first place, that the missionary be a
-sound physical man.  No one should be accepted by a mission board for
-work in Japan who cannot secure a policy in a reliable life-insurance
-company, and it would be well if the medical examination were made by
-an examiner for such company.  The examinations made by a physician
-appointed by the mission boards are usually mere farces, for the desire
-to go as a missionary frequently covers up many physical weaknesses and
-prevents a thorough examination.  The examination should therefore be
-made by a disinterested medical man, who will not be influenced by such
-motives.
-
-It seems hard to subject candidates for mission work to such rigid
-examinations, and perhaps refuse to send them because of some small
-physical defect; but the interests of the work make it imperative.
-Otherwise the young missionary will, in all probability, break down and
-have to go home in three or four years, before he has been able to do
-any active work.  The experiment will have cost the board a large
-amount of money and a loss of several years, and the {196} missionary
-some of the best years of his life, probably making of him an incurable
-invalid.  In so serious a matter as this the boards cannot afford to be
-swayed by sentiment.  Nothing but sound business principles should be
-followed.
-
-The same physical requirements should be made for the woman as for the
-man.  She, too, should be subjected to a medical examination, and any
-serious defect in her constitution should cause her immediate
-rejection.  It seems hard to subject the wife to this test, as she is
-not a missionary in the strict sense of the term, and to many the
-requirement will be distasteful; but for their protection, and for a
-judicious use of consecrated funds, the boards should require it.  A
-little thought will show that the failure of the wife's health is just
-as disastrous for the mission as the failure of her husband's.  It
-cripples his efficiency while on the field, and ultimately drives him
-home.  Most boards operating in Japan have not made this requirement,
-and as a consequence many missionaries' wives are in poor health, and
-as many men have had to return home because of the failure of their
-wives' health as for any other one cause.
-
-The mission boards should not appoint too young men to work in Japan.
-It is well known that young men cannot endure so well as older ones
-change of climate and hard work.  Those {197} who are physically and
-mentally immature will very probably be unable to bear the strain.  In
-general, no one should be sent out under twenty-five years of age, and
-it would be safer if all who came had attained the age of thirty.
-Against this it is argued that a young person will acquire the language
-more readily than an older one, and this is doubtless true.  But health
-is of first importance.
-
-SPIRITUAL QUALIFICATIONS.--Although I consider spiritual qualifications
-after physical ones, I nevertheless regard them as of great importance.
-It is highly desirable that every missionary be a deeply spiritual man,
-fully consecrated to the cause of Christ.  The consecration needed in
-the missionary is little different from that needed in the home pastor.
-If he has given himself and all that he has to Christ, he will be ready
-to work for Him anywhere.  Those who come to the mission field without
-such consecration, expecting the grandeur of the work to beget it, will
-be bitterly disappointed.  In many instances contact with heathenism
-weakens more than it strengthens consecration.  The societies should
-require that those who are to do spiritual work should be consecrated,
-spiritual men.
-
-The missionary should be sound in the faith, should clearly discern and
-readily accept the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and should
-{198} be able to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials,
-tenaciously holding to the former, while allowing liberty in regard to
-the latter.  He will encounter many strange things in his new
-environment; many of his pet theories will be exploded, and he will
-meet much that will try his faith.  His belief in the essentials of
-Christianity should be so strong that even if his views undergo a
-change in non-essentials he shall not be shaken at the center.  He must
-be able to defend his faith against its enemies, as well as to impart
-it to those to whom he is sent.  To do this his own hold upon it must
-be firm and unyielding.
-
-The missionary should have a positive, not a negative, faith.  His
-position should continually be one of offense, not of defense.  His
-faith must be aggressive and dominant in its hold upon others, must be
-both persuasive and constructive.  He must be sure of the faith in
-which he trusts, and must be positive in his presentation of it to the
-world.
-
-It is especially important that the missionary's doctrinal development
-be full and rounded.  He should see all the doctrines of the Christian
-system in their proper relation to one another, and should give due
-importance to each.  A one-sided, eccentric man, who has struck off
-from the main line of doctrinal development and is on a {199}
-side-track, having exalted some one phase of the Christian teaching or
-life to the exclusion of others, is not fitted for mission work.  He
-can be used to better effect at home, because there he is continually
-under restraining influences, while here there are no restraints.  For
-this reason what would be only a harmless eccentricity at home may
-result in great mischief abroad.  Those who are to found the church in
-Japan, to shape its theology and its life, should be well-rounded men,
-who will not unduly exalt any one doctrine, but who, having a
-comprehensive view of the Christian system, will give due importance to
-every part.
-
-It is very important that prospective missionaries fully count the
-cost, and be prepared beforehand to endure patiently the trials and
-hardships that will be sure to meet them.  No one should go out without
-having carefully considered all of these things, and gained the full
-consent of his heart to endure them.  If the cost has not been counted,
-and the work willingly entered upon with a full knowledge of its
-hardships and difficulties, the encounter of these upon the field is
-apt to result in disappointment and dissatisfaction.
-
-Every missionary should be a lover of humanity, even in its lowest and
-most degraded forms.  It is useless for us to attempt to persuade and
-influence non-Christian men if we do not love {200} them.  The
-audiences we address may not be moved by our logic or rhetoric; our
-most eloquent sermons may have no effect on them; but practical
-illustrations of our love for them will always meet with a hearty
-response.  Love is the key that opens all hearts.  "Faith, hope, love,
-these three; but the greatest of these is love."
-
-To love refined Christian men and women is easy, but to love humanity
-in its more degraded forms is hard.  And yet the missionary must be
-prepared to love an alien race, that regards him with coolness and
-distrust.  He must be ready to associate with lowly people, amid humble
-and immoral surroundings, and to be patient, kind, and loving to the
-most degraded.  No one who has not lived on the mission field and
-associated freely with the people knows how hard this is.  Such love
-will win more men to Christ than eloquent preaching or most careful
-instruction.  The man who possesses a large amount of it, other things
-being equal, will meet with success.
-
-The missionary should, as far as possible, present in his own character
-all Christian graces.  He will be looked upon as a product of the faith
-he represents, and will exercise more influence by his life than by his
-words.  He must not be impatient, quarrelsome, or wilful, and, above
-all, he must not be proud.  Constant association with an inferior race
-is apt to beget a haughty, {201} domineering manner, and the missionary
-needs to be especially on his guard against this.  He may present no
-striking defects of character, else his faith will be held responsible
-for them.  Peculiarities and faults that are known to be merely
-personal at home are regarded in the mission field as the result of a
-bad religion.
-
-It is very important that the missionary be an attractive man,
-possessed of personal magnetism.  He should by nature draw men, not
-repel them.  Although hard to define, we all know what this power is.
-Let a little child come into a room where two men are sitting.  It will
-readily go to the one, but no amount of coaxing will induce it to go to
-the other.  The one possesses an innate power to attract, while the
-other repels.  Where the personal element plays so important a role it
-is essential that the missionary possess the power to draw men.
-
-MENTAL QUALIFICATIONS.--Hardly less important than physical and
-spiritual are the mental qualifications.  A mediocre man cannot do good
-work in any mission field, least of all in a field like Japan.  None
-but strong men should be sent out.  In former years, when the science
-of missions was little understood, it was thought a waste to send a man
-of unusual intellectual endowments, because an ordinary man could do
-the work just as well; but the boards have wisely {202} abandoned that
-policy.  Experience has clearly demonstrated the wisdom of sending the
-very best men that can be had.
-
-In the first place, the prospective missionary to Japan should have as
-complete and thorough a mental training as possible.  A full academic
-and theological course is highly desirable.  He should know how to
-reason logically and profoundly, and should be a skilled dialectician,
-able to meet the native scholars on their own ground.  The subtle
-philosophies of the East, which he will daily encounter, can only be
-dealt with by a man thoroughly trained.  The atheistic and agnostic
-philosophies of the West are spread over all Japan, and the missionary
-must be able to combat them.
-
-Another reason why the missionary should be as highly educated as
-possible is that large numbers of the Japanese people are highly
-educated, and a man of poor ability and training cannot command their
-respect.  Education is to-day being diffused more and more throughout
-Japan, and the missionary must work among an educated people.  It is
-necessary that he feel himself to be at least the intellectual equal of
-all with whom he comes in contact.
-
-In order, then, successfully to combat the subtle philosophies of the
-East, to show the fallacies of the prevalent skeptical philosophies of
-the {203} West, and to command the respect of the people among whom he
-labors, the missionary to this land should have a thorough intellectual
-training.
-
-Linguistic talent is another essential, and especially so in Japan.  No
-one should be sent here who is deficient in this.  This language is
-perhaps the most difficult of all spoken languages for an Occidental to
-acquire.  It is so thoroughly unlike any of the European languages that
-the student must change his view-point and learn to look at things as
-the Japanese do before he can make much progress.  To master it one
-must study both Japanese and Chinese.  While a fair linguist can, by
-hard work, preach with comparative intelligibility after three years of
-study, a complete mastery of the language is the work of a lifetime.
-
-If any one contemplating mission work in Japan remembers that he was a
-poor student of languages at college and made little progress in them,
-let him feel assured that he can probably serve the Lord better at
-home.  I state this matter strongly because just here is where so many
-missionaries fail.  There are men who have been here ten or fifteen
-years and yet who experience great difficulty in constructing the
-smallest sentence in Japanese.  Such men are not useless; in certain
-departments they serve well; {204} but they would probably be of more
-use at home.  At least one third of all the missionaries in Japan, if
-called upon to make an extempore address in Japanese, would be found
-wanting.  In view of these facts, how important it becomes that only
-those men be sent out who have a reasonable expectation of learning the
-language!
-
-Along with natural linguistic talent, the prospective missionary should
-have a large amount of perseverance.  Nothing but persistent, slavish
-work through many years will enable one to speak Japanese well; and no
-one should come here who is not willing to stick to an unattractive
-task until it is accomplished.
-
-It is of primary importance that the missionary have a large endowment
-of common sense.  Nothing else will make up for deficiency in this.  It
-alone gives power to adapt one's self to a new environment and to live
-under changed conditions.  The demands upon common sense here are much
-greater than at home, because the conditions under which we live are so
-different, and the practical questions that daily meet us are so
-numerous.  Dr. Lawrence finely says: "At home so much common sense has
-been organized into custom that we are all largely supported by the
-general fund, and many men get along with a very slender stock of their
-own.  But on the {205} mission field, where Christian custom is yet in
-the making, the drafts on common sense would soon overdraw a small
-account."
-
-A knowledge of music will be found of great assistance to the
-missionary, the more the better.  He will often have to start his own
-hymns, play the organ, or direct the music.  He may have to translate
-hymns and set them to music, or even compose tunes himself.  Good
-church music is now so essential in worship that every missionary
-should have a knowledge of it.  But this qualification, while highly
-desirable, is not indispensable.
-
-The missionary also needs to a great degree the power of self-control.
-He should be a cool, conservative man, able to govern himself under all
-circumstances.  He must not be moved to excessive labor by the present
-needs of the work, but must exercise self-restraint, husbanding his
-strength for future tasks.  One of the most difficult things to do is
-to refrain from overwork when the need of work is so apparent.  But the
-missionary must consider the permanent interests of the work ahead of
-its temporary needs.
-
-To sum up the desired intellectual qualifications: a missionary to
-Japan should have a good mind, well disciplined by thorough training;
-an abundant supply of common sense; linguistic ability, and the power
-of self-control.
-
-{206}
-
-There is one other qualification, that can hardly be classed under any
-of the above heads, i.e., _the missionary should be a married man_.
-The vast majority of missionaries in the field to-day are unanimous in
-this judgment.  The experience of the various mission boards and
-societies also confirms it, and they are sending out fewer single men
-each year.
-
-Married men make more efficient workers for many reasons.  They enjoy
-better health and are better satisfied.  They have a home to which they
-can go for rest and sympathy, and in which they can find agreeable
-companionship.  They have the loving ministrations of a wife in times
-of sickness and despondency, and they also have the cheer and
-relaxation of children's society.  All of these things tend to make the
-missionary healthier and happier, and enable him to do better work.
-
-Again, he should be married because a man of mature years who is single
-is regarded with more or less suspicion.  To the Japanese celibacy is
-an unnatural state, and it is seldom found.  Most unmarried men here
-are immoral, and therefore the unmarried missionary is naturally
-suspected of leading an immoral life, which cripples his influence.
-
-But the strongest argument in favor of married as against single
-missionaries is that the former {207} alone are able to build Christian
-homes.  The homes of single men are very poor things at best, and
-certainly cannot be pointed to as models.  But the married man
-establishes a Christian home in the midst of his people, and sets them
-a concrete example of what Christian family life should be.  This
-example is one of the most potent influences for good operating on the
-mission field.
-
-In home life perhaps more than in any other respect Japanese society is
-wanting.  The renovation of the home is one of the crying needs of the
-hour.  An open Christian home, exhibiting the proper relations between
-husband and wife, parents and children, will do much toward bringing
-this about.
-
-This argument is not intended to apply against single women who come
-out to teach in the girls' schools.  Their work is entirely different,
-and is such as can be done best by single women.  The argument applies
-only to the missionary engaged in evangelistic work.
-
-Such I believe to be the qualifications essential to successful mission
-work in Japan.  To many the requirements may seem too strict.  But the
-work to which the missionary is called is a high and noble one, and the
-ideal for a worker should be correspondingly high.  The extreme
-difficulty of the work, and its great expense, make it imperative that
-only men adapted to it be sent out.  {208}
-
-While setting forth this high ideal of what a missionary to this land
-should be, no one is more sensible than the writer of the fact that
-many missionaries, including himself, fail to realize it.  But he is
-glad to be able to affirm that a large per cent. of these desired
-qualifications are found in the majority of the missionary brethren in
-Japan.
-
-
-
-
-{209}
-
-XII
-
-PRIVATE LIFE OF THE MISSIONARY
-
-It is our purpose in this chapter to show the churches at home
-something of the life which their missionaries lead in Japan.  We will
-attempt to draw aside the veil and look at their private life--the holy
-of holies.  This is a delicate task, and I hesitate to undertake it.
-And yet I think a knowledge of the trials, perils, discouragements,
-temptations, hopes, and fears of the missionary may be very profitable
-to those who support our missions.
-
-Missionaries are men of like appetites, passions, hopes, and desires
-with those at home.  They long for and enjoy the comforts and amenities
-of life.  They have wives and children whom they love as devotedly, and
-for whom they desire to provide as comfortable homes, as the pastor at
-home.
-
-There was a time when missionaries were {210} called upon to forego
-nearly all social pleasures and submit to endless discomforts, but that
-time is past.  The mission home to-day is frequently as comfortable as
-that of the pastor in America.  It is right that the standard of living
-in the home lands should be maintained by the missionaries abroad, and
-that they surround themselves with all available pleasures and
-conveniences.  There is no reason why a man should lay aside all
-pleasures and comforts so soon as he becomes a missionary.
-
-Those who live in the foreign ports in Japan have nice, roomy houses
-modeled after Western homes.  Many of them are surrounded with
-beautiful lawns and fine flowers, and are a comfort and delight to
-their possessors.  Most of the missionaries who live in the interior
-occupy native houses, slightly modified to suit foreign taste.  By
-building chimneys, and substituting glass for paper windows, the native
-houses can be made quite comfortable, though they are colder in winter
-and do not look so well as foreign ones.  The writer has lived in such
-a home during most of his residence in Japan, and has suffered little
-inconvenience.  Some of the wealthier mission boards have built foreign
-houses even in the interior, and to-day there are a good many such
-scattered over Japan.
-
-As has been before remarked, the mission {211} home is one of the most
-important factors in connection with the work; it is a little bit of
-Christendom set down in the midst of heathendom.  It presents to the
-non-Christian masses around it a concrete example of exalted family
-life, with equality and trust between husband and wife, and mutual love
-between parents and children--things not generally found in the native
-home.  It is a beacon-light shining in a dark place.
-
-This is one of the many reasons why a missionary should be a married
-man.  The single man cannot create this model home, which is to teach
-the people by example what Christian family life should be.  In this
-respect Catholic missions are deficient, the celibacy of the priests
-precluding family life.
-
-First, then, the mission home is an example to the non-Christian people
-around it.  It is frequently open to them, and they can see its
-workings.  They often share its hospitality and sit at its table.
-Their keen eyes take in everything, and a deep impression is made upon
-them.
-
-Just here arises one of the greatest difficulties the missionary has to
-contend with in his private life.  The people are so inquisitive
-naturally, the mission home is so attractive to them, and our idea of
-the privacy and sanctity of the home is so lacking in their etiquette,
-that it is hard to keep {212} the home from becoming public.  People
-will come in large numbers at the most unseasonable hours, simply out
-of curiosity, wanting to see and handle everything in the house.  It is
-often necessary, in self-defense, to refuse them admittance, except at
-certain hours.  Not only are the seclusion and privacy of the home
-endangered, but the missionary also is in great danger of having his
-valuable time uselessly frittered away.
-
-Notwithstanding all that the mission home is to the people, it is much
-more to the missionary.  It should be to him a sure retreat and
-seclusion from the peculiarly trying cares and worries of his work.  It
-should be a place where he can evade the subtle influences of
-heathenism which creep in at every pore--a safe retreat from the sin
-and wickedness and vice around it.
-
-The mission home should be a Western home transplanted in the East.  It
-may not become too much orientalized.  It should have Western
-furniture, pictures, musical instruments, etc., and should make its
-possessor feel that he is in a Western home.  It should be well
-supplied with books and newspapers, and everything else that will help
-to keep its inmates in touch with the life of the West.  The missionary
-may not be orientalized, else he will be in danger of becoming
-heathenized.
-
-For the sake of his children the missionary's {213} home should be as
-exact a reproduction of the Western home as possible.  These children
-are citizens of the West, heirs of its privileges; and to it they will
-go before they reach years of maturity.  Therefore it is but fair that
-their childhood home should reflect its civilization.
-
-In order that the missionary may be able to build up such a home it is
-necessary that he be paid a liberal salary.  While living in native
-style is very cheap, living in Western style is perhaps as dear here as
-in any country in the world.  Clothing, furniture, much of the food,
-etc., must be brought from the West; and we must pay for it not only
-what the people at home pay, but the cost of carrying it half-way round
-the world, and the commission of two or three middlemen besides.
-
-Most boards operating in Japan pay their men a liberal salary.  They
-also pay an allowance for each child, health allowance, etc.  All this
-is well.  Man is an animal, and, like other animals, he must be well
-cared for if he is to do his best work.  No farmer would expect to get
-hard work out of a horse that was only half fed, and no mission board
-can expect to get first-class work out of a missionary who is not
-liberally supported.  The missionary has enough to worry him without
-having to be anxious about finances.
-
-Especially is it wise that the boards give their {214} men an allowance
-for children.  The expenses incident to a child's coming into the world
-in the East are very high.  The doctor's bill alone amounts frequently
-to more than $100.  Then a nurse is absolutely necessary, there being
-no relatives and friends to perform this office, as sometimes there are
-in the West.  The birth of a child here means a cash outlay of $150 to
-$200, to pay which the missionary is often reduced to hard straits.  If
-he belongs to a board that makes a liberal child's allowance he is
-fortunately relieved from this difficulty.
-
-The allowance is also necessary to provide for the future education of
-the child.  As there are no suitable schools here, children must be
-sent home to school at an early age.  They cannot stay in the parental
-home and attend school from there, as American children do, but must be
-from childhood put into a boarding-school, and this takes money.  Now
-no missionaries' salaries are sufficiently large to enable them to lay
-up much money, and unless there is a child's allowance there will be no
-money for his education, in which event the missionary must sacrifice
-his self-respect by asking some school or friends to educate his child.
-He feels that if any one in the world deserves a salary sufficient to
-meet all necessary expenses without begging, he does; and it hurts him
-to give his life in hard service to {215} the church in a foreign land,
-and then have his children educated on charity.
-
-All mission boards should give their men an allowance for each child,
-unless the salary paid is sufficiently large to enable them to lay
-aside a sufficient sum for this very purpose.
-
-The health allowance is also a wise provision because the climate is
-such as often to necessitate calling in a physician, and doctors' bills
-are enormously high.  If the missionary is not well he cannot work; but
-if he is left to pay for medical attendance himself out of a very
-meager salary, all of which is needed by his wife and children, he will
-frequently deny himself the services of a physician when they are
-really needed.
-
-The work of the missionary is most trying, and the demands on his
-health and strength are very exhausting.  The petty worries and trials
-that constantly meet him, the rivalries and quarrels which his converts
-bring to him for settlement, the care of the churches, anxiety about
-his family, etc., are a constant strain on his vital force, in order to
-withstand which it is necessary that he should have regular periods of
-rest and recreation.  Nature demands relaxation, and she must have it,
-or the health of the worker fails.
-
-It is customary in Japan for the missionaries to leave their fields of
-work during the summer season and spend six weeks or two months in
-{216} sanatoria among the mountains or by the seashore.  Here their
-work, with its cares and anxieties, is all laid aside.  The best-known
-sanatoria in Japan are Karuizawa, Arima, Hakone, Sapporo, and Mount
-Hiezan.  In most of these places good accommodations are provided, and
-the hot weeks can be spent very pleasantly.  Large numbers of
-missionaries gather there, and for a short time the tired, isolated
-worker can enjoy the society of his own kind; his wife can meet and
-chat with other housewives; and his children can enjoy the rare
-pleasure of playing with other children white like themselves.  These
-resorts are cool, the air is pure and invigorating, and the missionary
-returns from them in September feeling fresh and strong, ready to take
-up with renewed vigor his arduous labors.
-
-It is objected to these vacations that they take the missionary away
-from his field of work, and that so long an absence on his part is very
-injurious to the cause.  This is partially true; but a wise economy
-considers the health of the worker and his future efficiency more than
-the temporary needs of the work.  The absence of the foreign worker for
-a short period is not as hurtful as one would at first glance suppose.
-A relatively larger part of the work is left in the hands of the native
-helpers in Japan than in most mission fields, and these evangelists
-stay at their posts {217} all through the summer, and care for its
-interests while the foreigner is away.  The same need of a vacation
-does not exist in their case, because they are accustomed to the
-climate, and they work through their native tongue and among their own
-people.
-
-The need of this missionary vacation is so evident that we need only
-give it in outline.  In the first place, the unfavorable climate makes
-a change and rest desirable.  As I have already stated, the climate of
-Japan is not only very warm, but also contains an excessive amount of
-moisture and a very small per cent. of ozone, and is lacking in
-atmospheric magnetism and electricity; hence its effect upon people
-from the West is depressing.  Besides the climate, the missionary's
-work is so exhaustive and trying, and its demands upon him are so
-great, that a few weeks' rest are absolutely necessary.  The same
-reasons which at home justify the city pastor in taking a vacation are
-intensified in the missionary's case.
-
-Not least of these reasons is that the missionary may for a while enjoy
-congenial society.  Many of us spend ten months of the year isolated
-almost entirely from all people of our own kind.  The Japanese are so
-different that we can have but little social life with them; and it is
-but natural and right that, for a short period, we should have the
-opportunity to meet and {218} associate with our fellow-missionaries.
-The work which we do the remainder of the year is done much better
-because of this rest and fellowship.
-
-Dr. J. C. Berry, in a paper read before the missionary conference at
-Osaka in 1883, discusses very fully this question of missionary
-vacations and furloughs.  After elaborating the reasons for them, which
-reasons I have given in brief above, he says: "It therefore follows
-that, because of the numerous and complex influences operating to-day
-to produce nerve-tire in the missionary in Japan, regard for the
-permanent interests of his work requires that a vacation be taken in
-summer by those residing in central and southern Japan, the same to be
-accompanied by as much of recreation and change as circumstances will
-permit."
-
-With all the care and precaution that can be taken, with systematic
-rests and vacations, there soon comes a time when it is necessary for
-the missionary to return to his home land, to breathe again the air of
-his youth, and to replenish his physical, mental, and moral being.  All
-the mission boards recognize this and permit their men in this and in
-other fields to return home on furlough after a certain number of
-years.  The definite time required by the different missions before a
-furlough is granted varies from three to ten years, the latter period
-being the most general.  {219} But this has been found to be too long,
-and failing health usually compels an earlier return.  Some boards have
-no set time, but a tacit understanding exists that the missionary may
-go home at the end of six or eight years.
-
-At the end of the prescribed period the missionary family is taken home
-at the expense of the board, and is given a rest of a year or eighteen
-months.  During this time, if the missionary is engaged in preaching or
-lecturing for the board, as is generally the case, he is paid his full
-salary.  If he does no work he is sometimes paid only half his salary.
-This is very hard, as the salary is just large enough to support him
-and his family, and their expenses while at home are almost as great as
-while in the field.  If the salary is cut down the pleasure and benefit
-of the furlough are curtailed.  If the missionary in the service of the
-board exhausts his health and strength in an unfavorable climate it
-seems but fair that he should be properly supported while endeavoring
-to recuperate.  When a church at home votes its pastor a vacation,
-instead of cutting down his salary during his absence, it is customary
-to give him an extra sum to enable him to enjoy it.  Why should not the
-same be done for the missionary?  He should at least be permitted to
-draw the full amount of his small salary.
-
-Against these vacations is urged their great {220} expense to the
-boards, the greater loss to the mission because of the absence of the
-worker, and the moral effect of frequent returns upon the church at
-home.  All of these objections have weight, but they are far outweighed
-by the reasons that necessitate the furlough.  The accumulated
-experience of the different boards makes the judgment unanimous that
-these are necessary.  The judgment of competent medical men also
-confirms the statement.  Dr. Taylor said in the Osaka conference: "I am
-convinced that a missionary's highest interest requires, and the
-greatest efficiency in his work will be secured by, a return home at
-stated intervals."  Dr. Berry said in the same conference: "The new and
-strange social conditions under which the missionary is obliged to
-work; the effects of climate, intensified in many cases by comparative
-youth; the absence of many of those home comforts and social,
-intellectual, and religious privileges with which the Christian
-civilization of to-day so plentifully surrounds life; the home ties,
-strengthened by youthful affections,--all these combine with present
-facilities of travel to render it advisable that the young missionary
-be at liberty to take a comparatively early vacation in his native
-land."
-
-From an economic standpoint it is wise to grant these furloughs.  It is
-poor economy to keep the workers in the field until they are completely
-{221} broken down, and then have to replace them by inexperienced men,
-who will not be able to do the work of the old ones for years.  Far
-wiser is it to let them stop and recuperate in the home lands before
-this breakdown comes.  It costs less money to keep a missionary well
-than to care for him during a long, unprofitable period of sickness.  I
-quote again on this point Wallace Taylor, M.D., who, in the paper
-referred to above, said: "The present haphazard, unsystematic methods
-of most missions and boards is attended with the greatest expense and
-the poorest returns.  Some of the boards working in Japan have lost
-more time and expended more money in caring for their broken-down
-missionaries than it would cost to carry out the recommendations herein
-made.  Again, I observe that many who do not break down begin to fail
-in health after the fourth or fifth year from entering on their work.
-They remain on the field, and are reluctantly obliged to spend more or
-less time in partial work, while experiencing physical discomfort and
-dissatisfaction of mind.  Very many of these cases would have
-accomplished more for the means expended by a furlough home at the
-close of the fifth or sixth year....  Over $90,000 have been expended
-in Japan by one mission alone in distracted efforts to regain the
-health of its missionaries."
-
-These furloughs are also needed to keep the {222} missionary in touch
-with the life of the home churches.  The West is rapidly progressing in
-civilization, in arts and sciences, and in theology as well.  The
-missionary who spends ten or more years on the field before returning
-home finds himself in an entirely new atmosphere, with which he is
-unfamiliar.  He looks at things from the standpoint of ten or more
-years ago; his methods of work, his language, all are belated.  In
-order that he may give to the nascent churches of Japan the very best
-theology, the very best methods, and the very best life of the Western
-churches, it is necessary for him to return frequently to breathe in
-their spirit and life and keep up with their forward march.
-
-For the missionary's personal benefit he should be permitted to come
-into frequent contact with the home churches.  A too long uninterrupted
-breathing of the poisonous atmosphere of heathenism has a wonderfully
-cooling effect upon his ardor and zeal, and is trying to his faith.  He
-needs to come into contact with the broader faith and deeper life of
-the home churches, and receive from them new consecration and devotion
-to his work.
-
-The church at home needs also to come frequently into contact with its
-missionaries.  Nothing will so stir up interest and zeal in the mission
-cause as to see and hear its needs from living, {223} active workers,
-fresh from the field.  If missionaries were more frequently employed to
-represent the cause to the churches at home perhaps our mission
-treasuries would not be so depleted.  Mission addresses from home
-pastors are abstract and theoretical; those from missionaries are
-concrete and practical.  The former speak from reading, the latter from
-personal experience.  The address of the missionary comes with power
-because he speaks of what he has seen and felt, and his personality is
-thrown into it.
-
-For the sake, then, of the work abroad, of the missionary himself, and
-of the home churches, missionaries should be required to take regular
-furloughs at stated intervals, and should spend them in the home lands.
-
-How long can the missionary safely work in Japan before taking his
-first furlough?  That will depend upon the nature of the man himself,
-and the kind of mission work in which he is engaged.  The average
-length of time spent here by the missionaries before the first furlough
-is about seven years.  There are no men more competent to pass judgment
-upon this matter than Drs. Berry and Taylor, who have spent the better
-part of their lives here, in the service of the American Board, and who
-are thoroughly acquainted with the conditions that surround us.  Dr.
-Berry says: "I do not hesitate to affirm that the {224}
-'ten-year-or-longer rule,' still adhered to by some missionary
-societies, and by many missionaries as well, is too long for the first
-term....  I indorse what in substance has been suggested by my friend
-Dr. McDonald, viz., that the time of service on the field prior to the
-first furlough be seven years, and that prior to subsequent furloughs
-be ten years; this plan to be modified by health, existing conditions
-of work, home finances, and by individual preferences."  Dr. Taylor
-says: "My observations have led me to the conclusion that the first
-furlough ought to be taken at the close of the fifth or sixth year, and
-after that once every eight or ten years."
-
-
-We have yet to look at the trials and sorrows, the encouragements and
-joys, of the missionary.  We have already looked into the missionary's
-home; let us now endeavor to look into his heart.  If the former is his
-_sanctum_, this is his _sanctum sanctorum_; and I trust my missionary
-brethren will pardon me for exposing it to the public view.
-
-We will pass by all physical hardships, such as climate, improper food,
-poor houses, etc.  Although these are often greater hardships than the
-people at home know, they are but "light afflictions" to the
-missionary.  His real trials lie in an entirely different sphere.
-
-The greatest hardship the missionary has to {225} bear is his
-loneliness and isolation.  Separated almost entirely from his own race,
-he is deprived of all those social joys that are so dear to him.  The
-thought of his kinsmen and friends is ever in his mind, but alas! they
-are so far away.  He must go on year after year living among a people
-from whom an impassable gulf separates him, leading the same lonely
-life.  For the first year or two he rather enjoys the quiet and
-privacy, but by and by it becomes almost unendurable.  Dr. Edward
-Lawrence has correctly styled the missionary "an exile."  We cannot do
-better than quote his words: "Very many of the missionary's heaviest
-burdens are summed up in the one word whose height and breadth and
-length and depth none knows so well as he--that word 'exile.'  It is
-not merely a physical exile from home and country and all their
-interests; it is not only an intellectual exile from all that would
-feed and stimulate the mind; it is yet more--a spiritual exile from the
-guidance, the instruction, the correction, from the support, the
-fellowship, the communion of the saints and the church at home.  It is
-an exile as when a man is lowered with a candle into foul places, where
-the noxious gases threaten to put out his light, yet he must explore it
-all and find some way to drain off the refuse and let in the sweet air
-and sun to do their own cleansing work....  The {226} missionary is not
-only torn away from those social bonds that sustain, or even almost
-compose, our mental, moral, and spiritual life, but he is forced into
-closest relations with heathenism, whose evils he abhors, whose power
-and fascinations, too, he dreads.  And when at last he can save his own
-children only by being bereft of them, he feels himself an exile
-indeed."
-
-The missionary's life is full of disappointments.  Men for whom he has
-labored and prayed it may be for years, and in whom he has placed
-implicit confidence, will often bitterly disappoint him in their
-Christian life.  Boys who have been educated on his charity, who are
-what they are solely by his help, will frequently be guilty of base
-ingratitude, and, worse yet, will repudiate his teachings.  The native
-church not having generations of Christian ancestry behind it, and not
-being in a Christian environment, is often, it may be unwittingly,
-guilty of heathen practices that sorely try the heart of the
-missionary.  The struggle between the new life and the old heathenism
-is still seen in the church-members and even in the native ministry.
-Each missionary, if he would be well and cheerful in his work, must
-learn to cast all burdens of such a character on the Lord, and not be
-oppressed by them.
-
-One of the greatest trials some of us have to bear is that we must live
-in an environment so {227} unconducive to personal growth and
-development There is a great deal of ambition lurking about us still,
-and we do not like to see our own development cut short because of an
-unfavorable environment, while our friends and classmates at home, who
-were no more than our equals in former days, far surpass us in
-intellectual development and in influence and power.  Perhaps a
-missionary should be above such thoughts and should be perfectly
-content with a life of obscurity and partial development; but
-missionaries are still men, and to many an ambitious one the limits
-placed upon his personal development are very irksome.
-
-But why are the conditions unfavorable to high personal development?
-Because those stimulants to prolonged, vigorous effort that exist in
-the West are lacking.  The stimulus of competition, the contact of
-thinking minds, so necessary to enlist the full exercise of a man's
-powers, are largely wanting.  One is shut up to his own thoughts and to
-those he gets from books, and his development, in so far as it does
-proceed, is very apt to be one-sided.  This is the reason why so many
-missionaries are narrow, unable to see a subject in all its relations
-and to give due importance to each.
-
-The work of the missionary from beginning to end is one of
-self-sacrifice and self-effacement.  {228} There is no future for him
-in the councils of the native church.  As the work grows and extends he
-must gradually take a back seat.  As the native ministry develops, the
-foreign minister is less and less needed, and must gradually withdraw.
-
-Again, the home land, father and mother, brothers and sisters, friends
-and companions, are just as dear to the missionary as to any one else.
-Yet it seems inevitable that he will gradually grow away from them and
-be forgotten by them.  Prolonged absence brings forgetfulness; diverse
-labors and interests put people out of sympathy with one another.  When
-the new missionary first comes out to his field, communication between
-him and friends is frequent.  Letters pass regularly, little
-remembrances are sent from time to time, and he is still in touch with
-his friends at home.  But by and by a change comes.  After one or two
-years exchange of presents and remembrances ceases; gradually the
-letters cease also, and none come except those from his immediate
-family.  Even these become less and less frequent.  The arrival of the
-mails, which at first was looked forward to with so much joy, is now
-scarcely noted.  An old American gentleman who has spent some forty
-years in the East tells me that he now receives from the home land not
-more than two or three letters per year.  {229} After a few years of
-residence here one feels that he is largely out of touch with the life
-of the West, and that he is forgotten, by home and friends.
-
-It seems to me that churches and friends can do much toward preventing
-this, and toward brightening the lives of their missionaries, if they
-will.  Let pastors and friends throughout the church take special pains
-to write interesting personal letters to the missionary.  It will do
-him good just to be remembered in this way.  It is natural that the
-same kindness, attention, and love that are shown to the home pastor
-should not be shown to the missionary, because he is so far away and
-the strong personal element is wanting.  But if the churches would make
-an effort to share their kindness and beneficence between the home
-pastor and the foreign one it would be highly appreciated by the latter.
-
-Especially does this seem but fair in a case where a church supports
-its own missionary and where most of its members are personally
-acquainted with him.  Such churches speak of having two pastors; one at
-home ministering to them, and one abroad, in their stead, preaching the
-gospel to the heathen.  Why should not these pastors have equal place
-in their hearts and receive equally their kindness and their gifts?  If
-any preference is shown, it would seem that it should {230} be to the
-foreign pastor, for he has much the harder work.  But the foreign
-pastor is generally forgotten, while the home pastor, with whom living
-is much cheaper, is paid a larger salary; he is given a vacation, and a
-purse to enable him to spend it pleasantly; at Christmas he is
-substantially remembered, and all through the year he is presented with
-numerous gifts and shown many favors.  The poor lonely missionary is
-paid a moderate salary and is given no further thought.  Imagine the
-feelings of a man in a mission field, supported by one church which
-always speaks of him as its foreign pastor, as he takes up a church
-paper and reads of the favors shown the home pastor; among them such
-items as "a nice purse of fifty dollars," "a three months' leave of
-absence, and expenses to ----."  He cannot help thinking with a sigh of
-that unpaid doctor's bill of fifty dollars incurred by his wife's ill
-health last summer, or of the money needed to send his boy home to be
-educated.
-
-A church should try to remember its pastor abroad as well as the one at
-home.  The home pastor himself could see to it that this is done.  If
-he should simply say, when handed a present for some purpose, "Our
-foreign pastor has not been remembered by us, and he needs it more than
-I, therefore we will send this to him," the result would probably be
-that he and the foreign {231} pastor would both be remembered.  If
-little expressions of appreciation and kindness, such as this, were
-occasionally shown the missionaries, it would do much to brighten and
-cheer their hard lives.  These are little things, but the little things
-have much to do with our happiness.
-
-If the missionary life has its sorrows and disappointments, it has its
-pleasures and joys as well.  It is with great pleasure that I turn from
-the dark to the bright side of our lives.
-
-First I would mention that sweet peace and joy that come from the
-consciousness of doing one's duty.  The true missionary feels that God
-has called him into the work, and that he is fulfilling the divine
-will.  This knowledge brings with it much pleasure.  The joy is all the
-sweeter because of the sacrifices that must be undergone in answer to
-the divine call.  He feels not only that he is in the field by the call
-of God, but also that God is with him in his work, leading, guiding,
-blessing, helping him.  He hears the words of his Master, "Lo, I am
-with you alway," and he gladly responds, "In Thy presence is fullness
-of joy."  The brooding Spirit of God is especially near the Christian
-worker in foreign lands, and imparts to him much joy and peace.
-
-Another of the missionary's joys is to see the gospel gradually taking
-hold of the hearts of the people and renewing and transforming them.
-It {232} is passing pleasant to tell the gospel story, so full of hope
-and joy, to these people whose religious ideas and aspirations are only
-dark and gloomy.  Who could desire sweeter joy than to watch the
-transforming power of the gospel in the heart of some poor heathen,
-changing him from an idol-worshiping, immoral creature into a pure,
-consistent Christian?  It is the good fortune of the missionary to see
-such changes taking place in the people to whom he ministers.  And what
-a change it is!  For gloom and dejection it gives joy and hope; for
-blind, irresistible fate it gives a loving providence.  The change is
-so great that every feature of the face expresses it.
-
-Lastly, the crown of the missionary's life is to see a strong, vigorous
-native church springing up around him, the direct result of his labors;
-to see it gradually and silently spreading itself throughout the whole
-nation as the leaven through the meal, permeating every form of its
-life and impressing itself upon every phase of its character.  To this
-native church he confidently looks for the evangelization of the masses
-and the accomplishment of all that for which he has labored so long and
-so earnestly.  When the missionary can look upon such a native church
-with the feeling that it will be faithful to its Lord and do His work;
-when he can sit in its pews and hear soul-nourishing gospel sermons
-from his {233} own pupils, now grown strong in the Lord--then indeed
-his cup of joy is full.  The trials and sorrows that were endured in
-connection with the work are all forgotten, and his only emotion is one
-of glad thanksgiving.
-
-In some lands many missionaries have already received this crown to
-their labors; it has been partially received in Japan, and if we are
-but faithful to our trust shall yet be received in all lands.
-
-
-
-
-{234}
-
-XIII
-
-METHODS OF WORK
-
-Missionaries attempt in various ways to evangelize the nations to which
-they are sent.  The extent and variety of the work which the missionary
-is called upon to perform are much greater than the people at home are
-apt to think.  He must be at the same time a preacher, a teacher, a
-translator, a financier, a judge, an author, an editor, an architect, a
-musician.  The great variety of the work necessitates a well-rounded
-man.
-
-All of these offices are, in an indirect sense, ways of doing mission
-work; but we will here confine ourselves to the consideration of the
-more direct and positive methods in vogue in Japan.  These are direct
-evangelization, educational work, literary work, and medical work.
-
-
-
-_Direct Evangelization_
-
-By this I mean the actual propagation of the gospel, by word of mouth,
-to the people to whom {235} we are sent.  I mention this first because
-I regard it as the most important of all methods.  The supreme vocation
-of the missionary is, not to educate, not to heal, but to preach the
-gospel.  It is well for mission boards and missionaries to remember
-this, for there is danger in many places of making this primary method
-secondary to education.  While it is probably true that the
-evangelization of the masses will depend ultimately upon the efforts of
-the native ministry, this should not therefore be construed to mean
-that the foreign missionary has nothing to do with this department of
-the work.  He should personally engage in this evangelistic work,
-should himself come into actual contact with the unevangelized masses,
-and should proclaim the gospel directly to them.  In this way only can
-he understand thoroughly the nature of the work in which he is engaged,
-and be enabled to sympathize with and advise his evangelists.  He
-should not only train native evangelists, but should be an evangelist
-himself, teaching his helpers, by earnest, zealous example as well as
-by precept, right methods of the proclamation of the gospel.  Such work
-must also bear direct fruit in the conversion of souls; for even in
-this land, in spite of the great nationalism and strong prejudice
-against foreigners, a foreigner will draw larger congregations and be
-listened to with more attention than {236} a native.  And this is not
-simply because of curiosity; the people have more confidence in his
-ability properly to represent the foreign religion.  For these reasons,
-then, viz., for the sake of the souls he may win, for the sake of the
-example he may set to his helpers, and for his own sake, that he may
-rightly understand and appreciate the work, every missionary should, as
-far as possible, be an evangelist.  This is emphasized here because in
-many places the evangelistic work is in danger of being subordinated to
-the educational, and missionaries are not lacking who take the strange
-ground that it is neither necessary nor profitable for the missionary
-personally to come into contact with the unevangelized masses.  This
-seems to me to be a very mistaken view of the sphere of the foreign
-worker.  He should not only train helpers, support and advise them, but
-he should also go with them among the people and preach to them himself.
-
-The direct propagation of the gospel may be either local or
-itinerating.  The missionary may reside in one place, have a fixed
-chapel, and there teach all who come to him; or he may go on long tours
-through the country, preaching from town to town and from village to
-village.  In general these methods are combined in Japan.  The
-missionary is located in one town and to the work there gives most of
-his attention; but he {237} also at stated intervals visits the
-surrounding towns and country, doing evangelistic work wherever he can.
-
-LOCAL EVANGELISM.--For obvious reasons, local evangelistic work yields
-the greatest returns.  To it the missionary gives his constant care and
-attention, while his visits to the country are only periodical.  Local
-evangelistic work in Japan is carried on somewhat in the following
-manner:
-
-A house, as centrally located in the town as possible, is rented and
-fitted up as a chapel.  The only furnishings needed are a small table
-and some lamps.  Japanese houses are so constructed that the whole wall
-on the street side can be removed, and people standing in the street
-can see and hear all that is going on within.  In this new chapel, one
-or two evenings a week, the gospel will be preached.  In China there is
-preaching in such chapels every day, but in Japan the people will not
-come oftener than once or twice a week.  In all probability both the
-missionary and the native evangelist will preach the same evening, one
-after the other.  At first very few people will come into the house,
-but numbers will congregate in the street and will listen to what is
-said.  After the service is over an opportunity is given for personal
-conversation on religious topics.  By and by a little interest is
-manifested, and some begin to come into the house.  A great {238} deal
-has been gained when people will go so far as to come up into the
-Christian chapel, in plain view of the multitudes, and hear the sermon.
-
-In many cases the native evangelist lives in the chapel (in the same
-building, but occupying different rooms) and daily meets and talks with
-people about religion.  In this way he hears of those who are
-interested, and he and the missionary visit such in their homes and
-converse privately with them.  In my own mission, as soon as any are
-interested, they are organized into a catechetical class, which meets
-weekly, and are thoroughly instructed in Luther's Small Catechism.  But
-I find that unless this is preceded by more elementary instruction this
-excellent little manual will not be well understood.  Real inquirers
-are glad to come and study the catechism and the Bible, and they study
-them well.  Some of the most satisfactory work I have done in Japan has
-been along the line of catechetical instruction.  Some of the larger
-missions working here have not been sufficiently careful about giving
-their converts sound elementary instruction in Christian doctrine, but
-have left them to gather all the necessary knowledge from the sermons
-they hear and the instruction given in the Sunday-schools.  One of the
-desiderata of most missions in Japan is more systematic catechetical
-instruction.
-
-Among the first things a missionary does in {239} beginning work in a
-town is to open a Sunday-school.  The children are generally more
-accessible than the older people, and many of them will come to the
-school.  They cannot at first be organized into classes, as their
-interest is not sufficiently great to induce them to attend regularly
-and to study.  The first instruction is usually by means of large Bible
-pictures that catch the eye and teach a religious truth.  By and by,
-when the work becomes more substantial and the interest more developed,
-the pupils can be organized into classes and more systematic
-instruction given.  If there are any Christians in connection with the
-chapel their children form the backbone of the Sunday-school.
-
-A considerable part of the time of the missionary doing local
-evangelistic work, if he is wise, will be occupied in house-to-house
-visitation.  The Japanese are a very social people, and it is wonderful
-how a little personal kindness and interest in them will break down the
-prejudice against us and our work.  As a rule, the missionary who goes
-into a native home with humility, simplicity, and love will gain the
-good will of the whole household.  Men feel freer to talk about
-religious subjects in the privacy of their own homes.  In a discourse
-to a promiscuous audience the truth is scattered broadcast, and each
-one catches what he can; but in a private {240} conversation in the
-home the truth especially adapted to the hearer can be given.  It is
-like a man trying to fill a bottle with water; he will get it full much
-quicker by taking it up in his hand and pouring the water into it than
-by throwing a whole bowlful at it from a distance.
-
-It is a very pleasant experience to enter a friendly home in the
-evening, to sit around the social hibachi (fire-box), sip tea, and talk
-about the great questions of time and eternity.  One is generally
-received with cordiality and made to feel at home.  He is listened to
-attentively and respectfully, and the questions asked are intelligent,
-appreciative ones.  If the missionary expects his host immediately to
-be convinced by his eloquence, to agree to all he says, to discard at
-once his old religion and embrace the new, he will be disappointed.
-But if he is content to seek an opportunity to present the truth under
-most favorable circumstances, leaving it to do its own work silently
-and gradually, he will be sure to find it.
-
-House-to-house visitation and personal talks with the people are of
-great importance in local evangelistic work.  But in doing such work
-great care should be taken to comply strictly with Japanese etiquette
-and rules of propriety, and especially to avoid a haughty bearing.  The
-ordinary native home is much smaller, simpler, {241} and frequently
-dirtier, than the missionary's, and the people are constantly watching
-for any recognition of this fact on his part.  He should carefully
-guard himself against any look or expression which might imply his
-superiority, or his dissatisfaction with things around him.
-
-I have been both amused and pained by overhearing Japanese imitate the
-sayings and actions of two visiting missionaries.  According to the
-imitation, the one bears himself haughtily and proudly; as soon as he
-comes near the door he instinctively draws back as though fearing bad
-odors; when he comes in he bows stiffly, seats himself on the best mat,
-carefully draws up his clothes as though fearing contamination, casts a
-scornful look at the bare walls, utters a few commonplace sentiments,
-and hastily departs.  The other one comes with a cheery greeting, a
-smiling countenance, and a humble demeanor.  He never notices the lowly
-house and bare walls, but quietly and unconcernedly takes the place
-assigned him, freely and appreciatively partakes of the tea and cakes
-set before him, and kindly and sympathetically talks with the people as
-one of them.  It is very evident which one of these two will do the
-most good.
-
-As soon as the work grows and a small company of believers has been
-gathered the duties of the missionary increase.  There now rests upon
-{242} him that burden which so oppressed Paul--the care of the
-churches.  He must look after the regular worship of the church, must
-develop in his people a church-going sentiment, and must instruct them
-in the observance of all Christian duties.  In this work he will need
-much patience, wisdom, and zeal.  The native converts, not having
-generations of Christian ancestors as we have, will need oft to be
-exhorted, oft rebuked, and loved much.  Christian duties that are with
-us almost habitual must be urged upon these people time and again.  The
-church must be organized and developed into an harmonious working body.
-In all of this the missionary is fortunate if he has the assistance of
-a wise, godly native helper.
-
-Perhaps the most attractive and interesting feature of all mission work
-is this forming and molding, under one's own hand, of the theology, the
-life, and the activities of a young church.  The one who is privileged
-to do this occupies a position of responsibility than which none could
-be greater.  May God give us grace to do it aright.
-
-ITINERATING EVANGELISM.--No true missionary living in a non-Christian
-land will confine his labors to the town in which he resides.  His
-heart will be constantly yearning over the people in the surrounding
-towns and country, and he will gladly take advantage of every
-opportunity {243} to make them occasional visits, telling to them also
-the old, old story.
-
-But there are other workers whose sole business it is to visit these
-outlying points and carry a knowledge of the gospel to those who cannot
-have regular gospel ministrations.  Perhaps this feature of missionary
-work is the one most prominent in the minds of the people at home, who
-are fond of picturing their missionary as a man who goes about from
-town to town and from village to village, proclaiming the gospel to all
-who will hear.
-
-Christianity is by nature diffusive.  It spreads itself as naturally as
-the leaven spreads in the meal.  Confucius taught: "The philosopher
-need not go about to proclaim his doctrines; if he has the truth the
-people will come to him."  In striking contrast to this Christ taught:
-"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
-We are not only to teach those who come to us, but we are also to go
-out in search of hearers, to carry our message to the people.
-
-When our Saviour was upon earth the work He did was largely
-itinerating; going about from place to place, teaching in the
-synagogue, by the wayside, or on the sea-shore.  The disciples were all
-itinerating evangelists, carrying their message from city to city and
-from land to land.  {244} St. Paul was an itinerating missionary on a
-large scale.  Not content to abide long in any one place, but looking
-out continually to the regions beyond, his life was one ceaseless
-activity in itinerating evangelism.  The missionaries through whom
-northern Europe and England were converted were itinerants.  And those
-who to-day in mission fields take their valises well stocked with
-tracts and sermons and go out into the country on long evangelistic
-tours can feel that they are following in the footsteps of worthy
-exemplars.
-
-We can hardly overestimate the importance of this work.  The word of
-mouth is still the most effective means of conveying a message to the
-masses, and a knowledge of Christian principles that could else hardly
-be given is in this way spread abroad throughout the land.
-
-[Illustration: Jinrikishas.]
-
-The facilities for itinerating in Japan are excellent.  Most of the
-important points are easily reached by rail or water.  But in general,
-on an itinerating tour, the missionary has little use for the steamers
-and railways.  The points he wants to visit are not on the great
-thoroughfares, but are in out-of-the-way places.  There is, however, a
-good system of roads, and the jinrikisha, which is everywhere found, is
-easily capable of carrying one 40 or 50 miles a day.  This little cart
-resembles a buggy, except that it has only two wheels and is much
-smaller.  The seat is {245} just large enough to accommodate one
-person.  A small Japanese coolie between the shafts furnishes all the
-necessary motive power.  These are very convenient and comfortable
-little conveyances, and are the ones in ordinary use by missionaries in
-their itinerating work.
-
-In recent years the bicycle has become popular for this purpose.  As
-the "wheel" has been made to serve almost every other interest, it is
-but fair that it should also serve the gospel.  Perhaps to-day one half
-of all the male missionaries in Japan ride wheels.  They have decided
-advantages over the jinrikisha, chiefly in the way of speed, personal
-comfort, and pleasure.  I wish my readers could see their
-representatives in Japan just starting on their wheels for a tour in
-the interior.  Dressed in negligée shirts, caps, and knickerbockers,
-with a large bundle tied upon the wheel in front of each one, they
-present a comical appearance.  Many sermons have been preached in Japan
-in negligée shirts and knickerbockers.
-
-There are nice, clean little inns in all the villages and towns, and
-the missionary is not put to such straits for a place in which to rest
-and sleep as he is sometimes in other mission fields.  But as the food
-offered him is unpalatable to most foreigners, he carries with him a
-few things, such as bread, canned meats, and condensed milk.
-
-{246}
-
-The splendid telegraph system extending over all Japan keeps him in
-communication with his family and friends, no matter where he may go,
-and he need not hesitate to go into the interior on that score.  A good
-daily mail system is also at hand to carry his letters.
-
-Formerly the greatest hindrance to itinerating in Japan was the
-difficulty of obtaining passports to travel in the interior.  No one
-was permitted to go outside of certain limits without a special
-passport, and such passports were only given for two purposes: for
-health, and for scientific observation.  The government did not intend
-by this restriction to prohibit mission work in the interior, but aimed
-simply to prohibit foreigners from engaging in interior trade.  As the
-missionaries were not going for purposes of trade, many of them availed
-themselves of these passports; but there were some whose consciences
-would not permit them so to do.  Several high officials were directly
-spoken to about the matter by missionaries; and they replied that, in
-the eyes of the law, a man could want to travel for only three
-purposes: for health, for trade, or for scientific observation.  As
-this restriction was simply to prevent foreigners from engaging in
-interior trade, and as the missionaries were not going for that
-purpose, they were told that they should go on with their work.  The
-government knew well {247} the purpose for which they were going, and
-permitted it; hence their consciences might be at rest.  These
-explanations on the part of the officials removed the difficulty in the
-minds of some, but not of all.  Fortunately, since the revision of the
-treaties, passports are granted without any question as to the purpose
-for which they are wanted, and all who ask it are freely given
-permission to travel where they will.  Since this restriction has been
-removed more itinerating is being done, and it is probable that it will
-still increase.
-
-The missionary does two kinds of itinerating in Japan: (1) he visits
-periodically a large number of outstations, where are native
-evangelists; (2) he goes into regions where there are no evangelists
-and heralds the gospel.
-
-Itinerating among stations where native workers are located and regular
-work kept up is by far the most frequent.  These tours are generally
-made about every two or three months, one missionary visiting perhaps a
-dozen stations.  The local evangelist makes all preparations for the
-meetings, which are generally of a special character.  There will
-probably be a special preaching service for non-believers, and a
-communion service with the Christians.  If there are any baptisms the
-sacrament is then administered.  The visit of the missionary is
-intended to be as much a stimulus and encouragement to the evangelist
-{248} as anything else.  These men, living in out-of-the-way places
-where there are few, if any, Christians, are apt to get despondent and
-discouraged, and they need occasionally the sympathy and advice of a
-fellow-worker.  The missionary who has charge of this kind of work is a
-sort of bishop, with an extended parish.
-
-When fields where no regular work is carried on are visited the work is
-necessarily different.  In this case the missionary must take his
-helper with him.  He seldom goes alone, for various reasons.  When on
-one of these tours he will spend one or two days in a village, talking
-personally with all who will come to him.  Very likely he will rent a
-room in the inn in which he is stopping, and he and his helper will
-there preach one or two evenings.  Sometimes, if the weather is good,
-he obtains permission of the authorities to hold the meeting in the
-open air, and preaches on the street or in the public squares.
-Wherever an audience can be gathered the message is told.  After one or
-two days spent in this manner they move on to the next town, and there
-do as they did before, thus going their whole round.  The most that is
-accomplished by this method of preaching is to spread abroad a general
-knowledge of Christianity among the people and break down their
-prejudice against it.  Not many conversions result from it.
-
-{249}
-
-Some may ask what kind of sermons one preaches on these itinerating
-tours.  They should be of the plainest, simplest character.  It is
-profitable to consume a good deal of time in disproving the false ideas
-which prevail concerning Christianity, and in giving the people correct
-views of its nature.  The nature of God must be carefully explained,
-both because the word we use for God is in Japanese applicable to an
-earthly hero as well as to a divine being, and because the divinities
-of Japan differ very much in nature from the Christian conception of
-God.  One can preach a long time on sin before getting the people
-properly to understand it.  The Japanese are really without any sense
-of sin, and have no word in their language to express the idea exactly.
-We use the word which means crime or offense against the laws of the
-land.  Then the old story of Christ simply told always commands a
-hearing everywhere.
-
-The kind of itinerating last described is open to serious objection.
-It is uncertain and fitful.  One visit may be made to a town each year,
-or some years not even one.  No provision is made for carrying on the
-work, or for keeping alive any interest that may have been aroused.  To
-be made very profitable such itinerating should be regular and
-systematic; the visits should not be too far apart; and as soon as some
-inquirers are {250} found, a native evangelist should be stationed
-there to care for them.  When conducted in this way it is conducive of
-great good.
-
-
-
-_Educational Work_
-
-The educational department of mission work has in recent years been
-coming more and more into prominence.  This feature of the work
-attracts the attention of the visitor from the home lands more than any
-other, because it makes more show.  The imposing buildings that are
-erected, and the large number of students that can be gathered into
-them, make a favorable impression.
-
-Educational work is generally more attractive than evangelistic.  The
-former is regular, while the latter is desultory.  The former is
-continuous, occupying one's time and attention every day; the latter is
-intermittent.  The former can be pursued at home, and the missionary
-can enjoy the constant society of his family; the latter takes him away
-from his family and occupies him abroad.  Educational work is usually
-carried on in the open ports and large cities, where one enjoys all the
-conveniences of life, with sympathetic society; evangelistic work takes
-the missionary into the interior, where there are few conveniences and
-no society.  Lastly, educational work is more {251} or less welcomed by
-the natives, while evangelistic work is unwelcome.
-
-Japan possesses a large number of mission schools.  Their imposing
-buildings are seen in almost every city of the empire.  Every mission
-of large size has its schools for both boys and girls.  The annual
-support of these schools costs the various boards more money than all
-the evangelistic work that is done in Japan.  More missionaries are
-engaged in educational than in evangelistic work.
-
-A certain amount of educational work seems necessary to the success of
-every mission.  First in importance is theological training.  A body of
-well-trained native pastors is absolutely essential.  Especially in
-this land, where there are many educated people and where all forms of
-rationalism and skepticism are rife, is it necessary that the
-evangelist have a liberal education, that he be well rooted and
-grounded in Christian doctrine, and able to answer the philosophical
-objections to Christianity that meet him on every side.  An educated
-ministry is just as necessary in Japan as it is in the West, and the
-schools that are providing such a ministry are doing a good work.
-
-But some of the methods used by them are open to criticism.  Heretofore
-most theological training has been in the English language, and {252}
-the language alone has taken up a great deal of the student's time and
-strength.  And again, very few Japanese young men gain a sufficient
-knowledge of English to appreciate or derive full benefit from a
-theological course in that language.  Against this is urged the paucity
-of Christian literature in Japanese, and the wide field of religious
-thought which a knowledge of the English language opens to the student.
-This is very true; but if the same amount of time and energy that has
-been expended in instruction in English had been given to the creation
-of a native Christian literature the evil would not exist.  I am glad
-to note that recently nearly all the theological schools have
-introduced courses in the vernacular for those who cannot take the
-English course.  It would be well if the English course were dispensed
-with entirely and all instruction were given in the vernacular.
-
-Many of the missions operating in Japan have sent worthy young men to
-America and England for theological training.  In nearly every instance
-this has proved an unwise investment.  The good people at home take up
-these young men and nurse and pet them until they are completely
-spoiled.  They come back to Japan unfitted by taste and education for
-the position they must occupy and the work they must do.  Most of them
-become dissatisfied in the work after a few {253} years.  Foreign
-education largely denationalizes them and removes them from the
-sympathies of their own people.  Of course there have been some
-exceptions to this rule; but, in general, experience has proved that
-locally trained evangelists are best suited for the work and give most
-satisfaction in it.
-
-By this it is not intended to imply that Japanese pastors and teachers
-should not have the advantages offered by the Western seminaries when
-they desire them and are able to obtain them for themselves.  They are
-as capable of receiving advanced instruction as we are, and have the
-same right to it.  But the money which foreign boards spend for
-training evangelists should be spent in the field.
-
-Besides the theological schools there are large numbers of academical
-schools for young men, in which a great deal of mission money is spent.
-In justification of these it is argued that they are necessary for the
-preparatory training of evangelists.  It is said that the education of
-these future pastors of the church should be Christian from the
-beginning, and this is true.  But more than half the evangelists now
-laboring in Japan have not received such training.  The education they
-received from government and private schools answers very well in their
-case.  Actual experience has proved that, whatever may be the {254} aim
-of these academies, as a matter of fact they do not train evangelists.
-Most of the men who take their full course enter other professions.
-One of the oldest missions in Japan, employing about twenty
-evangelists, has among them only one man who has taken the full
-academical course in its mission college; but many men have been
-educated at the church's expense for other professions.
-
-Again, it is said in justification of these academies and their large
-expenditure of mission money that a Christian education must be
-provided for the children of the constituency of the mission.  The
-church provides a Christian education for her sons and daughters at
-home; why should she not do it for her wards abroad?  Far be it from me
-to attempt to minimize the importance of Christian education; but will
-it not be time enough for such education when the constituency of the
-native church feels its need to such an extent that it will demand this
-education itself, support the schools with its money, and send its sons
-and daughters to them?  At present even the Christian people frequently
-prefer a government school to a mission school; and they often send
-their children to the latter, when they do send them, because they will
-there be given financial aid.
-
-There was a time when Christian schools did a good work in Japan.
-Before the government {255} schools were brought up to their present
-standard the mission schools were well patronized, and they
-considerably benefited the cause of missions.  But to-day the
-government has schools of every grade, and frequently they are better
-than the mission schools.  The students who formerly flocked to the
-mission schools now flock to those of the government, and the former
-have but few pupils.  The times have changed, and these large,
-expensive schools are now hardly needed.  In so far as they are needed
-for the preparatory training of a native ministry, and can be made to
-serve that end, they may be all right, but certainly as an evangelizing
-agency they are not justified.  The native church should be encouraged
-and stimulated to educate its own children; it might even be assisted
-in the attempt, when it has shown an honest effort to do this; but its
-children should not be educated for it by the mission free of charge.
-To spend so large an amount of the people's money in purely secular
-education seems to me a misappropriation of funds.
-
-More than half the mission schools in Japan are boarding-schools for
-girls.  Nearly all the unmarried women engaged in mission work are in
-these schools, and there are many of them.  Some of these schools have
-very fine locations and buildings, about as good as those of the
-average {256} girls' college at home.  That they are more popular and
-better patronized than those for boys is because the government does
-not provide for the higher education of girls as it does for boys.
-
-The purpose of these girls' boarding-schools is to train up earnest
-Christian women, who will be the wives and mothers of the new Japan.
-It is said that if the mothers of the nation are made Christian the
-evangelization of the whole people will speedily follow.  This purpose
-is a worthy one.  Most of the girls who enter these mission schools
-become Christians, and the training given them seems to be good.  I
-recently attended the closing exercises of one of the largest of these,
-and was surprised at the progress made by the girls.  They could paint
-and draw, and recite classical music as well as the young ladies of the
-seminaries at home; and I have no doubt that the graduates leave the
-schools pure-minded, earnest Christians, with worthy aims and
-aspirations, and with a full intention to exert their influence for God
-and His church.
-
-But alas! when they go back to their homes the position Japanese
-etiquette assigns them so effectually ties their hands that the results
-are bitterly disappointing.  I will mention one case which came under
-my own observation.  A young lady was educated by a mission school in a
-certain city, who was noted for her piety and {257} earnest Christian
-spirit.  Her teachers had most extravagant hopes as to the strong
-positive influence she would exert for Christianity.  After her
-graduation she spent several years in the same school as a teacher, and
-her Christian life was broadened and deepened by longer and more
-intimate contact with the foreign teachers.  She finally married and
-removed to her new home, in a distant city.  There she attended church
-once or twice and then stopped entirely.  Neither the urgent personal
-request of the native pastor nor the oft-repeated invitation of the
-Christian congregation could induce her to come any more.  Instead of
-exerting an influence for good upon others she herself became a fit
-subject for mission work.  I have known several cases of this kind, and
-all missionaries have had the same experience.  Social conditions in
-Japan are such that a girl marrying into a non-Christian home can exert
-little Christian influence.
-
-But admitting for the moment the utility of this Christian training for
-the girls, these large schools are open to serious objections on other
-grounds.  The course is too long, and the instruction given too
-advanced.  In many of these schools the girls are kept for twelve or
-fourteen years.  During all this time they are more or less supported
-by mission funds, even down to pin-money.  They are taught all kinds of
-abstract {258} sciences and advanced ideas that can be of no possible
-use to them.  Latin and Greek, biology, geology, psychology, and many
-other things are taught them that they neither need nor can appreciate.
-Painting, drawing, vocal and instrumental music form a prominent part
-of the curriculum.  Girls are made to practise on the piano for ten
-years or more who will in all probability never see a piano after they
-leave school.  Of course these are not the only subjects taught; more
-useful ones are taught as well.
-
-If mission schools for the education of girls should exist at all the
-instruction should be much more elementary and practical.  A course of
-two or three years, teaching them how wisely to fill their position as
-wives and mothers, would amply suffice.
-
-It is claimed by the Japanese with great reason that these schools
-unfit the girls for the sphere they must occupy in after life.  A life
-of ten, twelve, or fourteen years in constant association with foreign
-teachers, in a foreign building, with all necessaries and conveniences
-supplied, pursuing a pleasant course of study, does not fit the pupil
-for life in her humble home.  No wonder she loves the school and dreads
-to see the day approaching when she must leave it.  Having lived so
-long under much better circumstances, her home, with its thatched roof,
-narrow walls, {259} and homely duties, becomes distasteful to her.  Of
-what use now are her music and painting, her Latin and Greek, when her
-time must be spent in boiling rice and mending old, worn-out clothes?
-There is such a thing as educating people above their sphere in life,
-and such education is more hurtful than otherwise.
-
-But it is said, "We are training future Bible-women who will go out and
-teach the gospel to their country-women."  In reply to this it can be
-answered that not a great many graduates of girls' schools become
-Bible-women; and it is the experience of nearly every missionary that
-the best Bible-women are middle-aged women, who may never have been in
-a mission school.
-
-Again, it is said that it is worth while to have these schools if only
-to train educated Christian wives for the native evangelists.  But many
-of the evangelists, even among those who themselves have received a
-more or less foreign training, prefer wives who have never been in a
-mission school, saying that these girls who have lived so long under
-better surroundings will not be contented and happy in the homes they
-can provide.  It is also true that many of the young ladies who
-graduate from these schools object to marrying at all, feeling that
-they have been unfitted for the life they would have to lead.
-
-A very serious objection to the present {260} educational method in use
-by many missions in Japan is that it hinders self-support in the native
-churches.  These large foreign plants, with their costly appliances,
-can never be supported by the native churches, and the evident futility
-of the effort so discourages them that they will not even do what they
-can.  The day when the churches of Japan can become self-supporting is
-very much postponed by the existence of these costly schools.  At
-present the native churches could hardly keep the school buildings in
-repair.
-
-The whole work of missions in Japan was in the beginning projected on
-too high a plane.  To many it seems a great mistake that such large and
-costly buildings were erected and the schools started on a foreign
-basis.  Should not the buildings have been entirely of native
-architecture from the beginning, and the educational work projected on
-a plane corresponding to Japanese life?  If small wooden houses, with
-straw roofs and no furniture, are good enough for these people to live
-in and to transact all kinds of business in, then they are good enough
-for them to study in and to worship God in.  If from the very beginning
-the schools and churches had been built on a plane corresponding with
-ordinary Japanese houses and life the day would much sooner have come
-when the Japanese themselves could undertake their support.  When, in
-the providence of {261} God, the native church shall have been
-sufficiently developed, materially and spiritually, to undertake the
-education of her children and the training of her own pastors, the
-manner in which she will do it will be very different from that in
-which it is now done by the mission boards.
-
-I am aware that many missionaries in Japan, for whose opinions I have
-all respect, will not agree with these views.  But, after most careful
-thought and investigation, the above are the conclusions to which I
-have arrived; and I am glad to know that my views are shared by many of
-my fellow-missionaries.  It is my sincere conviction that most of the
-money now being used for educational purposes in Japan is misapplied,
-and would yield far greater results if used in other ways.
-
-
-
-_Literary Work_
-
-One of the most important and fruitful branches of missionary work is
-the literary.  The creation of a sound Christian literature is one of
-the first and most imperative duties pressing upon the missionary to
-the heathen.
-
-This is an exceedingly difficult task.  When we think of how much labor
-and how many precious lives our own Christian literature has cost us,
-we begin to have some conception of the immensity of the task of
-creating a Christian {262} literature in a heathen land.  In the first
-place, the missionary must have a complete mastery of the language,--in
-Japan an appalling task,--and then he must create the terms to express
-so many ideas.  Many of our Christian ideas have no counterpart in
-non-Christian lands, and the very words to express them must be coined.
-A common device is to take words of kindred meaning and to make them
-serve the purpose, endeavoring to attach our own meaning to them by
-gradual processes of instruction and use.  Thus with the words for God
-and sin in use by most missions in Japan.  These words are _kami_ and
-_tsumi_.  Now _kami_ is the word used for numerous mythological
-divinities, with natures very different from our God, and is also
-applied to the ancient heroes of Japan.  As it expresses the idea
-better than any other word we have, we use it for God; but we must be
-careful always to explain the sense in which we use it.  The word
-_tsumi_ means crime, or offense against the laws of the land.  Our idea
-of sin is lacking in the Japanese mind, and hence there is no word that
-exactly expresses it.  We take the word _tsumi_ as being nearest it,
-and endeavor to impart to it our own meaning.  In this way we have not
-only to translate the ideas, but also to coin or modify the words to
-express them.
-
-This work of the missionary is very different {263} from that of
-translating English books into a European language which has a circle
-of ideas similar to our own, for there the words are found ready-made
-to express the ideas.
-
-Generally the first literary work to be done by missionaries is the
-translation and publication of portions of Scripture and of tracts.  As
-soon as their knowledge of the language is sufficiently advanced, they
-translate the whole Bible and some good hymns.  Then follow
-apologetical and evidential works, and treatises on theology and
-morality.  Afterward biographical and devotional books, magazines, and
-Christian newspapers are published.  We cannot overestimate the value
-of a good Christian newspaper.  It will carry gospel truth to people
-whom the missionary and the native evangelist cannot reach, and it will
-help much to nourish and strengthen the life of the native converts.
-In such a paper the latter will probably see their religion set forth
-in all its relations to the questions of practical life in a way they
-seldom hear it done in sermons.  I think parish papers, which are
-becoming so common at home, would also exert a splendid influence in
-Japan.
-
-In this field a considerable Christian literature has already been
-created.  Among the most important books translated so far might be
-mentioned the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, {264} Luther's Small
-Catechism, the Heidelberg Catechism, Bynyan's "Pilgrim's Progress."  A
-considerable number of books on apologetical, evidential, dogmatic, and
-historical theology have been published, besides biographical, ethical,
-and devotional books.  There are also several Christian newspapers, and
-recently the missionaries of the American Board have begun the
-publication of a Christian magazine.
-
-A Christian literature which will be a powerful auxiliary to our work
-is at present forming rapidly in Japan.
-
-
-
-_Medical Work_
-
-Medical work is one of the youngest departments of missionary labor.
-Christ healed the body as well as the soul, and it is peculiarly
-fitting that the missionary be able to heal the body likewise.  Medical
-missions have done more in some countries toward breaking down the
-prejudice against Christianity than any other one thing.  Doors
-effectually closed to the evangelist have been opened wide to the
-doctor.  The power for good of a consecrated physician in many mission
-fields is boundless.  The mission boards have fully recognized this
-fact, and have wisely used large numbers of medical missionaries.
-
-In former times medical missionaries accomplished much good in Japan.
-They helped greatly {265} to break down the prejudice and opposition to
-Christianity.  Many who came to the hospitals to have their bodies
-healed went away having their ears filled with words from the great
-Physician, and their hearts moved by the kindness and love of these
-Christian doctors.  Not only was much direct mission work accomplished
-in this way, but the principles of physiology and medicine were also
-taught to large numbers of native physicians and students.  Among the
-men who did most in this work were Drs. Hepburn, Berry, and Taylor.
-
-Although they have accomplished much good, medical missions are no
-longer needed in Japan.  The Japanese themselves have become adepts in
-medical science, and especially in surgery.  Every town and city has
-one or more hospitals where competent medical consultation and
-treatment can be had, and these now occupy the position formerly filled
-only partially by the mission hospitals.  A few hospitals and
-dispensaries are still kept in operation by some missions, but most of
-them were years ago dispensed with as no longer profitable.  We rejoice
-that Japan has so far progressed as to be well able to care for the
-health of her own people, and we adapt ourselves to the changed
-circumstances, diverting into more fruitful channels the energies
-formerly expended in this way.
-
-
-
-
-{266}
-
-XIV
-
-HINDRANCES
-
-Many of the hindrances that oppose the progress of Christianity in
-Japan have already been indirectly suggested in other portions of this
-book.  But that they may be more clearly apprehended by the friends of
-missions at home, and that the effect of their militating influence may
-be fully felt, we will endeavor in this chapter to arrange them in
-order and show just how they oppose our work.  For the sake of
-clearness and logical order we will consider the subject under two
-divisions: 1. Hindrances in Japan common to all mission fields; 2.
-Hindrances peculiar to Japan.
-
-1. There are certain things inherent in the very nature of Christianity
-that impede her progress.  They are necessities of her being, and
-cannot be gotten rid of.  These things may be either a part of
-Christianity herself, belonging to her nature, {267} or they may be
-necessary results of her acceptance by non-Christian peoples.  For this
-reason they are encountered wherever the gospel is propagated; they are
-common hindrances to the advance of our faith alike in China, India,
-Africa, and Japan.
-
-Although not peculiar to Japan, it seems to me wise briefly to refer to
-these universal hindrances, because often they are not realized in
-their full force and power either by the people of our home churches or
-even by our pastors.  To appreciate fully their militating influence
-one must go to the mission field, and there observe them actually
-hindering the rapid progress of evangelization.  There they are seen in
-a new light, and are impressed upon the mind as they can hardly be
-otherwise.  If I can succeed in causing the constituency of the
-churches at home to realize the number, magnitude, and power of these
-hindrances I will have done good service for the cause of missions.
-
-As the first one of these universal militating influences, inherent in
-the very nature of missions, opposing the progress of Christianity
-wherever its teachings are newly propagated, I would mention its
-_revolutionizing tendency_.  Christian missions are in their nature
-revolutionizing.  The result is inevitable and unavoidable.  The
-advance of Christianity in a heathen land {268} necessitates the
-revolutionizing of many institutions that have obtained for centuries.
-Not only must the religious ideas undergo a revolution, but all moral
-ideas, and manners and customs as well.  The reasons for this are very
-evident.
-
-Religion is intimately connected with the life of man.  It furnishes
-the motive power of his life, controls his actions, creates his
-morality, determines his manners and customs, and shapes his laws.  The
-ethnic religions are just as intimately interwoven with the lives of
-their adherents as Christianity is with the lives of Christians; and
-Buddhism, Confucianism, and Brahmanism have shaped and determined the
-lives and actions of their adherents.
-
-The connection between religion and morality is a necessary and
-indissoluble one.  The two are united in their growth and development,
-and the form of morality is necessarily colored by the dominant
-religion.  Wherever the Buddhist faith has been accepted there has
-sprung up a system of morality peculiar to it; so that we speak of a
-Buddhistic in opposition to a Christian morality.  This morality is
-dependent upon the religion, and a change of religion must bring about
-a change of morality.
-
-Christianity, having necessarily developed a morality in accord with
-its principles, must, as it advances, destroy the existing systems and
-create {269} widely different ones.  While the better element in
-heathen nations has more or less outgrown its religious ideas and
-superstitions, and can calmly contemplate a change of religion, yet its
-moral system has a stronger hold, and anything which antagonizes it is
-severely condemned.  This necessary revolutionizing of moral ideas very
-much opposes the progress of Christianity.
-
-The acceptance of Christianity necessitates also a revolution in
-manners and customs.  These are partially an expression of the faith
-that is in us, their nature being determined by it.  A change of
-religion, therefore, means a change in all of these.
-
-People have great respect for time-honored customs, and that which
-antagonizes these brings upon itself condemnation.  Christianity
-changes the manners and customs, and therefore the people do all they
-can to oppose it.
-
-In these ways the work of missions is revolutionizing, and must expect
-to encounter the opposition of the spirit of conservatism, which is
-much stronger in the East than in the West.
-
-A second principle inherent in the very nature of Christianity which
-hinders its progress in heathen lands is its _exclusiveness_.  Our
-religion is among the most intolerant in its attitude toward other
-faiths.  We believe and teach that "there is none other name under
-heaven given among {270} men, whereby we must be saved," than the name
-of Christ.  While acknowledging that other religions contain grains of
-truth, we must affirm that, as religious systems, they are false.
-Christ sent forth His apostles to make disciples of all, winning them
-to the Christian faith.  And the aim of the church to-day is, not to
-cultivate brotherly love and communion with other _religions_, but
-rather to exterminate them and make Christians of all.  She can brook
-no rival.  Her adherents must give their allegiance to her alone.
-
-Christianity not only claims to be the only religion, but she can offer
-no hope to those outside of her pale.  While the Bible does not demand
-that I teach the Japanese that their ancestors are surely lost, it
-certainly gives me no ground for assuring them of their salvation.  We
-all revere our forefathers, but none so much as the Oriental.  He pays
-periodical visits to the tombs of his ancestors; he worships his father
-and commemorates the day of his death by mourning.  A heaven from which
-his ancestors are excluded has little attractions for him.  Often does
-the Shintoist say, "I would rather be in hell with my ancestors than in
-heaven without them."
-
-If Christianity could be less exclusive and more tolerant of other
-faiths she would find a much more ready acceptance at the hands of
-non-Christian peoples.  But she cannot be so and be true {271} to her
-own nature and mission.  In ancient Rome, when the church was called to
-pass through fire, the manifestation of a more tolerant spirit would
-have saved her from that awful persecution.  The Romans had many gods
-and did not object to one more.  They adopted those of all the
-conquered peoples, and were ready to adopt the Christians', and erect
-an altar to Him, if the Christians would acknowledge Him as simply one
-among the other gods.  And from that day to this the exclusive claims
-of Christianity have brought upon her trials and persecutions, and have
-hindered her progress throughout the earth.  Especially is this
-religious exclusiveness unpopular in Japan, because there the native
-religions are very tolerant of one another.
-
-These are some of the strongest hindrances to the rapid progress of
-Christianity in pagan lands.  They belong to the very nature of our
-faith, and cannot be avoided.  Their antagonizing influence is
-encountered wherever the gospel is preached.
-
-2. But I think that the greatest hindrances to mission work in Japan
-to-day are those which are peculiar to this field.  Many circumstances
-conspire to make Japan stand alone among mission fields.  She has been
-pronounced at once the most promising and the most difficult of all
-fields for evangelistic work: the most promising because of the life,
-force, and ability of her people; the {272} most difficult because of
-the host of peculiar hindrances under which the evangelist must labor
-there.  I will proceed to point out some of these.
-
-(1) Perhaps the most potent at present is the _extreme nationalistic
-feeling_, which has brought into disrepute everything of foreign
-origin.  The Christian religion, being a foreign institution, is
-therefore unpopular, and is thought to be less adapted to the people
-and less liable to nourish a strong national feeling than the native
-Shinto.
-
-It is hard for us to realize the fanatical intensity of their
-patriotism.  Having been taught for so many centuries that this is the
-first virtue, the people have exalted it above everything else.  "Japan
-first, forever, and always," is the universal motto.  There is hardly a
-man, woman, or child in the empire to-day who would not be perfectly
-willing to lay down his life for the good of the country.
-
-This extreme patriotism operates in several ways to hinder the progress
-of Christianity.  It prevents the ready acceptance of the new religion.
-There are a great many so ignorant and inconsistent as to hate
-Christianity just because it is of foreign origin, thinking that
-nothing good can originate outside of Japan.  Such people adhere to the
-native religion, in spite of its inferiority, simply because they think
-that to do so is patriotic.  But there is a much larger and more {273}
-influential class that is led to antagonize Christianity from patriotic
-motives other than this.  They hold that a belief in the native
-religions is necessary to preserve their darling patriotic spirit, and
-that the adoption of any foreign religion would gradually destroy all
-patriotism and loyalty.  Christianity is not national, but
-cosmopolitan.  It teaches the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of
-man, both of which great ideas are repugnant to most Japanese, because
-they do not harmonize with their ideas of the divine origin of the
-imperial family, and their national superiority to the other races of
-the world.  They want a religion which exalts Japan above everything
-and inculcates patriotism and loyalty to her alone.
-
-But the most hurtful influence of this extreme nationalism is felt
-within the pale of the church herself.  Actuated by it, many of the
-native Christians, both clerical and lay, want to do away with
-everything foreign in connection with the churches.  The more strictly
-national they can make their work the better satisfied are they.  Not
-only do they antagonize the missionary and try to push him off the
-field, but they also antagonize foreign theology, and want to build up
-a native system with no foreign taint.  The result is great friction
-between the native and foreign workers, strained relations, and in many
-instances {274} open antagonism.  This want of cordiality and harmony,
-for which the national feeling is largely responsible, is very hurtful
-to the best interests of our work.
-
-But the desire for a purely native theology, which this strong,
-benighted patriotism begets, is even more hurtful than its sowing seeds
-of discord among the workers.  Many of the leading native ministers and
-laymen say that it is folly for their churches to perpetuate the
-theological divisions and creeds of the West, and they propose to
-develop a theology peculiarly their own.  Now Christianity cannot be
-kept pure and sound without paying due regard to its historical
-development; and the Japanese, in cutting loose from this, have already
-run into heresy.  The danger is that a Christianity may be developed
-which is lacking in all that is distinctively Christian, and which will
-be harder to overcome than the old heathenism.
-
-(2) Another hindrance which has operated with great power throughout
-the whole history of Protestant missions in Japan is the _past record
-of Christianity_.  In a former chapter upon the "First Introduction of
-Christianity" I have told how Christianity was first introduced, how it
-grew to magnificent proportions, and how finally it was crushed by the
-secular arm.  The fact that the government once felt constrained to
-extirpate {275} Christianity, at whatever cost, and especially the fact
-that the Christians dared oppose the government, have brought our
-religion into disrepute.  Since, according to native morality, whatever
-government does is right and whatever government opposes is wrong, the
-mere fact of this opposition on the part of the government is enough to
-condemn Christianity in the eyes of many.  Then the fact that the
-Christians at last rebelled gives color to the idea already formed that
-Christianity is disloyal to Japan.  That idea prevails widely, and in
-many quarters Christians are regarded with suspicion.
-
-A memory of the past bitter persecutions and of the hated rebellion
-still lingers.  The old people talk of them around the hibachi, as they
-sip their tea and smoke their pipes; the young read of them in the
-histories, and thus their memory is kept alive.  Many are still living
-who saw and read the rigid prohibitions of Christianity on the
-sign-boards over all the country, and they cannot forget them.  There
-are not a few people in the empire who to this day have hardly learned
-that the changed attitude of the government toward Christianity is more
-than outward; and these still regard the foreign faith as the chief of
-all evils.  It is really pathetic sometimes to hear them talk of it.
-There was an old man living near a Christian chapel not far from here,
-who one day was {276} complaining of his woes and wishing to die.  He
-said it had been a bad year, and none of his crops had done well, two
-of his children had died, his country had been insulted by a foreign
-power, and, to cap the climax, Christianity had come and taken up its
-abode next door to him.  This last evil was too much, and he wanted to
-die.  He still regarded our faith as the worst of evils.  I once gave a
-few tracts to some old men in a mountain village near Saga, and they
-remarked that they remembered the time when it would have meant certain
-death to be seen with one of those little books.
-
-(3) The _character of the education_ prevalent in Japan to-day is also
-antagonistic to Christianity.  The Japanese are a studious race and are
-capable of high mental development.  The country is so well supplied
-with schools--nearly all of them government institutions--that no one
-is too poor to receive some education.  There is, on the part of the
-school authorities, no open antagonism to Christianity as such.
-According to the regulations, no one religion is to be favored more
-than another in the schools, and complete religious liberty is to be
-allowed.  But the general tenor of the education given is
-unchristian--an exaltation of reason above faith, of science above
-religion.  Especially is the tendency of the higher education against
-any form of religion.  The {277} educators of Japan are training a
-nation of atheists and agnostics.  The scientific schools of the West
-that have no room for religion are studied earnestly and copied by
-educated Japan.  In philosophy Herbert Spencer and his school have been
-acknowledged masters.  Indeed, it never seems to have occurred to the
-minds of thinking Japanese that there are systems of philosophy other
-than the materialistic.  All religious sentiment is crushed in the
-schools, other things being substituted.  Science, learning, is thought
-to be all that is necessary, and religion is left for old women and
-children.  Men who still believe in religion are thought superstitious
-and uneducated, and are regarded with a sort of lordly contempt.  In a
-conversation some time ago with a graduate of the Imperial University I
-was dogmatically told that Christianity was acknowledged to be absurd
-by all thinking men everywhere, that all religions are only for the
-infancy of the race, and that full-grown men can dispense with them.
-This man's views are the usual product of the higher education, of
-Japan to-day.  Hence it happens that few students of the higher schools
-are Christian, and frequently men go there with Christian sentiments,
-only to lose them before they leave.
-
-(4) The _old religions of Japan_ strongly oppose the march of
-Christianity.  Men often speak as though the old heathen faiths had
-lost their power {278} and were no longer really believed.  Their power
-is on the wane, but they lack much of being dead.  They still possess
-enough vitality strongly to oppose the evangelization of this land.
-The old Shinto faith, having the decided advantage of national origin,
-and fitting in exactly with Japanese ideas of their relative national
-importance and the nature of their emperor, is a strong opposing
-influence.  Buddhism still possesses a strong hold upon the masses of
-the people.  It has the recommendation of age, has played a prominent
-part in the national history, and is dear to the hearts of the people.
-It occupies a decided vantage-ground from which it opposes us and our
-work.  To some in the West it seems almost incredible that these people
-should really believe and trust in these faiths.  And yet be assured
-that they do believe and trust in them.  There are about the same
-sincerity, the same confidence, and the same faith placed in Buddhism
-by its adherents as are placed in Christianity by its.  The religious
-cravings and instincts of the people are, on the whole, satisfied by
-their native religions.
-
-The opposition of Buddhism to Christianity does not consist solely in
-misrepresentation, nor is it founded on ignorance, but is an
-intelligent opposition.  Some of the Buddhist priests study carefully
-our language for the purpose of reading {279} our theology and
-informing themselves as to our faith.  It is said that one of the very
-best collections of books of Christian evidences and apologetics to be
-found in all Japan is in the Buddhist library in Kyoto.  Buddhism has
-learned some useful lessons from Christianity.  She is now learning the
-value of stated preaching for the information of her people in Buddhist
-doctrine, and the value of organized, systematic effort.  A Young Men's
-Buddhist Association has been formed, after the model of the Young
-Men's Christian Association, which is doing much toward holding the
-young men to the Buddhist faith.  Buddhism is on the alert, is quick
-and active, antagonizes us at every turn, and is one of the very
-strongest hindrances to the progress of Christianity.
-
-(5) The _social ostracism_ visited upon those who become Christians
-very much hinders our progress.  Most of our converts, unless their
-relatives and friends are Christians, are ostracized; in many cases
-they are entirely cut off from their families and are disinherited.  In
-America, when one becomes a Christian, he has the encouragement and
-sympathy of all good people, and his family and friends rejoice with
-him.  In Japan for a member of a family to become a Christian is
-considered a disgrace, and the united influence of family and friends
-is powerfully exerted to prevent such a {280} calamity.  Influential
-men in our city have told me that perhaps the greatest hindrance to my
-work is that by becoming a Christian a man shuts himself off from his
-family and friends.  I am convinced that many would take a stand for
-Christ much more readily if the home influence were not so
-antagonistic.  A student in the Normal School of our city, who came to
-me for many months to study Christianity, told me that his family
-bitterly hated the Christian religion, and that he could not return
-home if he became a believer.  In spite of this he was led by the
-Spirit to ask for baptism, and I baptized him.  Afterward he wrote very
-dutiful letters to his home, trying to explain that he felt impelled by
-duty to take this step, and that Christianity was not so heinous a
-thing as they supposed; but no answers came.  In course of time, being
-compelled to return to his own town on business, he went to his home to
-spend the night; but his mother and brothers would not recognize him,
-and he had to go away to a hotel.  His father was dead, and his mother
-tried to disinherit him, but was by the law prevented.  His family and
-friends have never forgiven him, and now he never sees them.  Similar
-cases could be cited without number proving the same thing.  Is it not
-natural, then, for a man to hesitate to take this step?
-
-{281}
-
-(6) Another obstacle to the progress of missions in Japan is that the
-_church is too much divided_.  Almost every small religious body known
-has felt it incumbent upon itself to undertake work here.  It may be
-true that denominations working separately are no hindrance to the
-cause of Christ in the home field, but I think they are surely a
-hindrance in the foreign work.  It is a fine rhetorical figure to liken
-the various denominations and sects to different divisions of one vast
-army, all engaged under the same general, in the same work; but the
-figure does not represent the facts.  We do not have one vast Christian
-army, each division occupying only its own field, directed by one mind,
-and moving in unison.  The most optimistic cannot so regard the
-different denominations and sects of Christendom.  Like other oft-used
-figures, this one is entirely at variance with the facts.  Oftener is
-it true that these sects oppose one another, and much prefer their own
-welfare to that of the whole body of Christ.
-
-You cannot satisfactorily explain to non-Christian people the reasons
-why you must have a Lutheran, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, and a
-Baptist church; and if they could be brought to understand our
-differences this would in no way recommend us or our creed to them.  It
-is a great pity that each mission field is not allotted to some one
-denomination and left alone by all {282} the others.  If this cannot
-be, at least only one body should work in one town.  Then these
-complications would be partially avoided, and Christianity would more
-recommend itself to the thoughtful citizen.
-
-We suffer in Japan more from a superfluity of sects than of
-denominations.  The Universalists and Unitarians are here with their
-heresies, and are poisoning many minds.  Many other bodies are here,
-antagonizing the established order of things and teaching religious
-anarchy.  I suppose there is no mission field in the world that has a
-larger number of sects and divisions.
-
-But the regular orthodox denominations work more harmoniously in Japan
-than in the home lands.  Strifes and jealousies between them are rare,
-while expressions of mutual appreciation and of Christian courtesy are
-common.
-
-(7) I think the _foreign communities_ in the open ports of Japan are a
-hindrance to the work of evangelization.  In the seven treaty ports
-there are regular concessions for foreign residence and trade, and
-thousands of foreigners live in them.  These communities are largely
-composed of merchants and of those connected with the various
-consulates, most of whom have come here for purposes of gain, and are
-interested in nothing besides money-getting.  A large per cent. of this
-population is very undesirable.  As representatives {283} of Western
-civilization (the product of Christianity) the foreign settlements
-should be model Christian communities, and were they such they could
-exert a powerful influence for good.  But as it is, their example does
-not recommend itself to the Japanese.
-
-To say nothing whatever of the charges of immorality and dissoluteness
-preferred against these men, they are certainly not Christians.  One
-would think, to observe them, that they had not come from Christian
-lands at all.  Many who are here only temporarily, being away from all
-home influences and restraints, set a most ungodly example.  They will
-not attend church; they take no interest in religious work; they speak
-disparagingly of religion in general, and of the Christian religion in
-particular; and to them a missionary is an eyesore.  While we are
-laboring to Christianize the people, our own countrymen, the
-representatives of Christian lands and the exponents of a Christian
-civilization, are in the foreign ports setting a most ungodly example.
-The natives are quick to notice these things, and they reason that, if
-our faith is as good as we represent it to be, why have our countrymen
-not profited better by it?  The presence of these antichristian
-representatives of Christendom is a great hindrance.
-
-But not all of the foreigners in the open ports {284} of Japan are of
-this character.  There are some good Christian men and women among the
-business classes, who are interested in all kinds of Christian work.
-And yet the prevailing tendency of the foreign business communities is
-against Christian work.
-
-(8) The last but not the least hindrance I will mention is the
-_language_.  It has been said of both Chinese and Japanese that they
-were invented by the devil to keep Christian missionaries from speaking
-freely with the natives.  Whether that be true or not, it certainly is
-true that Japanese is one of the most difficult languages on the globe.
-To know it well, three different languages must be acquired: spoken
-Japanese, written Japanese, and Chinese.  The colloquial and the book
-language are quite different, the literary being partly Chinese.  The
-latter is written by ideographs, and you must have a sign for each
-idea.  About five thousand of these characters will enable one to get
-along, although there are probably fifty thousand in all.  By a sheer
-act of memory to learn five thousand hideous characters is no little
-task.  The colloquial itself is exceedingly difficult to use aright.
-My readers may be surprised to learn that of the missionaries laboring
-in Japan one third cannot speak the language intelligibly to the
-natives.  It seems that many Occidentals, laboring never so hard,
-really cannot {285} acquire the language.  One never feels sure in this
-language that he is saying just what he wants to say.  If it were less
-difficult, so that missionaries could acquire complete command of it
-and use it as readily as they do their mother tongue, the work of
-evangelization would go on more rapidly.
-
-These, as I understand them, are the principal things which at present
-hinder the progress of Christianity in Japan.  Some of them are
-inherent in the very nature of the work, and will be encountered to the
-end.  Others, I believe, are transient, and will by and by pass away.
-
-
-
-
-{286}
-
-XV
-
-SPECIAL PROBLEMS
-
-In the broad sphere of labor which the missionary must fill he daily
-meets most difficult problems, whose solution requires the exercise of
-consummate judgment, skill, and patience.  Although these problems are
-not given a prominent place in mission reports, and are not therefore
-very well known at home, they loom up mountain-high before every
-missionary.  They have a practical importance in the field surpassed by
-none other.  Men differ so widely in regard to their solution that they
-not infrequently work division in a mission.
-
-A brief presentation of some of these problems will enable the home
-churches better to understand our work and to sympathize with us, and
-will be of practical worth to those who contemplate coming to work in
-this field.
-
-The first problem to meet the missionary is, _how to deal with
-inquirers_.
-
-{287}
-
-In Japan not one in three at first comes with sincere motives and good
-intentions.  On the contrary, he comes seeking some material advantage,
-hoping in some way to profit by his association with the missionary, or
-vaguely expecting to be benefited by an alliance with what appears to
-be a stronger and more living cause.  Those who from the first are
-impelled to come by real spiritual motives are indeed rare.  How to
-deal with such inquirers is the question.  To turn them away would be
-to send them back into heathenism.  Manifestly we must hold them until
-they have more spiritual motives.
-
-I suppose all missionaries would agree that, no matter how material and
-selfish their motives, inquirers should be encouraged to continue
-coming, with the hope of gradually leading them into the truth.  We
-could hardly expect them at first to have pure motives, as such are
-practically unknown to them.  Heathenism, with its degrading idolatries
-and immoralities, does not beget these, and we cannot expect to
-discover them until the old religions have been discarded and the
-inquirers have been brought under the instruction and care of the
-church.  Therefore, whatever the motive, we should receive them, and
-after a long period of Christian teaching and discipline look for a
-change of heart.  But the length of this probation before they are
-received {288} into the church, and whether it shall be required--those
-are matters upon which the practice of missions differs widely.  Some
-have a prescribed time which must elapse before candidates are admitted
-to membership; others leave it to the judgment of the local evangelist
-or missionary.  The latter seems the better plan.
-
-Another question is, _Just how much shall candidates for
-church-membership be required to give up_?  As to strictly heathen
-practices, such as idolatry and gross immorality, there can be no
-question.  But what of practices about which the judgment of men
-differs?  Some missions require total abstinence from all intoxicating
-drinks.  Some, like the Methodist, require abstinence from the use of
-tobacco, especially on the part of pastors and evangelists.  These
-churches urge in favor of their position the comparative ease with
-which such restrictions may be applied in the young churches of Japan.
-Shall we follow the lead of these more conservative churches, or shall
-we adopt a more liberal policy?  Shall we require converts who are
-engaged in any way in the manufacture or sale of tobacco or liquor to
-change their business?  The practice of our own mission (the Lutheran)
-is, except in the manufacture, sale, or inordinate use of intoxicants,
-to allow liberty of conscience.
-
-{289}
-
-Another and a very perplexing problem we find to be, _what to do with
-honest inquirers who have no means of support_.  This class is
-numerous.  There are a great many poor in Japan--in fact, nearly all
-are poor.  As Japanese custom--even more in ancient times than at
-present--made the poorer classes look to the rich for their maintenance
-and support, many converts look to the missionary, not to support them
-outright, but to help them into positions where they can earn a living.
-Not a few have their means of support cut off by the very act of
-becoming Christians.  In such cases it seems but fair that the mission
-should do what it can to assist them.  But how?  To support them is too
-expensive, besides being demoralizing to them and the community.  In
-some mission fields industrial schools, mission farms, and various
-other enterprises are established to provide employment for such, and
-in this way they are helped to support themselves.  But in a country
-like Japan, where industrial and commercial life is highly organized
-and developed, it is almost impossible for the missions to do such
-work.  We have neither the means nor the skill to compete with the
-industries around us.  This question of support for the poor of the
-churches is a pressing one, and causes the missionary much anxiety and
-thought.  The native church can do {290} much more toward its solution
-than the missionary, and as the church grows in influence and resources
-the problem may solve itself.
-
-After a body of converts has been gathered, and the time has come for
-organizing a church, the greatest problem of all arises--_the problem
-of the native church_.
-
-This is not one problem, but is rather a combination of problems, some
-of which are the following: What shall be the form of its organization?
-How shall its ministry be supplied?  How shall it be supported?  What
-is the relation of the missionary to the native church?  What shall be
-its attitude toward national customs?  These are important and
-difficult problems, and on their right solution will depend in no small
-measure the prosperity and success of the native church.
-
-Some missions do not seem thoroughly to grasp and give due prominence
-to this idea of the native church.  They interpret their commission to
-mean the evangelization of the masses rather than the building up of a
-strong native church.  But the Christianization of any land will
-ultimately depend upon the native church, and not upon the foreign
-missionary.  Therefore the first and chief aim of the missionary should
-be to call out and develop a strong, self-supporting, and
-self-propagating native church, in whose hands the {291} evangelization
-of the masses of the people can ultimately be left.
-
-In the organization of the native church, what polity shall be given
-it?  Shall it be organized exactly as the home church which the mission
-represents, or shall it be free to develop its own form of
-organization?  Both of these plans are unsatisfactory.  Most churches
-are agreed that no special form of church polity has divine sanction,
-this being merely a question of expediency; and that therefore the new
-churches should, as far as possible, be left free to adopt a
-constitution in harmony with the national character and habits.
-
-At the same time, forms of church government that have been tried at
-home and approved should not be ignored.  What has stood the test of
-time, and proved its worth in many lands, doubtless will in its main
-features be of substantial value in the mission field.  It is but
-natural that Presbyterian societies should organize native churches
-under their own form of government, Methodist under theirs, and
-Episcopal under theirs.  But, in the very nature of the case, a first
-organization will only be tentative.  As the church develops it will
-probably develop a polity of its own.  In view of this, the polity
-imposed upon the native church by the mission at its first organization
-should be as flexible as possible.
-
-{292}
-
-It would be folly for the Lutheran Church, for instance, which has one
-polity in Germany, another in Sweden, another in Iceland, and still
-another in America, to attempt permanently to impose any one of those
-special forms upon the Japanese Lutheran Church; it will have its own
-special polity, but this should not cause us any anxiety or concern.
-If the faith and life of the church are right, it matters but little
-about its polity.  We should be more concerned for the broader
-interests of the kingdom than for the perpetuation of our special form
-of the church, for the promise of final triumph is only to the kingdom.
-
-Experience has settled certain points in regard to the native church,
-which Dr. Lawrence, in his admirable book on "Modern Missions in the
-East," denominates "axioms of missions."  My own experience and
-judgment lead me to give them my hearty indorsement.  Three are named:
-
-1. "The native church in each country should be organized as a distinct
-church, ecclesiastically independent of the church in any other
-country."
-
-2. "The pastorate of the native church should be a native pastorate.
-Whatever else the missionary is, he should not be pastor."
-
-3. "The principles of self-control, self-help, and self-extension
-should be recognized in the {293} very organization of the church.  To
-postpone them to days of strength is to postpone both strength and
-blessing."
-
-The question of self-support and independence is one of the gravest in
-connection with the native church.  All are agreed as to its
-desirableness, and all aim ultimately to attain it; but the success
-hitherto attained in Japan is not what might be expected.  There are
-perhaps a larger number of self-supporting churches in Japan than in
-most mission fields, but not so many as there should be.  The native
-churches, as a rule, do not contribute what they should or could toward
-their own support.  In this regard the statistics usually given are
-very deceptive.  Many of those churches put down as self-supporting
-either are so largely through the private contributions of the
-missionaries of the station, or are churches in connection with mission
-schools, where the expense is small because one of the professors, who
-draws a salary from the board, acts as pastor.  I have heard of one
-church marked "self-supporting" that was composed of only one man and
-his family.  This man was the evangelist, who, having some private
-means, supported himself.
-
-While the annual statistics show fairly good contributions "by the
-native churches," it should be borne in mind that the contributions of
-a large body of missionaries, who are liberal givers, are {294}
-included.  At most stations they give more than the whole native church
-combined.
-
-Native Christians do not contribute as much toward the support of the
-gospel as they formerly did toward the support of their false
-religions.  The reasons for this are, first, that heathenism induced
-larger gifts by teaching that every one who makes a contribution for
-religious purposes is thereby heaping up merit for himself in the life
-to come.  And, second, that the native churches have from the beginning
-leaned on the missionaries and societies, until independent giving and
-self-sacrifice have been discouraged.  The mission board is looked upon
-as an institution of limitless resources, whose business it is to
-provide money for the work.  And, third, that in many instances the
-native evangelists do not heartily second the efforts of the
-missionaries to bring the churches to a self-supporting basis.  They
-would much rather draw their salaries from the mission treasurer than
-from the members of their churches.  The reasons for this are obvious:
-they could not conscientiously urge their flocks to support them on a
-better scale than they themselves live, but they can ask the mission to
-do this; again, when their salaries come from the mission they are
-prompt and sure, while if they come from the churches they are
-irregular and uncertain.  But in justice to Japanese {295} pastors it
-should be said that, while the above is true of many of them, there are
-others who have willingly made personal sacrifices, living on much
-smaller salaries than formerly, in order to assist their churches to
-self-support.
-
-How to overcome all these obstacles and develop a liberal,
-self-supporting spirit in the native church is a difficult problem with
-which the mission boards are at present grappling.  The Congregational
-Church has more nearly solved it than any other, yet its number of
-independent churches fell off considerably during the past year.
-
-The native church must not be judged too harshly for its failure in
-self-support.  It has not yet been educated in giving as the home
-churches have, and its resources are very limited.  Most of its members
-are exceedingly poor and have all they can do to provide for the
-support of themselves and families.  Our proper attitude toward them in
-this matter is one of patience, sympathy, and help.
-
-How shall the native church be provided with a competent ministry?
-This is a perplexing question to the churches in the home lands; how
-much more so in a mission field!  It is necessary to provide pastors,
-evangelists, catechists, teachers, Bible-women, etc.--a whole army of
-workers.
-
-{296}
-
-The first question in this connection is, How is the material to be
-provided?  Shall bright, active boys who seem adapted to the work be
-selected out of the mission schools and especially trained for this
-work at the expense of the mission, without waiting for a divine call?
-This is the usual method, but it is far from satisfactory.  Such, not
-having sought the ministerial office, do not feel its dignity and
-responsibility as much as those who are brought into it by a personal
-call.  Some of the brightest and most promising, after having been
-educated at the expense of the mission, are easily enticed into other
-callings.  Men so chosen and educated are very apt to consider
-themselves, and to be considered by others, as simply paid agents of
-the mission.  Often their labors are performed in a mere routine and
-perfunctory manner, they evidently caring more for employment than for
-conversions.  These are serious objections, and yet many good and noble
-men have been so trained; it does seem that in the early stages of
-mission work there is hardly any other way of providing a native
-ministry.
-
-So soon as a native church is developed, with its accompanying
-Christian sentiment, the personal call to the ministry can be relied
-upon to furnish the material.  An effort is then made by most of the
-larger missionary bodies to give a broad training to many men, and to
-rely upon a {297} certain number, in answer to a divine call, seeking
-the ministerial office.  In this way the mission schools supply a
-portion of the theological students, but in Japan the larger portion
-are not graduates of the mission schools.
-
-After the men are supplied, how shall they be trained for work?  Shall
-instruction be given in Japanese only, or shall English be taught also?
-(For full discussion of this question see Chapter XIII.)  Shall Greek
-and Hebrew be studied?  How far shall the native religions be taught?
-Shall the curriculum in other respects be about what it is at home, or
-shall it be modified and especial stress laid upon certain subjects?
-Shall students study privately with the missionaries, or shall
-theological seminaries be erected?  Shall students be encouraged to
-complete their theological training in Europe and America?  Space does
-not permit a discussion of each of these questions, but only a bare
-statement of the consensus of judgment and practice in Japan after
-years of experience.
-
-Shall instruction in the original languages of Scripture be given?  As
-to the desirability of this there can be no question; but as the whole
-science of theology is entirely new here, and a study of its more
-important branches requires a long time, it has not been customary to
-give instruction in either of these languages.  In recent years some
-seminaries have been trying to {298} introduce primary courses in Greek
-and Hebrew, and as the schools grow older, and their equipment
-improves, these languages will gradually be added to the curriculum.
-
-Shall the religious systems and books of Japan be taught in theological
-schools?  It is highly desirable that native ministers clearly
-understand and be able intelligently to combat the false religions
-around them; and to this end some seminaries give instruction in the
-doctrines of Buddhism and Shinto as well as Christianity.  In one or
-two instances Buddhism is taught in Christian theological schools by
-Buddhist priests, but it is usually taught by Christian teachers in
-connection with dogmatic theology.  As a rule, the native ministry
-desires more thorough instruction in the native religions, while the
-missionaries oppose any extension of the curriculum in that direction.
-
-In general the same branches of theology are taught here that are
-taught at home.  It is especially desirable that instruction in
-dogmatics and apologetics be thorough and sound, and these branches
-should perhaps be emphasized more than others.
-
-Experience has proved that it is much better to have theological
-schools where the native ministry may be instructed than for the
-missionary to undertake such instruction in private.  All the larger
-missions have fairly well-equipped {299} theological schools, and
-private instruction is only given by a few men whose missions have not
-yet been able to establish these.  It is unfortunate, both for the
-student and for the missionary, when theological instruction must be
-given in private.
-
-Many Japanese have been sent abroad to complete their theological
-course, but the experiment has not been satisfactory.  The consensus of
-opinion now is that for the main body of pastors and evangelists a
-local training is much better than a foreign one.  A few men of
-exceptional ability may be educated abroad as teachers and leaders, but
-great care must be taken not to denationalize them.
-
-Another perplexing question in connection with the native church is its
-relation to the missionaries.  On this subject there is great diversity
-of opinion.  Shall the missionary retain any control over the native
-church, or shall he have only advisory power?  Can he take an active
-part in its deliberations, or shall he be excluded from them?
-
-As the church grows and develops it will come more and more to rely
-upon itself and to act independently of the mission.  The majority of
-Japanese Christians take the ground that the missionary has nothing to
-do with the organized native church, but that his sphere is with the
-unevangelized masses and unorganized chapels.  {300} In the
-Congregational churches the missionaries have no voice or vote in the
-meetings and councils, and are recognized only as advisory members.  In
-contrast to this policy is that of the Episcopal and Methodist bodies,
-in whose councils natives and foreigners meet together and deliberate
-in harmony.  The meetings are presided over by the foreigners, and they
-have a controlling voice in all legislation.  The Presbyterians also
-take part in presbytery and synod, but the Japanese usually preside and
-are in the majority.
-
-Certainly the missionary should not be pastor of the native church and
-should not exercise lordly control over it; but it "does seem that he
-should retain some influence, or at least should have veto power
-against unwise legislation.
-
-What shall be the attitude of the native church toward certain national
-habits and customs?  Here is a problem that often perplexes
-missionaries and evangelists.  It is recognized by all that anything
-squarely in contradiction to Christianity must be opposed.  On the
-other hand, it is recognized that national customs should be carefully
-observed when they are not antichristian or immoral.  There are some
-customs in Japan about the nature of which great difference of opinion
-prevails, such as the honors shown dead ancestors, bowing before the
-emperor's picture, contributing to certain religious festivals, etc.
-
-{301}
-
-When a parent dies it is customary for the children to pay regular
-visits to the tomb, to make offerings there, and to reverence or
-worship the departed.  In the eyes of some this act involves real
-worship; to others it is merely an expression of reverence and respect.
-It seems that Paul's principle of not eating meat for his weak
-brother's sake should be applied here.  The act in itself may be
-performed without compromising a Christian's conscience; but for the
-sake of the common people, to whom it means worship, it should be
-omitted by Christians, and the churches generally forbid it.
-
-In all the schools, at certain festivals, the emperor's picture is
-brought out, and all teachers and pupils are required to bow before it.
-This is a national custom very dear to the hearts of the people, and
-any one failing to comply with it is severely censured.  Much has been
-said and written as to the religious significance of the act.  To the
-more enlightened of the Japanese this prostration before the emperor's
-picture may be only an act of deep reverence and respect, such as is
-shown to royalty in the West by the lifting of the hat, but to the
-masses it doubtless is real worship, in so far as they know what
-worship is.  This is not strange when we remember the almost
-universally accepted belief as to the divine origin of the mikado.  The
-government itself virtually {302} acknowledged the religious
-significance of the act when it passed a law permitting foreign
-teachers in the various schools to absent themselves on the day of the
-exaltation of the imperial picture, if they so desired.
-
-Now here is a national custom very dear to the people, in itself
-harmless, but which in the eyes of many involves real worship.  What
-shall be the attitude of the church toward it?
-
-Some religious festivals are observed in Japan which have more or less
-political significance.  While they are generally held in connection
-with some temple, there may be nothing distinctively heathen about the
-festival itself.  To provide for the expense, each house is asked to
-contribute a certain amount of money--the Christians along with the
-rest.  There is no legal compulsion in the matter, but every one
-contributes, and there is a moral necessity to do so.  Now what stand
-shall the Christian church take on this matter?  Shall the members be
-advised to comply with the custom, or shall they be forbidden to do so?
-
-How to remain faithful to her Lord, and yet not unnecessarily wound the
-national feelings of her countrymen, is the delicate and difficult
-problem which the native church must solve.
-
-A very important problem is, _how to bring about more coöperation in
-mission work_.  It is highly desirable that Christianity present an
-{303} undivided front to the enemy, that its forces at least work in
-harmony with one another.
-
-While men's views on important theological questions differ so
-radically as at present it is useless to talk of organic union; but
-there can and should be brotherly recognition, mutual assistance
-whenever possible, respect for one another's views, absence of
-controversy, scrupulous regard for another's recognized territory, and
-hearty coöperation in all possible ways.
-
-There is something of this realized in Japan to-day.  The Christian
-bodies, as a rule, dwell together in peace and harmony, rejoicing in
-one another's welfare.  Contentions and strife are much less common
-than in the West.  All the various branches of the Reformed and
-Presbyterian churches are laboring in hearty coöperation to build up
-one united native church.  The various Episcopal bodies, while
-themselves organically distinct, are also building up an undivided
-Japanese Episcopal Church.
-
-But much yet remains that might be done in this line.  In matters of
-publication, theological education, etc., that involve heavy expense,
-plans might be devised whereby several missions could coöperate, and
-thus the expense be lessened to each and the work better done.  To
-illustrate: here is a small mission, with only a few workers and a very
-small amount of money wherewith to {304} operate.  It has all the
-evangelistic work it can do, and is unable to support its own
-theological school.  Some of its missionaries are taken from the
-evangelistic work and forced to train, as best they can, one or two
-theological students.  In the same community is a good theological
-school belonging to a sister mission, that has only a few students and
-would be glad to give its advantages to the students of the other
-mission.  It does seem that some plan of coöperation should be devised
-whereby each could be accommodated.  This problem is unsolved, and each
-little mission goes on working independently of all the others, at the
-cost of larger expenditure and poorer work.  An easier form of
-coöperation very much to be desired, which has not yet been
-consummated, is that between different branches of the same church.
-That those known by the same name, whose doctrine and polity differ but
-little, and who are separated in the West only by geographical
-divisions, should coöperate on the mission field is a plain duty,
-failure to effect which is culpable.  Take the great Methodist Church.
-There are five different Methodist bodies at work in Japan--each one
-prosecuting its work separate and distinct from the others.  There is
-no conflict between them, neither is there any coöperation.  What a
-saving there would be if these bodies would coöperate, especially in
-the matter of {305} educational work!  As it is, each one of them
-supports its own academical and theological school, at a cost of men
-and money almost sufficient for the needs of all if united.  Many of
-these different schools are at present poorly attended and consequently
-poorly equipped; whereas if the whole educational work were done by one
-or at most two institutions there would be a large number of students
-and the equipment could be made first-class.
-
-An effort has been made on several occasions to unite these various
-Methodist bodies, and most of them desire a union, but as yet it has
-failed of accomplishment.
-
-The responsibility for this failure lies much more with the home boards
-than with the missionaries.  The latter generally desire more
-coöperation, and could bring it about were it not for the restrictions
-placed upon them.  This is a problem to the solution of which the
-various missionary societies should set themselves in earnest.  If the
-advance of the kingdom is partly hindered by a lack of this
-coöperation, then the mission boards are responsible before God.
-
-The above are but some of the problems which present themselves to-day
-in Japan.  If I have succeeded in impressing the reader with their
-number, complexity, and difficulty of solution, my purpose is
-accomplished.
-
-
-
-
-{306}
-
-XVI
-
-THE OUTLOOK
-
-It is exceedingly difficult to form a reliable conjecture concerning
-the future state of Christianity in Japan.  In this land the unexpected
-always happens.  It has been called a land of surprises.  Instability,
-vacillation, and change are its characteristics.  What is in favor
-to-day may be out to-morrow; what is out of favor to-day may be in
-to-morrow.  The signs of the times may clearly indicate a certain trend
-of events for the next year, but ere that year has come all may change
-and the happenings be quite different from what was expected.  The fact
-is, Japan is undergoing a peaceable social and political revolution,
-and it is hard to tell what a day may bring forth.
-
-But there are certain factors which, if left to their natural
-development, will tend to bring about a certain condition, and by
-considering {307} those factors we can tell something about what that
-condition ought to be.  We will attempt, then, to take a bird's-eye
-view of the influences in operation on this mission field, and will
-make a surmise as to their probable outcome in the future.
-
-There are three factors which must be considered in attempting to form
-an opinion as to the outlook: _the working forces; the opposition to
-their work; and the natural adaptability or inadaptability of the
-people_.  We will endeavor to look right closely into these.
-
-Humanly speaking, the forces engaged in any work will determine, to
-some extent, the future condition of that work.  The future of
-Christianity in Japan will depend in part upon the present working
-Christian forces.  These forces are the native church, the body of
-missionaries, and the whole mass of mission machinery.
-
-The burden of the work rests with the native church.  The
-evangelization of the masses must be chiefly by her effort.  The
-standing of Christianity in the empire will depend upon her.  If true
-to her Lord, and faithful in the discharge of the task which He has
-given, the result will probably be good.  Now what is the condition of
-the native church in Japan to-day?  There are 100,000 Christians,
-including Protestants, Greeks, and Romanists.  These Christians have
-manifested commendable zeal, earnestness, and {308} piety.  The native
-church is organized, hopeful, and aggressive, yet in many respects not
-what her friends desire and what they pray she may be.  Very much is
-yet to be desired in the matters of orthodoxy, self-support, and
-internal harmony, but it is not sure that this native church is more
-lacking in these respects than native churches in other mission fields.
-Church history seems to indicate that the church in every land must go
-through a certain period of doctrinal development.  The old heresies of
-Arianism, Pelagianism, and Sabellianism spring up in their order on
-each mission field, and are finally succeeded by orthodoxy.  Japan is
-now in that developing period, and loose theological views are to be
-expected.  There are many men of unorthodox views in the native church,
-who exert a strong influence; but there are also many men of sound
-evangelical views, who will be able probably to restrain the radicals
-and determine the future development.  I think in time there will come
-to the church in Japan a sounder faith and a fuller Christian
-consciousness, and that she will faithfully bear her part in the
-evangelization of this land.  Although there are now many elements in
-the church which should not be there, we must have faith to leave the
-removal of them to the influence of time and the guidance of the Holy
-Spirit.  God will take care of His church {309} and endow her for the
-work He has given her to do.
-
-The foreign missionaries in Japan can be depended upon to do all in
-their power to bring about the triumph of Christianity.  They are a
-large body of earnest, consecrated workers, led by the Spirit of God.
-With but a few exceptions, a more faithful and talented body of men
-cannot be found.  There are in all branches of the church, including
-Greek and Roman Catholics, 876 European missionaries.  This number
-includes single and married women.  Such a force, led by the Holy
-Spirit, ought to be able to do much to hasten the coming of the kingdom
-in Japan.
-
-Besides the native and foreign workers, all the machinery and
-institutions of various kinds necessary for the growth and expansion of
-the church are now in operation.  A good Christian literature is
-rapidly forming, numerous Christian schools of various grades are
-planted over all the empire, and a large number of Christian colleges
-and theological seminaries are already open.
-
-When we thus review the human forces upon which the future depends we
-have reason to feel encouraged.
-
-But no matter how strong and consecrated the body of workers, the
-success of the work will in some degree be conditioned by the
-hindrances {310} which are placed in the way.  There may be certain
-social or governmental oppositions, certain combinations of militating
-circumstances, which will prove insurmountable to the best workers,
-effectually hindering the future of a work otherwise promising.
-
-Formerly, as has been shown, the government put every opposition it
-could in the way of Christian work.  Long after the prohibitions of
-Christianity were removed governmental influence was exerted against it
-in many ways.  Even after religious liberty was granted by the
-promulgation of the constitution it was far from being realized.  In
-certain departments of the governmental service, especially in the
-military and educational departments, until very recent years
-persecutions were still practised in a mild but effective way.  But all
-this is now a thing of the past.
-
-The attitude of the government has changed recently, and instead of
-hindering it has actually encouraged and in several ways helped in our
-work.  During the late war with China it permitted the sending to the
-army of three native chaplains, and on the field encouraged and helped
-them all it could.  These men were not officially styled "Christian
-chaplains," but were called _imonshi_, or comforters.  It is not true,
-as has recently been affirmed by a minister in New York, {311} that
-there are regularly appointed permanent Christian chaplains to the
-Japanese army.  None but these three have ever been appointed, and
-their appointment was only temporary.  But the fact that the government
-granted them permission to accompany the armies and encouraged their
-work shows clearly a changed attitude toward the Christian religion.
-
-The same is indicated by the fact that the authorities willingly gave
-permission for the distribution of Bibles to the soldiers in every
-department of the army.  They even aided in the distribution, and often
-arranged for those who distributed them to preach to the soldiers.  I
-think few non-Christian lands have ever gone so far as this in their
-encouragement of Christianity.
-
-From these facts I infer that the government will no longer place
-obstacles in the way of our work.  Such obstacles have in the past
-prevented many from favoring Christianity, and their removal augurs
-well for the future.
-
-The native religions have very much hindered the evangelization of
-Japan.  Their militating influence is still active and powerful, but I
-think it is gradually declining.  Buddhism will die hard, but she is
-too old, effete, and corrupt permanently to withstand her younger and
-more powerful foe.  The inherent truth of Christianity must ultimately
-give it the victory.  As Japanese education and {312} enlightenment
-advance, the intrinsic superiority of Christianity over Buddhism must
-appear and must recommend it to the people.
-
-The hope of our religion in this land lies largely in the fact of the
-insatiable desire of the people for Western learning and civilization.
-The ever-increasing introduction of Western literature, the adoption of
-our civilization and institutions, will necessarily bring about a
-better acquaintance with Christianity, its spirit and aims.  Then the
-prejudice against it will gradually die out, and it will, appealing to
-them in its true light,--the germ and base of all true civilization,
-and the foster-mother of education and enlightenment,--be readily
-accepted.
-
-The social hindrances operating against Christianity to-day are all
-local and personal, and will probably become less and less until they
-die a natural death.  Every part of the empire is absolutely open, and
-there is nothing to hinder a full and free proclamation of the gospel
-in every town, village, and hamlet in Japan.
-
-The superior position of Christianity at present to that which it held
-a few years ago is striking.  Professor Chamberlain, a very close
-observer, whose experience in Japan has extended over many years, says:
-"To those who can look back thirty years, or even only twenty years,
-the change in the position of Christianity in Japan {313} is most
-striking, indeed well-nigh incredible."  From a hated and despised
-thing it has risen to a position in which it commands the respect of
-many of the best men in the land.
-
-But there is another element which must be taken into consideration in
-making up an estimate of the outlook, and that is the natural
-adaptability or inadaptability of the people for Christianity.  The
-farmer may labor long and hard; he may sow the best seed; sunshine and
-rain may lend their encouragement; but if the soil is uncongenial the
-yield will be small.  In the same way, a strong, consecrated working
-force may labor, unopposed, with might and main in the mission field,
-but if the soil is not congenial the results will be small.
-
-Are the Japanese people well or ill adapted by nature to the reception
-of Christianity?  The strongest opposition to our work, and the one
-which makes us most anxious for the future, lies in the natural
-constitution of the people for whom we labor.  Many natural
-characteristics of this people predispose them to reject Christianity.
-
-I must again refer to that strong nationalistic feeling which is inborn
-in every Japanese and which hinders the rapid progress of the gospel.
-This principle, operating within the church, threatens to destroy the
-orthodoxy and integrity of the faith.  Animated by a patriotic feeling
-{314} that is more blind than enlightened, the creeds, the polity, the
-life of the church of the West, are considered as of little worth, and
-many parts of the native church are extremely anxious to cut off
-everything possible that has a foreign flavor, and to create a form of
-Christianity peculiarly Japanese.
-
-Again, the nationalistic feeling prompts many, both in the church and
-out of it, to chafe at the presence of foreign religious teachers in
-their midst.  The very presence of these teachers is looked upon as an
-implication that the Japanese are not competent to instruct themselves
-in religious matters, and this is much resented.  As a prominent
-Japanese put it not long ago, "What could be more inconsistent or
-improper than for great Japan, that has so recently humbled China and
-forced the admiration of the world for her skill in arms, as well as
-for her educational, commercial, and industrial development, to be
-instructed in religious matters by foreigners?"
-
-Operating in these ways, Japanese patriotism ill adapts the people for
-a reception of Christianity.
-
-Another feature of the native character which is not favorable is its
-lack of seriousness and stability.  Religion is a serious, solemn
-matter, but the Japanese are not a serious-minded people.  Their
-beliefs have always sat lightly upon them, to be taken off and put on
-at will.  Where these {315} characteristics are largely wanting the
-progress of Christianity will probably be slow.
-
-At present the Japanese are too materialistic properly to appreciate a
-religion so spiritual as ours.  In religion, as in all other things,
-they desire to receive some present material benefit; and when the
-rewards of Christianity are found to be chiefly spiritual, and most of
-them not realized in the present life, a deaf ear is turned.  This is
-an era of great material prosperity in Japan, and the minds of the
-people are fully occupied with commercial and industrial questions, to
-the exclusion of moral and religious ones.
-
-The most common attitude of the Japanese public toward Christianity
-to-day is one of absolute indifference.  The people think that if the
-government permits this religion it cannot be so very bad; it is making
-little progress anyway, and they need give it no notice whatever.  If
-others care to go and hear about it, all right, but as for themselves,
-they have no relations with it.  The usual experience now when a new
-chapel is opened and preaching begun is that for a few times large
-numbers of people will come out of curiosity; then after a little they
-stop, and no further regard is paid to the chapel or the preaching.
-The conflict of religions, the inconsistencies and shortcomings of the
-old faiths, the advancing knowledge, have combined to bring about a
-state {316} of indifference, wide-spread and hard to overcome.  It is
-in many respects more hurtful than a position of open antagonism.
-
-The natural tendency of the Japanese mind to be skeptical in regard to
-all supernatural questions has been fostered by education to such an
-extent that educated Japan is to-day largely a nation of atheists, or
-at least of agnostics.  The proud pharisaic spirit is abroad,
-indisposing the race to accept Christ.
-
-The course of Christianity in the future will not be an unopposed, easy
-march to victory.  There yet remains a great deal to be done, Many
-clouds still linger on the horizon, making us anxious about the morrow.
-But so much has already been done that the churches at home should feel
-encouraged to renew their energies for the final contest.  When one
-division of an army has forced a breach in the enemy's lines, it is not
-left to hold the position alone, but reinforcements are hurried forward
-to its assistance, and the advantage gained is instantly followed up.
-The attack has been made in Japan; the enemy's lines have been broken,
-but the victory is not yet.  This is no time for retreat, for
-hesitancy, or for cavil; this is a time for prompt reinforcement and
-liberal support.  Let the home churches feel that such is their present
-duty toward the work in Japan.
-
-{317}
-
-Although the outlook to-day is not to the natural eye very bright, to
-the spiritual eye all is as noonday.  The victory has been assured from
-the beginning.  However indisposed by nature the people among whom we
-labor may be, whatever hindrances may oppose our work, the word of the
-Almighty has gone forth--_the kingdoms of this world shall become the
-kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ_.  The victory is sure, because
-God reigns.  In His own good time every opposing influence will pass
-away, and the banner of King Immanuel will wave over all this fair
-land.  It may not be in the present century; it may not even be in the
-lifetime of any now living; but it will surely be when God's time is
-fulfilled.
-
-With an assured faith, built upon the firm promises of God, we
-confidently look forward to the time when the empire of Japan shall no
-longer be a mission field, but shall herself send the message of light
-and life to the darkened millions around her.
-
-May God hasten the day.
-
-
-
-
-{319}
-
-INDEX
-
-
-Ainu, 10, 33.
-
-American Board (Congregational), 171; history of work, 179; strained
-relations with native church, 182.
-
-Ancestors, worship of, 117, 270, 301.
-
-Animals, 29.
-
-Art, 95.
-
-Asama, 11.
-
-Ashikaga, 42.
-
-
-Ballagh, Rev. Mr., baptized first convert, 175.
-
-Banking, 103.
-
-Baptists, 171, 187.
-
-Bathing, 83.
-
-Beautiful, love of the, 59.
-
-Belief, missionary's, 198.
-
-Berry, Dr. J. C., opinions on vacations, 218, 220, 223; his medical
-work, 265.
-
-Bible, first portions translated, 147, 174; translation of, essential,
-162; translation committee and work, 175; distribution to soldiers, 311.
-
-Bible and tract societies of America and England, work of, 190.
-
-Bicycle, 245.
-
-Birds, 30.
-
-Biwa, 14.
-
-Bridges, 16.
-
-Brotherhood, universal, unknown, 136; repugnant, 273.
-
-Brothers, relation of, 134.
-
-Brown, Rev. Dr. S. R., 170; drafts of New Testament, 174.
-
-Buddhism, introduction of, 40; principal features of, 126; history of,
-127; formative power of, 128; temples and priests, 129; and
-Christianity, 126, 130, 279; vitality of, 278, 311.
-
-
-Camphor, 26.
-
-Census of 1893, 9.
-
-Chamberlain, Professor, on advance of Christianity in Japan, 312.
-
-Chaplains, Christian, appointed by the government, 310.
-
-Character, missionary's, 200.
-
-Cheerfulness, native, 53.
-
-Children, an allowance for, 214.
-
-China, early influence of, 39; ancient civilization of, 90; recent war
-with, 49, 310.
-
-Christianity, first introduction of, 144; early successes, 148;
-attempted extermination of, 154; cannot be extirpated, 156;
-prohibitions of, 157, 172; edicts against, removed, 176; reaction
-against, 178; by nature diffusive, 243; revolutionizing tendency of,
-267; exclusiveness of, 269; past record of, 274; advance of, 312.
-
-Church, first organized, 175; sifting of, 178.
-
-Church of Christ in Japan, 184.
-
-Civilization, definition of, 89; Japan's compared with Western, 106;
-adoption of Western, 177.
-
-Climate, 19-22.
-
-Clothing, 73, 82.
-
-Commercial honor, 67; morality, 120.
-
-Confucianism, and Japanese morality, 109; ethics of, 110; history of,
-130; basal principles of, 131; nearest approach to Christianity, 135;
-contrasted with Christianity, 243.
-
-Consecration of missionary, 197.
-
-Constitution of Japan, 47, 96.
-
-Converts, first, 175; social ostracism of, 279; requirements of, 288;
-indigent, 289.
-
-Curiosity, native, 212.
-
-Customs, bearing of, upon mission work, 70, 269.
-
-
-Davis, Rev. and Mrs. J. D., 180.
-
-Death, not afraid of, 65.
-
-Disappointments, missionary's, 226.
-
-Doshisha University, 180; rationalistic teaching of, 181.
-
-Duty, ours to the missionary, 229; joy of doing, 231.
-
-
-Earthquakes, 12, 13.
-
-Educational system of Japan, 93, 255; antagonistic to Christianity, 276.
-
-Educational work of missions, compared with evangelistic, 250;
-criticism of, 253; hinders self-support, 260.
-
-Embassy to Rome, 149.
-
-Emperor, power of name, 55; worship of picture, 112, 301.
-
-Environment, missionary's, unfavorable, 227.
-
-Episcopalians, 170, 183; five branches of, 186; native church, 187, 303.
-
-Ethnology, 32, 33.
-
-Europeanization of Japan, 46, 91; our hope, 312.
-
-Evangelization, 234; missionaries must be evangelists, 235;
-subordinated to educational work, 236; local, 237; itinerating, 242.
-
-Exiles, missionaries, 225, 228.
-
-Exports, 27.
-
-
-Facial expression, 53.
-
-Farms, 23.
-
-Festivals, religious, 302.
-
-Feudalism, rise of, 41; conditions under, 145.
-
-Fish, 30.
-
-Food, 80.
-
-Foreign pastor, 230.
-
-Foreigners, treatment of, 44, 136; country open to, 170, 171; ungodly
-example of, 282.
-
-Formosa, 9.
-
-Franchise, limited, 96.
-
-Friends, 135.
-
-Fuji-san, 12.
-
-Fujiwara family, 41.
-
-Funerals, 84.
-
-
-Geography of Japan, 9-15.
-
-Girls' boarding-schools, 255; purpose of, 256; end defeated by
-etiquette, 257; reasons for and against, 258, 259.
-
-Goble, Rev. J., translation of Matthew, 174.
-
-God, Japanese word for, 249, 262.
-
-Government, Japanese, 95; paternalism of, 58; hostile to Christianity,
-172, 173, 313.
-
-Gratitude, 66.
-
-Greek Church (Russian), 165; its founder, 166; its cathedral, 167; its
-work, 168.
-
-Greene, Dr. and Mrs., 180.
-
-Greetings, 88.
-
-Gulick, Rev. O. H., 180; story of his teacher, 172.
-
-
-Hara-kiri (belly-cutting), 85.
-
-Haughty bearing of missionary, 241.
-
-Health of missionary, the first qualification, 193; medical
-examinations, 195; allowance for, 215; and vacations, 216.
-
-Heathen faiths opposed to Christianity, 277, 311.
-
-Hibachi, 80.
-
-Hideyoshi, 43; persecutor of Christians, 150.
-
-Hindrances to Christianity, 266; common to all fields, 267; peculiar to
-Japan, 271; the greatest, 313.
-
-Hiroshima, 18.
-
-Hollanders, 10, 44, 156, 158.
-
-Homes, mission, necessity of as examples, 207, 211; comfort of, 210; a
-Western home, 212.
-
-Hondo, 9.
-
-Houses, Japanese, use of, 76; construction of, 78; furniture, 79.
-
-Human life, cheap, 64.
-
-
-Imitativeness, 64.
-
-Imperial University, 94.
-
-Inconsistency, 63.
-
-Inland Sea, 10.
-
-Inns, Japanese, 245.
-
-Inquirers, how to deal with, 238, 286.
-
-Instability, of people, 61, 314; of civilization, 105.
-
-Intellectual life, 54; open-mindedness, 59.
-
-Islands of Japan, 9, 10, 11.
-
-Itinerating, 242; greatest hindrance to, 246; kinds of, 247; objections
-to, 249.
-
-Iyeyasu, 43, 109; and the battle of Sekigahara, 153; persecution of
-Christianity, 153.
-
-
-Japan, the land of, 9; new, birth of, 45; religions of, 122.
-
-Japanese, reliable history of, 40; characteristics, 51; manners and
-customs, 69, civilization, 89; morality, 107; skeptical, 316.
-
-Jesuits, introduction of Christianity by, 45.
-
-Jimmu Tenno, 36, 38.
-
-Jingo, Empress, 39.
-
-Jinrikisha, 63, 244.
-
-Joys of the missionary, 231.
-
-
-Kagoshima, 18.
-
-Kanagawa, 18.
-
-Kasatkin, Bishop Nicolai, founder of Greek mission, 166.
-
-Korea, subjugation of, 39.
-
-Kyoto or Saikyo, 10, 17, 18.
-
-Kyushu, 9; Dutch residence on, 10.
-
-
-Lakes, 14.
-
-Land, cultivated, 11, 22; picturesque, 14; irrigation of, 22;
-terracing, 23.
-
-Language, structure of, 55; difficult to learn to read, 93; first
-dictionary of, 174; talent for, essential to the missionary, 203;
-difficult to master, 262, 284.
-
-Lawrence, Dr. E., on common sense, 204; on exiles, 225; "axioms of
-missions," 292.
-
-Laws, 96.
-
-Libraries, how regarded, 72.
-
-Life, chief of all evils, 127.
-
-Liggins, Rev. J., 170.
-
-Lights, 103.
-
-Literature, native, 92; Christian, 261, 263.
-
-Love of humanity, missionary's, 199.
-
-Loyalty, first moral principle, 111, 132.
-
-Lutherans, missionary problems of, 188; purpose in Japan, 189.
-
-
-McDonald, Dr., on furloughs, 224.
-
-Mails, 101, 246.
-
-Manufactories, 104.
-
-Marriage, customs, 75; relation, 133; essential to missionary, 206.
-
-Martyrs, 115.
-
-Materialism in Japan, 277, 315.
-
-Maxims, 117, 272.
-
-Medical missions, 264; no longer needed in Japan, 265.
-
-Mental qualifications of the missionary, 201.
-
-Methodist Church in Japan, 171, 183; branches of, 185, 304; present
-status of, 186.
-
-Mikados, 41.
-
-Minamoto, great clan, 41.
-
-Minerals, 28,
-
-Missionaries, lives in danger, 171; qualifications of, 192; private
-life of, 209; extent and variety of work of, 234; number of, in Japan,
-309.
-
-Missions in Japan, modern Roman and Greek, 160; Protestant, 169; the
-"happy time" of, 177; differing policy of, 182; small bodies, 190;
-results of, 191; projected on too high a plane, 260; hindrances to,
-266; special problems of, 286; the outlook of, 306.
-
-Morality, compared with West, 109, 117; chief defect of, 121.
-
-Music in the Greek Church, 167.
-
-Mutsuhito, 47.
-
-Mythological history, 36-39.
-
-Mythology, 34, 122.
-
-
-Nagasaki, 10.
-
-Nagoya, 18.
-
-Native church, its relation to the missionary, 182, 228, 299, 314;
-missionary's crown, 232; development of, 242; hurtful national feeling
-in, 273; problem of, 290; polity of, 290; self-support, 293; reasons
-for dependence, 294; attitude toward national habits and customs, 300;
-condition of, to-day, 307.
-
-Native ministry, educated, 251; how provided, 295; how trained, 297.
-
-Neesima, Dr., 181.
-
-Newspapers, Japanese, 92; value of Christian, 263.
-
-Nihon, native name of empire, 10.
-
-Nihon-bashi, center of empire, 16.
-
-Nobunaga, 43; patron of early Christianity, 148; assassinated, 150.
-
-
-Obedience, result of, 58.
-
-Official honor, 68,
-
-Okayama, 18.
-
-Omiiki, founder of Tenrikyo, 138.
-
-Open ports, 19.
-
-Originality, native, 63.
-
-Outlook in Japan, 306; bright to spiritual eye, 317.
-
-
-Parental relation, 133.
-
-Parental respect, 57; great ethical principle, 116.
-
-Passports, 246.
-
-Patriotism, extreme, 55; hinders Christianity, 272, 313.
-
-Perry, Commodore, and the opening of Japan, 44.
-
-Persecutions, causes of, 150; Christians exiled, 172; United States
-government and, 176; cessation of, 177; memory of, 275.
-
-Physique, native, 33.
-
-Politeness, the exalted virtue, 85; ridiculous extremes, 87.
-
-Portuguese, discovery of Japan, 43; captain and Hideyoshi, 150.
-
-Prayer, 169.
-
-Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in the United States, 169, 170.
-
-Problems, special, 286.
-
-
-Railways, 97.
-
-Rainfall, 21.
-
-Reformed Church in America, 170.
-
-Religion, Japanese, composite, 123; influence of, 142; and morality,
-268.
-
-Rivers, 13.
-
-Roads, 15, 16.
-
-Roman Catholic Church in Japan, pioneer work of, 144; driven out, 154;
-early mistakes, 158, 161; the work resumed, 160; peculiar hindrances
-to, 163; prosperity of, 164.
-
-Ronins, story of the forty-seven, 112.
-
-
-Sake, 119.
-
-Salary of the missionary, 213; when on furlough, 219.
-
-Schools, Sunday, 239; mission, 251; academical, 253; girls', 255.
-
-Sectarianism, a hindrance to missions, 281; disappearing, 303;
-advantages of coöperation, 304.
-
-Self-control of missionary, 205.
-
-Sermons, kind of, 249.
-
-Sexes, relation of, 73.
-
-Shikoku, 10.
-
-Shimabara, fall of, 155.
-
-Shinto, revival of, 45; morality, 108; history of, 123; state religion,
-125; ancestors, 270; opposing Christianity, 278.
-
-Shogun (tycoon), 42; abolition of the office, 46.
-
-Sign language, graceful, 76.
-
-Simmons, Dr. D. B., 170.
-
-Sin, no word for, 249, 262.
-
-Society, missionary's need of, 216, 217, 225.
-
-Spiritual qualifications of the missionary, 197.
-
-Steamers, 99.
-
-Suicides, 65, 120.
-
-
-Taira, great clan, 41.
-
-Taylor, Dr. W., 265; opinions on missionary's qualifications, 194;
-furloughs, 220, 221, 224.
-
-Telegraphs, 99, 246.
-
-Tenrikyo, missionary religion, 137; origin of, 138; teachings of, 139;
-distinguishing characteristics, 141.
-
-Theological training, necessity of, 251; in English language, 252;
-abroad, 252, 299; place of native religions in, 298.
-
-Theology, native, rationalistic, 181; desire for, 274; formative stage,
-308.
-
-Tidal waves, 13.
-
-Tokaido, most famous road, 16.
-
-Tokyo, the capital, 10, 17.
-
-Tone-gawa, largest river, 14.
-
-"Topsyturvydom," 70.
-
-Treaties, American, 45, 107; English, 170; revision of, 48, 178.
-
-Typhoons, 22.
-
-
-Vacations of missionaries, summer, 216; furloughs, 218, 224; argument
-against, 219; medical opinions in favor of, 220; from an economic
-standpoint, 221; useful to native and home churches alike, 222.
-
-Vegetarians, 80.
-
-Verbeck, Rev. Dr. G. F., 171, 175.
-
-Visitation, advantages of, 239; and Japanese etiquette, 240.
-
-Volcanoes, 11.
-
-
-Wife, missionary's, health of, 196.
-
-Williams, Rev. C. M. (Bishop), 170, 175.
-
-Work, methods of, 234.
-
-
-Xavier, St. Francis, first missionary to Japan, 146.
-
-
-Yezo, 9; location and climate, 10,
-
-Yoritomo, first shogun, 42.
-
-Yokohama, 11.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gist of Japan, by R. B. Peery
-
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